All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
Chhota Haazri
i am a daughter of blue-skinned immigrants;
on thursdays at dawn i swallow scripture and
hymns of Demerara.
my grandmother speaks to me of the patron saints of yellow suns,
kings rendered silent by fanatics and
Queens that drowned worship in crimson monsoons.
she tells me of sugar-apple Indians,
coconut girls who sealed their foreign tongues
with solecism and banana leaves.
diffident, she sucks candied walnuts,
moans for: scaled lions
pygmy lilies of water eulogies for dragonfly children
razors of crepuscule
dribbles of mehndi that soil lehengas (and Girls)
jasmine blood and pomegranate ice
one-hundred and eight burgeoning lotus rootsthe caprices of our matchmakers are muddy in translation,
but seldom forgotten.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 0 comments.
This piece explores menstruation, the colonization of India and Hinduism.