In conversation with comedian Zarna Garg on her new book ‘This American Woman'

The Hindu

06-06-2025

I'm now so American, I not only have opinions, I monetise them!' proclaims comedian Zarna Garg on a recent episode of the talk show, Late Night with Seth Meyers. Garg's unique brand of observational comedy about Indian immigrant life in the U.S. has been setting social media ablaze. From dishing out hilarious Indian mother-in-law jokes to delivering parenting hot takes, donned in her statement functional outfit comprising a kurta paired with a belt and matching salwar, Garg, 50, never misses a beat.
'When I'm on stage, people call me the machine gun of jokes,' she tells me over a Zoom call. It is close to midnight in the U.S. but Garg is firing away, about her Hollywood debut last year, her upcoming shows, and most notably, her recent memoir, This American Woman (published by Penguin Random House).
Comedian Zarna Garg on her new book, 'This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir'
The title, she says, is both a nod to a running joke in her family, where she was often labelled 'American' for speaking her mind, as well as a bid to be relatable to an international audience. Also, she quips, 'I don't really connect with the titles that a lot of Indian authors write,' adding that there is no beloved mango tree or courtyard from her childhood she could have referred to in the title. 'I never saw a guava tree [growing up]. I have no idea if guavas grow on a tree.'
Dating tips and marriage
The book mirrors Garg's personality; it is an easy read packed with anecdotes from the author's life and is narrated in a conversational tone. Garg says she meant for the book 'to feel like you're having a conversation with a friend'.
Each chapter takes up a part of Garg's journey — from growing up in an affluent household in India to leaving home at 14 when faced with the prospect of marriage after her mother's untimely death, to moving to the U.S. at 17 to start life afresh. After getting married and being a stay-at-home mother of three, Garg strikes gold as a standup comic at the age of 44. 'Every chapter had to have a full story arc. The way this book is written, any one chapter could be a TV show, could be a movie itself,' says Garg, who also hosts a family-run podcast, where she is joined by her husband and three children as they discuss everything from health to god to fame and its pitfalls.
There is a portion of the memoir that has gone viral where Garg shares how she posted an ad online (when the Internet was just beginning to rule our lives) to find a life partner. And how her request to potential suitors to include 'their most recent tax returns and medical records', caught the eye of her now husband of 27 years, Shalabh.
Ask her what advice she would give single people in the age of dating apps, and Garg is quick to say that they should have a list of three core beliefs and no more. In her own case, Garg adds, 'If things don't work out with my husband… I'm going to be looking for a billionaire with a heart disease.'
Is India stuck in the past?
On the work front, Garg's second comedy special, Practical People Win, will be out on Hulu and JioHotstar in July. Her first, One in a Billion, is available on Amazon Prime and has rave reviews, although a section of viewers complains that her comedy dissects an India 'that has moved on'. Garg begs to differ. 'I think the modern Indians have moved on. But India is a much bigger country than the 5-10% of urban India.' She adds, 'In my estimation, no country has changed that much. It's not just India, even America, if anything, might have even regressed a little bit in the last few years.'
Last year, she played the role of the mother in an Indian immigrant family in director Roshan Sethi's romantic comedy A Nice Indian Boy, which premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas. The film drew appreciation for its leads' heartfelt performances, with reviews calling Garg 'a delight'. Up next is a sitcom based on her life, produced by Mindy Kaling and Kevin Hart.
But Garg, who says she grew up on a steady literary diet of Enid Blyton, Jeffrey Archer and Sidney Sheldon, is also in the process of putting together her second book — a motivational title with a mom twist, 'because a lot of motivation books in the bookstores are very businessy… And I feel like moms do so much motivating all day'. There's no arguing with that logic, whether in India or the U.S.
The writer is a Delhi-based literary critic and research scholar.