Home > Author > Sonya Lalli
1 " But I was old enough to have learned that sometimes lies—very small ones—weren’t wrong. They were important. Sometimes lies were what held a family together. "
― Sonya Lalli , A Holly Jolly Diwali
2 " (I also barely understood Punjabi, nor did I speak Hindi or any of the hundreds of languages spoken across the subcontinent.) It was a land of unknowns, a place that in my mind existed in the past, a history book of where our family came from. The thought of facing the place for the first time without my parents was suddenly making my heart race. "
3 " Not everyone is brave enough to be themselves. "
― Sonya Lalli , The Matchmaker's List
4 " The way Nani showed she loved you through food—and then, through more food. "
5 " Friendships ran their course all the time. "
― Sonya Lalli , Serena Singh Flips the Script
6 " I stopped myself before that very unflattering train of thought could run away again. I loved Jasmine more than anything, honestly. I didn’t actually begrudge her happiness. I just wished that I had managed to find some happiness, too. "
7 " Until you are stuck in an Indian traffic jam of speeding cars, rickshaws, scooters, and occasional livestock, you can never really know what it’s like. "
8 " Inequality is everywhere, Niki,” Diya continued. “Even in Seattle. Some countries are simply better at hiding it.” I smiled weakly. She was right. But it didn’t make it any less difficult to see up close. "
9 " Even though Diya was privileged, she was still a woman, and sexism cut through everything—class or caste or socioeconomic status—no matter the industry. No matter the country. Back home, tech was notoriously male, and although strides were being taken to make the industry more equitable, there was still a way to go. At my old company, the board of executives that had mandated that ten percent of the company be laid off was made up of one hundred percent men. "
10 " They all lived within a stone’s throw from the gurdwara, went to Punjabi school twice a week, and hung out together afterward at one another’s houses—watching Bollywood movies or Punjabi dramas, or practicing bhangra dances they made up and performed at folk festivals and celebrations. "
11 " So, you don’t think you were meant to lose that job?” Sam whispered. He moved in closer to me, his elbows resting against the guardrail. “That it was the universe’s way of forcing you to look for one you will love even more? "
12 " What about all the women and girls who didn’t have that option? And not just here in India, but even in the US and the rest of this whole damn world? My head spun, thinking about all of them. Wondering if the world would ever fucking change. "
13 " felt his breath hot on my neck. My body was roaring. I was not myself. I was not Niki the good Indian girl who obeyed her parents, whose life revolved around her career, who never let herself get carried away. I didn’t know where the hell she’d gone, but without her, I felt lost and free in equal measure. "
14 " Fun, giggly Jasmine thought she could go around doing whatever she wanted her whole life, and then tell me not to? How was that fair? "
15 " I’d been so obsessed with proving myself to her and my team that I hadn’t even considered that she was going through a difficult time transitioning away from being the company’s creative face, taking a backseat to, well, me. "
16 " What a fucker.” She gripped the steering wheel. “Do you know, when I worked with him in the nineties, he used to call me the ‘office geisha.’” I gasped. “Notwithstanding the fact that I’m Korean, not Japanese, yes, the implication was that our director had brought me on to ‘please’ the clients. "
17 " Maybe she didn’t feel like she owed Mom and Dad, but I did. I still lived under their roof. Everything I had was because of their sacrifices, and if they wanted me to be their good Indian daughter, I needed to be. "
18 " Jasmine had made them cry harder than she’d ever know, their bedroom door shut, their voices only audible to me when I pressed my ear hard against the wall. "
19 " So of course I had to be the good daughter. Live my life the way they wanted. I didn’t want to cause my parents that sort of pain. I had to think carefully about how not to make those same mistakes, to be the calm in the storm rather than the hot, dizzying puff of air that caused it. "
20 " Growing up, she always ate last, making sure everyone else had hot roti throughout their meal, hovering over us, insisting we eat more while I begged her to come sit down at the table. Finally, when the rest of us were nearly done, she’d shovel down her cold food before bolting off to start on the dishes, the laundry, some endless task or another. "
