I say, “Yes.” Hanging out with Joanie, going to the pool. It’s all only days away, but it’s also a whole world away. A shrinking world, however. “Sumati gave me her e-mail address,” I say. “I promised I’d send her a message when we get back.”
“What a good idea,” she says. “It’s wonderful you get along so well.”
“Maybe we can come back and visit them again some other time.”
“Maybe,” she says, “or they might come visit us.” Maybe. No guarantees, but there’s that world, growing smaller again. I could spin it on the tip of my finger. Just sitting here, talking about possibilities, is an amazing thing. She says, “So this hasn’t been such a dreadful trip for you after all, has it?”
I think of Mami, and Sumati, and Ashwin with his little-kid jumpiness, and Lakshmi Auntie with an opinion about everything. And Mr. Rama Rao going on about the weather, and his wife with her endless stories about servants. I listen to the rain thundering down outside, and it feels as if the land is getting the good scrubbing wash it’s needed for so long. I say, “No, it hasn’t been dreadful. Not at all.”
“You’ve been a great help to me,” she says, “and to Mami. You made it possible for us all to help her.”
“Is she going to be all right?”
“Some days yes, and other days maybe no. Her memory might go on getting mixed up.”
It seems so unfair that such a thing should happen to someone with so many stories to tell.
But then Mom smiles. “I think she’s going to keep her son and daughter-in-law on their toes,” she says.
“She’ll keep them hopping,” I agree. We laugh, and it’s as if some of Mami’s laughter has touched us.
I think of something else. “Mom, do you suppose I should send Dad some pictures from this trip? Think he’d want to see them?”
I watch for a shadow to cross her face. I add quickly, “You know—I thought he’d like to see some of the better ones.”
“Sure,” she says. “I don’t see why not.” We are silent for a moment. The only sound is rainwater pouring off the roof gutters. Then she goes off to pack, and I turn back to my suitcase. Pretty soon, it fills up with clothes, and toiletries, and a few books I have salvaged from Thatha’s old shelves. Finally, I pack two wads of tissue paper. Each contains a small baby elephant carved in wood, with a curving trunk and large, friendly ears.
It’s a Two-Gift, trust. You keep some, you give some away.
Author’s Note
The city of Chennai is in the state of Tamil Nadu, in southern India. The language the people speak there is Tamil. Many of the Tamil words in this book are included in the glossary, even though most of them are understandable from the context of the story. Maya is raised in the United States and she knows some Tamil, but when people talk fast she’s sometimes a bit lost, so she figures out some words by asking questions, and others by doing some quick guessing. That’s not a bad way to learn a language! After all, when you listen to a piece of music, it’s possible to hum along even when you don’t grasp all the words.
A few of the words Maya and her family use are not Tamil but Hindi, a language of northern India whose words have crept into use all over the country. Others are English words commonly used in India, but without the same meaning that they have in the United States. That is because British English was used in India during two centuries of colonial rule. Since independence, people in different parts of the country, including Chennai, continue to put their own stamp on the English language.
Tamil Glossary
(Pronunciation guide: “th” indicates the sound as in the word “thick”; “th” underlined is pronounced as in the word “they.” All syllables in Tamil are equally stressed.)
akka (uhk-kah): big sister.
appalaam (uhp-puh-lahm): fried or roasted lentil crispbread.
aviyal (uh-vee-yuhl): stew made with vegetables in a coconut-and-yogurt sauce.
ayyo (ay-yoh): exclamation, similar to “Oh, dear.”
bajji (buhj-jee): vegetables dipped in gram-flour batter and fried; a snack food.
chappals (chuhp-puhls): flip-flops.
Devi (they-vee): the goddess in any of her various forms.
Durga (thoor-gah): a fierce goddess created from the combined energies of the gods.
Ganesha (guh-nay-shuh): the elephant-headed god of Hindu tradition.
ghee (ghee): clarified butter.
halwa (huhl-vah): sweet dish made with wheat, Cream of Wheat, or other ingredients, often spiced with cardamom and saffron.
Hanuman (huh-noo-mahn): monkey god in the Hindu tradition.
illai (ill-lie): no.
