Summary | Author | Book Reviews | Discussion Questions
The Hindi-Bindi Club
Monica Pradhan, 2007
Random House
448 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780553384529
In Brief
For decades they have remained close, sharing treasured recipes, honored customs, and the challenges of women shaped by ancient ways yet living modern lives. They are the Hindi-Bindi Club, a nickname given by their American daughters to the mothers who left India to start anew—daughters now grown and facing struggles of their own.
For Kiran, Preity, and Rani, adulthood bears the indelible stamp of their upbringing, from the ways they tweak their mothers’ cooking to suit their Western lifestyles to the ways they reject their mothers’ most fervent beliefs. Now, bearing the disappointments and successes of their chosen paths, these daughters are drawn inexorably home.
Kiran, divorced, will seek a new beginning—this time requesting the aid of an ancient tradition she once dismissed. Preity will confront an old heartbreak—and a hidden shame. And Rani will face her demons as an artist and a wife. All will question whether they have the courage of the Hindi-Bindi Club, to hold on to their dreams—or to create new ones.
An elegant tapestry of East and West, peppered with food and ceremony, wisdom and sensuality, this luminous novel breathes new life into timeless themes. (From the publisher.)
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About the Author
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
• Raised—in the Washington, DC area
• Education—B.S., Syracuse University; M.B.A., University of
Cincinnati
• Currently—lives in Minnieapolis, Minnesota (USA); Toronto
(Canada)
Monica Pradhan's parents immigrated to the United States from Mumbai, India, in the 1960s. She was born in Pittsburgh, PA, and grew up outside Washington, DC. and now lives in Minnesota and Toronto with her husband. (From the publisher.)
More
Monica Pradhan's parents emigrated from Mumbai, India, to the United States in the 1960s after her father won a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania for his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. Monica was born in Pittsburgh, grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, and currently lives in Minneapolis and Toronto with her husband. (The two have also lived in New York, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, and Michigan.)
Monica credits Nancy Drew books, discovered early in elementary school, for her love of novels and desire to write. As a teen at Langley High School, she was Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, The Saxon Scope, and was admitted to Syracuse University as a dual major in journalism and business. Quickly, however, Monica discovered she had neither the talent nor the desire to write on demand and dropped journalism.
Though she went on to earn a B.S. in Managerial Law & Public Policy from Syracuse University and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Cincinnati, the writing bug never died. (From the author's website.)
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Critics Say . . .
The Hindi-Bindi Club is the affectionate, if mocking, name bestowed by their American-born daughters on three Indian-born women whose lifelong friendship was forged when they met 40 years ago in Boston's graduate school community. The narrative voices change, with each mother and each daughter telling her story.... The book is an interesting account of cultural change. It's more than Indian-American chick-lit, although it's that, too, with a wedding in the last chapter and lots of recipes interspersed in the narrative.
Boston Globe
Everything you wanted to know about India, its culture and its people combine here to make a fascinating read.
Rocky Mountain News
Pradhan's vibrant tale bears witness to the eternal struggle between mothers and daughters, with a slight Bollywood twist. Instead of elaborate musical numbers, the reader is treated to all manner of delicious, mouth-watering recipes that bookend each chapter. Told from the multiple points of view of both mothers and daughters, we see that, although cultures may be different, the problems between the generations are universal. A rich tapestry of a people, a country and three distinct families is woven into this story of mothers and daughters, childhood and adulthood, marriage and love, food and sustenance.
BookReporter.com
A small treasure of a book. I found it to be a warm, loving peek into a culture about which I know little or nothing. It contains many details of the cultural and social customs of India, how they have translated and changed within our culture, and even recipes for traditional Indian dishes. It made me look at people I know who have immigrated in a new way. It highlights the tale of generational America, and the diversity that makes us. Weighty stuff, but written in a witty, fun way.
