Julie & Kishore (25 page)

TAJ MAHAL:

The
most famous Taj Mahal is a monument built out of the true love of a husband for
his wife. An emperor named Shah Jahan had the memorial built in honour of his
third and favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal. They met when she was just fourteen
years old, they fell deeply in love but did not marry until five years later.
They spent many happy years together until the year 1631 when she died within a
few minutes of giving birth to their fourteenth child. Consumed by extreme
grief, Shah Jahan decided to build a great monument made of white marble in her
memory, it was completed in 1653. Its intricate designs are extremely delicate
and even today, four hundred years later, are still just as beautiful and
remarkable as ever. The graves of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are now in the lower
chamber of the monument where the public are not allowed access.

SONG GAME:

This
is a game that shows the popularity of Indian songs and is played at family
gatherings, parties or functions. One person begins by singing a line from an
Indian song. The next person uses the last letter or phonic sound from that
line to think of another line from another song starting with that phonic
sound. So it continues from person to person until one or the other cannot
think of another line from a song. Most of the time the game keeps going around
and around from person to person, never ending as there are so many songs to
choose from.

MUNDAN:

This
is a hair cutting ceremony. It’s believed that the hair a baby is born with may
still carry bad traits from a previous life. In the child’s first or third year
the head is completely shaved in a ceremony celebrated by family and friends.
The hair cutting is done by a priest, preferably but not always, in a temple.
Traditionally this ceremony was only performed on boys but now it’s also
performed on girls.

TOUCHING AN ELDER’S FEET:

When
you meet an older person, it’s respectful to touch their feet because this
person is senior to you and highly respected. Originally this tradition came
from bowing to an elder.

The
older person will pat your head as you reach down to touch their feet and will
try to insist that it’s not necessary, that there is no need to do it but it’s
most discourteous if you don’t.

NEWLY MARRIED COUPLES EATING FROM THE SAME PLATE:

From
the time a man and woman are married, they eat their meals from the same plate
(if they choose to follow this custom).

In
ancient times when a man took his bride, she was sometimes treated nastily,
only given permission to eat once the rest of the family had finished and then
only allowed to have leftover food scraps. To show these cruel traditions have
been left behind, a new tradition has begun. On her wedding day the bride may
have never eaten outside of her family home, certainly never with another man.
To show that she is an equal and respected, the
brides
new family encourage the newly married couple, to share their first meal
together on the same plate. To continue the bond between the
bride
and groom from then on every meal they have will be from the same plate.

 
These days with life being so busy, this
custom may not last beyond a few weeks after the wedding day. Some couples do
manage to have their evening meal on the same plate, at least for a few years.

DOWRIES:

It
was customary in Indian marriages for the bride to be ‘given’ to her
husbands
family, which meant she now belonged to them. This
is where the tradition of dowries came from. Since the bride becomes a part of
her new family, the
brides
family contribute a dowry
(gifts or money or both) to her new husbands family.

The
girls
parents will want their daughter to go into an
admirable family and will try to offer a dowry that is worthy, to ensure she is
taken by people of good society.
  

The
grooms
family may choose a bride from a lower caste,
hoping the girl won’t be ‘world wise’ and that she will be a good submissive
wife. The
grooms
family may offer a lot of gold to
take the girl.

There
have been cases in the past where a bride was unfortunately not treated well in
her new family - treated like a slave and made to do all of the household
chores. The bride complains to her husband but he is stuck between his Mother
and the happiness of his new wife. For a son to come between his Mothers
running of the house and her new daughter-in-law is extremely difficult. The
complex relationship of the two women was very hard for a man to deal with,
leaving him with a miserable wife. The bride would not want to bring shame on
her own family by complaining and she certainly cannot go back to her family
home because that would harm their reputation. So the bride stays and tries to
be a good daughter-in-law, hoping that if she produces a child things will get
better.

EGGS:

Most
people consider eggs as vegetarian food. Some vegetarians do not like eating
eggs because they come from an animal and dread finding a baby chicken
inside.
 