Kali-yugam (kuh-lee-yoo-guhm): the age of sinners, the last age before the final destruction of the universe, after which the cycle begins all over again.
kameez (kuh-meez): loose tunic worn over salwar. A northern Indian dress now common everywhere in India.
kanna (kuhn-nah): affectionate term, like “darling.” kolam (koh-luhm): temporary household art, in which drawings are made on the floor with rice flour or rice paste.
kunju (koon-joo): animal or bird baby.
kutti (koot-tee): little, as in “little one”; used affectionately.
kuyil (koo-yil): songbird belonging to the cuckoo family. The male is black with red eyes, the female speckled. The song of the kuyil is said to foretell the coming of the rains.
Mahishasuramardhini (muh-hee-shah-soo-ruh-muhr-thee-nee): long composite name for the goddess, meaning “killer of the asura, or demon, Mahisha.”
mami (mah-mee): literally, Mother’s brother’s wife, but generally used, especially by children, to refer to any older female.
Maya, Mahamaya (mah-yah, muh-hah-mah-yah): names of the goddess who put the tyrant Kamsa’s armies to sleep and saved the infant god Krishna.
murukku (moo-rook-koo): crunchy snack food made with rice paste and spices.
namaskaram (nuh-muhs-kah-ruhm): common greeting among Hindus, palms joined and raised to just in front of the face, head quickly bowed.
oonjal (oon-juhl): swing, like the large wooden swings in many houses in Chennai, capable of seating several people and hung from the ceiling of a house or porch by large wrought-iron chains.
paapa (pah-pah): child or young one.
paavum (pah-voom): poor thing.
payasam (pah-yuh-suhm): a milk sweet made most often with rice or noodles thinner than angel-hair pasta, spiced with cardamom or saffron, sometimes garnished with nuts.
ponnu (pon-noo): girl.
raja (rah-jah): king.
rajakumari (rah-juh-koo-mah-ree): princess.
Rama (rah-muh), also referred to respectfully as Ramar (Rah-muhr): an incarnation of the god Vishnu. Rama fought a war to free his beautiful wife, Sita, whom the demon Ravana had kidnapped.
rasam (ruh-suhm): dish flavored with sour tamarind, garnished with mustard seeds and chopped coriander, and eaten with rice.
salwar (suhl-vahr): loose cuffed pants worn with a kameez on top. A northern Indian dress now common everywhere in India.
sambar (sahm-bahr): spicy lentil dish with vegetables, flavored with tamarind and usually eaten with rice.
sathyam (suhth-yuhm): truth.
Sita (see-thah): Rama’s wife, subject of many songs and poems.
sojji (sohj-jee): farina or Cream of Wheat, used to make halwa.
Tamil (thah-mizh): language spoken in the state of Tamil Nadu. The last letter of the word Tamil (phonetically written as zh) is actually a sound unique to this language, and not found in English at all. Some people pronounce it like the le in whale, some like the r in roll.
thatha (thah-thah): grandfather.
thayiru (thuh-yee-roo): yogurt, usually made at home with scalded milk and culture from a previous batch.
vellaikkara (vel-lie-kah-rah): white people, generally used for all people of European descent.
yenna (yen-nuh): what.
Copyright © 2004 by Uma Krishnaswami
All rights reserved
www.fsgkidsbooks.com
Designed by Nancy Goldenberg
eISBN 9781429921602
First eBook Edition : May 2011
First edition, 2004
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krishnaswami, Uma, 1956-
Naming Maya / Uma Krishnaswami.
p. cm.
Summary: When Maya accompanies her mother to India to sell her grandfather’s house, she uncovers family history relating to her parents’ divorce and learns more about herself and her relationship with her mother.
ISBN 0-374-35485-5
[1. Mothers and daughters—Fiction. 2. Divorce—Fiction. 3. Family problems—Fiction. 4. Family life—Fiction. 5. East Indian Americans—Fiction. 6. Madras (India)—Fiction. 7. India—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.K8978Nam 2004
[Fic]—dc21
2003048511
Naming Maya Page 11