A Beggar at the Gate (29 page)
Read A Beggar at the Gate Online
Authors: Thalassa Ali
“Hai, what a brave girl!” exclaimed Rehmana, the gap-toothed aunt.
TWO MONTHS later, after a long wait at Peshawar for warmer weather in the passes, Mariana's donkey trotted rapidly, its dusty neck bobbing in front of her, as it climbed the upward-sloping path. The donkey was so small that Mariana's feet seemed nearly to touch the ground.
She shifted on its back to relieve the ache of riding without a sidesaddle.
It had taken some time for Aunt Claire's tears and recriminations to subside after Mariana reappeared from the stricken walled city, but Mariana had been too relieved to find her uncle still living to pay much attention.
Everyone at Shalimar had expressed horror at the prospect of Safiya Sultana's cholera cure, but ultimately Mariana's uncle had ignored his wife's queasy disapproval and allowed the Shaikh's man to make an incision across his shoulder and sprinkle the German doctor's crystals into the wound.
His recovery had been a slow one. Even now he rode on one of Lady Macnaghten's baggage elephants, out of sight around a bend in the path, together with the rest of the English party. Ahead of them all trotted the cavalry escort that had joined them in Peshawar for the hazardous journey through the Khyber Pass.
Apart from Uncle Adrian, who had rasped questions from his pillows, the sole person in camp who showed any interest in the events at Lahore had been the reformed and now irritatingly subservient Charles Mott. To him, Mariana had recounted a censored version of her adventures over lunch in the dining tent the day after her arrival.
Mott and Uncle Adrian alone had been unsurprised at the Vulture's precipitous departure, which had taken place immediately after Mariana's return. As he rode off on “a matter of some urgency that has just been brought to my attention,” followed by his train of servants, Lady Macnaghten was heard to say that she had never liked the gentleman at all.
“If anyone wants to know what I
really
thought of him,” she had announced at dinner that night, patting her beautifully arranged hair, “I thought he looked exactly like a large, scavenging bird.”
Behind Mariana's donkey, Munshi Sahib's tall groom called out, his resonant voice echoing against the rocks on either side of the path. “Bibi,” he announced, “someone is coming.”
Running feet approached, slapping on the dry ground. A moment later, a rough-looking man appeared, still running, beside Mariana, his pale beard gray with dust, his chest heaving.
“As-salaam-o-aleikum.
Peace be upon you, Bibi,” he panted.
“And upon you, Ghulam Ali.”
Stiffening with dread, she guided her donkey to one side of the path and waited, her fingers trembling on the reins as loaded horses, camels, Aunt Claire's unoccupied palanquin, and more donkeys passed dustily by.
The albino reached into some recess in his shirt and fetched out a small cloth packet, sewn together with tiny, neat stitches, with Mariana's name written in Urdu on one side.
“I have been sent to give you this,” he said, fetching a knife from his belt. “And,” he added, his tired face bright with what might have been joy, “I am to remain with you, and serve you in Afghanistan.”
Two things lay inside the little packet: Hassan's neck chain and gold medallion inscribed with the verses from Sura Nur, and a short note written on a scrap of worn, dusty cloth.
Give this to my wife,
it read.
My wife.
Mariana pulled Hassan Ali's beautiful old medallion carefully over her head, lifted her chin and breathed in the clear air.
An Olive,
read the delicately inscribed verse,
neither of the East, Nor of the West.
GLOSSARY
The Urdu language shares much of its vocabulary with Hindi, Arabic, Persian, and Punjabi. Only three of the words listed below are not in the Urdu language.
A
| abba | the diminutive of father |
| a-jao (v.) | come |
| Al Hamdulillah | by the grace of Allah |
| Allah | God |
| aloo gosht | a curry of goat's meat and potatoes |
| As-salaam-o-aleikum | may peace be upon you |
| Attar | a scented oil |
B
| Baba | a title of respect for a male child, father, or old man |
| Begum | a lady of rank |
| Bhai | brother, also a polite term for an elder male relative |
| Bhaji | a polite term for an elder female relative |
| Bhang | Indian hemp (Cannabis sativa), whose dried leaves, stems, or seeds are smoked, chewed, or added to a drink for a narcotic effect |
| Bibi | used as a second name for a native woman, and also as a title for a Muslim lady |
| Burri Memsahib | the senior-most English lady |
| Burqa | an all-enveloping, loose garment worn by Muslim women, that covers the body from head to toe |
c
| Chador | a large sheet used to cover a Muslim woman when she leaves her house; alternative to the burqa |
| champa | Micbelia ckampaca, a tropical tree with sweetly scented yellow blooms |
| Charak Puja (Bengali) | a Hindu festival in which men were suspended from a swinging pole by hooks in their flesh |
| charpai | an Indian string bed with a wooden frame |
| chora | long |
| chowkidar | gatekeeper |
D
| dal | boiled, spiced lentils |
| darwaza | a door or a gateway |
| dhobi | a washer of clothes |
| dhoti | a Hindu loincloth |
| do | two |
| dopiaza | a curry of meat and onions |
