- Ambassador
- If you travel at all by road in India, you'll soon get to know the Ambassador. It's a
medium-sized vehicle, usually white, that looks like it was styled sometime in the '50s.
It's manufactured in India and, as any of the drivers will tell you, perfect for India's
roads. They also say it's easy to get parts for,
even in the smallest villages - another admirable feature if you do any cross country
travel. The drivers all seem to be in love with them and will carry on at length, singing
their praises.
- apsara
- Celestial nymph, elegant dancing woman, mostly accompanying a god.
- chhatri (or cenotaph)
- Built as memorials (not tombs) for the maharajas. In the Shekhawati region it
happened also for the wealthy merchants such as e.g. for the Poddar family (see Travelogue Day 1-2-3/Ramgarh).
A chhatris has one or several domes supported by pillars and which are mostly
painted at the inner side and on the walls. Furthermore they stand mostly on a raised
platform. The dome of the Poddar chhatri in Ramgarh has beautiful painted scenes from the Ramayana (a heroic poem in
from Southeast Asia). Often they make a mysterious impression especially by
sunrise.
Actually chhatri means "umbrella", because of the shape of the domes.
- chowk
- Village square, crossways or market place.
- dargah
- Shrine or tomb of a holy Moslem. See for instance in Ranakpur.
- dhobi
- A ghat where people do their laundry, eventually by a dhobi-wallah
(someone who made his profession of it)
- ghat
- Steps at the bank of a river where believers take a ritual bath. Also a spot where
people do their laundry and where as in Varanasi (travelogue
day 19) there are cremations.
- haveli
- See detailed description.
- imambara
- Tomb of a Moslem holy man. After mosques and mausoleums they play an important part
in the Islamic architecture. The best known imambaras in India are located in
Lucknow (see travelogue - day 20 / Lucknow).
- Jainism
- Religion which originated in the same age as Buddhism. Founded in 500BC BY Mahavira, the
24th Tirthankara (teacher). The Jainism arose from a protest movement
against the Hindu priests and their exaggerated rituals. The Jainism rejected
the caste system as well. The disciples respect all life and therefore they are strictly
vegetarians. They were tolerated by most of the Rajput rulers with the consequence they
had the opportunity to build magnificent temples. One of the best examples are those of
the Ranakpur complex.
- jauhar
- Collective ritual suicide committed by Rajput women as a result of a military defeat,
rather than being dishonoured (see e.g. Travelogue - day 11
/ Chittorgarh). Keeping honour was much more important than death.
- kund
- Natural well and water tank or lake.
- kurta pyjama
- A kurta is a long cotton shirt with or without a collar, a pyjama
is a matching cotton pair of trousers. The whole is a typical Indian
traditional costume wearing by man. One can buy them in whole India for about 200 à 500
Rps. Mostly the start asking 400 to 500 Rps, so keep bidding.
- lingam
- A term from the Sanskrit for the genital organ of the God Shiva. This holy symbol of
Shiva is nowadays practically worshipped on every street corner and every village
square in India (or Nepal). Mostly carved in stone people touch and kiss it and they put
offerings of rice, flowers or fruit. Often it is coloured in ochre. Sometimes the
lingam is depicted together with the female counterpart, the yoni.
Such an image is then called yonilinga (photo: see travelogue day 05 - Kolayat).
- mahal
- House or palace.
- maithuna
- See travelogue - day 17 (Khajuraho).
- mandapa
- A room in a temple just before the sanctuary.
- mithuna
- See travelogue - day 17 (Khajuraho).
- Mogul (also Moghul, Mughal)
- Arabian-Persian name for the Mongolian people which was given after Baboer in 1526
established a Moslem dynasty in India. But it was above all Akbar (1556-1605) who set up a
real organization through which the institutions formed the base for the administration
until the British time. By granting a lot of rights to the Rajput kings he assured himself
a lot of gratitude of these Hindu rulers.
- moksha
- The salvation out of the cycle of birth and death (in the light of reincarnation).
