The collection of stories, Shopping for Sabzi, interweaves themes of
ambition and identity. Characters are ‘shopping for sabzi,’ a
Hindi-English or ‘Hinglish’ term to describe the jockeying for social status, successful love, career fulfillment and personal meaning. Their experiences speak
cross-culturally to a restless generation and across generations.
In “Piece of Cake,” Raj, transplanted from Houston to New York , and
dating a European photographer, is forced to confront Neha, his
ex-girlfriend, an anorexic suffering a major relapse. In “Spick and
Span,” Shilpa doubts the path she has taken when she’s asked to help
matchmake at a Gujarati marriage convention in New Jersey . “Potatoes
and Punjabis are Everywhere” follows Happy, a college student, during
his first days in Toronto , as he encounters a series of strangers that
compel him to consider cutting or keeping his still- unshorn hair. In
“Woh Auntie Hai Yahan (The Auntie is Here),” Kusum, a recently widowed
real estate agent in the Toronto suburbs, struggles to repair her life,
finding inspiration from Bollywood dance lessons
given by her friend’s teenage daughter.
About the Author:
Nitin Deckha was born in London and raised in Toronto. His stories have appeared in various publications
and in collected works.
Nitin holds a BA from McGill University in Montreal and a PhD in Anthropology from Rice University in Houston. His interest in the relationship between intimacy and the city compelled him to do fieldwork on the changing urban environments in global cities. Choosing two inner-city neighbourhoods on the edges of central London, Nitin examined the cultural politics of urban revitalization, focusing on historic preservationists, community planning activists, and small scale entrepreneurs. This tableau nourished Nitin’s first forays into fiction, two stories published in the South Asian anthology, Bolo! Bolo! (2000). Upon completing his PhD, Nitin worked in advertising and consumer research in New York and Toronto. After being fired in 2002, Nitin began writing the short stories that appear in Shopping for Sabzi (2008). He also began to teach, first in the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto, and later at McMaster University, Humber College and the University of Guelph Humber. Nitin is married to Priya Chopra with whom he has two children, Arjun and Nayantara.
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