She hid a mischievous grin as a thought flashed across her mind. Looking sombre, she pointed to a cane chair next to her desk and said, ‘Kindly be seated.’
Raven sat down.
‘And what brings you here, sir?’ she said, leafing through the papers on her desk. She suppressed her smile as Raven scrunched up his eyes and studied her face.
He then gave her a lopsided smile and cleared his throat. ‘Ma’am, I’d sent an application for marriage some time back. I was wondering if you have been able to find the time to consider it.’
Mili pointed to the pile of papers on her desk. ‘I’ve had so much to do, I haven’t yet had the time to look at it.’
‘I’m sorry to have wasted your time. Good day to you, ma’am.’ He got up and turned to leave.
Mili could control herself no longer. She burst out laughing and flung her arms around his neck. ‘Of course I will marry you,’ she whispered.
Raven smiled and held her in a tight embrace. ‘I love you so much, my child-woman.’
‘I love you too, Raven S—’ But before she could say ‘sir’, he had covered her mouth with his.
And as they kissed, the rays of the setting sun filled the room with a warm glow. The day was about to end, only to be reborn the next day.
Author’s Note
As a child, I spent nine glorious years of my life in the hill stations of Kumaon, now a part of Uttarakhand. I have drawn upon my childhood memories of places like Almora, Nainital, Pithoragarh – to create this idyllic village-town called Kishangarh.
The other two fictional places in the novel are Mohanagar and Shaampur, as also the river Bhoori. I chose these names as Mili, the protagonist of the novel is a devotee of Lord Krishna, who is also known by a number of other names including Kishan, Mohan and Shaam.
Glossary
Agarbatti incense stick
Ahimsa non-violence
Aloo potato
Amaltas the golden shower tree
Apsara angel
Arti a Hindu ritual or prayer
Ashram hermitage
Baba baby; also used to address someone respectfully; father
Badam almond
Baksheesh tip
Balle balle an expression of happiness
Baraat wedding procession
Baisakhi a Sikh/Punjabi festival
Barfi an Indian sweet in the shape of a diamond
Barre big
Batti wick
Bauji father
Bhabhi brother’s wife
Bhagavad Gita/Gita a 700-verse Hindu scripture
Bhagwan God
Bhai/Bhaisaheb elder brother
Bharat Mata ki Jai Long Live Mother India
Bhutia of Tibetan origin
Bindi a small, usually round, forehead decoration
Brinjal aubergine
Chachi aunt
Chinar poplar tree
Chulha mud stove
Chundri sari a type of sari
Dadaji grandfather
Dahi yogurt
Darta hai saala he’s scared
Dhoop frankincense
Didi elder sister
Doli palanquin
Dupatta stole (clothes)
Firangis foreigners
Gamcha piece of cloth
Ganesh the Hindu elephant god
Ghagra choli skirt and blouse
Gujjia an Indian sweet
Gulal coloured powder used during Holi
Gur jaggery
Gora fair-skinned
Haiyo Rabba oh God
Harijan Gandhiji referred to the untouchables as Harijans or children of God
Holi Hindu festival of colours
Hyderabadi from Hyderabad
Jai Hind Hail India
Jalebis an Indian sweet
Kaafal a fruit found on the hills of Uttarakhand
Kadi a curry made out of gram flour
Khadi homespun cotton
Khotta donkey
Khus type of grass
Kishan/Krishna/Kanha a Hindu god
Kumaoni of Kumaon
Kumkum a red powder used for social religious purposes
Kurta long tunic-like shirt
Laddoos round Indian sweets
Lassi a drink made from milk or yoghurt
Lahenga long skirt
Langar free food offered in a Gurdwara
Lathis sticks
Lohri a Punjabi/Sikh festival
Mahabharata an Indian epic
Maji mother
Marjaaneyaa a swear word
Masala spice
Mausi mother’s sister
Mem madam
Milap meeting
Mithai Indian sweets
Murg chicken
Nani grandmother
Nukti laddoo Indian sweets
Paan betel leaf
Pahari of the mountains
Pakora bhajji
Parathas Indian bread
Parvat mountain
Peepul fig tree
Phaag songs sung during Holi
Pheriwala hawker
Pitaras metal box
Prasad offering from god
Preet/Preeto beloved
Puja prayer
Rajasthani from Rajasthan
Rakshas demon
Roti Indian bread
Salwar kameez long tunic-like shirt worn over pyjama-like trousers
Sardar a male Sikh
Sasural in-laws’ house
Sat Sri Akal a Punjabi greeting
Sepoys soldiers
Sindoor vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women
Sitaphal custard apple
Siyappa a Punjabi swear word
Swaraj self-rule
Swayamvar the practice of choosing a husband
Syce groom
Tadka daal tempered lentils
Tandor clay oven
Upanishads Hindu philosophical texts
Vande Mataram I bow to thee, Mother India
Yaara friend
Acknowledgements
My heartfelt thanks to:
Mr Hem Pandey for patiently answering all my questions about schools and colleges in Uttarakhand.
Shilpi for conceptualising the character of Gurpreet and a couple of scenes in the book.
Harmeet, my Punjabi dictionary.
Susie, Chiara, Sara and Lesley for all the hard work and attention to detail.
Jane for her support, guidance, insight and positive energy.
My parents for their encouragement and pride in everything I do, however small or insignificant.
My children, Karn and Diya, my inspiration, my reason for being, my all.
My husband Bhaskar, as always, to whom I have dedicated this book.
When I wrote the acknowledgements for The World Beyond, I was told that at least it wasn’t as long as the glossary. This time, it threatens to be longer than the novel itself. So I’m afraid I will have to confine myself to a collective thank you to my dear family and friends. Each and every one of you, who has touched my life, has contributed to this novel, either directly or indirectly and for that I am eternally grateful.
About the Author
SANGEETA BHARGAVA was born in a remote corner of the Maharashtra region of India and studied in Lucknow. Although she has an MBA in Finance, she soon realized that the business world was not for her and decided to go back to her first love: writing. She is the author of Letters to my Baby, a book on pregnancy and baby care. The World Beyond was her debut novel. She now lives in London with her husband, two children, 10,000 books and a temperamental laptop.
www.sangeetabhargava.com
By Sangeeta Bhargava
The World Beyond
After the Storm
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
13 Charlotte Mews
Londo
n W1T 4EJ
www.allisonandbusby.com
First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2012.
This ebook edition published in 2012.
Copyright © 2012 by SANGEETA BHARGAVA
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–1276–2