When Dimple Met Rishi

Though Rishi loves comics, he repeatedly insists that his drawings are only a hobby. Nevertheless, his talent and passion for comics are apparent very early in the novel. He even says that drawing is the only time he’s ever really felt like himself. Rishi has been drawing the story of his original comic book character, Aditya the sun god/superhero, since he was 15, and he dresses up as Aditya for Little Comic Con. When Dimple looks at story lines that Rishi drew before they met and sees that Aditya is beginning to “fall in love with a girl with wild, curly black hair,” she interprets it as another sign of kismet.

Rishi’s passion for drawing is partly what enables him to form a strong connection with Dimple. Dimple recognizes her own passion for coding in Rishi’s artistry. When she watches Rishi draw at the sketch-off, she feels more intimately connected to him, as though his art is an extension of his soul. When Rishi draws Dimple with 25 different expressions, Dimple notices that in each drawing “she found the basic essence of herself” (228). Rishi’s drawings not only allow him to see Dimple fully, but they also allow her to see him fully. A large part of Rishi’s growth occurs when he decides to give himself over to comic book drawing even though it might seem untraditional or impractical.