Is desi lit coded female?
It recently struck me that if you look at even non-cliché South Asian lit covers, such as the U.S. cover for Gifted, they usually have fabricky patterns or some kind of foliage. This is true even of novels on weighty topics, such as A Golden Age, about the Bangladesh genocide. There are some exceptions such as The Konkans, and the aggressively masculine covers of Sacred Games and Londonstani (crime novels) and Tourism (urban fic).
It’s not clear how much of this is that South Asian culture is seen as feminine in America, and how much is generic to literary fiction. Are language and craft and design coded female?
on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008, 1:07 pm in Art, Literature, Musings › 
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Could just be that there’s more recent interest in desi female writers. But for most people desi fiction is still associated mainly with Rushdie and Vikram Seth and Amitav Ghosh and so on. Perhaps the ‘coding’ of the decorative covers is more generally “exotic,” of the kind that promises to transport you to other worlds, with adjectives like “lush” and “colourful” in the review blurbs.
South Asian culture, feminized? Can I come live in your world, please?
Meant its perception in the American book market, of course. Sari~mango~henna.
Seen those India Earnings Fund (EPI) commercials on CNBC? Floral patterns representing India isn’t relegated to the arts/lit.
I suppose the Indian tourism board has an interest in presenting a welcoming (coded femme) image, vs. scary native men.
I guess the publishers feel it’s a safe cliche to use for desi products. You can’t tread into anything really religious, gods forbid, [even yogic themes are treated with kid gloves lest Christians (TM) freak out over the overtly paganosatanic imagery] so seemingly innocuous colorful-ness and floral motifs are exploited. As Prashant indicated, it’s not limited to literature.
I may be wrong, but I’m guessing any culture with a tropical homeland is similarly represented in the US. Latino-lit seems to be overcrowded with loud/floral covers.
Ehhhhh…possibly. I think it’s more of an androgynous presentation; but since the typical westerner links elegant imagery (esp if floral or at all colorful) with feminity, I can see why you’d suggest that.
Is desi masculinity even presented to western markets at all? Beyond trite bollywood marketing and enraging FOX news turbanspotting, that is.
All I see is ‘69′ - repeated, translated, reflected, and inverted - plus, now that I, er, reflect on it, two ponytails. Foliage? :)
Chachaji!
So you’re saying that Gifted and Golden Age, two books by women about women’s lives, have girly covers, while four books written by men about men’s lives do not?
^__^
Put an example of a SA “girly” book written by a man (and about men — leave Suitable Boy out of this!) up and then maybe I’ll believe your theory.
Interesting discussion..
when u ask a foreigner what India is all about..they will say it is a land of snakes, elephants ,sarees, bindi, women with long hair,arranged marriages..
so most american people identify india with sarees , bindis, jewellary.. all feminine stuff.
No wonder most books by Indian authors have saree borders or bindis or jewellary etc.,so desi lit is kinda coded female more for marketing for western to identify that the novel is about India or Indian characters..
Ofcourse there are some exceptional male writers like Rushdie or Chandra who already established a name and dont need to market their novels by their cover..
In the past six months to a year I’ve read in numerous design magazines the same quote by Diana Vreeland that “pink is the navy blue of India”.
The design world (textiles and furniture) is gonzo for anything Indian. You can flip through Elle Decor, Domino, Architectural Digest and see the lovely rich white ladies wearing salwar/tunics standing in their gracious drawing rooms full of poached beauties recently aquired on their travels abroad, etc, etc, etc.
Haven’t you pointed out recently the Hermes India Campaign? Pink, baby. It’s all about pink and filigree. I love it so!
I was under the impression that in India pink and filigree aren’t exclusive to the ladies or defined only as feminine…am I wrong about this?
What would make these covers more masculine? Something with a tiger or gems?
There’s a gorgeous cover for Hemanta Mishra’s “The Soul of the Rhino”. Has that cabinet of curiosities look about it.
Come to think of it, Soul of the Rhino cover is less Albertus Seba and more George Shaw.
Manish, the point I didn’t make earlier is that I am noticing that pink is associated with India in the design world. The Vreeland quote is a common one and I think somehow this is making pink more universal in the sense that I notice more and more fellas around me sporting pink shirts and ties and very secure in their masculinity.
Not sure if that means Average Joe American is going to read a book with a predominantly pink color, but then again Ave. Joe American is most likely not reading fiction - unless it’s in maxim.
I’m surprised that you judged these covers feminine esp. A Golden Age - looks masculine to me.
Note to average Joe Blue: Pink used to be blue.
Do you and yours wear pink, Amol?
Or it could just be that women buy more books and publishers know this, so they market to us:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14175229
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/12/1022982859212.html
Yes Bess.
You and yours are the best, Amol, not just for sportin’ pink!
Neisha, it’s probably just that simple, but why not have some fun complicating the pink matter?
Manish, have you read Nalini Jones’ short story collection ‘What you call winter’? Am currently reading it and very impressed - and it’s set in Bombay.
Just added to my queue, thanks.
Amazon searched What you call winter, SP. Now that sounds interesting - I have to add that to my pile, too, which includes I Love You Beth Cooper. I forgot teenagerhood was like that…..