A verse that harks to one's roots

Ma, I haven’t spoken Tamil in three years, Call it forgetting or just prenatal Americanisation”, starts 17-year-old Maya’s poem.

Titled ‘Linguistics’, her poem ends with these words — “I’ve lost more than I’ve ever lost in 16 years. I started shedding ethnicity...like hair. Mother, I fear I’ll go bald.”

Tamil girl Maya Eashwaran from Georgia, was selected last week to recite her poem Linguistics at the White House, as part of The National Students Poets Program hosted by Michelle Obama. Her poem, which is about immigrant identity, language, and cultural loss, was dedicated to her mother!

Maya’s parents are Tamil Iyers from Palakkad who grew up in Mumbai. In ‘Linguistics’, she shares her experience as an immigrant, and how it was painful for her to replace her mother tongue Tamil with English. The poem even prompted the First Lady Michelle Obama to congratulate her for raising an issue relatable to people from different parts of the world who live in the US.

Since then, Maya has become a youth icon for minorities the world over, with her poem garnering acclaim from schools and educators everywhere. The teenager opens up about her experience of meeting Michelle Obama, her fear of shedding her ethnicity, and how she is trying to preserve it.

“I never realised how far reaching and universal my poem’s subject matter was. To me, it was a collection of memories from my own experience with losing my mother tongue that carried the poem forward. I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to using it as a platform for poetry in my community,” says the 17-year-old.

Maya even received a shout out from the First Lady in her speech — “It was amazing to meet her! I was surprised and super excited that she singled me out. I’ll never forget how I felt up there on the stage. It was wonderful to meet the alumni of the program too.”

In the poem, Maya tells her mother that she may lose the syllables of her name next. “As a teenager and as a first generation Indian American, I write a lot about foreigners and my experiences with language, personal life, and music. Often, my work dips into personal stories and rather emotional moments in my life,” says Maya, who considers reading at the White House, a dream come true.
Maya wrote ‘Linguistics’ after realising that she had ‘replaced’ Tamil with English — “Losing a language has taught me a lot about myself and the way I perceive language, culture, and heritage.”    

Maya writes a lot of poems based on her heritage and culture. Born and brought up in the US, she was introduced to the Tamil culture by her family — “I get a lot of inspiration from my heritage and in a way, poetry really preserves my culture as well.”

Although she can’t read or write Tamil, she appreciates its significance, “I have found a way to describe these cultural values through English poetry.” The young writer believes that poetry is truly universal and accessible to all.

When asked about the response from her family and friends, Maya reveals, “It was overwhelmingly positive. My relatives have been so wonderful and supportive and my community has reacted by calling attention to poetry as an important form of creative expression.”

An avid reader and writer, Maya’s first preference was always poetry. She started out writing short rhyming poems in middle school, and then branched off into lyrical and non-rhyming poetry. We ask her about her favourite poets? “I can’t single out anyone. I am inspired by many authors, and by my own experiences.”
On a parting note, the young icon said that she hopes to write a book someday and inspire countless young people to write poetry as well. She loves music and science — and wants to help people in the future either as a writer or as an engineer. This teenager sure is someone who has her future chalked out!