Rashid ul-Khairi: Rashid ul-Khairi (1868–1936) was an extremely popular writer of melodramatic domestic novels about female characters.
Ravan: The hundred-headed demon king who was killed by RAMCHANDAR-JI.
Ravi: The river that flows through Lahore.
Red Fort: The famous fort and palace in Delhi, built by Shah Jahan (r. 1627–1658), from which BAHADUR SHAH ruled until he was deposed in 1857.
Rupnagar: The (imaginary) town in which Zakir is born and spends his childhood. It is located somewhere in northwestern Uttar Pradesh; the nearest large city seems to be Bulandshahr. “Rup” means “beauty, form, shape,” and “nagar” means “city.”
rutting: An adjective describing the wild and violent behavior of male elephants in the mating season.
Sabbo: Diminutive for “Sabirah.” The name “Sabirah” means “patient, enduring.”
Sadhora: A small town near Ambala whose residents are considered to be stupid. The town of Kursi, near Lucknow, has a similar reputation.
Sahib: A polite form of address for a social equal or superior.
Savitri: A wife famous in Hindu story tradition for her absolute devotion to her husband Satyavan.
scooter-taxi: A three-wheeled vehicle like a motorcycle in front, with a second, canopied seat between its rear wheels that is wide enough to hold two passengers.
Shah namah: The Persian national epic, by Firdausi (c. 940–c. 1020).
Shaikh: A title generally given to descendants of the Prophet’s companions; descendants of the Prophet himself are called “Sayyids.”
Shamnagar: A neighborhood in Lahore; “Sham” is derived from a name for KRISHAN.
Sharar: Abdul Halim Sharar (1860–1926) was a well-known novelist and journalist.
Shariat: The received body of Muslim faith and tradition.
Shesh: In Hindu mythology, the immense cosmic serpent.
Sialkot: A city in Pakistan, north of Amritsar.
Sikandar Mirza: An army general who was elected President of Pakistan in 1956, then deposed and exiled by Ayub Khan in 1958.
Silk Handkerchief Band: A group of Muslim fundamentalist revolutionaries who took refuge in Afghanistan and communicated with their allies in British India by means of smuggled messages written on pieces of silk. When one such message was discovered, the plot (1915–1916) was foiled.
Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan: Sir Sayyid (1817–1898) was a controversial and extremely influential modernizer and social reformer, founder of the famous Aligarh Muslim University.
’65: In 1965, there was an indecisive seventeen-day war between India and Pakistan.
Solomon: In Islamic story tradition, God has given Solomon power over all the animals, and especially over the birds. In Quran 27:22–28, a bird carries a letter from Solomon to the Queen of Sheba.
Specials: Special trains transporting refugees between India and Pakistan at the time of Partition in 1947.
standard: See MUHARRAM.
Sultanah the Brigand: A famous Uttar Pradesh highwayman of the 1920s, whose exploits and elusiveness made him a folk hero. In folk tradition, a British police officer named Young was his chief pursuer.
Tantiya Topi: One of the most formidable rebel commanders of 1857. Even after the rebellion was all but crushed, he continued to fight a guerilla war in the area around Jhansi until he was betrayed to the British in 1859. The British hanged him; he faced death with great firmness.
Tenth Day: See MUHARRAM.
Umayyids: See KARBALA.
U.P: Then the “United Provinces,” now Uttar Pradesh, a large Indian state encompassing most of the Gangetic plain.
Vaid: A title for a practitioner of the traditional Hindu system of ayurvedic medicine.
Verse of the Throne: Quran 2:255, a glorification of God.
Vyaspur: The (imaginary) larger town where Zakir and his family settle after they leave Rupnagar. “Vyas,” meaning “Arranger,” is the legendary author of the MAHABHARAT; “pur” means “town.” It seems to be somewhere between Delhi and Moradabad.
Wagah: The border-crossing point between Lahore and Amritsar.
Walton Camp: One of the camps set up in Lahore in 1947 to house refugees arriving from across the newly-drawn border with India.
yar: A rough, comradely, affectionate term of address used among male peers. Its general sense is something like “pal.”
Zafar: See BAHADUR SHAH.
Zakir: The central figure of the novel, who is sometimes the narrator as well. His name means “rememberer” or “teller.” See Majlis.