TH: In this very short tale, Guru T Ladakhi presents a defiant woman proud of ownership of her body and choices, unafraid of the gossip and speculation of others.
Artwork by Anastasi Holubchyk.
I know a great grandmother. She is a feisty old woman. When she became pregnant at twenty, the entire village came to her house demanding to know who the father was.
She did not speak a word. Her parents hung their heads in shame and wished the ground would swallow them up. A few months later, when her child was born, the whole village, fearing a poor harvest and natural disaster due to the insolence of an immoral girl, congregated once again in front of her house, some carrying sickles and others khukuris. They wanted to expel her from the village to spare themselves the wrath of the assorted gods.
She came out of her house clutching her baby, her hair flying in the wind. Standing tall, her gaze fixed on a tree. No one spoke or moved but their intention was clear and dangerous. She raised her arm and, pointing at the tree, said softly, “He is the father of my child.”
Even now, after all these years, in her wrinkled old face, just below her stern smouldering eyes, you can spy a half-mocking smile every now and then.
Header: Artwork by Anastasi Holubchyk.
How to cite: Ladakhi, Guru T. “Tall.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 26 Nov. 2023, chajournal.blog/2023/11/26/tall.
Guru T Ladakhi graduated from SRCC, Delhi University. His poetry has appeared in many journals and is now taught in schools and universities. His first collection of poems, _Monk on a Hill_, was published by Speaking Tiger and launched in at the Brahmaputra Literary Festival in January 2017. He was born in Gangtok, Sikkim and still lives there.