HerFeature

Kimberly Wallace

ANIQAH Beharry is a rarity. She's a math scholar, a national recurve archer and a gifted writer, whose self-development and art therapy book But Are you Really Sorry (BAYRS), has already been nominated for the TCK Publishing Reader's Choice Award under Self-Help.

Beharry, 25, is challenging stereotypes and redefining what it means to be a young Muslim creative. Writing is an extension of her soul and to share it with the world is to be vulnerable and open, she says.

'Ever since I was a little girl, my parents encouraged me to read - from Roald Dahl, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, alongside classic and Caribbean novels,' she says.

'At Lakshmi Girls' Hindu College, we had an amazing English department and an expansive collection of Caribbean books by VS Naipaul, Samuel Selvon, Ariti Jankie and more. Throughout high school, I was an avid reader on Wattpad, where I shared a few books. I love that through writing, we can build worlds and stories to escape, when reality seems too much.'

At her core, however, Beharry is a very analytical person, she loves to find connections with everything around her. Mathematics, says Beharry, is the universal language, it grounds her in logic and reasoning. In 2012, she took up archery which was cathartic and helped grow her emotional intelligence and understanding.

After being awarded a National Open Scholarship in Mathematics, Beharry completed her Bachelor of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo. She was also the Poetry & Prose Editor for the Quetzal Art Magazine, a writer for Her Campus, and a blog contributor for Brown Girl Diary. In Beharry's world, maths and writing coexist in perfect harmony.

'At the University of Waterloo, I took a course Math for Good and Evil and learned all the ways we don't realise Math is intertwined and necessary in our lives. Writing, though, comes naturally as I feel like at any moment I'm holding back this dam of words in my mind and if I flick the switch, the words will just flow innately for me to write,' she says. Last December she published her poetry journal But Are You Really Sorry,

a self-development and art therapy book. Unlike other poetry chapbooks, after each poem there's a guiding, introspective question for readers to apply to their own contexts based on the theme of the poem, explains Beharry.

'Art and writing go hand in hand for me - I paint when I'm upset and write when I'm distraught, as we creatives have a flair for the dramat ics,' she says.

'During the pandemic, I took a course entitled 'Healing with the Arts' which reminded me that childhood activities like colouring can be calming and grounding.

My sister Amaara loves colouring mandalas to destress and I thought it would be a good idea to invite my readers to take pauses in between the heavy questions to colour or write their thoughts. It's easy to read a book, but tricky to digest the words.

Through actively working with But Are you Really Sorry, the reader can introspect whilst taking little breaks as necessary. One is able to draw a clearer picture in one's mind and lighten the burden of one's thoughts.'

Through BAYRS, Beharry seeks to reinforce the ideas of forgiveness, the tenets of apologies and seeking closure from within.

Since its publication, BAYRS and the travelling copy have been making the rounds to quite a few places in the world, not only has it been nominated for the TCK Publishing Reader's Choice Awards under self-help, a signed copy of the book is also in the Nalis Heritage Library.

'A number of readers have noted that they even shared some of their contemplations derived from BAYRS in therapy, and it is humbling to think of the power of the words we share,' says the author.

Beharry recently graduated from the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs, a joint programme by the US Embassy and Trinidad & Tobago Entrepreneurial Hub and is currently pursuing the Heriot-Watt University Masters of Business Administration programme. As a young Muslim creative, Beharry says it is impossible to separate her work from her identity, she hopes to use her creativity to present her interpretation of Islam.

'As a Muslim artist, I challenge myself to help people return to the principles which Islam promotes - which we seldom hear about - freedom of choice, justice, tolerance, equality and compassion,' says Beharry. 'I hope my work can show Islam through this lens and change the narrative.'

Aniqah Beharry author of But Are you Really Sorry.