#nalini vishwakumar

[sleepyicon]

happy mother’s day! since i can’t post my real mom, here’s some of my fav fictional ones :3

[crazyrichxplainr]

Poorna Jagannathan for Elle India (ph: Mili Ghosh)

[catty-words]

the way devi engages with her heritage is an important part of the text because anything that helps make up devi's identity - or crisis of the same - enhances the bildungsroman nature of the story. it's also hugely important for the way it establishes the tension in devi and nalini's relationship.

from the very first scene, mother and daughter are at odds over the value of being indian. devi is praying to their gods, sure, but she's asking for a more classic american teen high school experience. she wants to go to parties and have boyfriends but less body hair. she eats meat with abandon.

(sidebar, but i've always found this quiet, subtle bit of storytelling fascinating -

nalini and mohan are clearly at odds, too, about how heritage should fit into devi's upbringing. mohan feels a certain amount of pride/amusement/affection over devi being all-american, yet nalini disapproves and is even disgusted that this bit of ingrained respect for animals is being violated by her family.)

devi's textbook, then, is imbued with narrative significance where this through line is concerned by the following exchange:

nalini: devi, are you still praying? our gods have other stuff to do, you know?

devi: i was about to ask for good grades.

nalini: now, grab your textbooks. we need to go.

nalini: devi, that textbook has been blessed. if it touches the ground, i have to take it back to the priest. i don't have time to go to rancho cucamonga today!

it wouldn't be apparent to first-time viewers, necessarily, but there's a frustration at the lack of responsibility here that becomes indicative of their season one dynamic, right? nalini wants devi to take praying seriously, she wants her to take the blessed textbook seriously, and she doesn't have the capacity to patiently guide devi toward valuing that seriousness. she herself is grieving and working a demanding job that supports her family and expending more time than she really has to assert the importance of their culture's rituals on devi's life has put a strain on their relationship.

of course, on devi's side of things, she feels this pressure from her mom and the pressure to be accepted by her peers as diametrically opposed forces in her life. being indian only ever alienates devi from american normality, which is why kamala straddling both worlds with what devi perceives as effortlessness gets under her skin so easily.

the show further weaves these threads together - nalini's desire for devi to have a closeness with and respect for her culture and devi's tetchiness over letting her mom down being at odds with her need to be seen as normal - using the textbook in the following dialogue.

devi: how long is kamala gonna stay with us?

nalini: as long as it takes for her to finish her studies. why?

devi: she's just so... [with embarrassment and mild disgust] indian.

devi: like, the other day, she said she was gonna open the tv instead of turn on the tv.

nalini: devi, she is family. she's bettering her life, you could actually learn a little bit from her.

the way devi handles the blessed textbook symbolizes a disconnect with their culture for nalini, and nalini's focus on how it nearly touched the ground even though it didn't symbolizes an impossible standard she'll never be able to meet for devi.

it's obviously significant, then, that at the emotional climax of the episode, devi flings the textbook out of her window.

she's been made to feel fragile by her closest friends who, let's be real, devi was taking comfort in being cooler/more normal than up until the moment she finds out about eleanor's boyfriend. stressed about the way this sets back her misguided plan to paint over her grief with a shiny coat of popularity, devi lashes out at the symbol of these conflicting pressures on her life. she's never more at a loss about her own identity than when she smashes the window with the blessed textbook and lets it hit the ground.

but you know what? that complete lack of control motivates devi to seek out an actually healthy outlet for her emotions, i.e. a talk with her therapist. devi starts rebuilding herself immediately, and that tenacity and strength of spirit is something nalini will acknowledge as a pillar of her daughter's identity when standing up to rhyah two seasons from now.

[fishyyyyy99]

My dad just asked me why I want to get married or have a boyfriend if I don't want sex or kids. And he made it sound like I'd never find anyone who is on the same page as me. And it's genuinely scary. The truth is, while I'd greatly prefer being alone forever rather than forcing myself to have sex, I really, really don't want to end up alone (I mean romantically). I genuinely do want to be in a romantic relationship, and it's hard to have hope when your own parent thinks that you can't find someone who will accept you the way you are. I need a Nalini Vishwakumar to tell me that I'm always enough. But would Nalini have even said that to Devi if she had come out as asexual? I don't know why I connected this to Never Have I Ever. But I just need hope, I guess.

