Rani Patel In Full Effect Page 24
Lau lau: (Hawaiian) wrapping or wrapped packages. Also means packages of ti or banana leaf containing pork, beef, salted fish, or taro tops baked in the ground oven or steamed. Lau lau is usually served at a luau.
Liliko’i: (Hawaiian) passion fruit.
Lo-life gang: gang formed in Brooklyn in the 80’s. They wear only Ralph Lauren clothes. The name comes from the second syllable in Polo.
Lolo: (Hawaiian) crazy or feeble-minded.
Maaf kaaro: (Gujarati) forgive me.
Mahalo: (Hawaiian) thank you
Mahiole: (Hawaiian) feather helmet.
Maile: (Hawaiian) a native twining shrub, Alyxia olivaeformis. Maile is often used to make lei.
Makai: (Hawaiian) ocean. Generally used when giving directions to specify that something is ocean-side, or opposed to mauka, or mountain-side.
Making A: (Hawaiian pidgin) making an ass of oneself.
Mana: (Hawaiian) supernatural or divine power.
Mangalsutra: (Hindu) a traditional Hindu wedding necklace. The groom ties the necklace around the bride’s neck during the ceremony. The bride continues to wear it as a sign of her marital status.
Mhare mari jawuu che. (Gujarati) I want to die.
Nah, khaasuu thhayu che. (Gujarati) No, something has happened.
Naraka: (Sanskrit) the underworld.
Naseeb: (Gujarati) luck, chance, doom, or fate.
Naupaka: (Hawaiian) a flowering shrub found in the mountains or near beaches in Hawaii.
No ack: (Hawaiian pidgin) stop showing off or quit acting up.
No make: (Hawaiian pidgin) cut that out.
Nokrani: (Gujarati) woman employee or woman servant.
‘Oi’o: (Hawaiian) procession of ghosts of a departed chief and his company. Commonly called “huaka’i po.”
Okole: (Hawaiian) buttocks.
Pahoehoe: (Hawaiian) lava flow that’s smooth, ropy, and rolling.
Pakalolo: (Hawaiian) marijuana.
Papio: (Hawaiian) young ulua fish.
Patang: (Gujarati) kite.
Pau: (Hawaiian) finished, ended, over, all done, or final.
Pele thee: (Gujarati) from the beginning.
Phat: Slang, something cool or excellent, such as a likable rhythm.
Pikake: (Hawaiian) Arabian jasmine introduced from India.
Pouthu: (Gujarati) mop.
Pradip nu salu aakhuu mathu kaaru che hagi. (Gujarati) Pradip’s entire head is black still.
Prasad: (Hindi) a food that is a religious offering in Hinduism.
Pua’a: (Hawaiian) pig.
Pyalo: (Gujarati) cup.
Salo: (Gujarati) swear word for idiot.
Sati: (Hindi) Indian funeral custom where the widow immolates herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.
Satguru: (Sanskrit) true guru.
Satsung: (Sanskrit) a traditional practice in Hinduism where practitioners sit together with a guru or a group of spiritual students and discuss religious topics or chant.
Seppuku: (Japanese) refers to ritual suicide by disembowelment with a sword. Traditionally practiced by samurai as an honorable alternative to disgrace. Also called harakiri.
Sewa: (Gujarati) service.
Shaka: (Hawaiian pidgin) the shaka sign is a hand gesture in local Hawaiian and surf culture. It has various meanings when given, such as howzit, thanks, or ok. It is displayed by extending the thumb and smallest finger while holding the three middle fingers curled.
Shaak: (Gujarati) vegetable. Also refers to curried vegetables.
Shoots: (Hawaiian pidgin) to express agreement.
S’kebei: (Hawaiian pidgin) dirty old man.
Spock: (Hawaiian pidgin) look, see, or check out.
Steez: Slang, style with ease.
Sutra: (Sanskrit) a thread that holds things together. Originally referred to a collection of aphorisms written down on palm leaves and sewn together with thread.
Suu Thhayu? (Gujarati) What happened?
Tapa: (Tahitian) barkcloth made in the pacific islands. It often has a specific print. In Hawaiian, it’s called kapa.
Thakorji: (Gujarati) in Hinduism, Thakorji means Lord of the House and is the honorific name given to a form of the diety Krishna. Also called Shrinathji. Instead of worship, sewa (service) is offered.
Thali: (Hindu) a large, round stainless steel plate.
Thu mari chokri chu, mari princess. (Gujarati) You are my girl, my princess.
Uttarayan: (Gujarati) the International Kite Festival in Gujarat.
Vaitru: (Gujarati) work.
Vaso: (Gujarati) a chha gaam village in the state of Gujarat.
Vasun: (Gujarati) dishes, pots, or kitchenware.
Velan: (Gujarati) Indian wooden tapered rolling pin for making flat, thin breads.
Vidwa ne kussee kimut na hoi. Thuu vidhwa nathee. (Gujarati) Widows have no worth. You are not a widow.
Where you stay: (Hawaiian pidgin) Where are you?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Props and thank you
to my Cinco Puntos crew
for effecting Rani’s debut.
First to the Byrd family for putting this book on their publishing queue.
Lee, my incredible editor guru.
Bobby’s skillz on the DL, tried and true.
John’s tireless pitching to.
Jessica Powers for believing in Rani and the guidance she did imbue.
Mary Fountaine’s behind the scenes follow through.
Ezequiel Peña’s fresh cover art that let Rani breakthrough.
Isabel Quintero & Robin Kurz for their helpful inquiry and literary review.
And shout out to a few
friends and family I turned to.
They helped me see this book through.
Annis Lee Adams read the first new jack draft, still told me to continue.
Kristen Lindsey-Dudley reminded me about my MD view.
John Manaligod my kuya who encouraged Pono and Rani’s pas de deux.
Edgar Esmeralda helped to keep it real with his DJ preview.
Rina Chung gifted me with her big picture point of view.
Joanna Gordon for her young adult purview.
Hiren and Carrie Patel for their business how to.
Hansa Patel for sitting through my Gujju interviews.
To James, Maya, & Joaquin Manaligod, my faithful retinue: I love you.
OTHER GREAT YA TITLES FROM CINCO PUNTOS PRESS
Pig Park / Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
Texas Institute of Letters Best YA Fiction
Seeing Off the Johns / Rene S. Perez II
NACCS Tejas Foco Award
Playing for the Devil’s Fire / Phillippe Diederich
Gabi, a Girl In Pieces / Isabel Quintero
William Morris Award Winner
Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood / Benjamin Alire Sáenz
YALSA Top Ten Best Books
Last Night I Sang to the Monster / Benjamin Alire Sáenz
YALSA Top Ten Best Books
House of Purple Cedar / Tim Tingle
Best YA, American Indian Library Association
#ohhoneyweGOTdiversebooks!