The Multicultural Worlds of Tricia Chin

Written by: JOEY BARTLETT

As Trinidad and Tobago’s East Indian community prepares to celebrate Indian Arrival Day, Fiasco Mag is proud to spotlight writer and storyteller Tricia Chin, whose original short story will be published tomorrow in honour of the occasion.

Observed annually on May 30th, Indian Arrival Day commemorates the arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers to Trinidad aboard the Fatel Razack in 1845.

Carrying more than 200 passengers across oceans and uncertainty, the voyage marked the beginning of a community whose influence would forever shape the cultural, spiritual, culinary, and social identity of Trinidad and Tobago.

For Chin, those histories are not distant memories; they live in the stories she tells.

The author of Tabanca and Other Stories, A True Trini Christmas, Parang the Wrong House, and For the Dead, Chin began writing during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My first story was Tabanca, and I just kept trying after that,” she says. “I’ve got four books using that process so far.”

Of Indian, Chinese, and Cocoa Panyol heritage, Chin describes multiculturalism as the heartbeat of her storytelling.

“I grew up with Indian and Cocoa Panyol influences. In my writing I use a lot of personal experience, including persons of mixed descent or blending cultures. I think multiculturalism is a defining feature in my work.”

Her stories are often rooted in what she calls “the three Fs”: folklore, food, and festivals.

“I’ve found those are the things people feel the most strongly about, but those feelings also change across generations. I wanted to write as a record for someone fifty years down the line.”

Though she is of Indian descent, Chin says her understanding of Indian culture came through fragments passed down by family, friendships, observation, and research.

“When I write about anything Indian, I incorporate what I learnt from my grandmother and family with what I’ve learnt through friends or researched myself.”

Like many Trinidadians raised in the 1980s, her memories of Indian culture are tied to family rituals, both ordinary and sacred.

“I grew up watching the religious serials on Saturday evenings and having Sunday lunch before the filmi that afternoon. Indian culture was in every home, especially homes that only had TTT, and it was embraced.”

Today, Indian Arrival Day remains deeply personal to her, usually marked with roti, curry, and a favourite historical Indian film.

Chin also draws inspiration from modern conversations surrounding femininity, identity, and womanhood in India itself.

“I follow a lot of Indian pages from India on Instagram and TikTok, and I also have colleagues from India. I’ve found there is a strong feminism there with ongoing discussions around traditional and modern roles. Hinduism also examines dual energies in the universe, Shiva and Shakti, male and female energies. I’ve been surprised and intrigued by femininity in India. This story is told from the female gaze.”

For aspiring writers, Chin’s advice is simple but deeply personal:

“Only you know your story, and you are the only person who can tell it. Do the work required to find your voice and don’t stop exploring.”

As the nation reflects on ancestry, migration, resilience, and identity this Indian Arrival Day, Chin hopes readers will see parts of themselves and their families within her work.

“Happy Indian Arrival Day to everyone,” she says. “Thank you for reading.”