Romance Reviews Today
The age-old intergenerational struggle between mothers and daughters gets a curried twist in Pradhan's debut, in which the subcontinent meets the modern West. As children, first-generation Americans Kiran Deshpande, Preity Chawla Lindstrom and Rani McGuiness Tomashot gently mocked their Indian mothers, collectively nicknamed "The Hindi-Bindi Club" for their Old World leanings. Though the three are now successful adults, they aren't necessarily seen as such by their parents. For starters, none married Indian men. But now, Kiran's parents may get their chance to "semi-arrange" a marriage for their divorced daughter as she considers the possibility that there may be something to the old ways. Preity, mostly happily married to business school beau Eric, carries a small torch for a long-lost love—a Muslim her parents didn't approve of—and considers seeking him out. Meanwhile, rocket scientist Rani's passion for art starts to pay off as she becomes spiritually listless. Pradhan's debut is breezy (there are enough recipes dotting the narrative to fill a cookbook), though it touches on not-so sunny issues—prejudice, breast cancer, infidelity. The prose isn't dynamite and the characters are stock, but the novel easily fulfills its ready-made requirements.
Publishers Weekly
At the beginning of this debut novel, American-born Kiran Deshpande returns home as the divorced prodigal daughter of Indian parents. But her story quickly unfolds into the larger tale of her mother, Meenal, and Meenal's friends, whom Kiran and her childhood friends Preity and Rani had dubbed the Hindi-Bindi Club.... Each chapter is narrated by a different character and explores the diverse experiences of these mothers, daughers, and wives who struggle to be Indian and American. Readers learn about cherished family recipes and the history that brought these women to the present. Pradhan imbues the narrative with such honesty and real emotion that the novel is difficult to put down. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy mother-daughter fiction and all popular fiction collections.
Library Journal
Although Pradhan's novel is much lighter than Tan's, her pages are alive with the sights, sounds, and smells (recipes included) of a vibrant Indian culture. In addition, her young characters speak with fresh but cutting humor about the difficulties of assimilation. —Joanne Wilkinson
Booklist
Book Club Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the storytelling approach Pradhan takes. Did you find the varying first person narrative chapters effective or jarring in any way? Did you like the email and letter exchanges that are strewn throughout?
2. Though Meenal, Saroj and Uma—the three mothers that make up the Hindi-Bindi Club—all had fairly different experiences in India, they forged a very strong bond once they moved to America. Did they all embrace the American way of life in the same way? How did their pasts affect their adaptation? Think about each woman’s choice of lifestyle—how she lives, if she works, how she raised her children, etc.
3. Describe the dynamic between the daughters, Kiran, Preity and Rani, during the first part of the novel. In your opinion, what is the reason for the tension that seems to surround these three women?
4. Kiran’s parents are perhaps the most traditional characters represented in this book. Explain the Deshpandes’ reaction to Kiran’s decision to marry and ultimately divorce, and the eventual strain her lifestyle caused to their whole family. Reference the words Kiran’s father shares about “a disposable society.” (page 106)
5. At one point during the novel, each of the three daughters journeys home to face and deal with a disappointing and/or haunting aspect of her life. Discuss the different experiences and situations. How do they use the comfort of their mothers and one another to gain the courage to do what will ultimately make them happy?
6. What do you make of Rani’s character? How has the pressure of success and consequent fear of failure in her decision to pursue art affected her?Explain the significance her trip to India with her mother has on her health, her relationship with her husband, and her overall outlook on life.
7 . Throughout the novel, the author weaves in a good deal of significant Indian history. Discuss the essential role it plays in the story and specifically describe the ways in which Partition dramatically affects both Saroj and her daughter Preity, though in quite different ways.
8. Uma tells the tragic story of her mother’s—and Rani’s grandmother’s—death. Reflect on the common Indian blessing, “May you be the mother of a hundred sons,” and relate this to Ma’s situation in life.
9. How does Pradhan use different illnesses or diseases to help reveal things about certain characters? Think about how in portraying the way Meenal, Rani, and Preity respectively deal with maladies, the reader’s understanding of the characters is changed.
10. How is Kiran’s semi-arranged marriage and her actual wedding ceremony a perfect blend of Eastern and Western traditions?
11. In addition to beautifully written narratives, the novel contains many different recipes. What is the significance of each recipe that follows every chapter? How does it represent the character who references it? What role does food play as a whole throughout the book?
(Questions issued by publisher.)
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