Jump for Jhumpa

She’s at it again. Jhumpa Lahiri of The Namesake fame has recently released Unaccustomed Earth, a collection of short stories once again focusing on Bengali immigrants. Alcoholism, adultery, arranged marriages, and aging parents are just the tip of the iceberg.

What I love Lahiri’s books is her ability to reach deeper than the typical ABCD lit. She explores the bi-cultural identity of first generation Indian children, without pandering to stereotypes. The burden of family wishes and yet the desire to follow your own dreams, the guilt, and the expectations that many Indian-Americans can relate to, are themes which Lahiri makes so poignant and real in her stories.

Ruma must learn to get along with her father without the comfort of her deceased mother. Hema confronts her feelings for an old crush when she is on the eve of entering an arranged marriage. An American man falls in love with unavailable Indian roommate.

Heart wrenching, delicious, and soulful, Unaccustomed Earth is a delight to the senses. So put away your Us Weekly and read something substantial this summer.

Buy it here Unaccustomed Earth

Summer Days

Ah, the salt spray, the sea breeze, the warm air, sand in your book. Nothing like a summer beach read. OK, so it’s not quite summer yet, but hey it’s never too early to get cracking!

Here’s our list of classic summer desi chicklit:

1. For Matrimonial Purposes, by Kavita Daswani. The age old story of finding a “suitable” husband is modernized in the tale of fashion publicist Anju, who moves to New York after she fails to get married in India. Nothing us ladies can’t relate to.
2. Goddess for Hire, by Sonia Singh. Forget Wonder Woman. When California girl Maya Mehra discoveres she’s the reincarnation of Kali all hell breaks loose. Unfortunately she’s still not married and lives with her parents. But this superhero doesn’t feel sorry for herself; she’s ready to kick ass.
3. Imaginary Men, by Anjali Banerjee. Tired of the questions about her lack of a love life, matchmaker Lina Ray decides to invent an imaginary boyfriend Raja. Now Lina has the tricky task of finding the Raja she’s already supposed to have. Think of it as “The Secret” meets “Clueless”.
4. The Hindi-Bindi Club, by Monica Bradhan. As little girls, Kiran, Priety, and Rani used to goodheartedly make fun of their moms, naming them “The Hindi Bindi Club”. But as grown adults with issues of their own, from divorce to infidelity to anorexia their mother-daughter relationships grow even closer, all of course with a sprinkling of some old-world tradition.

For info on any of the above books visit,

Kicking Butt Desi Style

Bollywood heros often fight villains with a few “dishooms”, a couple of deadly glances, and maybe a few evil spells. All the while our heroine is left sitting on the sidelines. Lame!

Meet real-life heroine, Vanita Gupta. Back in 1999, the recent Yale Law graduate stumbled upon a documentary about a drug bust in Tulia, TX. Vanita, convinced that racism was at the heart of the problem, decided to go to Tulia to find out.

What Vanita unearthed in the small town of Tulia led her to passionately fight to appeal the verdict of the 46 defendants wrongly convicted, assembling a team of high profile lawyers to help her. Vanita and her team won and the defendants were eventually freed four years after they were incarcerated.

Oh yeah did we mention she was only 28?

Now Vanita’s amazing story is going to grace the silver screen. And Vanita is being played by none other than….. Parminder Nagra? Sheetal Sheth? Maybe even Aishwarya? Nope, the role is going to be played by Halle Berry. Yep, this is going to be interesting. The half-white, half-black not-so desi actress will be directed by Carl Franklin in the screen adaptation of Nate Blakesee’s book “Tulia”.

OK, so we would have preferred the role go to an actress of South Asian descent. But at least Halle is still playing a South Asian. It’s a little early to rush (or not rush depending on how you feel about the casting) to the theater (the movie is scheduled for release in 2008), but you can always read the book, Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town in the meantime.

Better get to reading!

To learn about updates and more Tulia news, check www.imdb.com

Back in Brown

Shopping for a birthday present for a 6 year old is a tough job. Do they really need another truck or anatomically unrealistic doll? We think not.

This year why not give the little tykes something they can relate to?

Kahani, is a unique award winning magazine geared towards South Asian children living in North America. The first of its kind, (why didn’t anyone think of this before???), Kahani is secular and non-political, which means everyone from Khonas to Khans can appreciate the sweet and endearing stories.

With tales about summers visiting Grandma (remember the first time you saw cows on the street?), geography lessons about the Himalayas, and upping your cool factor with “magical” henna tattoos, Kahani offers a whole new perspective on growing up South Asian in, well a non South Asian culture.

The contributing writers are also published authors and illustrators as well. On the website you can purchase some of their works including "Mama's Saris”, "Bollywood Babes" and "Looking for Bapu", as well as subscribe to the magazine itself. And even better, the hip writing and gorgeous illustrations means us grown-ups can appreciate the stories too.

Don’t worry. We won’t tell anyone the subscription was for you.

Kahani, www.kahani.com

Indian Summer

Margaritas. BBQ’s. Long lazy days at the beach. This is what summer is all about. Of course, no sojourn to the beach would be complete without the perfect summer read.

Girl Most Likely To…, by Poonam Sharma, is the story of Vina, a 27 year old Indian-American investment banker, living in NY, and troubled by the idea of turning 30 and still being single. Between being set up with an attorney by her parents, and navigating the gaggle of “nice Indian doctors”, life in NY, and endless martinis, Vina searches for what she really wants, how to deal with her parents, and how to find happiness on her own.

Okay, so its chick lit. But is also painfully funny, easy to relate to and well just a jolly good time. Perfect for summer.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Girl Most Likely To (Red Dress Ink Novels) is available at Amazon.com by clicking the link above.

For more info about Poonam, check out her website,

www.poonam.info