Book Review: Tina’s Mouth, by Keshni Kashyap

by Aishika J.

Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Diary

Recently, I have started indulging myself in books with desi girl protagonists. Although they are few and hard to find, I feel a special bond with these books—mainly because I get the inside jokes and I can relate to them. I get the girls and I get their internal conflicts because I have lived it. And Tina’s Mouth by Keshni Kashyap is not different.

Although, I have to admit, I did cringe at some parts. Mainly:

1. The Cultural Appropriation: I’m not really a fan of the Hare Krishnas and the like, but I can’t fault Tina for not calling them out since this is her story and she’s still learning. I have to admit though, whenever I read or watch stuff set in small, predominately white high schools, I’m so glad for the diversity of my own high school.
2. This is not a feminist anthem as there’s a lot of “I’m not like other girls’” stuff.

But I can forgive this. Because Tina is still young, and I feel like she did go through a major growth over the course of the story. And this is a story meant to be read over and over again. There’s a lot of nuance details to be noticed the second time around, and I have to admit, I enjoyed figuring out the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai reference. The illustrations by Mari Araki are superbly simple and quaint, adding another depth to the story and enlivening Tina’s experiences and thoughts. The graphic art style is fantastic for this novel.

Stereotypes, Women, and Hollywood’s Version of Bollywood

by Asha

A while ago, my friend asked if I wanted to see Bride and Prejudice – the Indian version of Pride and Prejudice starring Aishwarya Rai (you know, the woman who won Miss World in 1994, and is often called “the most beautiful woman in the world“?) who plays the main character, Lalita Bakshi. I agreed, because it was a movie that I have wanted to see for a while and I am a sucker for all things with a Bollywood twist.

While I did enjoy the film immensely – it combined two of my favorite things in the world, Bollywood and rom-coms, who wouldn’t I? – I did find a couple of aspects of the movie really eye-roll worthy. Which parts? Mainly, the depiction of Mr. Kholi, Lalita’s Indian suitor, and Mrs. Bakshi, Lalita’s mother who insists she marry him because he has money plus he lives in America because they were really typical of characters present when Hollywood decides to make a movie set in India. Even the lyrics of the No Life Without Wife song from the movie illustrate how stereotypical Mr. Kholi is as a suitor :

Lonely Mr. Kholi from Las Angeles

Came to Punjab on one bent knee

He had a green card, new house, big cash

So made a wish with every fallen lash

For you to do the journey with him

To smile when he got home ask how his day had been

He wants you by his side in joy and strife

Poor Mr. Kholi he has no life without wife.

–          Lyrics from No Life Without Wife from Bride and Prejudice

Granted, it is an adaptation, so I will let it pass. (I do wonder though, if this modern version of the novel would have worked in a different country that was not India? Would Hollywood have tried to make the same format work in, say, modern day England?)

However, characters like Mr. Kholi and Mrs. Bakshi are not single instances in Hollywood.  They are part of a collection of Indian characters that are more or less depicted the same way – I couldn’t help but be reminded of 2002 British film Bend It Like Beckham starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightly. Nagra’s character faces essentially the same struggles as Rai’s character, in that she wants to lead her own life and follow her own dreams, but is held by her traditional and commanding mother, who just wants what she thinks is best for her daughters.

Movie poster for Bend It Like Beckham, a film about a Punjabi girl who struggles with being part of two vastly different cultures and following her dreams or appeasing her family

I have to wonder where this idea that all Indian girls, especially ones in the diaspora, face the same problems and are someway oppressed by their culture comes from. Is it Bollywood? I mean, Bollywood does have a serious epidemic of objectifying its female characters and treating them as simple plot devices – something that has spread into the South Indian film industries as well. Some have noted that Bollywood essentially has only four main roles for its women – the Ideal Wife, the Ideal Mother, the Vamp, and the Courtesan – something I find to be a gross simplification of the Indian film industry in general. There are several noteworthy female centric females – some of which that have come out as recently as a few years ago.

For example, there is a 2009 Telugu film starring Anushka Shetty and Sonu Sood called Arundhati, where the main character not only kicks the villain’s arse twice but saves the guy for once instead. The film was popular in its native state of Andhra Pradesh and Shetty also went on to do a film called Vedam where she plays a prostitute that actually gets a complete character arc and development.

So, there is definitely some progress when it comes to portraying real Indian women in the Indian film industry. Some of the most acclaimed movies in Bollywood are the female-centric ones and there is a definitely a revolution occurring in India among the younger generation – both in the film industry and outside – to dismantle the traditional image of what is means to be a woman – a revolution that Western portrayals of India continue to fail to mention.

Take for instance the hit movie Slumdog Millionaire, about a boy (Jamal Malik) played by Dev Patel and his life trying to survive in the slums of India and reunite with his childhood love.

First, the movie is not a completely accurate portrayl of India – the progressive side of India is completely ignored in order to paint an image of India that is dirt poor, infested with crime with a complete lack of compassion from the police. But it also undermines and underrepresents Indian women. There are only two prominent female characters in the movie – Jamal’s mother and his love interest Latika, played by Frieda Pinto.