| dupatta | a long broad veil worn over the head and shoulders |
| durwan | a gatekeeper |
E
| ek | one |
F
| fajr | the dawn, as in the Muslim dawn prayer |
| faqeer | one who is poor in the sight of God |
G
| ghat | a path or stairs, leading down to a river |
| Granth Sahib (Punjabi) | the Sikh holy book |
H
| Hai, Allah! | Oh, God! |
| Haveli | a walled city mansion |
| Huzoor | a title of respect for a man |
I
| Iddat | (literally, number) the number of days a widow or divorced woman must wait before she can remarry: four months and ten days for a widow, and three months for a divorced woman |
| Inshallah | God willing |
| Isha | the nighttime prayer |
J
| Jadoo | black magic |
| Jalao (from v. jalana) | light |
| jamawar | a woolen fabric from Kashmir, woven in an intricate, multicolored design and used for shawls |
| Jezail | a long, heavy Afghan musket, capable of firing a ball a great distance |
K
| kachnar | Bauhinia variegata, an attractive Indian tree with delicate mauve blooms |
| Kajal | the black powder used for lining the eyes |
| Kali | the hideous and terrifying Hindu mother goddess, wife of Shiva the Destroyer |
| kameez | a long tunic-like shirt worn over a shalwar: loose, gathered trousers |
| Keema | a dish of ground, spiced goat's meat |
| ke saat | with |
| Khanum (Persian) | a title of respect for a lady |
| Kismet | destiny |
L
| Lalaji | an affectionate, respectful term of address for an elder male |
M
| mahout | an elephant driver |
| Mahraj | the term of address for a Maharajah |
| Maidan | an open space, park, or plain |
| Maund | a measure of weight, about 40 kilos, or 88 pounds |
| mehndi | a plant (Lawsonia inermis) whose leaves are ground to a paste and used to dye the hair and the skin |
| Minar | the tall tower attached to a mosque from which the Muslim call to prayer is proclaimed five times daily |
| Mohur | a coin of pure gold, the principal coin of India since the sixteenth century |
| muezzin | the caller to prayer |
| mukhtiar | the first assistant to the Maharajah of the Punjab |
| munshi | a teacher or interpreter of Indian languages |
N
| n'hut | the nose ring worn by married women in India |
| Nach | an entertainment by Indian musicians and dancing girls |
| Nani Ma | grandmother: mother's mother |
| Neem | (Azadirachi indica) a tree whose astringent leaves and bark are used as an antiseptic |
P
| 1 palanquin, palki | a closed litter carried by bearers. A pole projects fore and aft from the roof of the box and rests on the bearers’ shoulders |
| Pan | a folded betel leaf containing chopped areca nut, lime, and other ingredients. Used widely in India after meals |
| Punkah | a swinging fan made of a cloth-covered wooden frame that has been suspended from the ceiling |
| Punkah-wallah | the man who works the punkah by means of a rope that passes through a hole in the wall of the room and leads to the verandah outside |
Q
| Qamar | the moon |
| Qur'an | the sacred book of Islam, the record of the revelations received by the Prophet Muhammad |
R
| Rani | queen |
| Rezai | a quilt stuffed with fluff from the cottonwood tree |
| Rishta | a relationship, particularly a family one; a marriage proposal |
| Rishtadar | a relative |
| Rumal | a handkerchief or scarf |
S
| Sahib | a gentlemanly title |
| Salaam aleikum | the Muslim greeting meaning “may peace be upon you” |
| Sari | six yards of silk or cotton fabric, worn by women, wound about the body |
| Sati | the suicide of a Hindu widow who immolates herself on her husband's funeral pyre: considered (at the time of this story) to be an act of great piety |
| Shaikh | a person of particular spiritual authority, such as the master of a Sufi brotherhood |
| Shalwar | loose trousers narrowing at the ankles, typically worn with a kameez |
| Shia | the party of Ali, one of the two principal branches of Islam |
| Shiva | the Destroyer, one of the three deities of the Hindu triad |
| Sikh | adherent of Sikhism, a monotheistic religion based on purity and equality, founded in the Punjab by Guru Nanak in about 1500 |
| Sirdar | a chief, leader, or general |
| Sowar | a native cavalryman |
| Sufi | a follower of the Path; a Muslim mystic |
T
| Tamasha | a show, a spectacle |
| Tandoor | a clay oven for baking bread and meat |
| Taweez | the Merciful Prescriptions: a series of cures and healings practiced by Sufis |
| Teen | three |
| Thug | a member of a religious organization in India whose adherents befriended travelers on the roads, then ritually murdered and robbed them |
| Tulwar | an Oriental sword with a curved blade |
U
| Ubtan | a paste made of chickpea flour, ground almonds, rose water, turmeric, and other ingredients and used to soften the skin |
| Urdu | a language closely related to Hindi, but written in the Persian script. It contains many Arabic, Persian, and Turkic words. Widely spoken in India |
V
| Valeema | the celebration by the bridegroom's family after his marriage |
Z
| Zenana | the family quarters of a Muslim household, where the women are secluded from male outsiders |
THALASSA ALI was born in Boston. She married a Pakistani, and lived in Karachi for a number of years. Although she has since returned to the United States, her deep connection to Pakistan remains unbroken.
