zafrani

Borrowed from Hindustani زَعْفَرانی (zaʻfarānī, “saffrony”) / ज़ाफ़रानी (zāfrānī), from Classical Persian زعفرانی (za'frāni, “saffrony”), from زعفران (za'frân, “saffron”).

Sprinkle the ground nutmeg-onion-javitri mixture, zafrani and a few drops of milk evenly on the top.

1993, Philip Thangam, Flavours from India, page 22:

Order the Indian Masala tea with appetizers (spicy chicken wings, vegetable kebabs or vegetable fritters) and sweet cheese balls for dessert. Or try the more hardy tandoori zafrani chicken tikka, cubed chicken breast marinated in saffron […]

1994, Orange Coast Magazine, volume 20, number 11, page 24:

The chain is also famous for its elaborate range of ice creams with the favourite flavour being zafrani badaam pista, which contains almonds, pistachio and saffron.

2012, Stephen Ball, Susan Horner, Kevin Nield, Contemporary Hospitality and Tourism Management Issues in China and India, page 139:


rajbari

(South Asia) a mansion or palace built as a residence for a Hindu rajah, typically in India or Bangladesh.


Bhabhi

(South Asia) A title used for a sister-in-law

(South Asia) A title used for an elder brother's wife

(South Asia) A term of address for any woman of one's age


Sanskritize

en-verb

Sanskritize (third-person singular simple present Sanskritizes, present participle Sanskritizing, simple past and past participle Sanskritized)

term-label

(transitive, American spelling, Oxford British English)

Sanskritizes (present singular third-person)
Sanskritizing (participle present)
Sanskritized (participle past)
Sanskritized (past)
Sanskritise (alternative)

After the Maráṭhás had put down the Mahomedans and established their sway, they always used the Mahomedan era, sometimes along with, but often without, the Śaka, notwithstanding the efforts of Shiváji to Sanskṛitize his Durbar.

1872 January 11, Ram[a]krishna Gopal Bhandarkar, “Art. VIII.—A Devanágari Transcript and Date of a New Valabhí Copperplate, and a New Interpretation of the Figured Dates on the Published Grants of the Valabhí Dynasty.”, in The Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, volume X, number XXVIII, Bombay, Maharashtra: [Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic] Society’s Library, […]; London: Trübner & Co., […], published 1873, →OCLC, page 73:

In the hope of making the book accessible to a nonspecialist audience, I have tried to de-Sanskritize it as far as posible. [...] For when castes rise in both status and power by Sanskritizing, texts fall in status but rise in (readership) power by de-Sanskritizing.

1993, “Introduction”, in Wendy Doniger, editor, Purāṇa Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts, Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, →ISBN, page xi:

Their [...] desire to Sanskritize themselves, comes by identifying themselves with a surrounding socio-religious elite and high cultural values.

2008, Sunita Zaidi, “Oral Tradition and Little Culture: Jasnathis in Historical Perspective”, in Surinder Singh, Ishwar Dayal Gaur, editors, Popular Literature and Pre-modern Societies in South Asia, Delhi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Pearson Longman, →ISBN, page 162:

Srinivas himself observed situations when lower castes attempting to observe upper-caste practices were subjected to censure and punishment from upper castes initially. However, to sanskritize successfully calls upon more pragmatic measures, which include the changing socio-economic and political context. Groups that have been able to sanskritize tend to have a significant population, and other sources of power.

2019, Divya Vaid, Ankur Datta, “Caste and Contemporary Hindu Society: Community, Politics, and Work”, in Torkel Brekke, editor, The Oxford History of Hinduism: Modern Hinduism, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, part 3 (Politics, Ethics, and Law), page 224:

(transitive, South Asia, Southeast Asia) To emulate rituals and practices of upper classes so as to gain upward social mobility.


zardozi

From Urdu زردوزی (zardōzī, “gold embroidery”), from Classical Persian زردوزی (zardōzī, “gold embroidery”). See there for more.

der

He wore a beautiful Delhi-style cap of black velvet embroidered with zardozi over which he had draped a cloth that concealed his face.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 101

(South Asia) A kind of embroidery using gold or silver thread.


milkwood

Any of a number of trees with milky sap:

(South Asia, Australia) Alstonia scholaris (scholar tree, milky pine), and other species in the genus Alstonia.

