Amma reads Sanskrit from the left hand side page
while Appa follows the Tamil script on the right.
Each of them chants out the same words
with the same devotion, but
the shapes of the letters contort differently for each.
They are two opposing poles
who comprehend the world differently
but find middle ground
while expressing themselves out loud.
Amma reads Sanskrit from the left hand side page
while Appa follows the Tamil script on the right.
Both of them hold tightly the strings that bind the book,
keeping intact the multilingual tradition
that holds together our home.
And two ancient languages of India
find solace in my home,
while outside
they are used as armour
against each other.
If only people saw what I see;
that it isn’t a battle between north and south;
it’s a push and pull,
a give-and-take compromise –
a marriage –
the left hand Sanskrit page
and the right hand Tamil one
walk hand-in-hand
to keep the book together.
Amma reads Sanskrit from the left hand side page
while Appa follows the Tamil script on the right
and I?
I listen to both;
unable to make out any difference
in what is released into the air
and into my soul.
Saranya Subramanian is a 22-year-old literature aficionado based in Bombay. She spends her time singing to herself and watching Madhubala videos (sigh). And she writes because, well, it’s all that she can really do.