IMOGENE’S NOTEBOOK
Inheritance
A poem
What my naani (grandmother)
left me with:
Earrings and anklets
made of gold, encrusted with
rubies and emeralds.
A necklace of baroque pearls.
Heirlooms from a generation of women
who trusted neither
their husbands nor the banks, but
jewellery in a silk pouch.
And they could walk out any day
to buy a new beginning.
Empty, exhausted clay jars
faintly smelling of
raw mango and chilli pickles
fermented in unrelenting summers.
Those recipes are lost to me
just like the women
who created them and me.
Nine yards of benarasi.
Gold threads intersecting pure silk
— etching flowers, leaves,
a peacock spreading its plume —
into the scarlet saree naani wore on
the eve of her wedding
to a man she had not met before.
A letter older than my mother.
Coming apart
from folding and unfolding.
Of gentle penmanship.
A timid correspondence between
a newly married couple
that does not dare profess its longing
living in a joint household,
because naani’s mother-in-law
might read it too.
A monochrome photograph of
my six-year-old mother
with large kohl-rimmed eyes
in a frolicky tulle skirt
neatly tucked into naani’s lap.
Naani, as still as a lake.
Unsmiling. Stiff.
Like a wax figure of herself.
The kansa paan daan
that naani carried everywhere
until her teeth fell out.
Seasoned with careful proportions of
lime, tobacco, and betel nut.
Her offering of paan — a sonnet
that sang of her people,
her time, a leisure long forgotten.
I run my fingers over
this odd assortment of sentiments.
As delicate as waraq.
As sheer as light.
Testimonies of a fond life led by
love, grace and mettle.
GLOSSARY
Naani — Hindi term for maternal grandmother
Benarasi — From the ancient city of Benaras in India, present-day Varanasi. In this context, a famous handloom saree from the city of Benaras.
Kansa — Bell metal or bronze, once upon a time widely used in India to make utensils. Kansa is an alloy of 78% copper and 22% Tin, heated up to 700 centigrade to form pure bronze.
Paan daan — A box with compartments for storing betel leaves and seasoning ingredients like lime, spices, nuts, etc.
Paan — May refer to betel leaf or a betel leaf seasoned with lime, spices and nuts to be savoured and served—a stimulant suspected of having an aphrodisiac effect.
Waraq — a fine filigree foil sheet of pure silver or gold often put on South Asian sweets for garnish.
Thank you for reading!
© 20th January 2024. All Rights Reserved. Anushree Bose