Yes, India has regressive elements that result in rapes, female feticides and a gender bias. But India is also a country where women choose to wear and say what they want. It has Indira Gandhi, Indra Nooyi and Medha Patkar. And yes, we also have space for Mallika Sherawat. It is uncool for an Indian woman to go abroad and speak ill of our country. We have problems, yes. But we are fighting them. And we will defeat them. – Richa Chadha

Jamal’s mother is killed off pretty early in the narrative – really, we only see her berating and beating her sons for skipping school and then later telling them to run just before being killed herself. She reinforces and amplifies the role of “the mother” that Bollywood has, but to western audiences, she is an Indian mother, the stereotypical one that beats her kids as her way of showing affection and teaching them a lesson – as if all Indian mothers are homogenous entities that beat their kids but still love them unconditionally.

Latika is another stereotype of Indian female characters – her whole life is basically dominated by men making the choices for her. The only time she makes her own choices is when it concerns Jamal. She basically paints an image that all Indian women are essentially controlled by the men in their lives and have no say when it comes to living how they want.

Latika and Jamal’s mother are not single instances either when it comes to characters in western movies about India – Asha from Outsourced, the girl from the ashram in Eat, Pray, Love, and more recently, the mother in Life of Pi. The former two are forced into an arranged marriage that they don’t particularly want by their parents, which is a complete misrepresentation of how modern day arranged marriages actually work in India (it is more like a dating game, where the parents choose matches for their sons/daughters who then get to decide who they like best) and the later who also ends up killed off, but not before imparting crucial wisdom and insight in the titular character Pi. Not to mention, how similar all the Indian females on TV here in the U.S. are as well.

So, what’s up Hollywood? Why are your Indian female characters basically the same? Do we really come up as that oppressed and homogenous? Because, I can assure you, we are not.

Dating and Marriage Stereotypes

By Caterpillar321

I am a teen and like almost every other teen, I’ve given some thought to dating and maybe even marriage. WRONG! I am Bengali and dating is absolutely forbidden.  I will go through with an arranged marriage like my parents because tradition dictates my life.

That is what a lot of people think about South-Asian culture in general.  I think the media intensifies this stereotype.  An example would be Bollywood romance films which have similar plots.  Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a legendary Bollywood romance movie demonstrates this stereotype.  The basic summary of the story is that two people fall in love, but one or both sets of parents disapprove and try to force their children into an arranged marriage.  As you can see in this short clip her father immediately banished the idea of the girl falling in love.  Admittedly the couple always ends up happily together, but we all know that never happens in real life.

I, personally have never dated.  No, my parents have not forbidden me, but it’s an unspoken rule of my home.  The one and only time I expressed feelings for a boy (this was at age eight), things did not go well.  I received a stern talking to about values, tradition, and religion.  Growing up in America, I didn’t think there was anything wrong about it because I saw it everywhere.  However, our culture is conservative about issues relating to dating, marriage, and sex.  Unless your parents are super modern and open, I doubt any south-Asian teen is dating.

Dating is a lot of work and commitment by itself.  Now combine dating while lying to your parents or relatives, it becomes the infinite challenge not only for teens but adults as well. A young woman of 26 is still hiding her boyfriend of three and a half years.  Yet, if you choose to be the conscientious child, you’re asked incessantly, “Are you conforming to your traditions?”, “Will you say yes to an arranged marriage?”

My honest opinion is that a lot of these stereotypes and questions stem  from the way we depict ourselves.  I mentioned the 26 year old before who is currently hiding her boyfriend.  I actually read an article about her real life struggle as a South-Asian American woman harboring this secret.  The fact that she wrote about keeping her boyfriend secret reinforces this stereotype.  Although I respect her decision, it really shows how much the media and our own struggles can define this stereotype.

The Many Tastes of India

By Pocohantas421

As United States grows more diverse, the stereotypes begin to get ridiculous.  People begin to infer certain aspects about one’s life, and make assumptions on their  own accord. For example, some people say African Americans are obsessed with chicken, and Asians do not eat anything other than rice.

I have also been stereotyped due to my  culture, especially about the food industry. For example, many people state that Indians eat curry everyday, which is not true.  Although, we do eat curry every once in awhile, it is not  the only type of meal that we eat. I feel as if many people know of this stereotype only because they are able to pronounce the word “curry” unlike other Indian food words. In addition many people are  not exposed to other indian foods except for  the occasional  curry mix that they see in their local supermarket.Even Analog Foodie states that “One common misconception is the belief that Indian meals are dependent on  curry”.

This map shows the different types of food (other than curry) that is made in India.

I know from my own experiences that this the first thing that people say, so they can connect  with me. For example, on Facebook, I had posted “Happy Birthday!,” to a friend who I did not know very well. Immediately, she had commented if I eat curry everyday. Not only that, but I was not even aware of this stereotype until I arrived to  middle school, where I had met many people from different elementary schools. Either way, this has taught and spread to others, that the Indian food is only limited to curry. In fact , there is such a wide variety of foods that  that Indian dishes are categorized by North, South, West, and East  tastes of  India,

However, many people ask these stereotypes to one another out of mere curiosity,  and as a way to have start a conversation.  I  believe that stereotypes can bring people of different cultures together, because the lack of knowledge that one has of other worlds can bring a certain mystery to one’s life.