I just finished reading the delightful debut YA novel “Red Turban White Horse” written by the local author Nandini Bajpai that is set in the Metrowest (of Boston) and is full of thinly disguised local references. For someone, like myself, living in the region, this is a tasty treat!
The heroine of the story (Padmini “Mini” Kapoor) is a resourceful, caring teen who comes in charge of orchestrating her older sisters wedding while at the same time a hurricane is barreling down the east coast. Mini is a generous soul and armed with the current know-how of how-to-get-things done, she sets about to get everything in order from location to caterer to finding their mother’s lehengas (a skirt that is long, embroidered and pleated) that have been packed away for many years so that her sister can have the fairy tale wedding she deserves.
Start with the rich descriptions of the beautiful fabrics of the lehengas, from the gold and cranberry to the raspberry and silver, add in the mouth-watering descriptions of the delicious aromatic curries, warm crusty garlic naans, fragrant rice and Tandoori chicken, and then sprinkle in sweet, youthful romance and strong family values and you have a little slice of swarg!
I highly recommend this YA novel! It is a fun romp through Indian-American culture, with strong, likable characters and lots of local flavor (I did reach out to the author and she indicated that the little takeaway that comes to Mini’s rescue is loosely based on a diner on Route 9 in Framingham called Welcome India. I can’t wait to try them sometime.)
Full disclosure: I stumbled upon this book at the LOCAL library book sale! All opinions expressed are my own.
I Am Uniquely Eve 