A little like a lighter version of The Joy Luck Club, except with Indian women instead of Chinese, this is the story of three women who immigrated to America from India and their relationships with their American-born daughters. Nothing too heavy here, but I liked the characters, there was quite a bit of Indian history I'd never learned before, and the pace was nice and quick. At the end of each chapter there are recipes for Indian dishes, both traditional and Americanized. I did not prepare any of them, but it's a clever way of drawing the reader further into the story. Good beach read. ( )

The idea is sound. A family saga about Indian mothers and daughters in Washington, DC: their lives, their marriages, their relationships. And there are occasional memorable lines and moments, and one or two very likeable characters. But the execution is so terrible - so cheaply manipulative, so full of unearned faux-profundity, so full of tired clichés - that the good points are very well-buried in this novel.

Stylistically, it has more faults: Marathi and Hindi words that are supposed to be second-nature to the protagonists are italicised throughout, and the lack of nuance makes the six characters' narrative voices blur and become indistinguishable. Perhaps I read it from the wrong perspective - an NRI myself, I find the endless exposition about Indian culture and history wearing - but even with that taken into account, there is nothing subtle or refined about the way it conveys cultural clash.

(And one final note: I find it deeply, deeply irritating when an author waxes lyrical about a dish in her prose and goes on to include the recipe, down to oven temperatures, on the next page. Others may disagree with me, and may even wish to try the recipes. But I think I will desist.) ( )

http://morg.lib.in.us/blog/?p=25

Hindi Bindi tells the story of three very different women who immigrated from India to the United States and of their grown up daughters who were born and raised here. Each is working through their own issues of love, identity and family values. This is a wonderful book and would appeal to chick-lit fans, but Pradhan also manages to weave Indian culture and history seamlessly into every page while also highlighting the generational and cultural clashes between women raised in such different societies. Food plays a central role in their celebrations and encounters with each other and therefore each chapter ends with at least one recipe. (I’ve made a few of them and they’re excellent!) This book gave me wonderful insight into some of the historical events that have led up to the present day tensions between Pakistan and India and between Muslims and Hindus while still telling a warm and inviting story. ( )

Three American-born daughters of Indian women dub their mothers members of "The Hindi-Bindi Club" before coming to realise the many lessons they can learn from them - and each other. Very good. ( )

Very interesting book on Indian and Pakistani culture. If that history is not familiar to you, some of the inpact will be lost. Advertised as 'a mother-daughter' book but I found it more of a 'learning to know myself.' ( )