Desi Girls

Book excerpt: Coping with the customs and expectations in the countries where they are now living, the mainly female characters in these tales have to choose whether to cling to their Indian culture, discard it completely, or learn how to adjust and compromise. It's a challenge! Themes of courtship, marriage and betrayal - of losing and re-forming one's identity while trying to live up to Indian ideals of behaviour in an alien environment - contain all the vibrancy of India herself. And amidst the fragrance, colour and beloved familiarity of the rituals that accompany the characters, many varied and sometimes disturbing dramas are played out in these stories by: Va Naidu, Achala Sharma, Anil Prabha Kumar, Anshu Johri, Archana Penuli, Aruna Sabharwal, Chaand Chazelle, Divya Mathur, Ila Prasad, Kadambari Mehra, Neena Paul, Purnima Varman Pushpa Saxena, Shail Agrawal, Sneh Thakore and Sudershen Priyadershini.