Alstonia scholaris
Alstonia scholaris#Translingual


pallu

Borrowed from Hindi पल्लू (pallū), from पल्ला (pallā, “side”), from Sanskrit पल्ल (palla). Compare with palla.

She had pulled the pallu back over her head and her face.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 45:

Dressed in a simple grey cotton sari, her head covered with the pallu, she sat on a platform behind a table with a microphone.

2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 116:

(South Asia) The usually decorated end of a sari that hangs loose when worn.


mehndi

en-noun

mehndi (countable and uncountable, plural mehndis)

mehndis (plural)
mendi (alternative)
mendy (alternative)

Borrowed from Hindustani مہندی (mihandī) / मेहंदी (mehandī), from Sanskrit मेन्धिका (mendhikā).

The first lot to be put up was a tin of sugar biscuits and a jar of ‘mendy’, a pomade of native origin for dyeing the hair black.

1973, JG Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur:

She was thirteen, a young bride whose small palms had been stained burgundy with mehndi for a man she knew nothing about, not even his name.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 53:

Lawsonia inermis
Lawsonia inermis#Translingual

(chiefly South Asia, countable) A henna plant (Lawsonia inermis) or (uncountable) a preparation of this used for dyeing.

Then came the Mehndi ceremony – where henna is painted on the bride's hands and feet, and the bride and groom's family try to outdo each other in singing and dancing.

2010 April 20, Homa Khaleeli, The Guardian:

(chiefly South Asia) The practice of applying temporary tattoos from this substance, typically as part of a bride or groom's preparations for a wedding; such a tattoo.


chow chow

chow chow (countable and uncountable, plural chow chows)


bandh

bandhs (plural)
bundh (alternative)
bund (alternative)

Borrowed from Hindi बंध (bandh, “closure”), from Sanskrit बन्ध (bandha). Doublet of bund (“a type of enclosure”).

The impending course of events and the patterns of violence could have readily been foreseen after the incident in Godhra, and particularly after the VHP's declaration of a state-wide bandh, both by the city's residents and government authorities […]

2007, Ornit Shanri, Communalism, Caste and Hindu Nationalism: The Violence in Gujarat:

A week-long bandh was in progress. People had nothing to do.

2011, Arupa Patangia Kalita, translated by Deepika Phukan, The Story of Felanee:

Opposition parties said that the bandh was a success. The ruling parties said the opposite. Some saw government insensitivity in the bandh and the beginning of the fight against inflationary trends.

2013, Purnendu Ghosh, The Rising Sun, page 26:

(South Asia) A general strike, shutdown, or other form of protest used in South Asia in which a substantial portion of the population stays home and does not report to work.


baradari

baradaris (plural)
bara dari (alternative)
barahdari (alternative)
barah dari (alternative)

From Hindi बारादरी (bārādrī) and Urdu بارہ دری (bārɘdɘrī), from बारह (bārah) and بارہ (bārā, bārah, “twelve”) + दर (dar) and دَر (dar, “door”).

der

Urdu بارہ دری (bārɘdɘrī)

(South Asia) A boxy building with twelve doors designed for free flow of air and excellent acoustics; similar buildings and pavilions with similar sets of openings.

Bárádari is a kind of open palkí, and is so called from having twelve doors or openings.

1877, D. B. Allen et al., “A Statistical Account of Bengal”, in Districts of Gayá and Sháhábád, volume 12, page 81:

(South Asia, chiefly historical) A palanquin with twelve openings, including entryways and windows; similar palanquins with similar sets of openings.


baradari

en-noun

baradari (countable and uncountable, plural baradaris)

baradaris (plural)
biradari (alternative)
biraderi (alternative)
bradree (alternative)

From Persian برادری (barâdari, “brotherhood”), from برادر (barâdar, “brother”) + ـی (-i, “-y, -hood”), q.v.

bor

(South Asia) A system of social strata that dictate political alliances among South Asian Muslims.


mithai

Mr. Alam and his staff often insist that visitors enjoy a free treat like chocolate barfi, condensed milk mixed with chocolate, or jalebis, deep fried rice flour coated in a sugary syrup, while they shop. “I want my customers to feel welcome and offering mithai is a way to show hospitality,” Mr. Alam said.