[nisreensartworld]

'My Mother'

Pen and coloured/ graphite pencil on paper

I drew Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi Vishwakumar and Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar from the American Netflix drama, 'Never Have I Ever.'

The show may have primarily been a romantic comedy centering the quirky Indian American girl, Devi and other teenagers surrounding her. However, to me, the best romance in this series has always been the Mother-Daughter relationship. I couldn't hold my tears watching them rebuilding their bond and overcoming a family member's death together.

[goodgrammaritan]

The two scenes in Never Have I Ever that make me cry the most...

"Devi, you followed him" (s2, e4)

"You're never too much, and you're always enough" (s3, e9)

[courtillyy]

moodboard: bi greyarose bigender woman nalini vishwakumar

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

Nalini and Mohan have SUCH Big Soulmate Energy that it's insane. I just watched the flashback scene where they bought the house and Mohan spin Nalini round and round. They deserved forever

[aspiderfrommars]

oh my GOD the never have I ever s1 finale never fails to make my cry no matter how many times I watch it

[furoruisa]

I would love to see the love story between Nalini and Mohan. Like the fragments we see on the show are so beautiful and I love it 😭

[toongrrl-blog]

New chapter! Meet the Parents!

(for old time's sake)

[catty-words]

every nalini one-liner is designed to give you access to her boring adult nine-to-five life with the funniest configuration of words imaginable and i eat that shit up every time

[fishyyyyy99]

This quote from The Half of It (one of my favourite films), reminded me of Never Have I Ever - of all the different kinds of love portrayed on the show - romantic, platonic, familial, and of course, self-love. And the quote isn't actually dissing love at all, even though it may seem like it. It's saying that love is imperfect, but that it is worth it not to give up on love.

[thefabulousfab-3]

How funny would it have been if Nalini made Ben ride back with them when she found out he illegally drove his dad’s car to Malibu.

[shroomt-t-tripper]

gave NHIE a rewatch and had to reblog this

As a Filipino British girl, I had many experiences like her.

It was just fantastic to see another brown Asian person to be complicated, instead of playing into one dimensional stereotypes as either an oversexualised oriental woman written for and by a white man or the complete opposite where they are a completely undesirable, awkard but academically and morally perfect nerd who is only there to be the white girl's friend and make her look problematic actions look better.

This show refuses because real life poc women should be allowed to hold all of these characteristics, all of the ones in between or absolutely none of them because it's our identity and our definition is broad, individual and imperfectly perfect.

Devi Vishwakumar is one of the best main female characters and I will deeply miss her.

I love how unapologetically messy and chaotic she was. It was a wild ride seeing her make some questionable decisions. It was great to see a woman of color allowed to be messy and entangled in romantic affairs. It was amazing to see Tamil representation and how it focuses on family relationships and how difficult it is to handle cultural and generational differences. Ultimately, NHIE is about a teenager navigating grief and such a traumatic event. Devi and Nalini’s relationship was extremely complicated but perfectly illustrates how difficult it is to raise your kid when you have been raised differently so seeing their relationship grow and evolve to such tender and supportive bond was such a beautiful journey to have witnessed.

Devi was messy, cringey, confused, frustrating but also funny, driven, smart, kind and deeply human. She was allowed to make mistakes and try again until she figures it out. Her growth this season was so brilliant to see and she’s going to make many more mistakes in the future but already has such great support system in her life. Has learned to value herself and her worth. I love she got to have her romantic ending, her dream school and loved for all of her messiness.

I will miss Devi and every character in NHIE, as a show is definitely one I will rewatch multiple times and I cannot wait to see what Maitreyi does with her future because she’s brilliant.

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

Nalini is extremely funny and I love her character so much. She's also such an interesting study in grief. I'd love a prequel about her.