Madras on Rainy Days

Madras on Rainy Days is a 2004 novel written by Samina Ali.

Overview
The books explores the life of Layla, a second generation Indian-American Muslim. Layla, torn between clashing identities, agrees to her parents' wish for her to leave America and submit to an arranged marriage, Layla enters into the closed world of tradition and ritual as the wedding preparations get underway in Hyderabad.

Awards and recognition
In 2004, Madras on Rainy Days received the Rona Jaffe Foundation Award in Fiction. The book also won the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award in 2005, and was awarded the Prix Premier Roman Étranger 2005 Award in France.

In July 2004, the book was chosen as a best debut novel of the year by Poets & Writers magazine. The magazine featured Samina on the cover of its July/August 2004 issue.