2018 January 17, Shivani Vora, “A Go-To Grocery for Indian Cooks”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Central to that celebration is mithai, or sweets. Mass-produced mithai are readily available online, but these five independent shops make their sweets by hand every day, offering their local South Asian communities a taste of the familiar.

2022 October 17, Priya Krishna, “It’s Not Diwali Without Mithai”, in The New York Times:


mahallah

mahallahs (plural)
mahalla (alternative)
mahallya (alternative)
mohalla (alternative)
muhalla (alternative)

Borrowed from Hindustani محلہ / मुहल्ला (muhallā), from Classical Persian محله (mahalla), from Arabic مَحَلَّة (maḥalla).

‘His Majesty signed the search warrant. We are combing the third muhalla now.’

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 483:

When she was young, Dolly was considered the most beautiful girl in the mohalla.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 63:

(chiefly South Asia) A subdivision or neighborhood.


innocently divorced

Respondents were all kinds of people, Sikhs, South Indians or Hindus belonging to various other communities. She even got one response from the mother of a girl wherein she had mentioned that her daughter was innocently divorced only a few months back and was without any incumbency.

2006, Narendra K. Sinha, Stories on Kashmir & Others, →ISBN, page 137:

The ex-wife of Austrian gun maker Gaston Glock is entitled to alimony from her ex-husband regardless of her own wealth. . . . “The court . . . ruled that the alimony has to be calculated the same way as for lower incomes because the spouse that was innocently divorced is entitled to share the wealth of the other spouse.”

2013 August 8, Boris Groendahl, “Glock’s Ex-Wife Helga Wins Alimony Fight With Austrian Gun Maker”, in www.bloomberg.com, retrieved 2014-07-12:

Canadian Citizen, Brahim Hindu Boy 33 Years old, innocently divorced, with one girl child, well settled, looking for suitable girl.

2014 July 12, “Brahim Hindu Boy, 33 Years, innocently divorced, well settled”, in The Weekly Voice, Canada, retrieved 2014-07-12:

(set phrase) Divorced but not the party at fault.

Divorced from a marriage that was not consummated.


good name

Your good name, please?


tawaif

From Urdu طَوائِف (tavāif) / Hindi तवायफ़ (tavāyaf).

‘The tawaif has graduated from mere singing to dancing.’

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 11:

Characterized by its soft eroticism, mujra was performed by courtesans called tawaif who were an integral part of life in the Mughal court.

2008, Susan Dewey, Hollow Bodies, page 147:

And since the British period, the reputation of a common prostitute has dogged the heels of the tawaif.

2008, Gayatri Chatterjee, in Sahni, Shankar, Apte (Eds.), Prostitution and Beyond, p. 290

(South Asia, historical) A professional courtesan serving the nobility, especially under the Mughal Empire; (derogatory)


mojari

mojaris (plural)
mojari (plural)
mojri (alternative)

She placed my foot on her knee to remove my mojari.

He walked behind a curtained doorway and returned first with a beautiful turban and a Bollywood-style Indo-Western suit with a matching pair of mojari shoes.

2011, Pat Love, Jon Carlson, Never Be Lonely Again, page 52:

(South Asia) A type of handmade leather shoe or slipper traditionally worn in northern India and Pakistan.


mogra

en-noun

mogra (countable and uncountable, plural mogras)

There were strings of mogra and marigolds hanging from the frame of the bed.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 44:

Jasminum sambac
Jasminum sambac#Translingual

(chiefly South Asia) Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac, syn. Mogorium sambac).


khatiya

My men carried Shafi away on a khatiya.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 273:

I began drifting and presently encountered a man sitting on a khatiya, gazing passively into the scorched fields across the road.

