The British captured Karachi in 1843, and the city flourished as a harbor and seaport. In 1878, a railway line connected Karachi to the rest of the British Empire in India, and many of its famous British-era buildings were built at that time. The Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was born in Karachi in 1876. Mimi and Sakina learn about the founder of Pakistan when they visit his mausoleum during one of their sightseeing trips.
When the British finally left India, and Pakistan was created in 1947, Karachi became the new country’s capital. It remained so until 1960. It is still the largest and most vibrant city of the nation, the financial and trade center, and the most exciting place to be.
This novel is my love letter to Karachi, a way to lay bare its many complexities and beauties. Much has changed as the decades have passed, and every time I visit, there is something new to discover. But the atmosphere is unchanged, and I hope I’ve done justice to my memories. Dear Mai Kolachi, you laid the foundations of something very special, and I will never forget this city.
—Saadia
Glossary
(All words are in Urdu unless otherwise stated.)
abba: Father
alhamdolillah: All praise to God (Arabic)
allahu akbar: God is greater (Arabic)
amma/ammi: Mother
asr: Late afternoon prayer (Arabic)
assalamu alaikum: May peace be on you (Arabic)
azaan/adhaan: Call to prayer
badmaash: Hooligan, gangster
basmati: Variety of rice popular in South Asia
begum: A lady of high rank
beta: Son; child
biryani: A spicy rice dish with meat or vegetables
bun kabab: A sandwich with shallow-fried meat-and-lentil patty, egg, onions, and other ingredients
chaat: Snack food made with a mixture of yogurt, boiled potato, and spices
chai: Tea
charpai: A bed made of rope webbing instead of a mattress
daal: Lentils
dupatta: Long scarf worn by women as part of the shalwar kameez ensemble
Eid: Festival or celebration (Arabic)
fajr: Dawn prayer (Arabic)
gharara: Formal outfit worn by women, consisting of tunic and flared pants gathered at the waist
ghee: Clarified butter
gol gappay: A common street snack of round, hollow, fried shells filled with tamarind water.
goonda: Hooligan, miscreant
hai: Oh!
Inshallah: God willing (Arabic)
jamun: A round fruit also known as black plum
Jummah: Friday
kameez: A long tunic worn by men and women; usually paired with shalwar or other pants.
karahi: A thick, circular cooking pot similar to a wok
kheer: Rice pudding
kya haal hai: How are you?
maghrib: Sunset prayer (Arabic)
masala: Spice mix
mazedaar: Delicious
naan: South Asian baked flatbread
nana: Maternal grandfather
nani: Maternal grandmother
oont: Camel
paan: A snack consisting of the betel leaf with other ingredients folded inside, such as chopped areca nut
paratha: Layered flat bread either fried or sautéed in oil
pithu: A traditional South Asian game called seven stones
pulao: A non-spicy rich dish with meat or vegetables
roti: Thin, round flat bread made with whole flour
rickshaw: A small vehicle used as transport; may be pulled manually or driven with a motor
sahib: Master
sahiba: Mistress
salaam: Peace (Arabic)
shalwar: Baggy pants worn by men and women
shami kabab: Minced meat and lentil patty
shukriya: Thank you
tiffin: A metal box used for carrying lunch
tikka boti: Barbecued meat cubes
ulloo-ka-patha: Son of an owl; used as an insult
wa alaikum assalam: And peace be upon you as well (Arabic)
zeera: Cumin
Acknowledgments
I suppose I should say thanks first and foremost to my mother’s knees, which became arthritic and caused her pain, leading to a surgery that required my presence as caretaker. Thanks to that surgery, I dragged my kids halfway across the world in the middle of a sweltering summer to be with their nani. But of course if you know me, you know I was working most of the time. My latest trip to Pakistan was special not only because of my mom’s knees, but because it led to this book.
My husband and kids must be acknowledged in all my endeavors, because they give me the space and encouragement to write at a frantic, possibly neurotic pace. This book could easily have been dedicated to all the dinners I did not cook.
A few of my writer friends gave me excellent feedback on this book: Uma Krishnaswami, Dana Mele, and Diane Magras, to name a few. Thank you for your support and gentle guidance. Thank you for reminding me why my culture’s stories matter.
And finally, the city of Karachi. Surely, it deserves thanks for being the incredible place it is, for making me fall in love with it even when I thought I hated it, and for being the perfect backdrop for this book. May you always be the City of Lights.
About the Author
PHOTO CREDIT QZB PHOTOGRAPHY
SAADIA FARUQI is a Pakistani American writer, interfaith activist, and cultural-sensitivity trainer. She is the author of the children’s early-reader series Yasmin and the coauthor of the middle grade novel A Place at the Table. She was profiled in O magazine as a woman making a difference in her community and serves as editor in chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry, and prose. She resides in Houston, TX, with her family.
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Copyright
Quill Tree Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
A THOUSAND QUESTIONS. Copyright © 2020 by Saadia Faruqi. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art © 2020 by Aaliya Jaleel
Cover design by David Curtis
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Faruqi, Saadia, author.
Title: A thousand questions / Saadia Faruqi.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : HarperCollins Children’s Books, [2020] | Audience: Ages 8–12. | Audience: Grades 4–6. | Summary: Told in two voices, eleven-year-olds Mimi, who is visiting her wealthy grandparents in Karachi, Pakistan, for the first time and Sakina, daughter of the grandparents’ cook, form an unexpected friendship.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020000866 | ISBN 978-0-06-294320-0 (hardcover)
Subjects: CYAC: Friendship—Fiction. | Americans—Pakistan—Fiction. | Household employees—Fiction. | Grandparents—Fiction. | Single-parent families—Fiction. | Family life—Pakistan—Fiction. | Karachi (Pakistan)—Fiction. | Pakistan—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.F373 Tho 2020 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020000866
* * *
Digital Edition OCTOBER 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-294322-4
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-294320-0
2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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