The Rummy Club: July 2012

Thursday, July 19, 2012

THINGS I PREFER IN THE U.S. VS. INDIA

As the country celebrated July 4th two weeks ago & Americans reaffirmed their commitment to freedom, life & liberty, and on the eve of my trip to India, it got me thinking:

What are the things I love about living in the U.S., my adopted country, vs. the things I love about the country I left behind? (One of my favorite authors, Monica Pradhan, writes about it as well in her novel, The Hindi Bindi Club.)

THINGS I PREFER ABOUT INDIA

1. Spirituality

2. Hospitality

3. Sense of community

4. Respect for elders

5. Cultural diversity

6. Family values

7. Multiple languages

8. Traditions & Celebrations

THINGS I PREFER ABOUT THE U.S.

1. Orderly traffic
2. Cleanliness
3. Safety
4. Education

5. Time means actual time, not the different time schedule Indians jokingly refer to as Indian Standard Time
6. Use of 'Please' & 'Thank you' & other common courtesies
7. Infrastructure
8. Work ethic
9. Respect for manual laborers & subordinates
10. Acceptance of outsiders
11. Relatively low corruption
12. Sense of pride for & maintenance of historical landmarks

Description

The Rummy Club is a contemporary women's novel about the intertwined fates of four women from India, friends from their teen years at an all-girls' boarding school, whose lives have brought each of them to the SF Bay Area. Now in their 40's, Mini, Divya, Alka, & Priya reunite. Once a week they meet to play the Indianized version of rummy. The novel provides a snapshot of the Indian diaspora in the context of 21st century America.

Spanning two decades, we see how these four lives intersect and collide, as their relationships shift and change: widowed Mini and her romantic liaison with an Anglo; Priya's painful divorce and the new path that opens for her; the tragedy of Alka's high expectations for her beloved only son; and Divya's frustrated longing for the Indian-American dream. The friendships that challenge and sustain these women make for a compelling human story.