Cover Hall of Shame
You might think Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet by children’s author Kashmira Sheth has the most clichéd South Asian fiction cover ever:
Mummy is always complaining about how difficult it will be to find Jeeta a good husband, with her dark skin and sharp tongue… Jeeta realizes that she must strike a balance between independence and duty and follow her own path. [Link]
Turns out it’s actually not as bad as Venkat McStereotypewalla’s Hullabaloo in the Spicy Cardamom Lychee Tree.
on Thursday, October 19th, 2006, 5:48 am in Humor, Literature › 
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Yep, I agree with you, but I *still* think books like this (for kids 8-12) are important, primarily because there aren’t too many like it available in the U.S…. yet.
But the marketing specifically (covers and blurbs) is just as lame as Bollyflicks’ conflation of ‘American’ with baggy jeans, leather wristbands and ’80s rock. I’m thinking of every embarrassing Shah Rukh song ever (’Pretty Woman’ in Kal Ho Naa Ho). On both sides it’s reductionist, repetitive and boring.
I am not disagreeing with you. These covers make me want to hurl. But. the marketing will change when desis become a critical mass in the publishing industry (i.e. publicity, marketing, sales, bookselling, not just writing). (At least that’s what I think.) Until then, enjoy your henna-mango-sari-bejeweled covers.
P.S. What did you think of Climbing the Mango Trees?
Desis are part of publishing, and I got an email from a friend just yesterday protesting that the cliched covers sell. But it’s possible to incorporate the desi motifs without making them the entire cover. E.g. Londonstani (tiger stripes) and the 25th anniversary Midnight’s Children covers.
I think MIA does that well– they’re influences and remixes rather than cliche. You don’t see Rushdie novels with the standard mehndi cover. The other factor is that with content, people want something fresh that incorporates the familiar– not the exact same thing they’ve read before.
Venkat McStereotypewalla’s Hullabaloo in the Spicy Cardamom Lychee Tree.
Please write and market this, Manish. Please.