moholla
"'Why nonsense? The British have made little difference to the life of my moholla'" (40).
(noun) — a neighborhood, area of town or village; a community
hibakusha
"It was a fear of reduction rather than any kind of quest that had forced her away from Japan. Already she had started to feel that word 'hibakusha' start to consume her life. To the Japanese she was nothing beyond an explosion-affected person; that was her defining feature" (50).
(noun) (in Japan) a survivor of either of the atomic explosions at Hiroshima or Nagasaki
dupatta
"'I have a strong will. It doesn't make my dupatta fall off my head'" (53).
(noun) a length of material worn as a scarf or head covering, typically with a salwar, by women from South Asia
muezzin
"As though the soft dhuk! of the door closing were a signal, the muezzin of Jama Masjid began the call to prayer" (54).
(noun) a man who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosque
tatami
"Each day, sitting in this tree, eyes drifting over Mussoorie's trees and flowers, some as familiar as the texture of tatami beneath her feet, she strung together different memories of Nagasaki as though they were rosary beads" (97).
(noun) a rush-covered straw mat forming a traditional Japanese floor covering
kasutera
"I want to smell cherry blossom burning. I want to feel my body move with the motion of being on a street-car. I want to live between hills and sea. I want to eat kasutera" (101).
(noun) a popular Japanese sponge cake, a specialty of Nagasaki
cantonment
"Altamash asked him to help with the calligraphy business for a few weeks, just until he found someone to replace the Nazir brothers who had worked with the family for years and were now on their way to Karachi with dreams of establishing themselves as the finest artisans of language in that British cantonment town with its own dreams about its future in the still-unconfirmed state of Pakistan" (106)
(noun) a part of a town that is used for military purposes, especially one that was originally developed by the British
kurta pyjama
"Walking through the mist towards him was Sajjad, dressed as he had been the first time James saw him, and never since, in a white-muslin kurta pyjama" (111).
(noun) traditional outfit for Indian men, consisting of two garments. The first garment is the kurta, which is a loose, long shirt that almost reaches the knees. The second is the pyjama (also spelled pajama in American English), which is a lightweight drawstring trouser
shalwar kameez
"For a while, though, she had packed away her dresses and taken to wearing shalwar kameezes at home, though previously they were garments she reserved for funerals and other ceremonies with a religious component" (132).
(noun) the traditional dress of women in the Punjab region of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. The outfit comprises a pair of trousers (salwar) and a tunic (kameez) that is usually paired with a scarf (dupatta)
muhajir
"He knew 'muhajir' was the Urdu word for 'migrant'—and, as such, was a word Harry himself identified with, though he also knew that in Pakistan it was used specifically for those who had come to Pakistan from what was now India at Partition" (152).
(noun) the term used to refer to citizens from Pakistan that migrated to Pakistan from India after Partition
rickshaw
"The rickshaw driver—Sher Mohammed—swerved at the sound of Harry's barked instructions from the back seat" (161).
(noun) a light two-wheeled hooded vehicle drawn by one or more people
mujahideen
"Abdullah's surviving brothers were all mujahideen, as had been the brother who died near the start of the war—the rest of his family was in a refugee camp outside Peshawar but Abdullah, at twelve, had left the camp on the back of a truck to Karachi, where a family from his village had taken him in" (213).
(noun) Muslims who fight on behalf of the faith or the Muslim community
azan
"The morning of Raza's departure from Karachi, Hiroko woke with the dawn azan as was her practice" (221).
(noun) the Muslim call to ritual prayer, typically made by a muezzin from the minaret of a mosque
Pashtun
"'Where we're going, it's all Pashtun'" (229).
(noun) a member of a Pashto-speaking people inhabiting southern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan
pattusi
"'Don't Hazaras have pattusis? . . . It's your blanket to sleep under, your shawl to keep you warm, your camouflage in the mountains and desert, your stretcher when you're wounded, your blindfold to tie over the eyes of the untrustworthy, your tourniquet, your prayer mat. If you're killed in battle you'll be buried under your bloodied pattusi—the mujahideen don't need their bodies washed and purified before burial. We are already guaranteed heaven" (230).
(noun) a piece of cloth used by the Pashtun people of Afghanistan with many different uses
ablutions
"'We're like the first Muslims, in the deserts of Arabia,' the man said, running his hands through his hair, and Raza saw he was performing his ablutions" (233).
(verb) the act of washing one's body
Karachiwallas
"No brilliant blueness of the sky forcing him to recall Abdullah who said the winter sky over Afghanistan was different from anything 'those Karachiwallas' could believe possible" (262).
(noun) used to refer to Karachi's inhabitants
incarnadine
"Harry was turned towards Raza, holding his hands out for the ball with a smile that anyone who had been loved by Konrad Weiss would have recognized, when the stranger in the guard tower swept his Kalashnikov from right to left as though it was his partner in a dance, and Harry fell in synchronised response, his shirt incarnadine in the bright lights of the Humvee" (306).
(adj) a bright crimson or pinkish-red color
timorous
"'You Americans have very timorous notions of craziness'" (335).
(adj) showing or suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of confidence
effete
"The men gestured to the back where the other guards sat on gunny sacks piled on top of each other, and Raza thought of the effete quantities of heroin which he used to deliver personally to the most valued hotel guests in Dubai as part of his duty to give them whatever it took to ensure they returned" (337-8).
(adj) marked by weakness or decadence
