Shabanu imagined her life settling into a pattern. Each morning Samiya would bring her tea and breakfast. They would sit and talk for a short time—about the weather and who had visited the haveli, repairs that were needed, gossip from the servants’ quarters. Shabanu would ask her to bring some mending.
Afterward Shabanu would sweep out the pavilion and trim the wicks on her lamps. She would have to do her own laundry and hang it on the roof, of course, so the other servants would not guess she was there.
In the afternoon Selma came, and Samiya brought them tea. Selma told Shabanu what news there was. A date had been set for Omar and Leyla’s wedding. It was to be later in the cool season, as Amina had wished.
“Amina is furious that she won’t have her parties,” said Selma. Her smile was malicious. “But mourning must be observed.”
Shabanu felt as if she had come home. No place would ever be home as the desert was, but she felt safe and comfortable in the haveli.
That evening she sat outside the pavilion looking down at the city. As the last rays of the sun touched the translucent domes of Badshahi Mosque, lights winked on below as if the rooftops had been touched by thousands of fairies.
In the small mosque at the corner, the muezzin climbed into the minaret and called out over the small parish, “Allah-o-Akbar!” summoning the faithful to prayer. Men hurried down the lane, removing their shoes as they entered through the mosque’s one door.
Shabanu realized in that moment on a peaceful evening that the world would go on. Hope crept back into her heart, and she felt she was mending and growing accustomed to her grief. She began to understand that the grief would never go away; she would simply learn to live with it.
She missed Zabo. But gradually when she thought of Zabo she did not see the ragged hole in her friend’s neck or her blood soaking into the fur of the daachii’s hump. She thought instead of times they’d spent together: picking flowers beside the canal, walking in the hills together at Dinga Galli, scaring themselves by telling stories about panthers. They’d climb high on the mountains and look out on the villages that appeared so small and insignificant under that enormous sky.
She longed for Omar. She had thought that perhaps he would come to the pavilion to mourn her, that she would see him and that they might share their love. But as she pondered this, the realization grew that it would put her family and Mumtaz in great danger. She knew now how much he’d loved her—but she could never stand against his commitment to the family. He had pledged himself to the same destiny as Rahim’s, and like Rahim he would sacrifice anything to duty, as Rahim had done with his very life.
She thought of the wonderful angular planes of Omar’s face, the broadness of his hands, the gentleness of his eyes. The longing still went straight to her heart, so deep it seemed to have no bottom. But it felt familiar. There are worse things than longing, she thought.
She thought of Mumtaz, and gradually the stab of loss gave way to pictures of Mumtaz beside the fire with Mama and Sharma, learning to make chapatis, kneading the dough and whirling it into flat disks and roasting it on the black pan over the open fire. In Shabanu’s mind’s eye, her daughter’s hands were beginning to look less chubby, and more capable and slender like Mama’s. She would learn to sing the desert songs in a smoky voice, and listen to the magical stories of the desert people.
She thought of Mumtaz running over the dunes with the baby camels, a child of the wind, her hair blowing free behind her.
And Shahzada had been right. She lived with hope. One day, she thought, Mumtaz would be with her at the haveli, and she would go to school and become a part of the larger world, her life far richer for having lived among her people in the desert.
But now, Shabanu thought, Omar is my heart; and Mumtaz, Mumtaz is my freedom.
Glossary
Allah-o-Akbar (Ah-luh oh Ahk-bahr)—“God is great!”
