India Poetry Magazine - "Bhaiya." by Pragya Dhiman

India Poetry Magazine –

"Bhaiya." by Pragya Dhiman

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May 15th, 2026

India Poetry Contest #6 – First Place

Bhaiya.

by Pragya Dhiman

Bhaiya is a construct. Bhaiya is a story. Bhaiya is a promise.
What bhaiya is not, is a brother, because he deceives meaning, he
becomes a tale. Bhaiya is a fable. On the nose, he is magic because
he is everywhere. Not everyone can be a bhaiya, but everyone
plays a part in making him.
 
Bhaiya is an insult, because how dare you label me something I'm not.
He is a twenty-second relationship that bridges the chasmic inequality
of Indian class. Bhaiya is a democracy in his own right. He neutralizes
the agitated, but also radicalizes the offended. Bhaiya takes money from
my hands, he gives me goods and services, he drives me around in an
automated rickshaw, he drives a luxury Uber. Bhaiya owns the shop
right around the corner from my house, but he also lives in the place
we rent out. Bhaiya owns this liminal space in my life that transcends
meaning and makes it his own, because every single person I know has
uttered his name, but no one really knows who they have endeared.
 
There are borders between my neighbors and I, it's a demarcation
of identity – not so much as language and culture. One of the founding
pillars of my society is brotherhood, the fraternal bond of family.
Bhaiya is a testament to the failures of our attempts at cordiality. Bhaiya
could have been the revolution for equality, for peace, but bhaiya remains
an alien figure when he hops beyond the perimeter of nationality. Yet
 
Bhaiya is global. Bhaiya is ubiquitous. Bhaiya is human.
Bhaiya can attack me. Bhaiya will save me. Bhaiya is scary.
Bhaiya restored my faith in humanity.
Bhaiya was supposed to be my older brother, but now
he cannot be defined.
 
Bhaiya could never have been a poem.

Note: The term Bhaiya literally translates to "brother"; however, it is laden
with so much meaning and contextuality that it is impossible to encapsulate
the totality of the feelings that the word bhaiya evokes within me as an Indian.

About the Poet
Pragya Dhiman resides in New Delhi, Delhi, India.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications on Pragya Dhiman's Artist Page.

This poem is also featured in Comet #8, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: brother, culture, meaning, identity, language

Previously published in India Poetry Magazine:
Liminal
by Sunil Mukundan

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