Over at Sepia Mutiny, Naina is headed for The Daily Show or its offshoot with her fine “news report” on the ever-unchanging trends in popular Indian-American literature.
NEW YORK ” Indian filmmakers, authors, dancers and other artists gathered Monday at the Asian American Writer“s Workshop to discuss the community“s ongoing obsession with arranged marriage and food.
… Arranged marriages are definitely out, said Laila Ranveer, a filmmaker and meeting facilitator. Foods that made the list included tamarind, rice, dal, spices, the word masala, and fish (only for Bengalis). Participants also agreed that characters in their works could no longer longingly remember their mother“s/aunty“s/grandma“s/maid“s homemade cooking.
Sonia Prasad, however, was unfazed by criticism that she is focusing on arranged marriage because it’s a safe topic in ethnic literature … Perhaps my focus on arranged marriage is a bit too much for you, but that’s probably because of your Eurocentric way of perceiving my culture, she said. Shit, all Indians talk about is marriage. What“s wrong with making a few extra bucks off of it?
But seriously, check out Shyam Selvadurai’s Story-wallah, a collection of short stories by authors of South Asian descent. According to an SM commenter, the book has “pulled in the heavy hitters (Rushdie, Lahiri), but also writers from Trinidad, Sri Lanka, Guyana, and Malaysia.”
I myself am in the middle of Carmit Delman’s “Burnt Bread And Chutney”, her memoir of growing up Indian and Jewish. Wonder if it will help nudge the trend a tad…or should I say “noodge”?