Rodeo Drive to Raja Bazaar

Natasha is ten years old when her parents take her back to Islamabad. Born and bred in Los Angeles, she is less than keen on the move. Slowly she assimilates, guided by a grandmother who is determined to transform her and discovering the customary traditions through funerals and weddings. When an early marriage presents the opportunity to move back to the land of her birth, however, Natasha jumps at it, only to be disappointed by the less than favorable treatment of Muslims she witnesses in post 9/11 America. Spanning a decade (1994-2004), Rodeo Drive to Raja Bazaar is a social and political portrait of contemporary Pakistan and its immigrant population in America. With its mixture of the rich, poor and middle classes, democracy interspersed with military rule, liberals facing off with conservatives, and increasing interplay of religion, the novel is at once humorous, thought-provoking, and an easy read for all ages.