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#me when. me when i don't engage with desi stuff outside of funny tamil musicals
demigod-of-the-agni Β· 6 months
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any cool desi books/media to recommend??
Okay to be fair I am not the biggest consumer of desi media HOWEVER. I have a few niche favourites (some of them come from my research for my Major Work in my final year in high school but here's a quick list):
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri - god this entire book changed me fundamentally. It was like watching my own life play in fast-forward and getting hit in places I didn't want to be hit. if you are a first-generation desi in a western country, you will be on the ground sobbing
If You See Me, Don't Say Hi by Neel Patel - a collection of short stories that methodically break down some of the most subtle and pervasive stereotypes within desi cultures. I've only ever had time to read the first two stories but I'm hoping to get the full book someday
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhump Lahiri - an anthology I read for my senior year as well. Another one of this heart-wrenching pieces that just resonate with me like damn.
The Aru Shah series by Roshani Chokshi - it's Percy Jackson But Make It Desi and honestly such a fun read!! Reading about the Potatoes (this is what the reincarnated Pandavas call themselves not joking) is always bound to make my day
The Age of Kalki series by Vishwas MudagalΒ - I read this purely for inspiration on my own original novel, and it was fun to use for comparisons for research and my writing. Also, spy stuff and action and all that
The Spider-Man: India comics - hey, desi stuff is desi stuff, and I enjoy anything that has my boy Pavitr in it (I'll enjoy it even more when @/marvelentertainment hires me to write him a book)
The Ms. Marvel show and comics - in Iman Vellani we trust πŸ™ also my girl has such a wonderful variety of comics like. she's so cool. i love her. hoping that Iman does a masterful job as she writes Kamala's newest comic
18 Days by Grant Morrison - listen. there is a 2015 graphic novel and there is a 2010 artbook for the 2015 book. They are both the same thing: a retelling of the Mahabharata but make it electronic/futuristic. Read the graphic novel for the story, but I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the 2010 artbook as well because my god the ART is just gorgeous. It obviously provides insight on the creation of Morrison's 2015 book but god it is just. so so sooooo good. Mukesh Singh is a beautiful artist I need to have his art tattooed on me
Any desi movies from the 90s-00s - my experience with tamil movies in that time period have always been good ones!! They're chill, they're funny, they're silly, they're romantic, they're thrilling. literally all of my favourite song come from this period (don't disregard movies from later periods either, I watched Brahmastra a few months back and it was lit as fuck).
English translations of popular desi stories - and these stories can be anything. from ye old prevailing Ramayana and Mahabharata to anything written by contemporary desi authors. They've got a lot to share
On a side note me complaining to my desi friends that I want good tamil representation in western media often led to me getting smacked in the face with Never Have I Ever (by my DESI friends! who say it is very good!!) and i just want to say no. don't watch that. as a tamil person living in a western country, i apologise for who Devi Vishwakumar is as a person. i will personally pay for your therapy (has only watched two episodes and was immediately turned off)
I'm giving y'all a whole day to ask me whatever
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