Aaya

Joshua C. Govender, South Africa

my great-aunty – my grandfather’s sister
sits on her chair
ancient, worn, and tired
she watches her great-grandchildren play on the cold smooth cement
under a makeshift shelter erected outside
her house with its sinking walls and sagging roof
like a smile that is drooping on both ends

her thin figure, draped in sari
her stick arms jingle with bangles
gold from an era long submerged
under the waves of a traumatic voyage
across an ocean from a forgotten motherland
a tradition from a time not remembered

first generation, second generation, third generation
imbibed with the lyrism of a culture
from Tamilian villages
but with feet rooted
in Azanian soil
the unwinding of identity unfolds
with memories of plantations
and visages of resistance

her face blossoms
as her eyes greet me
she whispers
“my grandson came to see me”


Glossary
Aaya – grandmother (Tamil)
Azanian – Southern African

Joshua C. Govender is a South African of Indian decent. He made his writing debut in 2021 in the South African anthology 'Taxi Through Mzansi. At 22, his is pursuing his law studies through correspondence at the University of South Africa. He also volunteers as a music critic for the online Hip Hop magazine, SACHH. Identifying himself as a Gandhian socialist, he holds an interest in the intersectionality between politics, economics and theology. His writing explores the experience of oppression, suffering, resistance and the pursuit of justice. His cerebral palsy has played a significant role on his stance on social justice.