The Bad Boy’s Guide to the Good Indian Girl (or The Good Indian Girl’s Guide to Living, Loving and Having Fun) by Annie Zaidi & Smriti Ravindra is a pleasant tongue-in-cheek effort by two exuberant writers. Annie Zaidi writes poetry among other things, and has published a book of poems and another on non-fiction reportage, while Smriti Ravindra is a columnist who is working on her first novel, writes poetry and fiction, and is the founding editor of the US-based literary magazine, the Raleigh Review.
And the stories are all very good. Sample these lines: We realized pretty early on that being a Good Indian Girl (henceforth referred to as GIG) is about as exciting as being a janitor in a pigsty on a full-time basis. It stinks. GIGdom is tolerable for approximately three days a month…One doesn’t have to be good. Deep down in the cesspits of your soul you can be wicked, just as long as no one finds out.
The Bad Boy’s Guide to the Good Indian Girl
by Annie Zaidi & Smriti Ravindra
Zubaan (Kali for Women)
Rs.295