Kim

Character Guide

Spoiler-free — fuller detail (with spoilers, if you want them) lives in the reader's Guide tab.

Kimball O'Hara (Kim, Little Friend of all the World, Friend of the Stars)

An Irish orphan raised as a native in Lahore, burned dark by the sun and fluent in the bazaar tongues. Clever and street-wise, he attaches himself to the lama and is drawn into a life balanced between two worlds.

The Teshoo Lama (Holy One)

An elderly Tibetan abbot who has left his monastery to search for the mythical River of the Arrow that will wash away sin and free him from the Wheel of Life. He takes Kim as his chela (disciple) early in their journey.

Mahbub Ali

A burly, red-bearded Afghan horse-trader who deals in intrigue as well as horses and has long used Kim as a gossip and errand-runner in Lahore.

Colonel Creighton

An English officer and ethnographer who takes an interest in Kim's unusual talents and oversees his education.

Lurgan Sahib

A mysterious jeweler and collector in Simla who trains Kim in observation, disguise, and memory games.

Hurree Chunder Mookerjee (Hurree Babu)

A large, voluble, learned Bengali who first appears offering scholarly and medical patter but is more than he seems.

The Kamboh farmer

A Punjabi cultivator met on the road whose sick child the lama and Kim help; representative of the ordinary folk they encounter.

Father Victor / the Reverend Bennett

Army chaplains who discover Kim's identity papers and take charge of arranging his English schooling.

The old lady of Kulu (the Maharanee)

A talkative, generous hill-widow on pilgrimage who feeds and shelters Kim and the lama and reappears with charms and gossip along the Road.

Glossary

Sahib

A term of respect used for European men in colonial India; also denotes Kim's English identity as opposed to native disguise.

Chela

A disciple or pupil, especially of a religious teacher; Kim's role to the lama.

Lama

A Tibetan Buddhist monk or teacher; here refers to Kim's companion, the Teshoo Lama.

The Wheel of Life / Wheel of Things

The Buddhist concept of the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that the lama seeks to escape through enlightenment.

Bairagi

A Hindu wandering ascetic or holy man who has renounced worldly life.

Serai

A walled compound or inn providing lodging for travelers and their pack animals, especially along caravan routes.

Hakim

A traditional physician or healer, practicing Unani or folk medicine.

Babu

A title given to an educated Indian (often Bengali) clerk or gentleman, sometimes used with mild condescension by the British.

Dooli

A covered litter used in the Himalayan hills to carry the sick or persons of rank.

The Great Game

The covert geopolitical rivalry and espionage contest between the British and Russian empires over Central Asia, which forms the backdrop of Kim's secret training.

Zam-Zammah

A large historic cannon in Lahore, referred to as 'the fire-breathing dragon,' where Kim is first introduced sitting astride it.

Jâtaka

Traditional Buddhist tales recounting the previous lives of the Buddha, referenced by the lama in his teaching.

Pahareen

A hill-woman, referring to someone from the Himalayan hill regions.

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