2005, Rahul Bhattacharya, Pundits from Pakistan:

Inside the hut, an old man was lying on a khatiya. The ball boy greeted him with a salaam.


scheme of studies

scheme of studies (plural schemes of studies)

(chiefly South Asia) A timetabled academic curriculum.


bundh

Variant of bandh, from Hindi बंध (bandh); see that entry for more.

During the years from 1987 to 1991, generally between April and November, bundhs in Meghalaya became the characteristic feature of life, sparing, of course, the month of December. On every occasion the whole state was paralysed […]

2002, Perspective of Security and Development in North East India, →ISBN, page 85:

A political party, therefore, cannot impose bundhs on people who are not in agreement with it. lt can only call general strike on condition that they will not use muscle power and coercion to enforce them.


kajawah

kajawahs (plural)
kajawa (alternative)
kajava (alternative)
kujawah (alternative)
cajua (alternative)
cajava (alternative)
kedgwa (alternative)
kedgway (alternative)
cedgeway (alternative)
cadjowa (alternative)
kedjavé (alternative)
kerjava (alternative)
kidjawah (alternative)
kidjahwah (alternative)
khajawah (alternative)
kajaweh (alternative)
kajavah (alternative)

From Hindi कजावा (kajāvā), from Urdu and Classical Persian کجاوه (kajāwa, “kajawah, howdah”).

der

Women of note trauell vpon Coozelbash-camels, each Camell loaded with two cages (or cajuaes as they call them) which hang on either side the beast.

1634, Thomas Herbert, A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626, into Afrique and the Greater Asia, page 151:

For the carriage of sick the camel is fairly well suited, the main difficulty being the kujawah, cradle or chair, the correct shape, size and weight of which can only be decided by actual experiment in hills as well as plains and under varying conditions.

1880, Journal of the United Service Institution of India, volumes 9-10 1880-1881, page 44:

(Middle East and South Asia, chiefly historical) A camel-borne pannier, litter, or cacolet.


durood

Borrowed from Urdu دُرُود (durūd), from Classical Persian دُرُود (durūd).

(Islam, chiefly South Asia) Salawat; The uttering of specific phrases to compliment the prophet Muhammad whenever he is mentioned or encountered in a text.


kadam

Cf. Bengali কদম (kodom, “step”), borrowed ultimately from Arabic قَدَم (qadam, “foot”).

Accordingly Mangamal had all the roads throughout the kingdom formed into avenues; and at the distance of every kadam (10 English miles) she had a choultry built

1837, The Foreign Quarterly Review, volume 19, page 226:

Where ten kadams equal 55 feet revenue under the rule adopted in Jhelum and Ludhiana would be remissible in whole or in part on 133 acres per mile, the land on both sides of the road being taken into account.

1895, The Punjab Record, volume 29, page 19:

It is at a perpendicular distance of 16 kadams from a point 69 kadams from the corner of the square.

1899, Rules Under the Land Revenue and Tenancy Acts: 1887, page 264:

(South Asia, historical) A unit of distance, equal to 10 miles.


pishachi

pishachis (plural)
pishache (alternative)
pishashi (alternative)

They believe, that such men as die accidental deaths become Pysáchi, or evil spirits, and are exceedingly troublesome, by making extraordinary noises in families, and occasioning fits, and other diseases, especially in women.

1807, Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, A Journey from Madras, III.14:

She used to go out and howl so that the servants were afraid to come near her, saying she made ‘one pishashi (devil) noise’.

1837, Julia Maitland, Letters from Madras, published 1843:

Deeti had discovered that she had run short of water; to leave the dishes unwashed overnight was to invite an invasion of ghosts, of ghouls and hungry pishaches.

2008, Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies, Penguin, published 2015, page 56:


maulvi

From Urdu مولوی (maulvi), and its source, Classical Persian مولوی (mawlawī), noun use of Arabic مَوْلَوِيّ (mawlawiyy, “of a lord or master”), ultimately from مَوْلًى (mawlan, “master”). Compare mullah, maulana.

uder

He had a maulvi and a pandit to teach him Urdu and Hindi.