Asalaam-o-Aleikum (Uh-suh-lahm oh Uh-leh-koom)—Traditional Islamic greeting
ayah (ii-yuh)—A maid who tends children
baithak (beh-tuhk)—Gentlemen’s sitting room
barsati (bahr-sah-tee)—A room built on the roof of a house
Basant (Buh-sahnt)—Festival of kites that celebrates spring
begum (beh-guhm)—Respectful title for a married woman, similar to “madam” in English
beldar (behl-dahr)—Public servant who tends a canal
bidi (bee-dee)—Cigarette made of tobacco and cloves
biryani (bihr-yah-nee)—Rice dish, either sweet or meat-flavored
burka (buhr-kha)—Sewn garment with a latticed opening for the eyes worn by Islamic women as a head and body cover
chadr (chah-duhr)—Plain flat cloth worn by Islamic woman as a head and body cover
chapati (chuh-pah-tee)—Flat, round bread made of whole wheat flour and water, cooked in a flat pan over an open fire
charpoi (chahr-poy)—Wooden cot with a platform woven of string
chowk (chowk)—Market street, usually one known for particular goods or services, such as jewelry, pharmaceuticals, cookware
chowkidar (chowk-ee-dahr)—Night watchman
churidar pajama (chuhr-ih-dahr pah-jah-mah)—Pants with a drawstring waist that hug the calves
crore (krohr)—Ten million
daachii (dah-chee)—Female camel
darzi (duhr-zee)—Tailor
divali (dih-vah-lee)—Hindu festival of lights
dupatta (duh-pah-tuh)—Long scarf matching the shalwar kameez, worn over the head or around the neck
ghee (ghee)—Clarified butter
hakkim (huh-keem)—Herbal healer who uses mysticism in cures
haveli (huh-veh-lee)—Three-story urban house owned by a noble family
hookah (hoohk-uh)—Tall pipe with a brass bowl in which tobacco and raw sugar are burned
hoopoe (hoo-poo)—Brown, red, black, and white crested bird common in India and Pakistan
imam (ih-mahm)—Islamic clergyman
insh’Allah (ihn-sh-ahl-luh)—“God willing”
jelabee (juh-leh-bee)—Pretzel-shaped, deep-fried sweet
ji (jee)—Yes
kabob (kuh-bahb)—Cubes of meat roasted on a stick over a fire
kameez (kuh-meez)—Fitted tunic worn over baggy trousers by both men and women
kanal (kuh-nahl)—Eighth of an acre
keekar (kee-kuhr)—Acacia or thorn tree
khansama (khahn-sah-muh)—Cook
khar (khahr)—Desert shrub used as firewood; the ashes are used in soap
kharin (kuh-reen)—Succulent desert plant with edible blooms that are sweet and peppery
kilim (kih-leem)—Woven, flat carpet
kinnu (kee-noo)—Native orange
kohl (kohl)—Eye makeup made of charcoal
Koran (Kuh-rahn)—The holy book of Islam
kulfi (khuhl-fee)—Sweet made of boiled milk
kumbi (kuhm-bee)—Mushroom
kurta (kuhr-tah)—Straight-cut, collarless shirt with long sleeves
lakh (lahkh)—One hundred thousand
lungi (luhn-gee)—Cloth wrapped loosely around the lower part of the body, usually worn by men
mahendi (muh-hehn-dee)—Part of the marriage ceremony in which the women’s hands and feet are painted with henna
mali (mah-lee)—Gardener
masala (muh-sah-luh)—Mixed curry spices
Mogul (Moh-guhl)—Islamic invaders of the Indian subcontinent whose dynasty lasted from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries
muezzin (meh-zihn)—Islamic cleric who calls the faithful to prayer
nawab (nuh-wahb)—Former prince
nukkah (nuh-kuh)—Formal wedding ceremony
pakora (puh-koh-ruh)—Fried meat or vegetable dumpling
Pathan (Puh-tahn)—Tribal family of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province and Afghanistan
raga (rah-guh)—Instrumental song
roti (roh-tee)—Unleavened bread
&nb
sp; rupee (roo-peeyuh)—Pakistani currency equal to roughly one-sixteenth of one U.S. dollar
saal (sahl)—Large tree of the Indian subcontinent
sahib (suh-hihb)—Respectful title for a man, similar to “sir” in English
sahiba (suh-hihb-uh)—Respectful title for a woman
salaam (suh-lahm)—Greeting
sari (sah-ree)—Garment worn by women, consisting of a long piece of cloth wrapped around the body with one end draped over the shoulder or over the head
shalwar kameez (shahl-wahr kuh-meez)—Fitted tunic and baggy drawstring trousers worn by both men and women
shamiyana (shah-mee-yah-nuh)—Tent of primary-colored fabrics pieced together in geometric designs, usually used for celebrations and political speeches
Shariat (Shuh-ree-yaht)—Body of Islamic law
shenai (shuh-nii)—Oboe-like musical instrument
sherwani (shurh-wah-nee)—Men’s knee-length dress coat, fitted at the waist and worn over baggy shalwar or tight fitting churidar pajama trousers.
shutr keena (shoo-tuhr keen-uh)—Camel vengeance (death for dishonor)
sitar (sih-tahr)—Stringed musical instrument
syed (sii-yuhd)—Religious figure, usually a community or tribal leader descended from the Holy Prophet Muhammad
tabla (tah-bluh)—Small drum with an animal hide head
tikka (tih-kuh)—A patty or small roll of minced and spiced meat.
toba (toh-buh)—Water hole
tonga (tahn-guh)—Horse-drawn wooden cart
wallah (wahl-luh)—Owner, operator, or seller of goods or services
zamindar (zah-mihn-dahr)—Landlord
zenana (zuh-nah-nuh)—Women’s quarters
Suzanne Fisher Staples is the author of Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind, a Newbery Honor Book. She was a UPI correspondent in Asia for many years, with stints in Hong Kong, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, and later in Washington, D.C. She also worked on the foreign news desk of the Washington Post.