Caribbean Poetry Magazine –

"Saluting the Indentured Laborers" by Jerome Teelucksingh

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September 15th, 2026

Caribbean Poetry Contest #2 – First Place

Saluting the Indentured Laborers

by Jerome Teelucksingh

Hundreds of frightened eyes abroad the Hereford, SS Fazilka, Poonah
and Jumna, they shared the ships with measles, smallpox and cholera.
Those laborers on the Carolina and Calcutta sugar estates in Belize filled
a labor void as they worked alongside dysentery and typhoid.
 
In Mauritius they consumed humble choka and to the cooking pots
added ghee, attending simple temples to worship Vishnu and Lakshmi.
In Trinidad, a sirdar is converted and a radical emigrant completes his temple in the sea.
In the distant ports of Madras and Calcutta more cross the kala pani on
the Malabar, Ophir and Plassey.
 
In Suriname it has been an era of hiding and shame as the chaste head,
hidden under the ohrni prepares the dhal and bhaji to be eaten with
pumpkin on the leaves of the sohari.
The Protector of Immigrants is another useless name.
Brave widows in Jamaica resist sati.
An outspoken pandita in Seychelles cannot speak in temples and is expected
to be versed in the art of chonkay; she remains at home making the sada roti.
Both pariah and high caste priest in Natal share the bara.
 
Those in Guadeloupe residing in Sainte-Rose and Le Moule
know well the dangers of challenging ordinances and the massa.
Coolies in Réunion and St. Croix struggle with zebu bulls,
cattle and a stubborn mule.
A young boy from St. Kitts watches the preparation of choka;
a Vincentian girl learns the importance of massala and preparation of kachourie.
A second-generation St. Lucian mimics the tunes of Mohammed Rafi
whilst eating aloo and geera.
 
A petite Grenadian remembers the melodious sitar from Bihar
and her future children will sing songs of Lata Mangeshar.
In Guadeloupe devotees bring offerings to Nagoulou Mila;
whilst festive Indians join the tadjah processions in British Guiana.

About the Poet
Jerome Teelucksingh resides in Lange Park, Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago.
Read the poet's biography on Jerome Teelucksingh's Artist Page.

This poem is included in Poetry World #16, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: ships, sugar, indentured

Previously published in Caribbean Poetry Magazine:
Long Way From Home
by Linette Rabsatt

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