2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 10:

(loosely, chiefly South Asia) Any man of learning; a scholar, a teacher of Classical languages.


baraat

Borrowed from Hindustani بَرات (barāt) / बरात (barāt), ultimately from Sanskrit वरयात्रा (varayātrā).

‘There must be no lavish display of wealth, no big baraats or bands, exploding of fireworks and that kind of vulgarity.’

2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 64:

(South Asia) A wedding procession carried out by the bridegroom in North India, West India, and Pakistan.


paanwallah

paanwallahs (plural)
paanwala (alternative)

Shuffling his feet in the sand, head bowed low, Joseph stopped at the paanwallah for tea.

1994, Nurjehan Aziz, Her Mother's Ashes:

She looked the exact image of Mother India on calendars Victor had seen in paanwala’s shops.

2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 97:


kharif

khureef (alternative)
khurreef (alternative)
kureef (alternative)

From Urdu خریف (xarīf), from Arabic خَرِيف (ḵarīf, “autumn”)

(South Asia) Of crops: cultivated and harvested during the monsoon season.


dhaba

(South Asia) A roadside restaurant in South Asia.


chow-chow

en-noun

chow-chow (countable and uncountable, plural chow-chows)


Chow Chow

First attested in 1886, but of uncertain origin (present Chinese terms for the breed do not resemble it). Possibly related to the old Chinese custom of eating dogs (cf. chow and chow-chow).


tonjon

tonjons (plural)
tomjohn (alternative)
tamjan (alternative)

The old tonjons were still to be seen in the basement at Barrackpore some years before my time, but when I enquired for them, they had disappeared.

1925, George Nathaniel Curzon, British Government in India, volume II, page 21:

The equivalent for the men-folk, apart from those who rode on horse-back was the tonjon, which was a kind of open chair with poles extending at the back and front and carried by four coolies in the same way as the palki... The tonjon went out of use many year ago.

1931 June, Frank E. Bushby, "Old-Time Conveyances in Calcutta", Bengal Past & Present, Vol. XLI, Nos. 81–82, p. 139

(South Asia, chiefly historical) An open sedan chair raised on single poles front and back.


jugaad

jugaad (countable and uncountable, plural jugaads or jugaad)

Borrowed from Hindi जुगाड़ (jugāṛ, “joining or union”), itself cognate to English yoke. There are similar idioms in the Dravidian languages, for example, Malayalam [script needed] (thattikootu, “put together”), Malayalam [script needed] (oppeeru, “fixing or getting”), or Tamil மழட்டு (maḻaṭṭu, “to distract”), Telugu ఉపాయము (upāyamu).

cog

(South Asia) A process or technique that lessens disorder in one's life, making it easier to manage, or more convenient.

(South Asia, countable) A powered quadricycle used in India.


tubelight

tubelights (plural)
tube light (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-tubelight.wav

From tube + light. The "dim-witted person" sense arises from their flickering as well as the length of time it takes for one to light up completely after being switched on.

Tubelights can be very troublesome at times. They flicker on and on but refuse to glow.

2009, A. Subramanyam, Electronics Projects, volume 7, New Delhi: EFY Group, →ISBN, page 55:

"Sunscreens protect you from UVA/UVB rays which can be emitted from many sources of light such as the sun, your tubelight and devices," Dr Khan said, adding that using sunscreen once a day is the bare minimum you can do for your skin.

2021 April 4, “Here’s why Gwyneth Paltrow’s application of sunscreen in a recent video is highly misleading”, in The Indian Express:

(chiefly India, South Asia) A fluorescent lighting tube.


benami

en-noun

benami (countable and uncountable, plural benamis)

Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988

Borrowed from Hindustani بے نامی (be nāmī) / बेनामी (benāmī, “nameless”), defined in the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act of 1988.

(South Asia) Property that is transacted under the name of a proxy to conceal the identity of the buyer.

