Glossary for “My Name is Sombara”

Glossary for the translated short story “My Name is Sombara”, published online at: Out of Print Magazine. The webzine doesn’t put a glossary for translated stories. However, I felt some words are specific and either don’t have a direct equivalent in English or it won’t read well if I replace with an English equivalent. So, I kept some Telugu words and added this gloss with additional detail. “Out of Print” agreed to this idea.

  • Grievance day – a government organized day to address the problems of  people belonging to nearby tribal groups 
  • thatha: grand father, in Telugu
  • Kinnera – a musical instrument similar to lute
  • Tudumu – a drum, which is played standing, with a pair of drum sticks, and provides a bass beat. 
  • Tudumu Kunda – It is a small drum used as an accompaniment to Tudumu 
  • Pinlakarra – flute
  • Ejjodu – a village priest who typically organizes religious ceremonies and chants prayers
  • Panchayat: Village governing council in Indian villages
  • Savara language
  • ITDA: Integrated Tribal Development Agency, a government body
  • MRO: Mandal Revenue Officer. Mandal is a unit of administrative division in India. 
  • Dhimsa It is a dance form prevalent in some tribal communities around Andhra Pradesh and Odisha states in India.
  • Sannai: a South Indian musical instrument similar to Shehnai
  • Gogoi: A vibrating reed instrument, played by the mouth (?)
  • Mama: uncle. Typically mother’s brother (or father’s sister’s husband)
  • Tillakaya: A musical instrument that resembles anklets, and played/worn on foot.

The story in Telugu original can be read here, and here is an audio where the author describes the story’s background (in Telugu).

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Published in: on March 21, 2022 at 12:39 pm  Leave a Comment  

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