Imagining India
Wedding reality shows, magical realism, paper creations and sweet smells.
Hello there,
We’re in the midst of false spring here in New York after a very long, gray winter. In some of the cold, dark days of quarantine, I craved the polar opposite, which I found in stories from India.
Watch
Indian Matchmaking (Netflix) is an admittedly guilty pleasure, and it immediately sparked controversy among the Desi community, for good reason. But despite its many flaws, it has all of the elements for gratifying entertainment: incredible (real) characters, family drama, and frustrated love. If you want a distraction that you will immediately want to discuss with someone, it will absolutely give you that.
If you’ve already seen it or prefer something more high-brow about matchmaking in India, check out the documentary A Suitable Girl (Amazon Prime). Just a heads up that it’s very depressing.
The Big Day (Netflix) is pretty simple: it’s basically clips from very wealthy Indian wedding videos with some interviews thrown in. These are over the top, lavish, ridiculous weddings and I found myself frustrated the episodes weren’t three times as long to show more details. Also, get some tissues for the gay wedding episode.
Read
Latitudes of Longing is a wonderful escape book. It takes place in a variety of locales: the Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Nepal, and a mountain region between Indian and Pakistan. It’s incredibly vivid with a lot of magical realism, and while I didn’t like the last three sections as much as the first, it really took me far away.
The Far Field is a wonderfully written book that sucks you right in. It takes place in southern India and Kashmir, and tells the story of two very different families and how their paths intertwine. The only disclaimer I’d put is that I really did not like the ending.
See the full list of entertainment and book recommendations here.
Follow
Sabeena Karnik is a wonderful Indian artist who makes incredible creations out of paper. She doesn’t post very often so it’s always fun to see what new piece she’s come up with.
Do
When you’re stuck in a city before things start to bloom, it can be really comforting to have some sweet smells at home. I really love this jasmine and bamboo candle I splurged on at the beginning of the pandemic.
Until next week,
Rachel