Balli Kaur Jaswal's books don't always deal with the easiest of subject matter. In her debut novel, , for instance, Jaswal delves deep into the secrets and prejudice within a Sikh community in London. The book follows Nikki, a creative writing teacher who is asked to lead a class of Sikh widows looking to learn English. In the process, Nikki's class becomes a safe space for these women, who open up about their personal lives after one of them comes across a book of adult stories that inspires the women to write their own erotic, liberating literature — only to face extreme conservative backlash as they try to find some independence.

Likewise, in Jaswal's latest novel, The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters, readers follow three British-born Sikh women — Rajni, Jezmeen, and Shirina — who, despite years of bitterness and distance between them, have all gathered to mourn their mother’s passing. On her deathbed, she requests one thing of her daughters: to travel to India together on a pilgrimage. In setting aside their deep-seated differences to fulfill their mother’s dying wish, the sisters' secrets come to light, which could bring them closer together or tear them apart for good.

While Jaswal creates tales that speak to the sometimes difficult complexities of relationships between women, her writing is also whimsical. Her a tone and approach are both easy to read and always engaging, but her work also casts a spotlight on issues within Indian communities with compassion and grace. Because of that, Jaswal's beginning to garner a steady fanbase, including Reese Witherspoon, who chose Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows as one of her book club picks.

With the release of The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters, Shondaland sat down with Jaswal to discuss reimagining the road trip novel, why she loves writing about the Sikh community, and what she hopes readers will walk away with after reading her books.

SWAPNA KRISHNA: Where did the seed of Shergill Sisters originate? Why did you choose to write about the bond between sisters?

BALLI KAUR JASWAL: Sister relationships are really fascinating to me because there’s so much history and love, but also deep hurt and painful truths. It’s a relationship where women can be their most vulnerable and most brutally honest selves, but still maintain a bond. I don’t have a sister but I’m always observing the dynamics of my friends with sisters. It’s very enjoyable to write about characters who are sisters because of the complexities of their relationships and personal histories.

SK: Was there a specific inspiration you had in mind?

BKJ: A number of things inspired me to write this novel. I noticed that a lot of road trip stories in India — a lot of road trip stories in general — were written from the male perspective. Men can travel to most places with the privilege of relative safety, while female travelers must be more aware of potential danger. I wanted to explore what traveling in India would be like through a female lens, especially since India has seen a powerful feminist uprising against sexual assault in recent years.



I write to give visibility to characters who might otherwise go unnoticed in society.

The most common travel narratives are also about white Westerners going to India, which is new to them in every way. I wondered how different the journey would be for first or second generation Indian migrants like myself, who were familiar with Indian culture, but not with India as a physical place. For these sisters, a journey to another country is also a return to their past. Many people from the Indian diaspora travel to India every year and find that the trip illuminates some aspect of their identity but also makes them feel alienated because they don’t fully belong there. It’s such an interesting tension to think and write about because there’s potential for moments of comedy, misunderstanding, conflict, and reflection about the meaning of home and how much it impacts us.

SK: You’ve written extensively about the Sikh experience in your books, yet your novels are also universal and relatable to any audience. Can you speak a little about that balance?

BKJ: I’m delighted to hear that my stories are universal! It’s important that people who have had this experience can relate to it, but for others, my stories are an invitation to experience our world and perhaps find common ground with people from another culture. I’m conscious of that balance when I write. I don’t do any translating or hand-holding for an audience who is unfamiliar with the Sikh community, but I do try to provide enough context so they’re not completely lost.

SK: Why is it important to you to represent the South Asian Sikh community in the books you write?



BKJ: I write to give visibility to characters who might otherwise go unnoticed in society, and whose struggles and triumphs are disregarded because we’re too busy paying attention to the dominant narrative. There’s such diversity within the South Asian community, which deserves representation and attention. Like any community, the Sikh community also has some issues to work on, particularly regarding violence against women and taboos surrounding sexuality. Although I don’t consider myself an issues-driven writer, I do follow the instinct to explore these issues when they come up in a story (and they’re inevitable if the character is marginalized or unheard in the community in some way). It’s important that South Asians and Sikhs are represented in literature but it’s also important for us think about how we can work for true equality and inclusiveness for everyone in our community.

SK: You write about multifaceted religion and culture in your books, presenting both the good and the aspects that leave something to be desired. How did you make the decisions on what to include and what specific issues to focus on?

There’s such diversity within the South Asian community, which deserves representation.

BKJ: I follow the story. The characters' motivations and obstacles are the main priority when writing a story, and the issues surface as the story develops. This is how it is in real life after all. We mostly get on with our daily lives but the issues — like racism, misogyny, etc. — are embedded in our interactions and relationships. My focus is always on the elements of the narrative and plot, and then the issues naturally fall into place around them, in the same way as a theme or a mood.

SK: Gender preference for boys among the Indian community factors heavily into The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters. Why did you choose to focus on this issue specifically? Is it close to your heart?

BKJ: It’s definitely an issue I can relate to personally. Growing up, I noticed the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ways that boys and girls were treated differently. Boys were given more attention, praise, freedom and opportunities, while girls were given more restrictions and treated with suspicion. It took me a long time to write about it, though, because of the frustrating gaslighting I always experienced whenever I pointed out these inequalities as a child. If I asked questions about really blatant practices like, “Why do the boys in the family have no curfew but the girls have to be home before dark?” and, “Why is he getting twice my weekly allowance,” the response was usually, “We’re treating you both equally, stop creating trouble.”

SK: You’ve lived across the world, from Singapore to the U.S. and beyond. What has your experience been like as a Sikh woman, and what aspects of your life have you put into your novels?

BKJ: I wouldn’t call myself a practicing or traditional Sikh woman, so I never really experienced other people’s perceptions of that part of my identity. I see Sikhism as a tradition that I inherited and by default if people ask what my religion is, I say, “Sikh,” but I don’t really know what that means for me personally.

As an Indian woman, though, I have always had to explain my presence. In Singapore, where Indians only make up about 7 percent of the population and Punjabis/Sikhs are an even smaller part of group, sometimes I still have to convince people I belong here! I always write from the perspective of the outsider, and the person who has to explain where they’re from and why they deserve to be seen like everybody else. Those aspects of my writing are drawn from my experience of living in many different places and feeling like I had to represent and explain my national and cultural identity.

SK: What do you hope readers who pick up The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters take away from it?

BKJ: I hope readers are entertained and that they love these three women for all their flaws and troubles and vulnerabilities as I do. It’s a story about in-betweenness, which a lot of readers can relate to whether they’re from migrant backgrounds or not. I hope to shed more light on the idea that modern women can still be shackled by expectations and traditional values. We seem to see tradition and modernity as complete opposites, when actually a lot of women — especially those still searching for their identity across multiple cultures — find themselves somewhere in between, and having to compromise on some values to satisfy others.

SK: Can you recommend some other books by South Asian authors that our readers should pick up or keep an eye out for?

BKJ: So many! One of my all-time favorites is Gifted by Nikita Lalwani. I’m reading it for the third time at the moment. Brick Lane by Monica Ali is another great one, as is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.

These were all published over a decade ago, though, so for more recent and equally illuminating reads: Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob and The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli.

South Asian men write good books to! Family Life by Akhil Sharma is very good. Family Matters and A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry are also amazing. My favorite work of non-fiction. South Asian or otherwise, is If You Don’t Know Me By Now by Sathnam Sanghera — also known (in the U.S.) as The Boy with the Topknot.

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