Across the Kala Pani

Author: Shevlyn Mottai
Publisher: Penguin
​Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
Author Shevlyn Mottai is descended from indentured Indians from Arcot in South India and I suspect that this was quite a painful novel to write, yet she brings a sense of joy as she winds this story forward.
It was her great – great- grandfather, Sappani Mottai who came out on the Umzinto to Natal in 1909. Travelling from Madras he was accompanied by his one year old son and a 20 year old woman who was not his wife. The family stories that abounded about her great-great-grandmother had stayed with her as a child and into adulthood. Questions of 

dentity rose, as they do with so many immigrants, and the reasons why Indians would come to South Africa to the sugar and tea plantations. As a writer this drove Mottai to research extensively, visit India and dive deep into the back stories of what being an indentured Indian really was. As she remarks: “The novel began as a testament to my great-great-grandfather but very quickly it was clear that the novel had taken on a life of its own. The lost voices of the women of indenture raised their voices and, through me, they would be heard and finally their stories would come to light.”
And bring them to light she certainly has, with authentic and memorable characters that tell a story that is harrowing and yet an integral part of South African history and the Indians who are so much part of our demographics.
Indenture, a system of bonded labour was instituted after the abolition of slavery in 1833 when the British colonies needed labourers. Recruits were found within the poverty stricken streets of India and the workers came to what they hoped was a better life in Natal. A casteless life that would after five years, result in freedom and, if they were lucky a small plot of land.  But for the ‘coolies’ (and I use this advisedly as this is how Mottai refers to them in the book) the ‘promised land’ was never quite what it was cracked up to be – as it rarely is. It is the time of Gandhi and his influence is clearly narrated.
Mottai paints a fine picture of Sappani as a kind and gentle man, unlike some of his contemporaries, but it is the four women who become bound together in support and friendship that form the rays of the story.  The shy young widow Lutchmee who escaped a vengeful mother-in-law and self-immolation on her husband’s funeral pyre; Brahmin caste and educated Vottie whose abusive husband holds on to his caste at all costs, Chinmah, heavily pregnant, married to a simply useless man as part of an unpaid debt and Jyothi a dazzling young girl whose fate is tied in with her beauty.
Kala Pani means Black water and the crossing is merciless-but life on land has its own challenges and Mottai paints a grim picture of how the indentured labour was treated. I am not giving away any spoilers, the story will envelop you. Harsh as it is this is an integral part of our history - the cruelty of colonialism is well documented.
It is a beautifully written story, and Mottai’s prose is smooth and lilting as the story unfolds.  Well -structured it evolves as if in the swirls of a sari -the colour, words and contrasts clearly celebrating the Indian heritage. The use of Indian words and phrases adds to the authenticity and a glossary gives meaning. The power of women take centre stage and, in telling who her great –great- grandmother might have been, shows their strength in facing adversity.  Whatever the conditions they always pulled together to make life a little more tenable.  A precarious existence for both men and women, the friendships forged surmounted the hardship, prejudice, loss and cruelty and clearly show the strength of the foundation of today’s Indian population. We learn a lot from historical fiction and this is a novel that offers a clear picture of this part of South African history. ​