When Dimple Met Rishi

When Dimple Met Rishi

YA fiction
"The summer program cost a thousand dollars. And while Papa and
Mamma were solidly middle class, they weren't exactly flush. Not to
mention she'd already stretched her luck about as far as it could go,
she was sure, by asking--nay, haranguing--them to let her go to
Stanford. She was sure the only reason they had agreed was because
they were secretly hoping that she'd meet the I.I.H. of her--no,
their--dreams at the prestigious school.
I.I.H., for the uninitiated, stood for Ideal Indian Husband."
To high school graduate Dimple, marrying young to a boy arranged
by two sets of parents negotiating and becoming a homemaker and mother
(following in her mother's footsteps) would be a nightmare. She's not
sure when, or even if, marriage would fit in with her plans. What she
is sure is that her focus will be on education and career. The summer
program would give her a head start before she started Stanford that
fall.
When her parents quickly agree to paying for the summer program,
Dimple has no idea they have a vested interest in the matter. It
turns out that Rishi will also be in it. He is the boy whose parents
they have negotiated with. Unlike Dimple, he knows what is going on
and loves the idea of an arranged marriage.
Their first meeting is anything but propitious. Rishi greets
Dimple with, "Hello, future wife, I can't wait to get started on the
rest of our lives." Dimple throws her iced coffee at him.
The focus of the program is a competition with a hefty prize:
the chance to pitch the idea they will develop over the six weeks to a
celebrity in the field who will help fine tune their app and pay for
advertising. Students will work in pairs.
And guess who will be working together!
The story, told from alternating points of view, really fleshes
Dimple and Rishi out as teens in a time of tremendous transition.
It's a good read for students close to the high school to college
transition. It's also a good book for their parents.
On a personal note, Eugene has brought in a HUGE tree. I can't wait
for him to put the lights up so I can start decorating. I will tell
Joey cat the story of each ornament and maybe even put a Christmas
movie on. The division of labor is along height, not gender, lines.
He has a good eight inches on me. (Eugene, not Joey)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, Joey, and Dr. Laura, vet
extraordinaire, who not only gave Joey a last minute appointment
yesterday, but let me pick him up on my way home so I wouldn't miss
class.
jules hathaway


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