Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
Author: Kavita Khanna
Released: July 21, 2006
Paperback: 426 pages
Language: English
ISBN: 141963691X

Summary: Riya and Amit have an arranged marriage and Riya hopes that theirs will be a bond blessed by love and companionship. They wed in India, but financial problems in the family dictate a new life in America. Finding herself surrounded by the temptations of a society of affluence and consumerism, Riya watches helplessly as her husband slowly slips into a world of addictions. They return to India united, though deeply scarred and irrevocably changed. Life proves to be neither predictable nor easy, and the author presents a finale as surprising as it is disturbing. Saturday Morning Omelet’s is a colorfully woven tapestry of east and west. The struggles of young Riya and her husband have been subtly paralleled to the classic Hindu tale of Lord Ram and his passionate, troubled, and nearly tragic marriage to Sita. As the author reminds the reader throughout this novel, the epic is classic and timeless - beyond myth and culture. - www.Amazon.com

In her debut novel, Kavita Khanna writes with intent on issues that may affect couples living in two different cultures.The setting is in India  as well as America yet she draws her inspiration from both places and the people that  dwell in it .While doing so she encounters questions on identity, culture and family values.

In Saturday Morning Omelets, Riya’s grandmother in the beginning says “They are all within you Riya. The answers are all within you”. This is in response to Riya's quest for choosing a groom. Having rejected many suitors for months, Riya finally sets eyes on Amit and her heart tells her that he is the one. The author draws a lot of parallel to the myth of the Ramayana. Rama wins over Sita and takes her away and then is banished for 14 years from his kingdom. Riya moves to Delhi and finally travels to the US, in a strange and foreign land to help the family financially. Here Ria slowly adjusts and tries to assimilate into the system. Amit succumbs to alchol and gambling but a life changing event brings them back together. Or does it really ?

Just as Lakshman takes care of Sita so does Riya rely on her brother in law to take care when Amit decides to let her go to the old aged home. Is this a permanent arrangement? We are forced to guess. Or as her mother in law says at the end, “He will come for you, no doubt of that” Will Riya with time and experience realize her independence and freedom or will the hold of family love and affection  draw her back? The novel keeps the audience guessing.

 Meanwhile the arranged marriage concept throws a lot of light on commitment to family, society, and support and the adjustment that one partner makes for the other. It may be slightly alienating for a reader from the West, but Ms Khanna does draw a true picture of such a life that could almost be real.

 Myth and reality run parallel and although parts of the plot seem a little forced and the characters lack depth yet the reader cruises along to know what happens in the end. The seniors care and concept is dealt well. An immigrant story nevertheless and the conflict that arises when you meet new cultures and the thought process that undergoes a change in individuals when faced with such a conflict. 

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