Some people do not realise that
hens lay eggs (containing only yolk and white) daily and if there is no rooster
it’s impossible for the egg to be fertilised so a baby chicken cannot be inside.

PEACOCK:

The
peacock was declared India’s national bird in 1963 because of its rich
religious and legendary involvement in Indian traditions. The large bird has a
glorious blue, green plumage. In Hinduism, the image of the god of thunder,
rains and war, Indra, was depicted in the form of a peacock. India’s cultural
dances sometimes involve the poses of the bird. In India some people believe
that when the peacock spreads it tail it means rain is coming. This is in fact
partly true as when a peacock sees dark clouds overhead it does actually spread
its tail and perform a dance.

GLOSSARY

KIWI ICONS:

Hokey Pokey ice-cream:
 
Vanilla ice-cream with little hokey pokey
nuggets
,
which are small, round solid lumps of honeycomb
toffee

Hundreds and thousands:
sprinkles -
tiny pieces of confectionary used for topping baking or desserts

L&P:
 
Lemon and Paeora
-
(Paeora is a
town in New Zealand)
L&P
is a fizzy
drink, traditionally made by combining lemon juice and carbonated mineral water

Milo:
 
A chocolate powder
that is stirred into water or milk to make a hot or cold drink

Swandris:
the trade name of a New Zealand outdoor
clothing range. A woolen bush shirt is commonly referred to as a swandri

Paua (pah-wah) Shells:
This beautiful
shell has brilliant rainbow colours with blues and greens being dominant and is
often made into jewellery

Watties tomato sauce:
 
Watties is a New Zealand brand of tomato
sauce

MAORI:

Aotearoa (ao-te-ah-roa):
 
‘Land of the long white cloud’ the Maori name
for New Zealand

Haka
(haka
) :
 
Traditional Maori war dance

Hongi
(hong
-
ee
) :
A traditional
greeting where two people press their nose and forehead together

Marae (ma-rai
) :
Maori meeting
house

Moko (mo
-
ko
) :
 
Maori tattoo
– Maori women customarily wear a moko on their chins or lips

Pakeha (pa
-
kee
-
ha):
 
Non-Maori, New Zealander

Powhiri (po-f
e-ree
):
A formal Maori
welcome that takes place on a Marae

Wahine (wah-hee-ney):
 
Maori woman

HINDI:

Sayings:

Fhir milenge (fhirr mil
-
en
-
gay):
 
We will meet again

Kei ha lai? (
kee
ha lay?):
 
How are you?

Mai theek hu (
may
theek
hoo):
 
I am good

Mai tumse piyar karti hu (
may
tum
-
say pee
-
yar karte hoo):
 
I love you

Kha ha hai? (
kha
ha hai?):
 
Where is it?

Aan Milo Sajna (aan melo sajna):
 
‘Meet me today my friend’

VOCABULARY

Aashcharya (aash
-
char
-
ya):
Surprise

Achcha (a-chha):
Good

Aradhana
(Ar-rard-hana):
A Sanskrit word meaning ‘an act of glorifying god’ – also a popular girls name

Ashirwad (Ash
-
ir
-
ward):
 
Blessing

Baal (baal):
Hair

Bacho (bach
-
ho):
Child

Bayta (bay
-
ta):
Son

Beetel (bee
-
tel):
The beetel leaf which is chewed as a
stimulant comes from the beetel palm

Beti (
betty
):
Daughter

Bhabhi (bar
-
bi):
Eldest
sons
wife

Bhajia (bha
-
jeea):
Also known as pakoras - fried snack
covered with batter that can be made with onions, potatoes or perhaps
cauliflower florets

Bhaiya (bhai
-
ya):
Elder brother

Bhindi (bin
-
dee):
Little decorative sticker worn on the
forehead between the eyes

Burfis (bur
-
fees):
A sweet usually made with condensed
milk and sugar

Bhuja (bhoo
-
jar):
Crispy snacks

Cardamom
(cardamom):
A spice – also called Elaichi
(eee-ly-chee)
in Hindi

Chai (chai):
Tea

Chai-wallah
(chai-wall
-
ah):
Chai = tea,
wallah = person who performs a specific task

