Pages 81-90

By: Salaha Kabir

(Edited by Noelia Valero)

Summary: Bariamma tells her grandson about Raza and Bilquis losing their son and all the dreams they had for their son. However, they had hope a second pregnancy would give them a son who can carry out unfilled dreams, a reincarnation. Harappa taunts Raza on his reincarnation obsession, and outside the courtroom people gossip about Raza being raised in enemy territory. The evidence he had Hindu blood because of a great-grandmother explained his “ungodly philosophies.” Iskander and Rani tried to explain to the Hyders, but they would not listen. At the time, Rani was pregnant and Bilquis thought that perhaps a reason for it being difficult for her to conceive was because she did not listen to Rani’s advice. Rani and Bilquis had dreamed of getting their firstborns married, so when Rani gave birth to a daughter, she kept her promise, and Bilquis feels more pressure to conceive a boy. Bilquis's cousin insults her because she can’t conceive and repay her husband for taking her in when she was helpless. It caused a physical fight between Bilquis and Begum (cousin). Raza breaks up the fight and Bilquis tells her husband she was raised in a better environment and the reason she can’t give kids is because of the zoo she lives in now. Bariamma tells her she thinks she’s too good for them, and tells Raza to take her with him. Bilquis moved into a simple residence in the compound of the army base, where she had once again conceived. She believed their baby boy would come back.  She gave birth to a daughter, Sufiya Zinobi, which made Hydar unhappy.  He created ruckus at the hospital and demanded there was a mistake.

Hungman’s noose (pg.81): well-known knot most often associated with its use in hanging a person. A variation of this knot is used in fishing and is called the Uni-knot.

Rumal (pg.81): a piece of clothing similar to a handkerchief or bandana.

Cadaverous (pg.81): resembling a corpse in being very pale, thin, or bony

Iskander Harappa:

Hindu (pg.82): refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. The word is attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism or Sikhism).

 

Gaotakia (pg.84): A long pillow or cushion, used to support the head of a person lying on a bed.

Zenana chamber (pg. 83): literal meaning of the word is "of the women" or "pertaining to women". It refers to the part of a house reserved for the women of the household. The Zenana are the inner apartments of a house in which the women of the family live. The outer apartments for guests and men are called the Mardana.

Sepia (pg.85): A dark brown ink or pigment originally prepared from the secretion of the cuttlefish. Photographs in a brown tint (dark grayish yellow brown to dark or moderate olive brown).

Bangladesh (pg.85): a country in South Asia and part of the historic ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" in the official Bengali language. It faces the Bay of Bengal to its south, and is bordered by India on the north, west and east, as well as Burma (Myanmar) on the southeast. It is separated from the Himalayan nations of Nepal and Bhutan by India’s narrow Siliguri corridor, and is in geographical proximity to China. Bangladesh is often associated with floods, and cyclones.

(http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/bangladesh-facts/)

Punjabi (pg.85): a native or inhabitant of the Punjab region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent (an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab). Punjab is known as the land of five rivers. The state capital is located in Chandigarh, which is a Union Territory and also the capital of the neighboring state of Haryana. The state is the largest provider of wheat in India, with agriculture being its largest industrial sector.

http://www.oxfordsikhs.com/MeraPunjab/Punjab+Facts/default.aspx

Afghans (pg.85): relating to Afghanistan or its people, language, or culture (known as an Afghani). Afghanistan is a land-locked country. The population of Afghanistan is estimated at about 32.7 million. Afghanistan is home to a number of ethnic groups, the largest is the Pashtun. Afghanistan is among the poorest countries, more than 53% of the population lives under the poverty line.

http://asianhistory.about.com/od/afghanista1/p/ProfAfghanistan.htm

Kashmiris (pg.85): a Dardic linguistic (sub-group of the Indo-Aryan languages) group living in or originating from the former Indian state of Kashmir. It is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. In the first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important center of Hinduism and later of Buddhism.

(http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Kashmir.aspx)

Sind/Sindh (pg.85): one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran" and has been given the title of Bab-ul-Islam. The name of Sind is derived from the Indus River that separates it from Balochistan and the greater Iranian Plateau.

(http://www.academia.edu/1934949/Dates_in_Sindh_Facts_and_Figures)

Baluchistan/Balochistan “tan” (pg.85): is an arid, desert and mountainous region on the Iranian plateau in south-western Asia. It is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. It is the largest province by area, constituting approximately 44% of Pakistan's total land mass, and the smallest in terms of population Balochistan is named after the native Baloch tribes who make up the majority of the inhabitants in the region. They speak Balochi as their native language, and also Brahui, and Persian as additional languages.

http://www.gwank.org/fact_about_balochistan_by_oslo_norwar_ssearching_group20110621.html

(http://blogs.thenews.com.pk/blogs/2012/11/the-importance-of-being-baluchistan/)

Urdu (pg.86): Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language with about 104 million speakers, including those who speak it as a second language. Urdu is written in an alphabet based on the Islamic Nasta'liq script. It is the national language of Pakistan and is one of the official languages of India, but a lot of Urdu vocabulary comes from Persian and Arabic. Urdu is also spoken in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana, India, Malawi, Mauritius, Nepal, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, the UAE, the UK and Zambia.

