“Ji, papa.”
Insert pitaji, daddy, baba, abbu, bauji, appa – whatever your term of reference. “Yes, father” is a fundamental code of conformity drilled to desi children as their unquestionable submission to the patriarchal head of the household. Right from the Vedic era some 1600 BCE, desi parents have been revered as Gods living on this planet demanding a worship-like devotion from their offsprings.
My adolescent years could be divided into episodes of me and Suruj battling Continue reading
Freedom. The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. In 1970, the British Empire after 96 years of rule over the islands handed Fiji back it’s sovereignty. This would have been the first time in almost a 100 years, a Fijian would have had the right to act and speak as a free person. Continue reading
Dear Politicians of Fiji,
In my almost 30 years of being a Fiji-Indian Indo-Fijian Fiji Islander Fijian, I will be voting in the national elections for the first time. So I hope you understand that how important this is for me. I assure you that I am taking my voter responsibility very seriously because it is my understanding that should my vote be counted and you are elected, it will be you who will be looking after me for the next 5 years. You see the next 5 years is quite imperative for me. As they say, it’s a woman’s ‘prime time’. And before casting my vote, Continue reading
Shyamni 