Seven

Glossary

❖ Agraharam or Agrahara was a grant of land and royal income from it, typically by a king or a noble family in India, for religious purposes, particularly to Brahmins to maintain temples in that land or a pilgrimage site and to sustain their families. Agraharams were also known as Chaturvedimangalams in ancient times.

❖ Amavasya - New moon

❖ Amma - mother

❖Dhoti - The dhoti, also known as panche, vesti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar or panchey, is a type of sarong that outwardly resembles trousers. It is a lower garment forming part of the national or ethnic costume for men in the Indian subcontinent. The dhoti is fashioned out of a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, usually around 4.5 metres (15 ft) long, wrapped around the waist and the legs and knotted either in the front or the back. Dhotis come in plain or solid colours, silk dhotis with embroidered borders are considered to be formal wear, these are worn to religious ceremonies and on national/ ethnic festivals. In contrast to dhotis, multi-coloured and patterned skirt-like sarongs called longyis (lungis) are worn at home and to casual errands and outings. However there are exceptions to this rule in some South Indian communities where a plain white longyi (mundu) with embroidery is the ethnic formal wear for men.

The word dhoti is derived from dhauti (Sanskrit: धौती), meaning to "cleanse or wash". In the context of clothing, it simply refers to the cleansed garment which was worn as part of everyday attire. The dhoti evolved from the ancient antriya which was passed through the legs, tucked at the back and covered the legs loosely, then flowed into long pleats at front of the legs, the same way it is worn today.

❖ Didi - elder sister in Northern India. In Southern India, it would be Akka (not necessarily related by blood, could also be used to address women, elder to oneself, in age / rank /relation as an respectful yet informal way).

❖ Maami (Tamil and Hindi) used to address maternal uncle's wife. In Tamil Nadu also used to address any woman of similar age who is not related and hence there is no particular title.

❖ Muggu - (Telugu) also known as Kollam (Tamil) pookkalam (Malayalam) and Rangoli ( Hindi) are patterns created by hand. Traditionally drawn on floors using dry rice or wheat flour, though in modern times colourful sand or chalk pieces are used. 

❖ Mukkoti Devathalu (trayastrimsati koti'in sanskrit) (lit.) three (thirty three) crore of gods which would translate to thirty three (three hundred and thirty million) Gods. There are a few interesting theories as to how this number came about. One theory states that this refers to the total count of the then known population of all the humans and living beings that ever walked on this planet including the 84 lakh (8.4 million) living species signifying that god exists in every living being. This is in line with the belief of Indians to respect all living beings as gods. It is estimated that the world population was around this number about a 1000 years ago when this number would have originated. It also explains the many gods (e.g. the grama devatas or village gods who were clearly living persons at one time and many of the other gods who were believed to have been persons, e.g. Rama and Krishna).

Another explanation is that the word koti in 'trayastrimsati koti' does not mean the number '33 crore' or '330 million'. Here koti means 'supreme', pre-eminent, excellent, that is, the 33 'supreme' divinities.

An interesting article giving an occidental explanation to the thirty three million gods can be found in this article: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-33-million-demigods-o_b_1737207

For the purposes of my story, the protagonist considers the literal translation - thirty three million Gods. 

Another theory is that the number might be figurative but there are several names and forms for the multitude of gods

❖Naana - (Telugu) - Father

❖ Subramaniam Shashti - The six day following the new moon of the month of  Margarisa (usually in December, or rarely, last week of November) celebrated as the birthday of Lord Subramaniam. (Also known as Kartikeya, Murugan, Skanda and Kumara, he is the Hindu God of War)

❖Singhasanam - Lit. Throne. Usually made of brass or silver, in varying sizes, it is used to seat the figures of the Gods for worship. The designs are varied and specific to regions.

❖ Upma - uppumavu or uppittu is a dish originating from the Indian subcontinent, most common in South Indian breakfast, cooked as a thick porridge from dry-roasted semolina or coarse rice flour. Various seasonings and/or vegetables are often added during the cooking, depending on individual preferences. Today it is popular in most parts of India and is prepared in various ways.

I think I got all of them. In case any reader would like further details of the indigenous words / phrases used, please let me know and I shall update this page. 

PS - The quote has no bearing on the chapter, I used it because I liked it but could not fit it to any chapter.