bijli gayi
by Salonee Verma
i can barely recall anything about my mama1’s
wedding because i was six years old and dolled
up in a pink lehenga2 with pretty mirror
shards adorning my waist while i smiled.
here is what i remember completely:
the light goes out one day before the haldi3
& all the kids gather around me & shriek
bijli gayi4 bijli gayi bijli gayi
maybe it says something about me that
i have been personifying light for years,
building a life for her out of tuta wah5
words, since i did not know that bijli
was just another word for light, so
i asked my cousin who bijli was &
where she went & why everyone was
so concerned about her but
she laughed at me and ruffled my
hair, because she had never met me
& i would never meet her again because this
was not my home & bijli wapas kabhi nahi aayi6.
–
1 maternal uncle (Hindi)2 a traditional style of Indian clothing consisting of a skirt and a blouse
3 a part of a wedding where the bride and groom are covered with turmeric
4 the light has gone (Hindi); a common thing to hear because electricity is often unreliable
5 broken (Hindi)
6 light never came back (Hindi)
Salonee Verma is an Indian-American emerging writer from Virginia. Her work has been previously featured or is forthcoming in BLANK Magazine NYC, Pollux Journal, [sub]liminal, and assorted local magazines. She has been recognized in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards. Find her online at saloneeverma.carrd.co.