It is astounding that in today’s day and age, when social justice movements all over the world are speaking up against systemic injustice, a show like Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking gets made. For those who are outsiders to the arranged marriage system, and to those who are privileged enough to not be affected by its draconian dictums, it might seem ridiculous enough to be a guilty pleasure. But it is difficult to enjoy it when one realizes that the same bigoted nonsense that Seema aunty spews on the show still robs many real people of their dignity and their constitutionally guaranteed freedom to love. Though I have not read a lot of Indian romance novels, I cannot help but notice that a lot of them deploy the arranged marriage as a cutesy trope. We Indians who live in India have a lot else going on. The marriage market is not where all of the considerable population of young Indians find their mates. We fall in love outside our caste and class and religion. As did our parents. As did some of our grandparents. And we are demanding stories that represent us. Even Bollywood is taking note, and recently there have been quite a few movies that stray from the heteronormative, casteiest, classist, and sexist norms, though there is still a long way to go in terms of representation. Here is a scene from one of my recent favorites, Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan, which reimagines the iconic scene from Bollywood classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge with a gay couple: While we definitely need more multi-dimensional treatment of Indian characters, here are a few books by Indian authors that offer nuanced and unique explorations of romantic relationships. Not all of these are Romance, so HEAs aren’t guaranteed. For more on Indian literature check out this list of Indian novels written in English or this list of Indian mythology books for kids.
