The Story I Told Myself

Shivali, a woman with a dark secret, is on the run. The year is 1887 in Ishapur, India. Remaining in her village isn’t an option. She has followed society’s rules - be a silent wife, keep your eyes down, and serve your husband - but that obedience has brought nothing but pain and anguish.

When circumstances leave her no other choice, she escapes by taking a harrowing three-month trip across the Kaala Paani (the black water of the Indian Ocean) to South Africa with her two children. The journey aboard the ship is fraught with danger. Drunken men, violence, and lack of food. What will they have to deal with when they
reach their new land?

In Port Natal, Shivali attempts to build a new life for her family on a sugarcane farm owned by the Thompson family, where they perform the backbreaking work of indentured labourers.

Echoing the extraordinary Children of Sugarcane by Joanne Joseph, this is a remarkable tale of the experiences of the tens of thousands of indentured workers brought to South Africa by the British government of the day. Their hardships are examined unflinchingly, as are their joys and sorrows. Tragedy exists alongside love and the power of family over adversity.

Arvashni Seeripat is a descendant of indentured labourers brought to South Africa in the 19th century. A South African of Indian origin, she currently resides in the US. Stories of resilience, perseverance as well as the mundaneness or simplicity of life intrigue her. Not everyone will have their name spoken by millions, but all of us possess the ability to create our own narratives and our own stories. Those are the stories Arvashni wants to tell.