The Night Diary: August 21, 1947–August 30, 1947

by Veera Hiranandani
In 1947, British India was divided into two separate and independent countries: India, a mostly Hindu nation, and Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim nation. The partition leaves Nisha, a girl with both Hindu and Muslim heritage, without a clear place to call home. She and her family must make a treacherous journey to try to find a safe haven in a country rocked by turmoil and violence.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: July 14, 1947–August 1, 1947; August 2, 1947–August 8, 1947; August 15, 1947–August 20, 1947; August 21, 1947–August 30, 1947; August 31, 1947–November 10, 1947
20 words 535 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. mumble
    talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
    He mumbled something I couldn’t understand.
  2. squat
    sit on one's heels
    Amil stirred and turned toward Papa. Dadi came over and squatted by his shoulder.
  3. hoist
    raise
    Amil hoisted himself up.
  4. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    Amil shook his head and looked down, shame in his hunched shoulders.
  5. yearn
    desire strongly or persistently
    It made me yearn for water even more.
  6. rumple
    become wrinkled or creased
    I caught a girl’s eyes, a few years younger than me, hair and clothing rumpled and dirty.
  7. shrivel
    wither, as with a loss of moisture
    I thought of us shriveling up like pieces of sliced mangoes.
  8. glaze
    a coating, as for ceramics or metal
    His eyes had a film covering them, but I could see a frightened spark behind the glaze.
  9. recoil
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    I recoiled like a cat.
  10. mutter
    talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
    Dadi muttered prayers and rebraided my hair.
  11. tinge
    color lightly
    Her tan and gold sari, tinged with dirt, her face dry and looking even more wrinkled.
  12. wail
    cry weakly or softly
    She began to wail out a prayer, not loud, just filled with pain.
  13. inexplicable
    incapable of being explained or accounted for
    I started to feel dizzy as the water hit my arms, my face, inexplicably all this water.
  14. suffocate
    deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
    It felt like breathing air after being suffocated.
  15. grave
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    “Papa,” Amil croaked, finally opening his eyes, and pulled on Papa’s arm.
    “Yes,” Papa said gravely.
    “Are we dead?” he said, smiling.
  16. caravan
    a procession traveling together in single file
    I didn’t like being the leader of our caravan, but Papa said that was safer than me following behind.
  17. pelt
    rain heavily
    Through the pelting rain, I could see the small buildings of the village up ahead.
  18. literally
    without exaggeration
    Would there literally be a line, a wall, guards?
  19. mosque
    a Muslim place of worship that usually has a minaret
    The call would ring out from the village on loudspeakers at the mosque, and we could hear it trickle in through the windows.
  20. matted
    tangled in a dense mass
    His hair was matted with dust and dirt.
Created on Tue Dec 04 19:30:32 EST 2018 (updated Fri Dec 14 10:05:08 EST 2018)

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