Golden Handcuffs
An Immigrant’s Pursuit of Happiness
Varuni Sinha grew up in India surrounded by comfort and privilege. She never imagined leaving the country of her birth for any place else. India was home—the place where she had friends, family, and a job she loved. But, when she met Aman, she realized what was missing in her life. Despite being staunchly feminist she decided to leave for the United States to marry a man she’d fallen for. Only to discover that twenty-first century America held a dark truth for women like her: a law that had stripped thousands of legal immigrants of their right to work.
While the fiercely independent Sinha grappled with the reality of becoming a housewife, most around her only saw a fairytale. Forced to examine the meaning of freedom, Varuni realized she could lose the man she loved, if she didn’t break free of her gilded cage. Resigned to hopelessness, she started wandering the streets of New York, stumbling upon answers in the most unexpected places. Golden Handcuffs is the story of how Sinha found her identity, purpose, and home in a country that was not her own. Her journey demonstrates the importance of hope, resilience, and love in the face of extreme social isolation, when a woman must learn to rely on her strength to find happiness.
What People Are Saying About Golden Handcuffs
Emiko Miyashita
Executive Director, The English Speaking Union of Japan Councilor, The Haiku International Association,
Tokyo
“With her deep insight and her gifted talent to weave reality into words, Sinha has enabled us to weigh the baggage she had carried as an immigrant woman and is still carrying after ten long years in America.”
Rob Feld
Writer, filmmaker & producer,
Adjunct Faculty, NYU
New York
“Sinha’s personal immigrant experience is both timeless and of the moment, exploring the ever present promise and the complexity of America. It takes courage to explore and expose oneself, and others are likely to welcome her candor and journey.”
Brian Gresko
Brian Gresko, Writer, Editor of When I First Held You
New York
“In lush prose and gorgeously acrobatic metaphors, Golden Handcuffs tells a story that is more than just about a young Indian woman's coming of age, it's about her finding her voice and achieving goals which, for most of her life, she'd thought out of her reach. It's an inspiring tale, and Varuni Sinha writes with a confidence and grace that drew me in from the first paragraph.”
Ambar Sahil Chatterjee
Editorial Consultant, A Suitable Agency
Former Commissioning Editor, Penguin
New Delhi
“Golden Handcuffs is a moving and heartfelt odyssey of one woman’s journey to find a place called home. It is a testament to her strength and resilience in the face of many indignities, big and small, as well as a message of hope in
troubled times.”
About Varuni Sinha
Varuni Sinha is a New York City-based writer and multimedia producer. She has written for The Post and Courier, Time Out New York, and created 360-degree campaigns for global brands such as Yamaha and Panasonic. A former guest lecturer at the University of Delhi, she taught “Race and Politics Through Literature” and wrote a dissertation on the history of Indian comic superheroes, tracing their origin story to Hindu gods and their American cousins. Her paintings have been displayed in solo and group exhibitions in galleries across India.
Walk through my gallery of finger paintings and fine line acrylics, inspired by New Delhi & New York.
Creative Portfolio
Branding & Copywriting
I started my career as a copywriter for Denstu Communications — building and pitching 360-degree campaigns for global brands such as Yamaha, Yakult, Alstom, Panasonic and Incredible India. I have also successfully launched social awareness campaigns for the government of India and non-profits.
Photography & Filmmaking
With a diploma in digital filmmaking from NYU and arts journalism from S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications — I have skills in scripting, shooting, editing and films as well as DSLR photography.
Kickstarter & Social Campaigns
I have collaborated with award-winning visual artist Chris Hung to write his first Augmented Reality comic book TheDriver. And successfully created and launched a kickstarter campaign to generate funds to publish the book and introduce AR features to a driving-inspired franchise.
Arts Journalism
A digital arts journalist from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, my works have appeared in
Time Out New York, The Post and Courier, Syracuse New Times, The Toy Insider and Elite Daily, amongst publications.
Graphic Design
Trained in the alphabet of graphic and editorial design from the School of Visual Arts, New York — I have experience conceptualizing and desiging magazines complete with its cover page, section openers and spreads. I have knowledge of typography and branding to create interactive yet beautiful laid out web interfaces.
Literature & Translation
I have worked as a lecturer at the University of Delhi, teaching Race and Politics Through Literature and Technical Writing in English. I hold a Master’s and Master’s in Philosophy in comparative literature. I’ve written a dissertation on the History of Indian Comic Superheroes and translated literary essays and poems from Hindi to English.
Fullstack Programming
My recent foray into full stack web development from Columbia University has made me proficient in JavaScript, CSS, Responsive Design, Ruby on Rails and React with knowlege of the MERN stack. My Github page demonstrates a range of simple HTML, CSS samples to sophisticated single-page web applications with backend databases. These include real-time chat engines, budget calculators, day planners and event schedulers.
To get my most up-to-date portfolio of works
