Vikram Chandra - Sacred Games

paniWater.

Pankhida tu uddi jaaje This is from a popular song sung during garba dances: 'O bird, fly away…' The lines which follow are:

Pawagarh re

Kehje Ma Kali ne re

Garbo ramwa re

Which mean:

O bird, fly away to Pawagarh

Tell Mother Kali

To dance the garba

papluThe card game of rummy.

pattaLiterally 'strap', but in Bombay police stations it refers to a long piece of thick canvas taken from the kind of belt that drives machinery. The strap is then fixed to a wooden handle, and is used to hit prisoners during interrogation. The advantage for the policeman is that the patta doesn't leave as many marks as other implements.

payaGoat's Trotters curry.

pedaA sweet dish.

peetalBrass.

peri pauna'I touch your feet'. This is something one says as one touches the feet of an elder, or someone who is immensely respected.

petiBombay slang for Rs. 100,000 (one lakh).

PGPaying Guest. This abbreviation can be used to describe a person who lives in someone else's house (usually taking one room) and pays rent, or it can be used for the accommodations themselves. As in, 'She just found a really good PG in Bandra'.

phatAn onomatopoeia; something like the sound a balloon makes when it's punctured. Sometimes used to describe something vanishing, imploding.

phataakExplosive, hot. The sound of an explosion.

phatakdiSexy as a firecracker. A 'pataka' is a firecracker, so 'phatakdi' refers to the explosion a firecracker can make.

Phoolon ki Raani This is the title of a fictional film, 'Queen of Flowers'.

phuljadiSparkler.

pirA Sufi saint and teacher.

poheSpicy snack made from rice flakes.

prasadFood that is offered to a deity, and then is consumed with the belief that the god or goddess has blessed the offering.

PSIPolice Sub-Inspector.

pucca, kuchchaA pucca dwelling is made of bricks and cement. 'Pucca' is literally 'solid' or 'permanent', as opposed to 'kuchcha' or 'soft' or 'impermanent'. A 'kuchcha' construction is made of mud or clay and other found materials, and therefore starts leaking or washes away at the first hard rain. Therefore you want a 'pucca' house, which is hard to afford.

pugreeA turban. Also 'pug'.

pujaPrayer.

pujariPriest.

Pyaar ka Diya This is the title of a made-up Hindi film, 'The Lamp of Love'.

ragdoTo rub, to scrape, to wear down. The word can also be used as a noun: 'ragda' is 'the rub', or 'rubbing'.

RakshakThe word literally means 'Protector'.

rakshasaIn Hindu mythology, the rakshasas are a race of demons or goblins.

randiWhore.

rangrootRecruit.

RavanaThe great king of Lanka who is the antagonist of the Ramayana . He is actually a deeply knowledgeable scholar and a great yogi.

RAWResearch and Analysis Wing. India's foreign intelligence agency.

Rehne do, yaaron, main door ja raha hoon This is from a song from International Dhamaka , the film that Gaitonde produces: 'Leave me be, friends, I am going far away'.

reshmi ujala hai Part of a line from a song from the Hindi film Sharmilee ('The Shy One', 1971): 'The light is silken…'

rishiA sage, a seer.

saadiLiterally, 'ordinary'. Here, a category of cheap distilled liquor or tharra, often made and sold illegally.

Sabse Bada Paisa Literally, 'The Largest Money'. This is the name of a made-up TV show.

Sadrakshanaaya KhalanighranaayaThis is Sanskrit, and is the motto of the Bombay police: 'Protect the virtuous, punish the wicked'.

Sai BabaSai Baba is a famous guru famed for the miracles he performs in front of crowds of thousands.

salaWife's brother. Also used as a form of mild abuse.

salwar-kameezA traditional outfit worn by women in the Indian subcontinent—the kameez is a long shirt, and the salwar is a pair of loose trousers.

samaanYour stuff, your luggage. But used in the Bombay underworld for a handgun.

SardarA Sikh.

sarkariGovernmental.

sarvajanikPublic, for everyone, for all people.

sasuralThe house of your in-laws. So, a house that is not yours but you are very familiar with, that you visit often. Career criminals therefore refer to jail as their 'sasural'.

satrangiLiterally, 'seven-coloured'. Here, a category of cheap distilled liquor or tharra, often made and sold illegally.

saunfFennel seed.

shabash'Well done', or 'Good job'.

shagunPortent, augury.

shakhaA shakha is the smallest unit or cell of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a nationalist Hindu organization. 'Shakha' is literally 'branch' in Sanskrit. Each shakha meets in the morning or evening to play games, learn tactics and the use of weapons, and to engage in rituals and debates. These meetings are usually held in playgrounds or open spaces, which allows numbers of people to gather for sports and exercise.

shamianaA large tent. Such tents are often used at weddings and other functions attended by sizable numbers of people.

shamshan ghatThe place where dead bodies are burnt.

shandaarMagnificient, glorious. 'Shandaar party' is a phrase often used in Hindi movies.

shanne'Shanne' is what you call someone who is cunning, sneaky, or at least is trying to be. Depending on the intonation, a shanna can be someone who is trying to be overly smart.

shoshaGimmickry with no real substance. Perhaps from 'show'—Indians like to repeat words or sounds for emphasis. So, 'What is this show-sha?'

ShriAn honorific, similar to 'Mr' and used for men. The equivalent term for women is 'Shrimati'.

sindoorThe red powder traditionally worn in the parting of the hair by married Hindu women.

SPSuperintendent of Police.

supariA murder contract. The word actually refers to betel nuts, which are eaten to freshen the mouth. In the underworld, supari now refers to the proposal and acceptance of a hit.

takliBald head.

tapasyaMeditative practise, often involving very rigorous physical and spiritual austerity.

taporiSmall time street hood, a punk.

Tarai gun maya mohi aayi This is a line from the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs. Here, it is sung as a 'kirtan' or hymn: 'Maya (illusion) with her three gunas—the three dispositions—has come to entice me; who can I tell of my pain?'

taveezA talisman, often blessed by a holy man.

thelaA thela is a small cart. Street vendors typically sell their wares from thelas, which they push about.

thoko'Thoko' is literally 'to hit', or 'to thump'. It's also underworld slang for killing, in the same way that American mafiosi use 'hit'. Less often, it is used in the context of sex, to mean 'to fuck'.