Sepia Mutiny - South Asian Literature, Music, and The Arts

South Asian Literature, Music, and The Arts

In the spring and summer of 2006, a number of Sepia Mutiny posts debated the allegations of plagiarism in Kaavya Viswanathan's novel, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. Posts related to Viswanathan were widely cited by other blogs and the mass-media, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. The site has also highlighted South Asian authors that have come to attention in the United States and abroad, including Booker Prize winners Salman Rushdie and Kiran Desai, and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri.

There was considerable discussion about South Asians in the music industry, ranging from recent Bollywood soundtracks to mainstream Western musicians, such as recent American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar. The site also provides coverage of the long history in the music industry of fusing Eastern and Western styles of music, as can be seen through the work of artists like Panjabi MC, Raghav, and Talvin Singh, and unique new niche genres such as Desi Ska and Hindu Rock.

In addition Indian American film and television were highlighted on the blog. Be it mainstream releases to Western audiences like Harold and Kumar, Salaam Bombay, and the Elements Trilogy, or lesser known work such as the cult-classic American Desi, Sepia Mutiny bloggers covered it.