Short story : Jaggery SouthAsian Literary Journal

[Selma Cardoso]

 

My short fiction 'Letters from Nairobi' is Jaggery's pick of three, issue no. 8, Spring 2016. It is a homage to my childhood memories of Goa, many of the characters are real, although the story is fictionalised. It was originally entitled 'Black as a Crow'.

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Outside, the world felt young and fresh, the earth smelt of decaying fruit and dung, and the trees swished in the sky with leaves like shoals of fish swishing in the sea, swishing this way and that, as if their swishing would go on for ever or at least till the rains came and they fell silent and heavy.  Old man Miguel, to the left of grandmother’s house, waved to me. Tufts of white hair sprung from either side of his ears making the shiny bald patch in the middle look like an abandoned field. Thin as a reed he was, but strong. He roamed the river banks and the orchards, and at night he roamed the darkness lit up by moons. He was always out there, barefoot, clad in his faded short pants and sleeveless cotton vest, checking on the cows, buffaloes and goats he kept tethered to the dome shaped haystack; the smell of dry hay everywhere.  Grandmother said, you wouldn’t know it to look at him, but he was an important man. If ever there was a dispute about water rights or marital discord, he’d be called upon to arbitrate; the unofficial lawmaker of the village. But grandmother had quite a few fights with him because his cows often wandered into her garden, munching unperturbed on her bougainvillea. And because he was always insinuating secrets and scandals about her dead husband.

At mid-day, when the shadows had lengthened, I went in. Victoria the maid, had laid out lunch: a plateful of unevenly heaped rice, deep fried semolina crusted fish and a fierce looking orangey-red curry. There were jars of pickles lined on the side; mangos in brine, brinjals in chilli and fish soaked in vinegar. Victoria, who had come to live with us as a seven year old child, was twenty-seven, with at least three front teeth missing, a taut bosom and thick thighs and ankles, which thanks to grandmother’s sense of modesty were always covered in pleated dresses. But her round, black eyes placed above rather fine cheekbones made her a comely girl who doubled up as my childhood companion and grandmother’s caretaker.

My mother, grandmother’s only child, had never married. She had paid for her folly of fornication by being incarcerated at the Holy Spirit Convent all through her adolescent years and had departed for Bombay at the first instance of freedom. She left me in the care of these two women who were so disembowelled by their own sadness that I became their only solace. They prayed feverishly at odd hours of the day, fishing out of their pockets, pictures of martyred saints, wooden crucifixes and rosaries, rubbing them furiously and breaking into incoherent utterances, sometimes together but usually in solitude. When they weren’t united in their quest for redemptive suffering, Victoria bore the brunt of grandmother’s moods. Grandmother believed her menials were to be treated with as much disdain as her conscience would allow but occasionally she would surprise Victoria with some mouldy biscuits or fabric recycled from an old curtain for a new dress. In those times, the orphan Victoria believed she was loved, and grandmother felt assured of a place in heaven. 

full text: http://jaggerylit.com/

Best wishes,

selma

[Sushila]

Vow! Creativity at its best👌.
Sushila

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From: 'Selma Cardoso' via The Goa Book Club
Sent: ‎19-‎07-‎2016 23:18
To: The Third Thursday Goa Book Club
Subject: [GOABOOKCLUB] Short story : Jaggery SouthAsian Literary Journal

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[Selma C]

Thank you Sushila. Much appreciate the words of encouragement which are so needed in this tough business, to keep soldiering on.

Best,

Selma

Sent from my iPad

[augusto pinto]

'Letters from Nairobi' is a well written story Selma and even bears the seeds of a novel in it. It's a convincing story because it carries the stamp of authenticity, of having a lot of research done to get period details right - a by-product no doubt of the work you have done to write your books about Africa. The sadness in the story is well paced but just when you are about to wonder what was the point, the ending puts it all together. Nice.

Best,

Augusto

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[Belinda Viegas]

Really enjoyed reading the story, Selma. Looking forward to more gems from your pen. Keep soldiering on!!!!

Warm regards,

belinda

[Selma Cardoso]

Thank you Belinda. Do hope to see you again at the launch of my new book on 19th August at Dogears. Not too far, it's in Margao.

Best,

selma

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From: 'Belinda Viegas' via The Goa Book Club <goa-bo...@googlegroups.com>
To: "goa-bo...@googlegroups.com" <goa-bo...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, 22 July 2016, 2:44
Subject: Re: [GOABOOKCLUB] Short story : Jaggery SouthAsian Literary Journal

[PAES]

Selma, you have the makings of a Booker prize winner. Best wishes - Bennet Paes

[Mervyn Maciel]

Beautifully written piece, Selma. Congrats. 

Could do with some of Victoria's culinary fare right now

as you've set my mouth a-watering!

Best.

Mervyn

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[Belinda Viegas]

I'll be there. The last time we met was there, when you attended one of the book club meetings Leonard and Queenie organised. 

Warmly,

belinda