deepa was 20 when she make dat crossin from india & mahun only 18, & how dey meet was by coincidence 2 a dem wind up lyin side by side pon de pallet down below in de bowels a dat ship de fatal rozac as i was sayin, & deepa was sick sick & weak wid dysentery fa most a dat whole voyage, & even dough mahun scarce even know she, he did feed she grain-by-grain wid he own ration a daily rice & hers 2, fa she 2 gain back she strength like dat, & he give up most a he own 3 tincup a daily water, 2 keep she from dehydratin like dat, & when dey reach in t’dad at last after 96 days of voyage from calcutta & 41 days from de cape, & dey was BOTH near dead in trut, dey have de very good fortune 2 get hire out pon de selfsame cane estate in de south a de island near san fernando dat wasnt even much of a town yet in dem 1845 times, & so from de start a dat voyage cross de sea, mahun & deepa never did spend not even 1 single night separate
mahun & deepa was both de same sudra caste, & dat was good & bad 2 in different ways, furs it was bad since sudra was de servant-caste, de lowest a de 3 castes after brahman & kshatriya, but mahun was even LOWER den she as u will hear in a sec, de lowes a de low, only people lower den he is pariahs, but dat was GOOD 2 in de sense dat since mahun & deepa was de SAME sudra-caste dey could marry widout breakin de law, by which i means de CASTE LAW, & deepa & mahun DID marry 2 as u will hear, cause u might tink dat after dey reach in t’dad dose laws of fockin caste did no longer apply 2 de coolies, & dat crossin 2 a new land & life would put everybody pon de SELFSAME level, but u would be very wrong mr robot & dat is 1 ting de chupidee whitepeople didnt have NO FOCKIN IDEA, cause even dough everyting ELSE change fa dem indenture coolies, de separation of caste is 1 ting dey still maintain in dem ole days very stringent & rigid mongst deyselves
but mahun was even lower den just sudra, as i was sayin, he was a CHAMAR-sudra & dey was de leather-workers who mutilate de hide of de sacred ox, but dat was bad & good again as u will hear, cause dat skill of leather-workin 2 make de shoes & belts & bags & such, but mostly shoes, mahun had plenty skill in dat from a lil boy, even dough it was look down pon in india so bad dat even de SHADOW of a chamar pon de food of a holy fockin brahman would contaminate it & u got 2 trow it way & not even a mongrel dog could eat it, but dat was a GOOD ting fa mahun cause before long de overseer of dat estate find out bout he skills fa makin shoe, & nex ting u know he take mahun off de canecrew & put he 2 make boot fa he & shoe fa he wife & doux-doux & ALL de whitepeople, & soon as mahun catch enough money from makin de shoe he marry deepa in one bigass fancy MONSOON WEDDING PON DAT ESTATE!!! & now de overseer take deepa off de canecrew 2 & put she 2 assis mahun in de shoeshop, so listen here wha happen how de whole ting did catch like fockin bushfire
cause furs mahun was makin shoe fa de overseer & de res of de whitepeople pon dat estate, & in trut he & deepa was makin dey daily wage by law like all de res a dem indenture coolies, ¢25/day each, & sometimes dey would get a lil ¢5 or ¢8 lagniappe from de overseer wife or he doux-doux or 1 of he daughters when dey get a nice shoe, but nex ting u know all dem COOLIES come 2 mahun & deepa 2 make DEY shoes 2, at ¢18 fa man-boot & ¢15 fa woman-shoe & ¢9 fa child-shoe, & mahun could buy a whole cowskin fa ¢50 from de butcher dat he was trowin dem way anyway & sometimes if a cow dead from disease dey didnt have 2 pay nuting fa dat hide a-tall, so jus as u could imagine nex ting u know word spread round 2 all dem other estates 2, & mahun & deepa was makin plenty shoe fa de whitepeople, & even MORE fockin shoe fa de coolies now, & before long plenty plenty money was wetting dey palms in trut!!!
so nex ting u know de 10 years of contracture fa dey indenture labor was finish-up, so deepa & mahun was entitle 2 free passage back 2 india now, or else according to de new law jus institute den if dey elec to remain here, dey would receive a parcel of 10 acres of land 2 put in agriculture fa deyself, but deepa & mahun didnt want 2 go back 2 india not fa noting cause dey was RICH RICH coolies livin like king and queen in t’dad now, so dey choose 2 take de land dat was 5 acres each, or 10 acres 2gether, but since mahun & deepa didnt know nutin bout agriculture neither but only makin shoe shoe shoe & more shoe, dey didnt want dat lan in de country, & so dey sell it off & take dat money + what dey had save-up 2 buy a shop in san fernando on coffee street 2 make & sell de shoe, wit a floor on top where dey could live wid dey children dat was 3 now, 2 boys & 1 girl, & ALL a dem born trinis!!!
so now mr robot u have a lil bit bout where my family comes from & how we reach here in t’dad, dat i dont mine telling u as i was sayin, cause being a coolie aint noting fa me to feel shame fa, but i was just about 2 finish writin out dis email dis mornin 5 minutes ago when miss samlalsingh arrive fa work & she explain 2 me how yesterday thursday when i did had de afternoon off & she was in charge, u come in here in de archives sayin how MISS RAMSOL GIVE U PERMISSION 2 USE DE MACHINE & copy u copies of dat MORNING STAR journal or whateverdeass it is of dis crazy man ETZLER u say u writin u book about, & u tell miss samlalsingh how u & miss ramsol is tight tight now fockin down de place like wild tigercats mos every night, & miss samlalsingh know is tru 2, but mr robot she tell u jus as i instruct SHE enough times, dont matter if is de QUEEN A FOCKIN ENGLAN PUSSY U FOCKIN, dat dont give u access 2 dat xerox machine, & i aint know who de fock u yankees tink u is, just cause u skin white like u toetee make from gold-bar & u pums smell like french perfume, but miss samlalsingh is more savvy den dat & she see tru u boldface lies straightway & dont let u near dat machine, not fa fockin hell mr robot, so listen here mr robot what i telling u, eh: u best learn some fockin manners & behave youself & follow de rules jus like everybody else, unnastan? eh? cause laws is laws & rules is rules & aint no exceptions fa dat xerox, not fa u nor nobody else, unnastan?
good
so watch u fockin self mr robot, unnastan? eh?
cordial,
miss ramsol
director, t&tna
ps if u want u could please 2 meet me at pelo 2nght again roun 9
pss & me or miss samlalsingh will be holdin someting fa u at de reserve frontdesk from de p o s gazette of 1845 dat would be of interes 2 u i tink
We have much pleasure in announcing the arrival this afternoon of the long-looked-for coolie ship, the Fatal Rozac, 96 days from Calcutta and 41 days from the Cape of Good Hope, with 217 coolies on board, “all in good condition,” as the bills of landing have it. There were five deaths on board during the passage, but the general appearance of the coolies is very healthy. When our people are informed that there are countless thousands of these coolies, inured to a tropical climate, starving in their own country, and most willing to emigrate to the West Indies, it may be the means of opening their eyes a little to the necessity of working more steadily and giving greater satisfaction to their employers. Coolie provisions also arriving aboard the Rozac are available at Losh, Spiers & Co. at Richmond Street Wharf. The Fatal Rozac is a fine vessel of 445 tons, and is manned by a crew of lascars.