Peaches and Smeets

​Author: Ashti Juggath
Publisher: Modjaji Books
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
I would like to say at the outset, that this is a great read. More especially as a first novel coming from a woman who works as a pharmacist – and with a Master’s degree in Pharmacy.  With a husband and three children to look after, plus a job with a large corporate, how she found time to envision and put this stunning tale to paper is to be marvelled at. I have a cousin who is very close 

and dear to me, she is also a pharmacist, and with all the gruelling studying she had to undertake, and her current grind, I cannot imagine her having the strength and tenacity to follow this author’s diligence. Juggath does though, acknowledge the heavy task of bringing a book to life. She says, “Producing a book is an arduous but exciting journey, and this one would not have been possible without the help of many people.” She wrote Peaches and Smeets “believing that the stories of the past needed to be captured for posterity.”
The book is essentially about Smita (Smeets) Maharaj who grew up in Bakerton, Springs in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. She’s a beautiful child, daughter, much beloved by her father – a language and history teacher who is also a trained Hindu priest honouring his promise to uphold the Brahmins legacy he’d inherited. Simta’s mother is a dutiful, sometimes overly emotional, traditional Indian wife, who just wants to give her husband a boy child and for her daughters to be married off.
The story takes you on a roller coaster ride taking in painful racist injustices, patriarchy, and the journey of a young woman finding her way and becoming more aware of self in a world that is consistently reforming. The set-background traditions and religious rituals of India are mesmerising. Take for example, that of Raksha Bandhan, the day on which brothers and sisters celebrate their love for each other. Other rituals mentioned that accompany the birth of a new born, or support a soon-to-be bride are so to be cherished. Imagine if we still lived in a world where a midwife could be quickly summoned to assist with the healing, bathing and massaging of the new born and mother as practised in the book. Simply awe-inspiring!
I cannot wait for more to come from Ashti. In a country as diverse as ours, it is imperative to hear more voices that amplify our transformations, and common humanity.