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And Laughter Fell From the Sky is the first novel by Jyotsna Sreenivasan. Combining traditional and modern literary elements, Sreenivasan writes a particulary moving and enlightening piece. This story is about self-discovery and letting love happen. 

Like Romeo & Juliet, the two main characters of this novel, Abhay and Rasika, are from two distinct and separate families. Their families are friends and both speak the same language, Tamil. However, what keeps the two apart is the age-old caste system and more importantly traditional expectations. Although not a real problem in modern day Ohio, a few characters mention the caste as a reason for the two not to be together. Rasika is from the Brahmin class while Abhay's is of the Vaishyas class. In old times people of different castes were not allowed to marry. The real reason why she can't be with Abhay is mentioned by her mother, "You cannot want to marry Abhay. And not just because of his caste. I can be open-minded if the boy is really special, but what has he done with himself? He has thrown away every opportunity." In Indian culture professional success is everything and this is evident in every guy Rasika's parents try to match her up with as they are all occupied with successful careers.

Abhay's character is the mirror image of Rasika. Where Rasika is an obedient daughter who listens to her parents and does everything they want, Abhay has followed his own path. In the beginning of the novel he returns to Ohio from a commune called Rising Star. He went there in search of a place he belonged, a place that matched his ideas. However he was unable to find what he was looking for there. Instead of focusing on a set major in college, he graduated studying general studies. His parents want him to apply to graduate school, although he is very smart, he doesn't want to and spends much of the book lost, searching for a place to belong. Throughout the story he tries to convince Rasika to live her life her own way. He knows the kind of girl she really is, a person who likes to have fun, who wants to live freely but Rasika's devotion to her culture prevents her from breaking out of the mold she was raised in. 

Abhay and Rasika spend a lot of time together but when her parents become really serious in getting her married before her birthday, she stops contacting him. Tied by her traditions she must marry a suitor her parents have arranged for her. Abhay moves to Portland in an attempt to forget about Rasika, and find a place where he belongs. He ends up getting involved with people there and working on an environmental project. He invites her over and she agrees to visit him. They abscond but she returns home knowing that she cannot be with Abhay, and must instead focus on the suitor her parents have picked for her.

Rasika travels to India with her parents to meet the man she will marry. Abhay also travels to India to visit a spiritual environmentalist commune called Auroville and also for the off-chance to run into Rasika there. Abhay has an enlightening moment and begins to realize the beauty all around him, and he understands that he has been pushing away what he has been searching for all along. Rasika gets engaged to Yuvan, but it is broken when he finds out that she has met Abhay in India and hung out with him. Distraught and shamed by her family she meets Abhay who tells her to go back home and explain the incident to her family. Bewildered she ends up in a car accident. Abhay nurses her back to health, and she slowly regains her recollection of the events. She ends up confessing her love for Abhay and says she wants to marry him. They end up together and they move to California where Abhay is attending graduate school.

Although the book ends with a happy ending, I think it is tragic that Rasika had to almost die before her parents would give in and finally allow her to be with Abhay. It is a testament to how powerful and dangerous traditional ties can be. Sreenivasan portrays the problem with her culture. All of the Indian women in the story had arranged marriages. A few characters mention the experience of getting married to someone they had never met at such a young age. They were expected to serve their husbands and never question him. It took much time for them to adjust and finally care for their husbands. Most of the women in this book are of an older generation and try to instill their traditional values on their children. Almost all of the women in the book submit to arranged marriages, the ones that don’t are used as examples of why marrying without parental guidance is risky. For example they mention women who marry out of love end up being divorced when their partner’s lose feelings or women who must struggle because their husbands are not successful. At the same time they mention the feelings of helplessness. Abhay’s mother sheds a tear when she actually speaks back to her husband in defense of Abhay. Such an action is out of the realm of a traditional Indian woman.   

The main conflict in this book arises from the obedience Rasika has to her culture and her longing to fulfill her own desires. Rasika confuses what her parents want for her for what she wants. She wants to make her parents happy by marrying an Indian man of their choosing yet at the same time she masks her own desires of freedom and love. She keeps telling herself that once she gets married to this man she’ll be happy. In the end she realizes that the only way for her to be happy is to follow her own heart and desires, she realizes that she must break the image her parents have of her in order to move forward. This process is all propelled by Abhay’s relationship with her.

Sreenivasan communicates that love can bring happiness and people together, and perform miracles too. 

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