Cultural Synthesis: Interpreters Of Maladies By Lahiri

Interpreters of Maladies Cultural Synthesis One million people, each year, immigrate to the United States of America dreaming of a better life. Many come by their own free will but many are forced by unfortunate situations in their home country. Those people generally have to leave behind whatever possessions they have and deal with an ever saddening situation. In the novel Interpreters of Maladies by Lahiri, Lahiri discusses in multiple short stories the specifics of the cultural struggles of adapting to a new land with different people and different traditions. In the stories A Real Durwan, Mrs. Sen’s and When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine she talks about how a person from India has come to America against their will. The immigrant’s story

Sen had been forcefully removed from her homeland Boori Ma also had to emigrate, unfortunately when Boori Ma arrives at her new home she has a warped sense of reality. While Mrs. Sen left for marital reasons, Boori Ma left due to the Partition. Written by Lahiri, A Real Durwan Portrays the life of Boori Ma, an elderly woman who was separated from her family. She spends her days cleaning the apartment complex and warding off strangers all the while reminiscing about the good times of her old life. While reminiscing about her old life Boori Ma talks about possessions from that life. “The turmoil had separated her from a husband, four daughters, a two-story brick, house, a rosewood almari, and a number of coffer boxes whose skeleton keys she still wore, along with her life savings, tied to the tree end of her sari.” (Lahiri 71) This displays what Boori Ma has lost from her separation. Clashing with what Boori Ma currently has living in the apartments as well it is clear that Boori Ma has lost a lot of her culture in the partition as well. She went from a happy mother of four to a durwan. A durwan is a gatekeeper whose job is to keep away strangers, this is the position of a warrior. The cultural shift for her was detrimental. In addition it is interesting that even though Boori Ma does not possess any of the locked items that the skeleton keys unlock she still keeps the keys with her. They are in practice useless, she cannot unlock anything with them. They

In Lahiri’s When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine Lilia is a young Indian girl who has been sheltered from most of the world as she is surprised when hearing about the middle east and Indian regions. Lilia meets a man, Mr. Pirzada, when he is invited over for dinner. Their interactions are awkward but they soon fell into a ritual of Mr. Pirzada giving Lilia candy. “‘It was inappropriate, in my opinion, to consume the candy Mr. Pirzada gave me in a casual manner.’” (25) This by itself only illustrates Lilia’s cultural values of not taking from others. However at the end of the story Lilia makes an interesting decision “I had continued to eat, for the sake of Mr. Pirzada’s family, a piece of candy I had saved from Halloween. That night there was no need to. Eventually, I threw them away.” (29) This highlights the idea that the candy was representative for praying for Mr. Pirzada’s family. Even though the irreplaceable object was thrown away in this situation, that only makes it even more significant as it shows the candy’s purpose had been accomplished. Mr. Pirzada’s family was out of danger. The candy cannot be replaced as Mr Pirzada is out of Lilia’s life. The candy given by Mr. Pirzada was stored in a box given by Lilia’s grandmother. “Box made of carved sandalwood beside my bed, in which, long ago in India, my