- nawab
- Decadent Moslem rulers who after the fall of the Mogul empire controlled a part of
northern India. The first ruler was Burhan-ul-mulk who rained from 1724 until 1739,
the last one was Wajid Ali Shah, who reigned from 1847 until 1856, the year in which the
British annexed Avadh. That incorporation led in 1857 to the great Indian Mutiny
with the sad climax the slaughtering in the Residency (see
travelogue - day 21 / Lucknow).
In spite of the decadence the fine arts, especially dance and music, flourished well under
the regime of the Nawabs.
- pol
- Indian for 'gate'.
- puja
- Sacrificial and prayer service in a temple.
- Ramayana
- Heroic poem from the 4th century BC by Valmiki written in rhyme and that is
known in whole Southeast Asia. The leading role is for Ravana, king of
the demons of Lanka (= Sri
Lanka). He kidnaps the beautiful princess Sita out of India to
Lanka. In the end her beloved Rama, with the help of Hanuman, chief of a
monkey army, can save her.
- sati of suttee
- A (cruel) Hindu tradition in which the widow by the death of her husband immolates
herself on the pyre. Before doing so she presses her hand in a red pigment and left
an impression of the hand into the door-post. In case of princesses or queens from whom
the husband died in battle the hand print was made in a special sati stone on a wall.
Although this tradition is now forbidden by the law sporadically it's still practised in
Rajasthan.
Examples: see Junagarh Fort in Bikaner and Meherangarh Fort in Jodhpur.
- More detailed information: "Hindu Social Practices: Dowry,
Sati and Child Marriage".
- shalwar kamiz
Typical Indian (and also Pakistani) woman's dress consisting of small
trousers across which a long shirt is carried, completed with a veil. -
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- tandoori
- typical dish from the Northwest of India. The word tandoor refers to the
earthenware pot-oven that the food is cooked in, not the flavour itself. The tandoor
is immensely hot and cooks the meat very fast from all sides at once.
- tazia
- This are models from the Kerbala in Iraq made of wood, bamboo or in silver paper, and
which are carried through the streets of Lucknow during the Muharram Festivals.
The feast memories the martyrdom of the grandson Iman Hussain of Mohammed. Between
the festivals they are kept safe in the Shah Najaf Imambara (see
travelogue - day 20 / Lucknow).
- thali
- Traditional South India and Gujarati vegetarian meal.
Description: see travelogue - day 11 (Jaipur).
- tik(k)a
- Coloured mark on the forehead of most of the adult Hindu women (but even others take
over that custom such as many Christians in India). When
it's done by men it's called "tilak", although nowadays everyone names it mostly
"tika". It's a sign of blessing applied by the carrier itself or by a temple
priest.
The mark is made from a vermilion pasta (sindoor) mixed with white sandalwood
pasta or ashes (vhibuti).
- Tirthankara
- Jain teacher. There were 24 of them from which the first was Adinatha.
Photo: see travelogue - day 06, Jain temple in Lodhruva.
- torana
- Abundantly stone carved entrance before a temple. Example: torana of the Jain temple in
Lodhruva (photo 28KB)
- tuk-tuk
- Transportation vehicle used practically everywhere in Asia (India, Thailand, Sri Lanka,
Indonesia,..). The name derives from the noise the vehicle makes. It's a tricycle with
two-stroke engine. It's quiet manoeuvrable in heavy traffic and due to the open
construction one can see a lot... but also smell! The exhausts are the cause of the great
pollution.
Photo tuk-tuk: see travelogue - day 22 (Delhi).
- yoni
- A word from the Sanskrit where it means womb, origin, well or in fact mostly female
genital organ. The term derives from a cultural and religious background in which the
women long ago already were considered as the embodiment of the divine female energy
(Shakti) and in which female genital organs were seen as a holy symbol of the goddess. The
male counterpart is named lingam. An image of the yoni and
lingam together is named yonilinga (photo: see travelogue day 05 - Kolayat).
- zanana
- The women quarters in a house or palace.
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Last update: 03-10-28