Pashmina

Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of racist and xenophobic bullying.

In a series of black-and-white illustrations, the novel depicts teenage Priyanka Das receiving a driving lesson from her mom, Nimisha, who is nervous about her daughter learning to drive. Priyanka’s mom panics because she thinks that Priyanka is going to hit a tree, but Priyanka points out that the tree is not close to them at all. Priyanka’s mom explains that in India, where she is from, women are not allowed to drive, so she didn’t learn until she was 20. At that point, she had already been living in the US for two years. (They currently live in California). Priyanka’s Uncle Jatin once told Priyanka that in India, women have other people to drive them around, so they don’t need to drive. However, in the US, women do need to drive, so Jatin has been giving Priyanka lessons. Priyanka urges her mom to calm down by meditating like the goddess Shakti, but her mom doesn’t seem to understand what Priyanka is saying. Priyanka is frustrated because her mother often tells stories about Shakti to make a point, but when Priyanka does it, her mom acts like the stories don’t make sense.