Dear Readers,
A new wave of South Asian talent continues to blaze a trail in the creative scene; and, this month, we had the honor to listen to journalists, editors, actors, and singers on some of the largest stages in New York City.
A brief reflection on each experience:
Never Have I Ever cast at 92NY: Gossip Girl aside, we are not much for soapy dramas. That was until we met Never Have I Ever’s Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). Much is said about the grieving, rage-prone teen. Yet, oddly, we are not here to talk about her. In its final season, my adoration and eyes were on Devi’s mother, Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan). In a pre-season conversation with Teen Vogue’s Versha Sharma, Jagannathan was asked about her character’s tasteful and trendy style, specifically why she chose to carry homegrown Indian fashion labels on-screen. Her response sat with us long after the event. Media is replete with stereotypical depictions of South Asian immigrant mothers. They sport traditional Indian clothing with sneakers. Their dress sense is not considered modern nor desirable. The show’s costume design team sourced clothes from Indian-based designers and Western brands to capture Nalini’s nuanced identity as a Los Angeles resident of Indian descent. Admittedly, we did not pick up on this creative direction from the get-go. But, Jagannathan’s commentary begs the question, “when we show up, how do we show up?” After all, not all representation is good representation.
Life of Pi on Broadway: Live theater is special, and there is an astonishingly high bar for theater performances in New York City. If the show’s three Tony awards were not convincing of its caliber, let us tell you: this was dazzling. With lifelike puppetry and lighting design that captures fantasy and adventure, the play landed in our top three productions of all time. The show will end its Broadway run early, with its last performance scheduled for July 23. While the production will tour North American beginning fall 2024, we remain perplexed by the play’s sudden close date. This is the largest Asian American cast in a play on Broadway; and it is flawless - beginning to end. Surely they have earned their stripes for a longer run (pun intended).
Monsoon Wedding Off-Broadway: Equal parts fun and dark, yet all around nostalgic. The show drew longtime lovers of Mira Nair’s work, and new Bollywood admirers - who, like us, were bopping with every tune and enthralled by every chaotic subplot (each which warrants its own BGB newsletter). Viewers should assume that there is something in the show for everyone.
Until next time,
Mishika and Sri
Community events:
Aesop Queer Library: To celebrate Pride Month 2023, Aesop is offering books by LGBTQIA+ authors in store, with no purchase necessary.
US and Canada: 6/20 – 6/25
Aesop Williamsburg, NY
Aesop Silverlake, LA
Aesop Yorkville, TO
UK
Aesop Soho: 6/29 – 7/2
Masala Mixtape: This one-of-a-kind music festival on 7/8 brings together over 20 artists, delivering a rich tapestry of hip-hop, pop, R&B, electronic, and Bollywood sounds across two stages. Music lovers in New York City can purchase tickets here for a day of catchy beats.
The Newlyweds by Mansi Choksi
Reviewed by: Grishma Patel
Mansi Choksi’s ”The Newlyweds” is a watershed investigative work into relationships in India that break away from the norm. Three couples take center stage: one relationship involves a pair belonging to a different socioeconomic class, another a Hindu-Muslim pair, and the last is a lesbian couple closeted from their families. While the premise is daringly inspirational, this book does not shy away from the hard realities of marriage.
Choksi provides an empathetic but hard-hitting look at the power structures involved in Indian marriages: caste, religion, socio-economic class, as well as the decision-makers and influences that still pull the invisible strings of matrimonial decisions in India today. As I read this book, I was reminded strongly of my masi, my mother’s sister, whom I witnessed get an arranged marriage at the young age of 20. The struggles experienced by the couples in “The Newlyweds” shed new light on emotions I witnessed, but could not decipher, as a child watching my aunt’s wedding in which she had very little decision-making power.
Readers will not always get a happy ending in “The Newlyweds;” instead, each page leaves readers yearning, perhaps naively, for these couples to finally find equilibrium in their marriage. This is Choksi’s intent. By ending each story abruptly and without resolution, Choksi pushes readers to examine the weight of social norms, especially in India’s current political climate, and the cost of defying them for the sake of love.
📚 Get your copy of “The Newlyweds.”
Our Best Intentions by Vibhuti Jain
Reviewed by: Ankita Agarwal
Vibhuti Jain’s debut novel “Our Best Intentions” is a powerful exploration of the interplay between racial tensions, family bonds, and finding your place in an American small-town community.
The story follows Angie Singh, an awkward swimmer who discovers her classmate, Henry Cleary, after he is stabbed on the high school football field during summer break. The investigation into the stabbing quickly becomes a witch hunt. A search ensues for Chiara Thompkins, another student who went missing right before the attack, while Angie becomes trapped by her initial statement to the police. The characters become caught in a liminal space between what the police suppose happened and what actually occurred. While the story may read slower than some may prefer, it is perhaps an intentional reflection of the haziness enveloping readers before they are in the eye of the storm.
The novel's third-person narration from multiple perspectives creates an intimate connection with each character’s personal experiences while retaining an air of mystery without an omnipotent narrator. Jain masterfully explores the preconceived notions and societal pressures that each character faces, including the distinct experiences of racism experienced by South Asians in America versus Black Americans. Jain explores racism against South Asians but also addresses the tension many experience when forced to confront their own anti-Blackness. A slow-burning plot that grips readers right at the climax, Jain’s novel pioneers and elevates the conversation surrounding race and racism in South Asian communities. The novel is in part social commentary, a crime thriller, and a coming-of-age story all wrapped in one.
📚 Get your copy of “Our Best Intentions.”
The Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar
Reviewed by: Isa Spoerry
Rajasree Variyar’s emotional debut novel explores and challenges the difficult matter of female infanticide, endemic across some Indian castes and areas in keeping with a long-standing practice of favoring sons past a point of extremity. To flesh out and elucidate the ramifications of such a complicated sociopolitical issue, the story switches between two timelines, locations, and perspectives: Janani in early 1990s South India and Nila in 2019 cosmopolitan Australia.
Janani, a courageous young mother who must make choices unfathomable to most, and Nila, a driven but dutiful daughter, are dynamic women who make for compelling main characters. While Nila’s first-person point of view is meant to bring the reader along as she unearths the life-changing truth behind her own backstory, Variyar writes Janani in third-person omniscient, which allows for glimpses into the minds and motivations of the equally-intriguing characters who surround her.
Like the braids Janani meticulously weaves through her daughter’s hair, Variyar neatly threads together issues such as misogyny, domestic violence, and the caste system with humanistic depictions of friendship, motherhood, and romance. The subject matter is fraught, but done justice in the caring and capable hands of Variyar, whose love of India creates a soft padding for her justified critique of an antiquated and inhumane custom.
The book may seem overwhelming at first for its many moving parts: two storylines, five languages, and an armful of characters, but diligence will ultimately reward readers as the two plots converge and both women discover shocking truths about themselves and those around them. Fans of family sagas, including “Pachinko,” “A History of Burning,” and “One Hundred Years of Solitude” will surely enjoy this bi-generational reflection on faith, resilience, love, and what it means to call someone family.
📚 Get your copy of “The Daughters of Madurai.”
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