Kula Nesting on a Kowhai Tree
my leanness enabled me to fit
the “South Asian” box for health officials
my “Indianness” was not an entry criteria.
to the “Mainland India Club” as I spoke Fiji Hindi
and didn’t know my caste or class
my ancestor’s contribution to Fiji’s nation building and its economic prosperity.
could never free me from the stereotypes imposed
by fellow South Asians from motherland.
I, supposedly a descendant of low caste slaves
not fit to be associated with.
my halo of dollars shining radiantly
onto plastic welcome carpets
in South Asian owned fashion boutiques and spice shops
in Puketapapa Mt Roskill and Papatoetoe
during an afternoon nap in my home in Puketapapa Mt Roskill
I dreamt that draped in a sea green sari with a hibiscus flower stuck behind my ears carrying a bowl of spices infused with the sweet fragrances of frangipanis, hibiscus and coconuts singing to the melodious tune of “Isa Lei”
I surfed huge waves of Te Moana- Nui- a -Kiwa- Pacific Ocean on a coconut frond.
drowning my tears of grief for loss of my homeland, loved ones, familiar sight of the famous Labasa landmark sugar mill which sustains economy of the township
livehood of sugarcane farmers and many others
the sweet smell of sugarcane molasses that children craved for
following the route taken by my ancestors to cultivate green gold.
in Fiji for their colonial masters
guided by steady hands of my ancestors.
navigating space of my identity
a proud Pacific Indian, descendant of Blackbirded and Girmitiya ancestors
with ancestral links to Buka Bougainville, Guyana, Afghanistan and India
Fiji, beloved country of my birth, resting place of my ancestors
Aotearoa New Zealand, my home, my turangawaewae (iii)
(i) Currently known as Fiji Airways
(ii) Meaning from India in iTaukei language
(iii) A place of belonging in Te Reo Maori
an Air Pacific (i) flight from Fiji
touched down on the tarmac
of Auckland International Airport
flying in from Fiji to
Aotearoa New Zealand, land of long white cloud
draping its white cloak shielding
me from bitter wintery cold
three arduous months spend at sea by my ancestors sailing.
from British India to Fiji in 1879 was not comparable
to my three hours flight
from Fiji to Aotearoa New Zealand
Indenture/Girmit system, brainchild of the British Colonial
administrators and settlers in the colonies replacing.
slavery with over a million Indians snatched.
from the bosom of Mother India
flung far onto the continents.
of Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific
whose warmth dried tears of grief
and sorrow to face the unknown.
in 1879, I arrived in Fiji as an Indian, four generations later
in 1989 I left Fiji for Aotearoa New Zealand as a KaiIndia (ii)
where I struggled to fit in a box titled “Asian”
for census data
