What the Diwali! Let's Talk About THAT 'And Just Like That" Episode, Shall We?

Ah, Diwali! A favourite time of the year for most of us, and now it seems one that Carrie enjoys it immensely as well. A week ago, the new chapter of Sex and the City titled And Just Like That aired a Diwali-themed episode (titled Diwali), one in which Carrie accompanies her new friend, a powerful New York City realtor named Seema Patel ( played by the lovely Sarita Choudhary of Mississippi Masala and Homeland fame) to her parents home for a Diwali celebration. 

Being the cult classic that it is, Indian fans of SATC were thrilled to see an Indian-origin character in the series. So, as they tuned in to watch the episode—and watch Carrie don a Falguni and Shane lehenga with a flower-mohawk headgear—you can imagine that expectations ran high. And, while the ladies of SATC are always a delight to watch, there were some *major* issues that have been brough to the world's attention by netizens and Twitterati alike. Here are 4 aspects of the And Just Like That Diwali episode they feel should have been done differently. 

 

1. Carrie is Seemingly Unaware of What Diwali Is: As a 55-year-old woman living in New York—a city known to be a melting-pot of international cultures—Carrie seems to have never heard of the most popular Indian festival and is conveniantly told about it by her friend Seema for the first time.  

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2. Errrrm....She Calls Her Lehenga a Sari: Carrie dons a Falguni and Shane Peacock lehenga with a flowered mohawk for the Diwali celebration, and decends the steps of her brownstone apartment to the tune of Humma Humma (hey there Rehman!). Watching a longtime fashion icon don an Indian outfit was exciting for fans (while that flower mohawak did devide them), except for the fact that she refers to her dupatta-less lehenga as a sari, even calling a store filled with lehengas as sari shop, in the scene before. Oh no...Carrie, Seema...No!

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3. Seema's Parents are Obsessed With Getting Her Married: Seema's Indian parents are portrayed as not so flattering stereotypes of what we can assume to be a  skewed perception of Indians, pushing arrange marriage on her, grilling Carrie about her white boyfriend,dropping fatshaming comments, you name it, they do it!

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4. Not ALL Indians are Your Mystical, Spiritual Advisors: In the car on the way back from the party, Seema ties a thin, presumably sacred red thread around Carrie's wrist and proclaims it to be the Hindu symbol of strength. While it is a sweet moment given the shows plotline, it does feel a bit trite to unoriginal that the one Indian charecter on the show is the one offering spiritual encoragement and handing out objects with sacred significance. 

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