When Dimple Met Rishi

When Dimple Met Rishi (2017), a young adult romantic novel by Indian-American author Sandhya Menon, is focused on the blossoming love story between two Indian-American teenagers during a tech summer camp. It was widely praised for its realistic and original depiction of the ways in which second-generation teenagers react to their mixed cultures.



Dimple Shah is a strong-willed eighteen-year-old girl with plans to go to Stanford. She wants to go to university to build a career, but her parents see the experience as an opportunity to find an Indian husband. Her mother, in particular, wants her to conform to a traditional Indian ideal of womanhood, with marriage and children being a priority.

Dimple tries to convince her parents to let her attend a web development summer program in San Francisco called Insomnia Con. Though they are reluctant at first, they eventually agree, much to Dimple’s surprise. She interprets this as an acknowledgment of her desires and a willingness to set aside the pressure towards finding a husband and marriage.

Meanwhile, Rishi, another eighteen-year-old Indian-American teen, is a loyal and obedient son to his traditional parents. They want him to go to MIT to have a successful career, which has led him to abandon his passion for drawing comics. Rishi’s parents want to arrange a marriage for him.

Rishi tells himself and everyone else that he is happy to be a model oldest son to his parents, who are from India. Rishi loves drawing comics, but he has set that aside and applied to MIT, planning to have a career in computer sciences. Trusting his parents to arrange a good marriage for him, Rishi accepts when they tell him they want him to attend Insomnia Con to meet a potential match. Rishi and Dimple’s parents know each other and have arranged the meet, but only Rishi’s parents have told their child what is happening. This leads to a misunderstanding the first time the teens meet in San Francisco. At a coffee shop at San Francisco State University, Rishi approaches Dimple and introduces himself by saying, “Hello, future wife!” Dimple, feeling threatened and insulted, throws her iced coffee in his face and runs away.

Soon, Rishi approaches Dimple again and explains the situation, leading her to realize her parents’ plan. Dimple makes it clear that she does not want a romantic relationship; Rishi is understanding. She confronts her parents; they tell her not to worry, to just focus on the program. Dimple meets Celia, her roommate, and tells her what has happened.

When classes start, the participants learn that the Insomnia Con participant with the best app will meet with Jenny Lindt, a tech celebrity, and receive funding to develop his or her idea. Dimple and Rishi are put together as partners for the summer, and they start spending a lot of time together on assignments.

Dimple and Rishi are invited to dinner with Celia and her friends, which Rishi anonymously chooses to pay for. During dinner, the differences in privilege and upbringing between the girls and the central couple lead to awkwardness. Afterward, Dimple and Rishi walk home together, bonding over their similar upbringing, noticing that they understand each other in a way others can’t.

They decide to go to Little Comic Con together, both dressed up as comic book characters. During the convention, Dimple pushes Rishi to talk to Leo Tilden, a comic creator and one of his heroes. When Tilden asks if he has any drawings with him, he panics, saying he doesn’t draw that much. Soon afterward, they go to a party and Rishi agrees to a sketch-off with another artist. He shows Dimple his artwork, which he usually keeps private as he sees it as a betrayal of his parent’s ambitions for him.

They realize they had met before, as children at a wedding. Dimple suddenly kisses Rishi, agreeing to go on a “non-date” with him. Rishi takes her to a bookstore-slash-restaurant and gives her a present, an edition of the book she had been reading as a girl at the wedding published that year. They then go to a viewing point over San Francisco, where Dimple asks to make it an official date and kisses him again. Rishi makes it clear that he doesn’t want to put her under any pressure for marriage, he just wants to enjoy their time together.

A talent show is announced, and they decide to do a Bollywood dance together. While they are practicing, Rishi’s brother Ashish comes to visit him on campus and they argue because Ashish has left without his parent’s permission. To calm things down, Dimple asks Ashish to help them with the dance. Soon after, people discover that Ashish has slept with Celia; Rishi disapproves. Rishi and Dimple discuss having sex and finally do. They agree to continue their relationship long-distance once Insomnia Con ends. Meanwhile, Dimple emails Leo Tilden some examples of Rishi’s work behind his back.

Dimple and Celia argue, and Dimple tells Ashish he shouldn’t hold hopes for her. Rishi and Dimple say, “I love you,” to each other just before going on stage to perform their dance. Afterward, Rishi apologizes to Ashish for being harsh. The couple finds out that they have won the talent competition. However, it is soon revealed that neither of them won the big Insomnia Con prize, which crushes Dimple.

Dimple retreats into herself, refusing to see anyone. Trying to cheer her up, Rishi arranges for her to meet Jenny Lindt, who offers to help her with her app idea. Despite being thankful for this, Dimple breaks up with Rishi before the program ends, saying she doesn’t want a relationship to get in the way of her career.

Once they have returned home, both teens start preparing for college. Dimple has an honest conversation with her mother, who tells her she will love and support her no matter how she chooses to live her life. Rishi finally tells his parents that he does not want to study engineering at MIT, and they understand.

Dimple and Rishi try to find each other but fail, Rishi going to Stanford while Dimple heads to the airport. However, they run into each other at the coffee shop where they first met at SFSU. Each thanks the other for what they have done to help the other’s dreams, and they decide to get back together.

In an interview with Bustle, Sandhya Menon explains that her main motivation for writing the book was that "brown teens need to see themselves falling in love, making mistakes, dabbling in art, and being happy." She argues that there is not a lot of positive representation for Indian-Americans in the media, and this is harmful to young people’s self-image. By writing a lighthearted romance in which the characters’ Indian heritage is a central focus without being a barrier to happiness or fulfillment, Menon brings something new to the young adult scene and to South Asian representation as a whole.