Delhi Noir

Glossary

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.

hafta: one week; refers to weekly protection money paid to police or gangsters.

hakim: traditional doctor.

harami: bastard.

haveli: old mansion or residence.

huzoor: sir.

Jai mata di: Hail to the mother goddess.

jalebi: fried sweet dipped in sugar syrup.

Jat: north Indian caste.

jawan: soldier.

jhuggi: thatched hut.

ji: suffix that indicates respect.

jooti: shoe.

kaabadi: physical-contact sport.

kaana: blind in one eye.

kadai: deep wok.

kaftan: one-piece dress.

kameez: shirt.

katta: single-shot country-made handgun that’s illegal, inexpensive, and crudely made.

kewra: Pandanus odoratissimus; a fragrant flower whose essence is used to flavor food.

khadi: homespun cotton popularized during the independence movement.

khamba: colloquially, a 750 ml/1 liter bottle, usually of Indian-made foreign liquour; literally, a column or pillar.

khus: type of grass used to cool buildings.

kikar: Acacia nilotica; a thorny small tree with yellow flowers.

kirpan: dagger carried by Sikhs.

kulfi: ice cream made from boiled milk.

kurta: loose shirt.

kurti: contemporary, casual, and shorter version of a kurta.

lakh: one hundred thousand.

lathi: wooden baton carried by a policeman.

loocha-lafanga: lecherous male.

Lucknow: capital of Uttar Pradesh, once a seat of Awadh (Muslim) power.

lungi: garment which consists of a single piece of cloth wrapped around the waist and legs.

madarchod: motherfucker.

mai: female domestic worker.

mai-baap: mother-father; colloquial, benefactor.

mandir: temple.

marg: street.

masala dosa: south Indian dish consisting of a thin rice-flour pancakes wrapped around potatoes.

Mataji: Mother (respectful).

matthi: salty fried snack made of flour.

mixie: blender.

muhalla: neighborhood.

mundu: cotton garment worn around the waist; akin to a lungi.

namaste: Hindu greeting of respect; literally, I bow to you.

namkeen: salty snacks.

neem: Azadirachta indica, a fast-growing tree in the mahogany family.

Narmada Bachao Andolan: An NGO that opposes the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built on the Narmada River.

nimboo: lime.

niwas: residence.

NRI: nonresident Indian.

nullah: large open drain; stream.

paan: betel nut.

paise: monetary denomination less than a rupee.

pakora: snack fried in chickpea flour batter.

pallu: end of a sari.

PCO: public call office; a place to make local phone calls.

prasadam: edible Hindu blessing.

pudiya: twisted pieces of paper that are used to store small things.

pucca, pukka: full, complete; certain.

qawwali: form of Sufidevotional music.

randi: prostitute.

rangbaz: colorful character.

rehvaasi: resident.

roti: bread; food.

rudraksha: berries from a Elaeocarpus ganitrus tree used to make special prayer beads.

SHO: station house officer.

saab, sahab, saheb, sahib: a superior; during colonial times, a white man; South Asian term of respect meaning sir, master, or lord.

saaf karo: clean it up.

saali: wife’s sister.

saas: mother-in-law.

sabzi: vegetable.

sabziwallah: vegetable seller.

salaam: Muslim greeting.

salwar: baggy pants.

sandow: sleeveless undershirt popularized by the early-twentieth-century strongman Eugen Sandow.

Sardar: man who practices Sikhism.

Sardarni: woman who practices Sikhism.

sari: female clothing garment consisting of five yards of fabric.

satya: truth.

shaitan: devil; colloquially, naughty.

shamiana: large, often luxurious tent for a celebration.

shikar: hunt.

shradh: in Hinduism, the name of the ceremonies performed by relatives of the dead.

sidey: sidekick.

surahi: round earthen pitcher with a long neck.

tandoor: drum-shaped clay oven.

thakur: landowner.

thana: police station.

theek hai: it’s okay.

thulla: traffic policeman; fat slob.

tiffin: container in which a meal can be packed.

vaid: practitioner of ayurvedic medicine.

veshya: prostitute; whore.

wala, wallah: suffix indicating an association with some type of activity.

yaar: friend; due; man.