Meera Syal
Meera Syal (b. 1963) was born in a mining village in the West Midlands in England and was educated at Manchester University. Her parents, who originate from Punjab, moved to England in 1960.
Meera Syal is well known as a filmwriter (Bhaji on the Beach), and a TV actress (Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars at No 42).
Her writing depicts the experience and confusion of living between two cultures, counterbalancing the influences of traditional Asian upbringing and modern Britain. Though she uses humour to portray her chosen subject, one cannot deny its underlying seriousness.
Meera Syal won the Betty Trask Award in 1996.
Works
Anita and Me
Anita and Me tells the story of young Meena Kumar as she grows up in Tollington (a fictional ex-mining village outside Birmingham) in the early 1970s. Meena rejects the extended Indian family that gathers in her parent’s cottage for her friendship with Anita and the white working-class community that gather in the yard outside. She prefers fish fingers and chips to her mother’s Indian cooking, flirting with the local boys to the wistful memories of her Punjabi ancestors.
But as she grows older, Meena’s loyalties become increasingly ambivalent and conflicted. The rise of racism within the village forces her to reconsider her friendships. When an elderly Asian gentleman is physically attacked in the vicinity, Meena and her family decide to move away.
Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee
Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee is a novel take on the Bridget Jones scenario. The book focuses on three childhood friends who are now all in their thirties: the attractive, professional Tania who pursues a successful job in media; Sunita, who has chosen family over a career; and frumpy, unworldly Chila who is the envy of her mates after marrying the devastatingly handsome Deepak.