(http://www.omniglot.com/writing/urdu.htm)

Saris/saree (pg. 86): a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by women, ranging from four to nine yards in length that is draped over the body in various styles, which is native to the Indian Subcontinent. The word sari is derived from Sanskrit “sati,” which means strip of cloth. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Burma, Malaysia, and Singapore.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sari)

   

Salwar kurtas/ Shalwar kameez (pg.86): is a traditional dress worn by both women and men in South Asia and Afghanistan/Central Asia . Shalwar or salwar are loose pajama-like trousers. The legs are wide at the top, and narrow at the ankle. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic. The side seams (known as the chaak), left open below the waist-line, give the wearer greater freedom of movement.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalwar_kameez)

Yggdrasil (pg. 86): In the middle of Asgard, where the gods lived, was Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil was the tree of life. It was an eternal green Ash tree. Its branches stretched out over all of the nine worlds, and extended up and above the heavens. Yggdrasil was carried by three enormous roots. The first root from Yggdrasil went to Asgard, the home of the gods. By this root was a well named Urd’s well. This was where the gods held daily meetings.The second root from Yggdrasil went down to Jotunheim, the land of the giants, by this root was Mimir's well. The third root from Yggdrasil went down to Niflheim, close to the well Hvergelmir. It was here the dragon Nidhug gnawed on one of Yggdrasils roots. Nidhug was also known to suck the blood out of the dead bodies.

(http://www.viking-mythology.com/yggdrasil.html)

Valhalla (pg.86): In Norse mythology, Valhalla (“hall of the slain”) is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Valhalla is where heroes went when they died in battle, but half of those heroes are chosen by Odin, and  led by valkyries to Valhalla. In Valhalla, the dead join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar, as well as various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, as they prepare to aid Odin during the events of Ragnarök, where you would fight and perish alongside the gods. Various creatures live around Valhalla.

(http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=valhalla)

Muspellheim/Muspelhiem (pg. 86): In Norse mythology, Muspelheim, also called Muspell, is a realm of fire. This realm is one of the Nine Worlds and it is home to the fire jötunn (giant) or the "sons of Muspell", and Surtr (elder jotunn), their ruler. It is fire; and the land to the North, Niflheim, is ice. The two mixed and created water from the melting ice in Ginnungagap(mighty gap).

(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/399446/Muspelheim)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muspelheim)

Nidhogg (pg. 86): In Norse mythology, Nidhogg is a dragon who gnaws at a root of the World Tree, Yggdrasill. The Nidhogg is said to be controlled by only one person, the Norse goddess named Hel.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%AD%C3%B0h%C3%B6ggr

Milan Kundera (pg. 87): a Czech and French writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. Due to censorship by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia, his books were banned from his native country.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6343.Milan_Kundera

Charles James Napier (pg. 87): general of the British Empire and the British Army's Commander-in-Chief in India, notable for conquering the Sindh Province in what is now Pakistan. In 1842, at the age of 60, Napier was appointed Major General to the command of the Indian army within the Bombay Presidency. His orders had been to put down the rebels, and conquer the whole Sindh Province, and with his victory, he was to report to his superiors the short, notable message, “Peccavi”, the Latin for "I have sinned" (joke on I have Sindh).

(http://www.thornber.net/england/htmlfiles/napier.html)

Needle Valley/ Ioa Valley (pg. 90): lush, stream-cut valley in West Maui, Hawaii, located 5 kilometres west of Wailuku. The 2,250-foot stone pillar, covered in green foliage, was once used as a natural altar. The valley is a peaceful area with easy hikes, exotic tropical plants, and clear, natural pools. It  is the site of one of the most famous and bloody battles that changed Hawaii history forever. In 1790, King Kamehameha I, destroyed the Maui army in his effort to unite the Hawaiian Islands. Its natural beauty and historical significance, has made it a popular tourist location.

http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/iao-valley-needle.html

 

Gichki (pg. 90): a Baloch tribe in Balochistan, Pakistan. They mostly live in the Makkuran area of Balochistan, and ruled the region from 1740 till 1974. The land was distributed among Gichki clans from Kech to Panjgur. The tribe is supposedly the Royal family of Makkuran. "Gichk" is a place in Panjgur this place called Gichk because the Gichki's were living there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gichki

http://balochrace.blogspot.com/2012/03/gichki-baloch.html

http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2008/10/baluchistan-baluch-and-myth-of-martial.html