Chapatti
(cha-pa-tees):
Round flat bread

Chappals (chup
-
pals):
Slip on shoes

Chandra (chan
-
dra):
Moon

Chhutti (chuut
-
ee):
Holiday

Cholay (choo
-
lay):
Chickpea soup

Dahl (dahl):
Cooked lentil
soup

Dicky (dick-ee):
An old British
term referring to the boot of a car

Dil (dil):
Heart

Divas (de
-
vis):
Little clay lamps to light when
worshipping

Doop (doop):
Incense
(usually in a small cone shape)

Dupatta (doo
-
par-tta):
Shawl

Durrie
(dhar-ree):
Cotton mat

Gajara (ga
-
jara):
Decorative flower clip

Gana (ghar
-
na):
Song

Ghar (ghar):
House

Gulab (goo
-
lab):
Rose (Gulab Jaman is a sweet dessert)

Haan (haan):
Yes

Halwa (hul
-
wah):
Semolina based pudding

Hasi (huss-ee):
Laugh

Hindi (hin
-
dee):
Indian language

Hindu (hin
-
doo):
Indian religion

Hunaman (Hu
n-
nu
-
man):
God of strength, wisdom, peace of mind
and knowledge

Jaldi (jal
-
dee):
Quickly

Jalebis (jaa
-
lay
-
bees):
Orange coloured sweet that is usually
in a spiral shape

Jashan (ja
-
shan):
Party

Jaman (ja
-
mun):
Tree native to India (Gulab jaman is a
sweet dessert)

Jeevan (jee
-
van):
Life
(Can be a
persons
name)

Ji (Gee
)
: Added to the
end a persons title as a sign of respect

Karma (kar
-
ma):
An act or deed
– what goes around comes around

Khazana (kha
-
zarna):
Treasure

Kheer (kheer):
Sweet rice
pudding

Khushi (khush
-
ee):
Happy

Kulcha (kul
-
cha):
Type of roti bread that is fried in oil

Kulfi (kul
-
fee):
Indian ice-cream

Kurta (kurr
-
ta):
Men
’
s
pants and top suit

Ladoos (la
-
doos):
Golf ball sized sweets traditionally
made with chana (chickpea) flour

Lakshmi (luck
-
shme):
 
Beautiful goddess of wealth, love and light with four arms

Lal (laal):
Red

Lassi (lass
-
ee):
Whipped yoghurt smoothie drink

Lardakaa (lard
-
a
-
kaa):
Boy

Lardakee (lard
-
a
-
kee):
Girl

Mandir (man
-
deer):
Temple

Mantras (man
-
tras):
 
Prayers recited

Matri (mu
t-
tree):
A savoury snack that is shaped like a
biscuit

Mendhi (men
-
dee):
Henna

Memsab (mem
-
sab):
Madam

Naan (narn):
Bread this is thick like a pita, quite often
flavoured with garlic.

Namaste
(Naa-ma-stay):
A salutation, greetings, hello – literal meaning is ‘I bow to you’

Paan (paan):
The name of the
beetel leaf once it’s ready to be sold as a stimulant.

Pakana (pa
r-
k
h
ana):
Cooked

Paneer (paa
-
near):
Homemade cheese

Pani (paa
-
nee):
Water

Paranthas (par
-
ran
-
thas):
Flaky pastry type of roti

Pashmina (pash
-
meena):
Cashmere shawl/scarf

Pariwar (par
-
ree
-
wah):
Family

Peon (pee-on):
Servant

Phul (ful):
Flower

Pinnis
(pin-nees):
Ball shaped sweets made with wheat flour, sugar, ghee etc

Prasad (pra
-
sard):
A substance that is offered to a god in
Hinduism, then consumed

Punka-wallah
(pan
-
kha wall
-a
ah):
Punka
= A fan (a large
rectangular object that is attached to the ceiling and requires a person to
pull a rope to make it work, wallah
= person who
performs a specific task (
i.e.
pulls the rope
to move the fan)