Comments on: Marriage And Food Are So 2002, Indian Artists Say

By: Boris

Boris — Mon, 14 May 2007 11:46:59 +0000

I know that list is sarcastic, but it really oughtn’t be that hard to not be so formulaic. I found this entry really hilarious and on-the-mark. There’s a reason why none of these books every really resonated with me on almost any significant level, and have been recommended most enthusiastically to me by gushing white people (not that desis don’t read or enjoy this stuff).

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Fri, 04 May 2007 08:00:42 +0000

Notes to self for next book:

1) No names that Bollywood stars happen to share. 2) No easy-to-pronounce names. 3) Must have a character named Lakshmi. 4) No food. Definitely no curry! And no spices, either. 5) Nothing remotely “exotic.” 6) No arranged marriage. 7) No cross-cultural love. Brown chick must choose brown dude. 9) No “hot” topics; if too many people are interested, it can’t possibly be worthwhile. 10) Nothing “too” realistic/authentic…then it’s stock/stereotype/cliche.

By: Vijay

Vijay — Wed, 02 May 2007 21:16:32 +0000

Check out this book: http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/Books/BookDetail.asp?ID=6329

“No Onions Nor Garlic” by Srividya Natarajan. Yeah, it’s got food in the title, and there is a lot about arranged marriage in the story, but it’s not that kind of a book (really). It’s more like a Wodehouse story set in Madras. And the title refers to a line from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. The students at Chennai University stage the most hilarious version of this play in the first few chapters of the book. This is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Not sure if it’s available in the US yet.

By: Maitri

Maitri — Tue, 01 May 2007 21:12:23 +0000

Oh, and kudos, Naina, this “news report” was very nicely done.

By: Maitri

Maitri — Tue, 01 May 2007 21:07:57 +0000

I've read this post several times now and just can't get over that The Exotic Arranged Marriage Spices Club is the title of a seriously-intended book and not funmaking. It's so stereotypically ... hilarious.

By: Shankar

Shankar — Tue, 01 May 2007 20:13:43 +0000

Taz, maybe it would have been better if he were reading it in a more engaging way, but it was so monotonous. This might have to do with Indian intonation. Indian intonation of English is different from that of Americans.

I haven’t read “Sacred Games”, but I absolutely lowed “Love and Longing in Bombay”. Do not judge a book by the author reading

By: kusala

kusala — Tue, 01 May 2007 19:25:59 +0000

Sometimes I think desi’s never want to stop being cynics and just want to trash everything everyone else attempts.

I think Vinny J makes a bit of a valid point… it’s one thing to whinge about just about every book published in the last 15 years, it’s another to take a complex view of things (which, don’t get me wrong, a lot of commenters have). As a professor of mine once said, and which I find to be good advice most of the time, “I don’t care what you’re against, tell me what you’re for.

Not everyone is going to like everything, but some of the trashtalk about Lahiri and others is pretty weak. While Naina’s original satirical riff was great, I’d actually really be interested in having a Mutineer capture an interview with Lahiri or Divakaruni or another writer and actually explore these issues, rather than just slamming The Interpreter of Maladies as derivative and calling it “Arranged Marriage, Part II.” In other words, if Jhumpa-di were in the room, would we choose to express differently the shortcomings/merits of her writing?

Speaking of the desi Woody Allen…. it’s not the Jews who are the only ones who seem obsessed with Schadenfreude.

By: Hari

Hari — Tue, 01 May 2007 19:17:14 +0000

it's high time for a desi master storyteller

His name is Vikram Seth.

By: Taz

Taz — Tue, 01 May 2007 18:45:38 +0000

Vikram Chandra did a reading of Sacred Games at the Festival of Books here this weekend. My sister and I sat, but left after 10 minutes because we were bored out of our minds. maybe it would have been better if he were reading it in a more engaging way, but it was so monotonous. I now can't fathom the thought of reading 500+ pages of that dialog.

I too LOVE the book Story-wallah. Another book in a long list that I lost to someone...I wish I had that one back (the book, not the guy).

By: louiecypher

louiecypher — Tue, 01 May 2007 18:32:32 +0000

This may be true, but the Woody Allen type that I had in mind arises as an comic 'interpreter' of 'maladies' in settled diasporic life. That apart, I never attributed any of his, to me, essential aspects to his germo-phobia. I could be wrong.

Would his clarinet playing be an essential aspect? Perhaps our Woody Allen knockoff can play nadaswaram instead? I don't have the time to elaborate, but I feel that his type of angst and self deprecation requires a society with significant surplus in order to develop (and be appreciated by at least 10% of the audience).