(South Asia) A person owning such property.


behenchod

behenchods (plural)
banchoot (alternative)
barnshoot (alternative)
bahanchod (alternative)
behanchod (alternative)
benchod (alternative)
bhaenchud (alternative)
bhenchod (alternative)
penchod (alternative)

Borrowed from Hindustani بہن چود / बहनचोद (bahancod).

Oye behenchod, I'm warning you don't tell me what I can do, now I am only keeping you here...

2012, Vikrant Khanna, The India I Dream of…, →ISBN, page 170:

FYI, this is not a prison, behenchod, but a training centre,' I shouted, tembling with rage.

"Stop smiling you behenchod..." I shout.

2017, Azar, The Journalist & 2 Shades of Grey, →ISBN:

(South Asia, chiefly North India, Pakistan, offensive) Sisterfucker.


FIR

FIR (countable and uncountable, plural FIRs)

first information report
w:first information report

(South Asia, Singapore, law enforcement) Initialism of first information report.


checkpost

(South Asia) A checkpoint for the official inspection of goods being transported.


Indian time

(South Asia, uncountable) Any of the time zones of South Asia.


eve-tease

en-verb

eve-tease (third-person singular simple present eve-teases, present participle eve-teasing, simple past and past participle eve-teased)

eve-teases (present singular third-person)
eve-teasing (participle present)
eve-teased (participle past)
eve-teased (past)

(South Asia, transitive) To subject (a person) to Eve-teasing.


elaichi

en-noun

elaichi (countable and uncountable, plural elaichis)

elaichis (plural)
elachi (alternative)
ilaichi (alternative)

From Hindustani الائچی / इलायची (ilāycī).


partal

(South Asia) The work of a patwari, maintaining records relating to agricultural land.


Sindhwork

(South Asia) Overseas trade and business conducted by ethnic Sindhis.


Sindhworki

Sindhworkis (plural)
Sindh worki (alternative)
Sindworki (alternative dated)
Sind worki (alternative dated)

(South Asia) A Sindhi conducting overseas trade or business.


kamalam

From Sanskrit कमलम् (kamalam), from कमल (kamala, “lotus”). Coined by the government of Gujarat, from looking like a lotus blossom, since they did not like the term dragon fruit.

(India, South Asia, Gujarat) Synonym of dragonfruit, pitaya, pitahaya (a fruit)


qila

Etymology tree
Arabic قَلْعَة (qalʕa)bor.
Classical Persian قَلْعَه /قِلْعَه (qal'a)bor.
Urdu قِلْعَہ (qil'a)bor.
English qila
Borrowed from Urdu قِلْعَہ (qil'a), borrowed from Classical Persian قَلْعَه /قِلْعَه (qal'a), borrowed from Arabic قَلْعَة (qalʕa).


eidgah

eidgahs (plural)
eedgah (alternative)
idgah (alternative)

From Persian عیدگاه (“place of Eid prayers”). See also English dargah.

(Islam, South Asia) An open-air enclosure used for Eid prayers on certain special occasions.


benamidar

(South Asia) The person who acts as a proxy in a benami transfer of property.


malaun

From Bengali মালাউন (malaun, “cursed”), which is from Arabic مَلْعُون (malʕūn), ultimately from the root ل ع ن (l ʕ n).

ar-root

ل ع ن (l ʕ n)

And then there comes the word ‘Malaun.’ For many Bangladeshi Muslims, Malaun is synonymous to Hindu. Owing to the wide usage of the word since the Partition of 1947, especially after the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, people have almost forgotten Malaun is a derogatory word.

(South Asia, offensive, derogatory, ethnic slur, politics) a Hindu person from Bangladesh.

(South Asia, offensive, derogatory, ethnic slur) a Hindu person in general.


azadi

Borrowed from Hindustani آزادی (āzādī) / आज़ादी (āzādī), from Classical Persian آزادی (āzādī).

azaadi (alternative nonstandard)
aazadi (alternative nonstandard)
aazaadi (alternative nonstandard)

As we were leaving the area we were surrounded by girls and women shouting ‘We want Azadi’.

