"My life isn't all mallipoo and jaangiri."
Anika is the only person who actively rebels out against the constricting society of her village.
And she isn't exactly very popular for it. She's hated by all and does an excellent job of hating back.
Bu...
'Mallipoo' means jasmine flowers. It's a popular hair accessory for traditional wear- knot the buds up on a long string and pin it to your braids. (That's the white stuff in the cover picture).
this is what it looks like:
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'Jaangiri' is a traditional sweet that looks like this:
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It's yummyyyyy.
For Chapter 1:
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'Naraka' is a term that means 'darkness', or 'force of evil' in my native tongue. There's a folktale about a demon named Narakasura, or 'demon of darkness'.
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'Thalaiver' means 'leader'. Or Rajnikanth (famous actor). Depends on who you're talking to.
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'Dharma' means the duty one was born to do. Your purpose in life. In this context, Gunasekaran was telling Anika that it was her duty to follow the rules and to quit being the anomaly.
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'Kanna' is a term of endearment. It could be called the equivalent of 'dear' in English. Often used when an elder speaks to a child, or when someone is generally addressing someone whom they love dearly.
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'Vethalai' is the Tamil name for betel-leaf.
'Paakku' means betel-nut, and 'sunnambu' means lime.
A 'beeda' is a vethalai spread with sunnambu and wrapped around a piece of paaku. In small quantities, paakku has the same effect as nicotine or tobacco, and in larger quantities, the same effect as cocaine. The combination (beeda) is a popular thing for people to chew on, to give themselves that little buzz.
You could call it the equivalent of a cigarette, but less harmful.
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'Paatti' means grandmother.
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'Kutti' means little. In this context, Arul is calling Anika 'little girl'.
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'Maanga thokku' is a side dish that consists of a primary ingredient of raw mango ('maanga'). You could call it a chutney, except it's more tangy and raw-tasting.
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'Amma' means mother.
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'Appa' means father.
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'Asura' means demon.
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'Cheh' is just a general reaction word- sort of the equivalent of 'dammit'.
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'Daal' is basically just lentils. (A staple food, typically eaten with rice.)
