The
collection of stories, Shopping for Sabzi, interweaves themes of ambition
and identity. Characters are ‘shopping for sabzi,’ a Hindi-English
or ‘Hinglish’ term to describe the jockeying for social status, successful
love, career fulfillment and personal meaning. Their experiences speak
cross-culturally to a restless generation and across generations.
In “Piece of Cake,” Raj, transplanted from Houston to New York, and
dating a European photographer, is forced to confront Neha, his ex-girlfriend,
an anorexic suffering a major relapse. In “Spick and Span,” Shilpa
doubts the path she has taken when she’s asked to help matchmake at
a Gujarati marriage convention in New Jersey. “Potatoes and Punjabis
are Everywhere” follows Happy, a college student, during his first
days in Toronto, as he encounters a series of strangers that compel
him to consider cutting or keeping his still- unshorn hair. In “Woh
Auntie Hai Yahan (The Auntie is Here),” Kusum, a recently widowed
real estate agent in the Toronto suburbs, struggles to repair her
life, finding inspiration from Bollywood dance lessons given by her
friend’s teenage daughter. |