paTak(h)a and aatish baazi

Are the words paTak(h)a and aatish baazi synonymous?

I noticed some (Hindi) dictionaries give paTaka and others paTakha. My husband says it is paTaxa.

"Patakha" पटाखा (t as spoken in tomato) is a noun which is same as "aatishbazi" आतिशबाजी . "Pataka" पताका (t as spoken in 'totaa") means a flag or dhwaj.

Orientalism

How to say "Orientalism" in Hindi?

Shabdkosh tells about the word "oriental":
oriental
adjective

पूर्वी

Definitions

adjective

denoting or characteristic of countries of Asia

noun

a member of an Oriental race; the term is regarded as offensive by Asians (especially by Asian Americans)
http://www.shabdkosh.com/s?e=oriental&f=0&t=0&l=hi

"Orientalism" or any "ism" should be a latter construct - we can make anything into an "ism" for our own pleasure also. I am not sure if there is an exact Hindi equivalent. This term "orientalism" was invented by the Western countries.

The term is controversial too.

A central idea of Orientalism is that Western knowledge about the East is not generated from facts or reality, but from preconceived archetypes that envision all "Eastern" societies as fundamentally similar to one another, and fundamentally dissimilar to "Western" societies. This discourse establishes "the East" as antithetical to "the West".
Edward Said and The Production of Knowledge, by Sethi,Arjun (University of Maryland).

Green

What is the word for color green in Hindi?

It is called "haraa" in Hindi. हरा in Devnagri.

Greenery is called हरियाली, coming from the same word.

If you need example, here is the famous song विजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा which sings:

" केसरिया बल भरने वाला
स्वेत रंग सच्चाई
हरा रंग है हरी हमारी
धरती की अंगड़ाई"

Which tells about the colors in Indian national flag. Green color represents greenery of the land...

Reluctant

Shabdkosh gives the Hindi words and I agree with it:

Words for "Reluctant" in Hindi:

1) अनिच्छुक (anichchhuk)

2) प्रतिकूल (pratikul, pratikool)

3) विमुख (vimukh, wimukh)

4) अनिच्छु (anichchhu)

Source: http://shabdkosh.raftaar.in/Hindi-Dictionary/Meaning/reluctant

IMO, अनिच्छुक is most commonly used.

Kitab vs Pustak

Has Sanskrit/Hindi word Pustak anything to do with Animal Skin? I think Urdu word Kitab has some relation to its meaning as animal skin. Is "pustak" also somehow similar?

There is no reference pointing the meaning of "pustak" towards "animal skin." Pustak means book.

I referred to Monier-Williams and here is what is written there:

पुस्त Pusta, m.n. working in clay, modelling, Kathaas.; a manuscript, book, Var. (cf. below); Hcat.; mfn. covered, filled, W. - karman, n. plastering, painting, W. - maya, mf(i)n. formed of metal or wood, wrought in clay, modelled, Susr. - vaartta, m. one who loves by books or makes books, VarBrS.

पुस्तक Pustaka, m. or n. a protuberant ornament, boss (see below); mf(ikaa)n. a manuscript, book, booklet, Hariv.; Kaav.; Var.&c. - kara, m. an embosser, VarBrS., Sch. Pustakagara,n. 'book-room', a library, MW. Pustakastarana,n. the wrapper of a manuscript,Hcat.

[Sir Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English dictionary etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1898, page 0640]

http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koel...-puSparasa.jpg

I think the confusion would have happened because of the meaning of the word "Kitab".

The word kitab means to collect and its root is Katb. Words like kitabat and kitab are derived from the same root. Raghib Isfahani, the renowned scholar of Isfahan of the fifth century Hijra and the author of Mufradiitu Alfaz al-Qur’an writes “katb means to stitch two pieces of skins or bring those two pieces together.” [Ref]

More:

Al-Jafr is a mystical Shia holy book [Link]. The material of al-Jafr is parchment for writing made from animals skin [Link]

In the same connection here comes this verse [Link]:

Abu al- 'AlA' (a poet) pointed to this jafr (divination) and said:
"Verily, they became astonished at the family of
Mohammed when their knowledge came to them
written on the skin of a full grown he- goat."

It seems there is connection of "kitab" किताब with "animal skin", or to be specific "skin of a full grown he-goat" as is evident from numerous references...