Omair Ahmad: Delhi Noir

The remaining two days of Dome’s life were spent peacefully and comfortably, given the circumstances. With the desperate thirst of one who is about to leave this world forever, he wanted to understand how the residents of Golden Acres had survived, what gave them the incentive to keep fighting.

According to Shankh, it was simply a question of perspective. “From the bottom of the pit, all roads lead up, ” he explained, smiling. “So in one sense, this is an extremely positive place to be. Rich people throw away things at such a rate that for us, living in the dump, we only have to wait long enough before whatever we want comes sailing out of the sky — for free! Cars, food, books, furniture, machinery, medicine, bottles, toys — you wouldn’t believe how much gets thrown away. And very often in its original packing. So we’re not complaining. We take what we need, repackage the rest, and send it back out.”

A week after Dome died, a new product began to appear on the shelves of fashionable stores in the city. Small black tins of pickled beetroot, straight from Russia, according to rumors.

The labels looked like burnished gold and each tin was secured within its own individual membrane of cling film. A flattened medallion of red sealing wax provided a guarantee that the contents were authentic and had not been tampered with in transit.

It proved to be very popular and the entire stock sold out even before the first case of a terrifying new strain of flu was reported in the Continuum.

Among the first hundred people to fall ill was the man in the linen suit.

He, more than anyone else, should have known exactly how soon he would succumb to the mysterious fever that had already felled dozens of victims. He had no family and all his staff had deserted him the moment he began to manifest the telltale symptoms. As he lay in his silk pajamas, alone in bed, writhing with joint pains and gasping for breath, his attention was caught by something on his bedside table. It was a little black tin that he’d bought at great expense a few days earlier.

“Tasty stuff,” he wheezed to himself, as he fished for the last few morsels with a silver pickle fork. “Might as well finish it.” With streaming eyes, he squinted at the gilded label, embossed in running script with the product’s name: D’Ohm’s Pickled Beetroot .

“D’Ohm’s...” he said aloud. “Doesn’t sound very Russian!”

It reminded him of something.

Some one .

If only he could remember who! He sensed a gigantic truth swirling in the ether, just out of reach of his understanding.

But a spasm of coughing shook him just then.

A day later, he was dead.

The following glossary provides simple explanations of certain Indian terms used in Delhi Noir . These words come from Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, English, and Bengali.

aarti : Hindu ritual that usually occurs at the end of religious ceremonies..

abhi aaya : I’ll be right there.

achaar : pickled vegetables or fruits.

adda : station; den for thieves.

almirah : closet.

amla: Phyllanthus emblica ; the Indian gooseberry tree.

anchal : end of a scarf, sari, or other garment.

Angrezi : English language.

aunty : term of respect used for older female family friends, neighbors.

ayah : nanny.

baba : old wise man; also used colloquially to express frustration or irritation.

babu : midlevel civil servant.

bahoot : very.

bahu : daughter-in-law.

baingan bharta : curried eggplant.

bakra : goat.

bakwas : bullshit.

bania : trader, shopkeeper.

banyan : undershirt.

barfi : sweetmeat made from milk, sugar, and other ingredients. barsaati : single-room top-floor flat of a post-Partition north Indian home.

bas : stop, enough.

basti : settlement; often used to describe marginalized urban areas.

beta : son; child.

bhabi : sister-in-law.

bhaisahab : respectful way to address a brother or older male.

bhaiyya, bhayya : brother.

bhanchod, bhenchod : sisterfucker.

bhang : leaf or flower of the cannabis plant consumed in the Indian subcontinent; often used in drinks or food items.

bhavra : bee.

Bhumihar : caste found in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that consider themselves Brahmans.

bibiji : mother; madam; term of respect for older women.

bidi : Indian cigarette rolled in tobacco leaves.

biji : mother; term of respect for older women.

bindi : decorative or religious dot women wear on their foreheads, in previous times to denote marital status.

brake lagao : put on the brakes.

bua : aunt; father’s sister.

chaalu : shrewd, cunning.

chaat : savory snack often made with tamarind yogurt.

chacha : father’s younger brother; colloquially, used to denote fondness or respect for nonfamilial relations.

chai : tea.

chai-pani : literally, the tea and water served to guests; figuratively, a small bribe paid to the lower echelons of the bureaucracy.

chaiwala : person who serves tea.

chal : come on; let’s go.

chamchagiri : sycophancy; ass-kissing.

chapatti : round whole-wheat flatbread cooked on a stovetop.

chappal : open sandals.

charas : hashish.

choder : fucker.

chodo : let go, drop it.

chokra : young boy.

chole batura : fried round bread made of wheat, flour, and potato accompanied with spicy chickpeas.

chotey : young one (affectionate).

choukhat : threshold.

chowkidar : watchman.

chunni : long scarf women wear with a salwar kameez .

churidar : long, tight pajamas worn with kurta or kameez .

chut : cunt.

chutiya : moron, loser, fucker.

da : suffix that shows respect for men.

daal : curried lentils.

dargah : mausoleum.

desi : countryman; colloquially, from India or the subcontinent.

dhaba : inexpensive roadside restaurant frequented by workers, truck drivers, and travelers.

dhanda : trade, work.

dharamshala : cheap hotel for pilgrims.

dharna : sit-in, protest.

dhobi : person who washes and irons clothes.

didi : sister.

Dilli : Delhi.

Dilli-wallah : someone from Delhi.

dupatta : long scarf that women wear with a salwar kameez .

falooda : noodle served over kulfi .

fauji : soldier.

firang, firangi : foreigner (somewhat derogatory); from Fering-hee , Persian for Frank.

gaali : abusive terms.

gaand : ass.

gali : lane, alley.

ganji : undershirt.

ghada : rounded earthen vessel for storing and cooling liquids. ghazal : poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain.

ghee : clarified butter.

gora : white person.

gulmohar: Delonix regia; royal poinciana trees; when in bloom, they have bright red or orange flowers.

gurdwara : Sikh house of worship.

gutka : intoxicant made from tobacco, betel nut, and other spices.