2014, Urvashi Butalia, Speaking Peace: Women’s Voices from Kashmir, India: Zubaan Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →ISBN:

Ali took a cup of tea, and Wajahat stopped conversation till the waiter left and then continued, “We can also take arms and fight for our Azadi. We should prove that we are not cowards. We can also fight for our cause, for our rights.”

2014, Tarif Naaz, Mayhem in Paradise, Notion Press, →ISBN, →ISBN:

The call for azadi was semantically rich, able to incorporate within it a critique of different forms of patriarchal violence, control, humiliation and censorship.

2021, Boaventura De Sousa Santos, Bruno Sena Martins, The Pluriverse of Human Rights: The Diversity of Struggles for Dignity, Milton: Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, →OCLC, →ISBN:

(chiefly South Asia) Freedom, independence.


cognizable offence

en-noun

cognizable offence (plural cognizable offences)

cognizable offences (plural)
cognisable offence (alternative)

(South Asia, criminal law) a criminal offence, usually serious in nature, that the offender may be arrested without warrant.


Ghazwa-e-Hind

Partly re-Arabized form of Urdu غزوہ ہند (ġazvā-e hind), from Classical Persian غزوهٔ هند (ġazwa-yi hind), from Arabic غزوة الهند (“battle of Hind [India]”).

der

Gajwa-e-Hind (alternative)
Gazwa-e-Hind (alternative)
Ghazwat ul Hind (alternative)

(South Asia, politics) Alleged attempts by Islamist groups to conquer the Republic of India.


jhola

Compare Hindi झोला (jholā), झूला (jhūlā); Nepali झोला (jholā); Bengali ঝোলা (jhōla); Punjabi ਝੋਲ਼ਾ (jhoḷā).

Both would join in and chime, "Anaro, why do you always carry this jhola?" “ I carry this jhola to stash away the things I steal! I stow away your miserable things in this! Ask them , if I do not carry a jhola, just where do I keep my matches, bidis and small change?

2001, M. Bhagat, Anaro and Other Stories, Orient Blackswan, →ISBN, page 25:

Lenin has left his jhola behind. I shall return it to him when I see him next. It's filthy; maybe I should wash or dryclean it before that.

2013 January 21, Namita Gokhale, Priya: In Incredible Indyaa, Penguin UK, →ISBN:

She drew her flowers together and put them into the dusty little jhola she carried. It was stitched with bits of sequins that caught the sunlight and sparkled, a brave effort because the rest of the fabric that made it was so shabby.

2014 January 1, Anjana Basu, In the Shadow of the Leaves, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), →ISBN, page 131:

(South Asia) a cloth sling bag, usually one considered cheap or simple


let's know

2008, Amar Tyagi, Let's Know Handicrafts of India (Star Publications) →ISBN

On Zoo Lovers’ Day, let’s know more about India’s first zoo — the ArignarAnna Zoological Park in Chennai.

2021 April 23, Nimi Kurian, “Zootopia”, in The Hindu:

(South Asia) let's learn, find out, or see [about]


lose caste

en-verb

lose caste (third-person singular simple present loses caste, present participle losing caste, simple past and past participle lost caste)

loses caste (present singular third-person)
losing caste (participle present)
lost caste (participle past)
lost caste (past)

1808, “Moral Character of the Hindoos, in Their Interior Department” in The Literary Panorama, London: C. Taylor, Volume 3, p. 141,
Attachment to a master, a family, or a government of a different religion, is that which cannot be produced in the mind of a Hindoo, while under the power of his Gooroo or his Depta. But if they lose caste, and embrace Christianity, not by force, but from pure conviction, they become other men.

1857, D. Urquhart, The Rebellion of India, London: D. Bryce, “Mr. Disraeli’s Speech Reviewed,” p. 14,
I would now ask what results could follow from enforcing on the Indian army the biting of a substance [i.e. cow grease on gunpowder cartridges] which they could not place between their lips without losing caste, and becoming objects of abhorrence to their co-religionaries, their friends and their families […]

An uncle of mine in Delhi thinks that I have become polluted, that I have lost caste by working with leather.

