Nakhras？

nakhras
This is Urdu for “coquetry, blandishments, charm, delicacy.” There’s not a word or concept in English that’s exactly appropriate for this very South Asian behaviour. The nearest one can come to it is to say that it consists of very delicate, very feminine flirtation that is understood by all sides to be partly artifice.

I have rcently admonished several ESL posters here for providing insuuficient context.
It would appear this is such a case as well.

What were the boys doing? What is he general subject of the passage and (I assume) novel. In what location is the book set?

from what you have provided and a little research I would suggest this is an admonishmnet used by mothers aunts and older sisters, while indicating a level of annoyance it also indicates I dont really mean it, perhaps in a similar way to the words scamp or scallywag or rascal might be used

When I was a kid, "nakhra" and its derivatives were very often used to describe my behavior. Uh, Mom still uses it a lot when I'm fussy about food.

I can't immediately think of an English equivalent for this word, but keep in mind the word "fussy". It's not the exact translation, but will help you grab the meaning.

When someone is being fussy about something, they're "showing nakhra". For example, let's imagine a scenario where my mom is preparing to make supper and asks me what I'd like to have.

Spidergal: "What all you got, Mummy?"

Mom: "Well, we've got potatoes, bhindi (okra), lauki (sort of gourd) in the refrigerator."

Spidergal: "Bah, I don't like any of those! What else you got, Mom?"

Mom: Uh, oh. Let me look.

Mom rummages the refrigerator, and then says: "Look, other than that stuff, I've only capsicum and brinjal. Do you want to have those?"

Spidergal (bangs foot): Mom, you know what, I'd rather not have dinner! I don't like any of those - you know that! I'm fine being hungry!

So basically, in this particular situation, Spidergal is showing a lot of "nakhra".

Hope that's clear, Nancy88.

Oh, and forgot to add: this is not a Hindi word, per se - perhaps, it's from either Urdu/Arabic/Persian - but it is very commonly used by the Hindi-speaking population.

Over the years, spoken Hindi has come to accommodate words from a number of languages.