Novel Spotlights Struggling Women In Vancouver’s Little India

Vancouver: Raminder Sidhu, a budding novelist, based in this city has just released Tears of Mehndi, a powerful and courageous novel about violence against women in Vancouver’s Little India. The stories are told from the perspectives of women living in this community who are experiencing a wide range of abuse and oppression, from unhappy arranged marriages to domestic abuse to honour killings. Since its release, Raminder has received an overwhelming amount of support from the community; her book launch had almost 200 people in attendance and they sold out of books at the signing.

Raminder feels strongly about shedding light on these issues  She says, “I am a woman. There are three significant stages in my life; the rest are minor details. I am born into a family I must serve unconditionally. I am obliged to marry a man I must worship unconditionally. I will give birth to sons I promise to love unconditionally…”

A courageous and timely novel, Tears of Mehndi explores the rich, complex and often heart- breaking lives of a tight-knit community in Vancouver’s Little India. Through the perspectives of several women whose lives intertwine over a generation, Raminder Sidhu deftly exposes the shrouded violence within the South Asian community, a difficult and often dissembled subject. Sidhu’s characters are women caught between two cultures, struggling to understand the traditions they are obliged to follow while still embracing and often welcoming the fundamentally different values of the West.

Raminder Sidhu was born and raised in Mackenzie, BC, and now resides in Surrey. She holds a B.Ed. from the University of British Columbia and a BBA from the University of the Fraser Valley. Tears of Mehndi is her debut novel.

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Raminder Sidhu: A strong treatment

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