Events
Past ASIA Event:
Operation Monsoon: Stories - May 16, 2004
ASIA's bookgroup met for a potluck discussion of local author Shona Ramaya's book:
Operation Monsoon. Joanna Kao hosted the event. For more information
about the author, visit:
Shona Ramaya
Ramaya's second story collection forms a memorable collage, a complex picture of history and
tradition overlapped with the modernity of the present. "Gopal's Kitchen" tells of a family's beloved cook
who dies and is replaced by the man who received his kidney. A professor attending a conference on terrorism
confronts her part in the escape of her Marxist cousin from authorities 20 years earlier. A polio victim deemed
"unmarriageable" ironically runs a successful computerized matchmaking service for wealthy Indian American clients
from her Calcutta home. A transplanted computer consultant gradually losing faith in the American way chronicles
his disenchantment in a series of e-mails to his younger brother in India. The stories come full circle in
"Destiny," which traces the path of an anthropology grad student in Syracuse, New York, back to her small
Indian village, where she researches how belief in destiny functions in the Third World, with surprising results.
Ramaya's carefully crafted characters, both the young emigrants and the parents and grandparents left behind,
make this an exceptionally engaging collection.
To join the bookgroup, to request a reading list,
or to get directions to the potluck,
contact the Bookgroup.
Interested in hosting an ASIA potluck brunch at your place? Brunches are usually weekends at noon. Socialize with ASIA members and learn about upcoming events. Have an idea for an ASIA event? Let us know! contact ASIA.
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