Our African Grandmother

Our African Grandmother

written by: Vineetha Mekkoth

This teacup of mine, I like
It’s black with a red inside
I love to pour my tea and watch the steam rise
Black and red is a beautiful combination
But actually it reminds me of
Those pictures I saw in Sputnik magazines long ago
You remember them, don’t you?
Nair uncle had a stash of them
I loved to leaf through those glossy pages
I loved to see the apple-cheeked Russian girls
Their figure hugging black and white dresses with floral embroidery
And Russians are not just one type
Cossacks, Armenians, Tatars and so many others
Like us Indians. Isn’t that how the entire world is?
Different people, different animals and birds, different trees, different geography
Yet how we hate what is different
We strive for uniformity
A herd mentality
So you say my religion should rule
My colour is supreme
My caste is the best
My roots are Aryan
Aryans are the best
I wonder who gave you the goddamn right to decide that!
If all of humanity sprang from one African mother
Your black low caste neighbour had an ancestor
Who drank milk from her pendulous breasts
And so did you.
We are all bonded by blood and milk ties
I’m not arguing to get close to your superiority
Which I believe to be just another of your prejudices
Prejudice – a prejudgment that often springs out of ignorance
As a woman I know I am capable of thinking this
While you with all your education and exposure to the world
Are still driven by fear and your herd mentality
Purity of bloodline?
Whenever I hear that I think of the African ancestor
I sprang from her and so did all of you
Read somewhere that the XY chromosome is actually the XX that lost a piece
Have you heard of the lion-man statue found at Stadel cave, Germany?
Sculpted 32000 years ago
What did that sculptor see?
What did he believe in?
We Hindus have the legend of Narasimha, the avatar of Vishnu
The lion man again
The connection?
I have only one thing to say
Remember your African ancestor
Get on with living
And drink your tea.

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• About
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Vineetha Mekkoth

Vineetha Mekkoth is a poet, writer, translator, editor, reviewer. She lives with her family in Calicut, Kerala. Works as State Tax Officer in the State GST Department. Has translated for the Kerala Sahitya Akademi and has also contributed articles for the Malayalam Literary Survey. Her poems and short stories have been included in various anthologies. She has been selected for the ICOP Critics Award for March 2015 by Destiny Poets, UK. She is co-editor and participating poet of the anthology Umbilical Chords: An Anthology on Parents Remembered' (2015). Her debut poetry collection ‘Ashtavakra and Other Poems' was published in 2017. Her book finds mention in the Highly Recommended list of The International Prime Poetry Festival, 2019 and is mentioned in The Journal of Commonwealth Literature. She has also co-edited and contributed to The Roseatte Sonnet Anthology, 2020. Her latest book, 'Penpiravi - Birth of A Woman', (Authorspress, New Delhi, 2021) is the translation of the contemporary Malayalam poet Girija Pathekkara's poetry collection. It has been chosen for the Reuel International Prize for Translation, 2022. Vineetha has also co-edited and contributed to the short story collection, 'Cocoon Stories: Imprints of Childhood' (Authorspress, New Delhi, 2022).

Latest posts by Vineetha Mekkoth (see all)

• I Will Not Tell You What My Heart Feels - November 4, 2022
• Our African Grandmother - May 6, 2020
• The Waiting Room - December 27, 2019