Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Fitting Indian, written by Jyoti Chand and illustrated by Tara Anand, follows Nitasha, an Indian-American teenager caught between her parents’ expectations of the ‘perfect Indian child’ and her desire to enjoy the carefree life of a typical American high-schooler. But as she struggles to reconcile these two worlds, the mounting pressure begins to take a toll on her mental health.
Nitasha’s older brother is a doctor, engaged to a ‘nice Indian girl’, making her feel like even more of a disappointment in comparison. She’s certainly not going to become a doctor, marriage is eons away, and even her crush Henry seems hopelessly out of reach. Things aren’t much better at school, where a stylish new girl threatens to steal both her best friend Ava and Henry’s attention. Cher had similar insecurities in the 1995 teen classic Clueless, and countless other high-school dramas have explored the familiar anxieties of friendships, crushes and fitting in. So there’s hardly anything new about this particular predicament.
If you’re already thinking Fitting Indian sounds like one of those funny viral skits about immigrant Asian parents placing absurd expectations on their children, you’re not entirely wrong. Except there’s practically no humour here, with the graphic novel maintaining a largely sombre tone. Unfortunately, very little about the storytelling feels particularly fresh, even if Tara Anand’s colourful, expressive artwork makes it an engaging book to flip through. Swap the American setting for India, and much of the family drama could easily pass for a Bollywood film.
Perhaps the one element that felt somewhat different was Nitasha’s growing dependence on alcohol as a coping mechanism, alongside her increasingly serious mental health struggles. Although I did find it rather convenient how easily the underage teenager manages to get her hands on seemingly endless supplies of liquor, despite living under the watchful eye of her overprotective mother.
Ultimately, Fitting Indian is a decent one-time read, with appealing artwork and an important message about mental health, parental expectations and the pressures of growing up between cultures. But while its themes are undoubtedly relevant, there are plenty of other novels and coming-of-age stories that explore the immigrant experience, cultural identity and the aching desire to belong with greater nuance and originality.
Rating for ‘Fitting Indian’: 3 stars on 5.
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