Deranged Marriage

An affectionate, often hilarious, memoir of growing up in London in the 1970s in an Indian household, and avoiding an arranged marriage

From the age of fourteen, I was aware my parents expected me to have an arranged marriage, a big Bollywood wedding. There was just one hitch: nobody asked me.

Sushi Das grew up in 1970s London—a culturally messed-up time. Feminists were telling women they could be whatever they wanted, skinheads were yelling at foreigners to go home, and punk music was urging revolt. Amid the social upheaval, Sushi was trapped by Indian tradition—and a looming arranged marriage she would do almost anything to avoid. But how do you turn your back on centuries of tradition without trashing your family's honor? How do you escape your parents' stranglehold without casting off their embrace? And how do you explain to your strict dad why there's a boy smoking in his living room and another one lurking in the garden? Breaking free meant migrating to the other side of the world, only to find that life in Australia was just as culturally confusing. This insightful, often hilarious memoir lifts the curtain on one of the oldest traditions of Eastern culture—a custom which aims to join two families in economic prosperity, though the reality is not always so blissful.