1993, Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy, London: QPD, Chapter 9.11, p. 577:

(South Asia) To lose one's status as a member of one's caste of birth.


Ramzan

Borrowed from Hindustani रमज़ान (ramzān) / رمضان (ramzān) / Bengali রমজান (romzan) and other South Asian languages, from Classical Persian رمضان (ramazān), from Arabic رَمَضَان (ramaḍān).

In Hyderabad, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee meets on the 29th of Ramzan to declare when Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated. Their decision is based on the sighting of the crescent.

2023 April 18, Sameer Khan, “Know Eid-ul-Fitr holidays in Telangana”, in The Siasat Daily:

(South Asia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) Alternative form of Ramadan.


murdabad

Borrowed from Urdu مردہ باد (murda bād, “death to”), from Persian مرده باد (morde bâd).

Pakistan Murdabad!

(South Asia) A shout of hatred; "death to".


lugda

(South Asia) A type of sari as worn in Maharashtra


takhtrawan

takhtrawans (plural)
takhtarawan (alternative)
takht-ravan (alternative)
takhtravan (alternative)
tatravan (alternative)
tahtravan (alternative)
tahtirevan (alternative)
takht-rawan (alternative)
takht rawan (alternative)
takhtirewan (alternative)
takht-i rawan (alternative)
takht-i-rawan (alternative)
takhterawan (alternative)
tackravan (alternative)
tack-ravan (alternative)
tact-ravan (alternative)
takht revan (alternative)
taht-revan (alternative)
takt-ravan (alternative)
taktrevan (alternative)
takht ravan (alternative)
takhtrevan (alternative)
taktravan (alternative)
takt-rawan (alternative)
taktrawan (alternative)

From Persian تخت روان (taxt-e ravân), partially via French tack-ravan, from Persian تخت (taxt, “throne, elevated seat or bed”) + روان (ravân, “walking, travelling, mobile”).

der

... a Tackravan, or a Field-Throne of admirable workmanship...

1671, François Bernier, translated by Henry Oldenburg, The History of the Late Revolution of the Empire of the Great Mogol..., volume II, page 24:

... gorgeous Takhtrewan, or litters carried between camels or mules with scarlet and brass trappings ...

1857, Richard Francis Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimate to El Medinah and Meccah, volume I, page 400:

An hour after the courier, the takhtrawan (which is a kind of litter borne by two mules) also arrived... her delicate state of health now rendered the exchange of her saddle for the litter most grateful, and even necessary.

1861, Justin Perkins, Missionary Life in Persia, pages 25-26:

His life was probably saved by Mr. Dwight... requesting the aid of a takhtirewán, the only native carriage known to the Persians. It resembles a sedan-chair, except in being borne by two mules or horses, and closed from the external air, and in requiring a lying posture.

1870, Rufus Anderson, chapter VI, in History of the Missions of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, volume I:

For men and women who suffer from being in the saddle for so many hours, there is a choice between the "kerjava" and the "takht-i-rawan"... although two mules carry a takht-i-rawan, those who employ this, the superior form of carriage, pay for four mules. The takht-i-rawan is used by great ladies of the Shah's court, by the aged and infirm, and by the ladies of the foreign embassies... One can rarely find a takht-i-rawan when such a carriage is wanted; they are usually built to order, and cost from six to ten pounds sterling.

1877, Robert Arthur Arnold, Through Persia by Caravan, page 125:

(Middle East and South Asia, chiefly historical) A covered litter carried by a pair of animals.


cutpiece

Golisafita: A colourful seat woven from cutpieces and strips of fabric.

2015, Smriti Kumar Sinha, translated by Ramlal Sinha, Seducing the Rain God: A Collection of Short Stories From the North-East, New Delhi, India: Niyogi Books, →ISBN, page 160:

(now chiefly South Asia) The last piece of cloth or other material which is left over after the rest has been used up.


khargosh

I had the khargosh masala with keema rice.


poor man's fridge

en-noun

poor man's fridge (plural poor man's fridges)

(South Asia) A clay pot or clay cupboard used to store food or drink and keep it cool.