Book review : Cross Connection : of Culture, Clan and Cuisine By Deepali Joshi Adhikari

                                                

I am a fiction lover and bringing myself to read a non - fiction was a task in itself. I had purchased the book maybe some 6 months back but never came to open it. The book is a real-life account of the author. As the title goes...Cross Connection it talks about inter-caste marriage in India. The book elaborates on the marriage and life after between a Marathi girl and a Bengali Boy.

Though a memoir, the book is succinct and yet full of tit-bits that make you laugh as you go through it. Deepali has written it as someone would see a movie, laying down each character type, one-by-one.

Living in central India, I have known Marathi culture since my childhood. And for Bengali culture...as Deepali puts it...aami tumako bhalo bashi....is the max that I know of. But while reading Cross Connection, I fell in love with Bengali culture. As the title goes, it details their lifestyle, food, festivals and romance. The subtlety of it all surely can make anyone fall in love with the culture and here I mean both the cultures. For me Bengalis won my heart for the newness that I found.

The way Deepali has woven the entire journey in the simplest language, among the least number of pages still managing on including almost every occasion and occurrence is commendable. Of course the urge of a reader to read more goes on and on and hence I found it to be a short read.

Overall will rate it 4 out of 5.

Book Blurb

Marriages may be made in heaven but they are certainly enjoyed and endured here. They are an amalgamation of culture, customs, cuisines and people. In India, where these aspects changes every 100 kms, the equation of marriage becomes complex. A girl conditioned to a certain culture is put in a completely new culture after marriage. I was no different. I, a Maharashtrian, chose to marry a Bengali from only a few 1000 kms away from where I had lived so far. What ensued was a roller coaster ride of interesting incidents and amusing moments. Cross-connection is an auto-biographical account of these anecdotes that happened in this Marathi-Bengali marriage.

About the author

Deepali Joshi Adhikari, simply put - an Ex-banker, freelance writer and a corporate trainer specialising in banking domain. She loves to blog at kolorpencil.com.

You can buy your ebook copy of Corss Connection : of Culture, Clan and Cuisine on Amazon