1. Odias: the inhabitants of the Odisha state in India.
2. Marwaris: an Indian ethnic group that originates in Rajasthan, but who are renowned for their business acumen. They occupy a special niche among Bengali trading communities.
3. Lake Bunyonyi lies in south-western Uganda, between Kisoro and Kabale.
4. Paul Graetz (1875–1968), sometimes called the “German Indiana Jones,” was the first to travel across Africa by motorcar.
5. W. Robert Foran, Kill or Be Killed: The Rambling Reminiscences of an Amateur Hunter (1933). I have used the original text by Foran rather than translating Roy’s (slightly condensed) translation back into English.
6. Valakhilyas are a group of thumb-high sages described in Hindu Puranic and epic literature.
7. Jujus are imaginary creatures common in Bengali lore, associated with evil and magic.
8. The Opium trade established by the British played a significant role in the economic impoverishment of Bengal in the nineteenth century. In referring to the opium eater’s dream, moreover, Roy was signaling a tradition of tall tales in Bengal written by writers such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay, in which opium users would tell fanciful stories in their drug haze.
9. Prince Vijaya (543–505 BC) is a legendary figure in various South Asian chronicles. He is regarded as the first king of Sri Lanka and the originator of the Sinhalese people.
10. This is an example of Roy’s wordplay. The word chandra means “moon,” and the people of the land are moon-faced.
11. Shastras are written knowledge sources, everything from philosophical treatises to technical and practical manuals.
12. Ravana is the king of Sri Lanka, presented as a demon or rakshasa in the Hindu epic Ramayana. The primary antagonist in the epic, Ravana is also depicted in the same sources as a learned scholar, a devotee of the lord Shiva. Ravana is worshiped in numerous parts of South and Southeast Asia.
13. Amal and Amala are male and female versions of the same name.
14. Bhang is a cannabis drink, common in South Asia as a celebratory drink.
15. Dada means elder brother in Bangla. It is also a common mode of respectful but endearing address.
16. An expert musician.
17. A tabla is a pair of twin drums, commonly used in South Asian music.
1. “Aryans” are ancient Indo-Iranian people. The Sanskrit word “Arya” designates the ethnocultural group of Vedic Sanskrit speakers, while Aryavarta is a name used in different Sanskrit texts to designate the Indian subcontinent. The use of the term in twentieth-century Nazi ideology was a colonial appropriation of the concept.
1. The story uses characters and plot details from two Hindu epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. It is the former that is the main focus in this story. Briefly summarized, the story details the struggle for power between two branches of the same family: the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Pandavas are five semi-divine brothers. The Mahabharata is a bloody tale which has at its core the battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas emerge victorious after killing the Kauravas and their allies.
2. The demotion of the palace of the Kauravas to a mere lodge signals that this will not be a traditional Purana. A Purana, literally meaning “ancient,” is a repository of Hindu myths and legends.
3. Gandiva is Arjuna’s bow. Arjuna is one of the Pandavas and a renowned archer. Bhima, another Pandava, whose preferred weapon is the mace, is the strongest man in the Mahabharata universe. Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, is the son of the god Dharma (law and ethics), and an embodiment of its principles.
4. Subhadra is the half-sister of Krishna and the wife of Arjuna. Krishna is regarded as an avatar of Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity, and a central character in the Mahabharata universe. The syamantaka is a famous gem that was given to Krishna. Duryodhana, while not the leader of the Kauravas, is the chief antagonist of the Pandavas, so his death brings the battle of Kurukshetra to an end. Bhimnag sandesh are regarded as a particularly delicious candy. The chamber of anger (“gosaghar”) is a place where women would withdraw to express their resentment and anger, but it is more of a comic concept.
5. Keshta is Krishna, but it is a vulgar and humourous use.
6. Nagas are mythological half-human, half-serpent deities that reside in the underworld. They are a common part of folklore and mythology in the Indian subcontinent.
7. Burmah Oil Company was a leading British oil company, which had a near-monopoly on oil trade in South and Southeast Asia during the colonial period.
8. Kubera is the lord of wealth in Hindu mythology.
9. Jayadratha and Bhurishrava are both allies of the Kauravas in the battle of Kurukshetra.
10. Kasauli is a town and cantonment in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is a popular tourist destination.
11. Sahadeva is the youngest and most intelligent of the five Pandavas.
12. Vishwakarma is the great architect of the universe and a master builder.
13. Dushasana is a younger brother of Duryodhana. Vrikodara is another name for Bhima.
14. Gandhari, the Queen, is the wife of the blind king Dhritarashtra and the mother of Duryodhana. Shakuni, her brother, is also a mentor of the Kauravas; he is often seen as the archetype of the evil uncle in Hindu mythology.
15. Ghatotkach is the son of Bhima. Vishalyakarani is a medicinal plant used in Ayurveda.
16. While Gandhari is the in-law paternal aunt, within the kinship system of Hindus, she is given the same status as the mother, and is often referred to as the elder or senior mother.
17. Hanuman, son of the god of Wind, and half brother of Bhima, is a white monkey. He is a central character in the Hindu epic Ramayana, or the epic of Rama. Sita-devi or Sita is the wife of Rama.
18. This is a play on words: The term kala in Sanskrit refers to the arts, while in Bangla it refers to bananas.
19. Treta is the second of the four Yugas, or great cycles of time, in Hindu mythology. The events in the Ramayana are set in the Treta yuga, while the Mahabharata is set in the third, Dwapar yuga.