Penn State Deluge - Vol. 2 No. 1 - Spring 2004

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers."

- Laurie Colwin

Lahiri's description of the routine of food preparation mirrors the rhythm of life and the trivial activities that the characters engage in on a daily basis. Eating together is a social activity that one does with people who are important in some way to him/her. Lilia's father illustrates this principle to Lilia with the example of Hindus and Muslims, for whom the very idea of "eating in the other's company [is] unthinkable" (25). As preparing and eating meals are continual, repetitive activities, Lahiri suggests that relationships change and people grow in the same rhythmic way. Food preparation then becomes the constant against which a relationship's subtle changes are tracked. For example, the changes in Shoba and Shukumar's relationship in "A Temporary Matter" parallel the change in their daily meals. Ever since Shoba's miscarriage, the two have grown distant and become almost strangers. Shoba has become apathetic towards house chores whereas she "used to put her coat on a hanger, her sneakers in the closet, and she paid bills as soon as they came" (6). Consequently, Shukumar cooks dinner every night—something that Shoba also used to do. The only reminder of her cooking days are her neatly labeled mason jars of homemade ingredients—"not cheap things in tins but peppers she had marinated herself with rosemary, and chutneys that she cooked on Sundays, stirring boiling pots of tomatoes and prunes" (7). Shukumar recalls their weekly trips to the Haymarket where they would shop for food in the "maze of stalls Shoba eventually knew by heart" (7). Nowadays, Shukumar has taken over the cooking, faithfully following her penciled instructions and dutifully measuring out cups of rice to prepare their meals. Meals and meal preparation obviously continue despite their struggling marriage. However, a different kind of meal ritual emerges once their relationship begins to deteriorate.

In a less serious example, meal preparation also provides a backdrop for the relationship between Sanjeev and Twinkle in "This Blessed House." From the beginning, neat, serious Sanjeev seems an unlikely match for his carefree, spontaneous wife Twinkle. The incompatibility between Sanjeev and Twinkle includes everything from their personalities to their hygiene habits; however, their differences collide head-on when Twinkle begins finding Christian paraphernalia all over their new home. From the "larger-than-life sized watercolor poster of Christ" (136) to a "small plastic snow-filled dome containing a miniature Nativity scene" (137), Twinkle delights in each new find and proudly displays these treasures on the mantle. Rather than share in his wife's excitement, however, Sanjeev is annoyed by the artifacts; his reply is, "We should call the Realtor. Tell him there's all this nonsense left behind. Tell him to take it away" (138).

Although Lahiri gives no indication of a visible decline in their marriage, their mismatched relationship becomes painfully apparent at their housewarming party where the two assume two distinct roles. The guests are immediately drawn to Twinkle's magnetic personality; they form a "widening circle around her, while Sanjeev [replenishes] the samosas that he kept warming evenly in the oven, and getting ice for people's drinks, and opening more bottles of champagne" (152). Sanjeev remains chained to the kitchen while Twinkle leads a tour of the house to the guests who, much to Sanjeev's dismay, share in Twinkle's excitement over the outrageous Christian "treasures." Similar to his methodical nature, Sanjeev dutifully fulfills the task of being in charge of the appetizers while the party rages on around him; however, his preoccupation with meal preparation over spending time with his wife and his guests is misplaced, paralleling his misplaced preoccupation with order and cleanliness over his wife's less than perfect character traits.

Finally, the importance of meals and the ritual of food preparation in signifying change is apparent in "The Third and Final Continent." Lahiri comments on the change in diet of the narrator upon his arrival in the United States and how this new diet marks a revised cultural identity for the narrator. Milk and cornflakes are his first purchase and also his first meal. This simple meal, which he eats morning and night and with "some bananas for variety" (175), symbolizes the American that he has become. Whether consciously or unconsciously, as a new "American" he embraces the food characteristic of his new culture. Even after he becomes a tenant of Mrs. Croft, he moves in with a bag of groceries containing his new dietary staple—"more milk, more cornflakes, and more bananas" (182). In addition to new foods, the narrator must become accustomed to a new routine of meal preparation; he admits, "Even the simple chore of buying milk was new to me; in London we'd had bottles delivered each morning to our door" (175).
His new American identity is reinforced upon the arrival of his Indian wife, Mala. Born and raised in India, Mala is seemingly unaware of American food and definitely unaware of the narrator's daily ritual of breakfast cereal. She soon learns, however, when she heats up Indian leftovers for breakfast and is told by the narrator that "cereal [will] do" (192). In this way, his breakfast routine symbolizes the rapid assimilation that the narrator has undergone - one that his wife has no choice but to accept. Mala quickly learns; as the narrator points out, the following morning she has "already poured the cornflakes into [his] bowl" (192).

Food as Source of Comfort

"Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort."

- Norman Kolpas

Daily food preparation is important for Lahiri's characters in that there is a sense of comfort in rituals. For Shoba and Shukumar their rituals of eating dinner together every night right before the electricity goes out provides some stability in their otherwise shaky marriage. Shoba's idea of telling each other something they have never told before is another ritual that comes about through their black out dinners—a ritual that they continue and eventually look forward to. The end of the meal signals them to light the candles and to begin their heart-to-heart. This new routine alleviates the awkwardness that has grown between the couple for "something [happens] when the house [is] dark. They [are] able to talk to each other again" (19). Although their marital struggles are still present, these nightly rituals provide a temporary escape. So familiar does this routine become that Shukumar is visibly disappointed when the electric company informs him that the electricity has been fixed and there will be no more black outs. Faced with a disruption in a routine that he is used to, he no longer feels like cooking dinner and in fact, food itself is not as appealing. When he goes to the supermarket he finds that "the shrimp [looks] gray and thin. The coconut milk tin [is] dusty and overpriced" (20). Despite the break in ritual, both cling to their nightly custom and attempt to manufacture it artificially. The night of their last conversation they continue to light a candle even though the lights are working. Only when Shoba is ready to finally break free from the temporary escape provided by their customary meal/candle-lit bonding session does she turn on the light. Uncertain of how to broach her unhappiness in their marriage, she relies on the comforting ritual of meals to ease the news to Shukumar that she is leaving him and moving out to begin the next phase of her life alone.

For Boori Ma and Bibi Haldar, food also offers promises of stability. Boori Ma is a champion talker, her favorite pastime bragging to the building tenants of her wealthy past. Her proof of happier times comes in the form of food. She proudly elaborates on her daughter's wedding, cataloging the list of impressive dishes: "The rice was cooked in rosewater…Mustard prawns were streamed in banana leaves. Not a delicacy was spared. Not that this was an extravagance for us. At our house, we ate goat twice a week. We had a pond on our property, full of fish" (71). The food itself reminds her of better times; however, simply remembering those times and sharing those memories aloud offer her a temporary source of comfort. As for Bibi Haldar, she longs for marriage so that she can participate in the womanly activities that until now have been forbidden to her. Her uncle angrily denounces her plans, saying that she "can't light a coal stove, can't boil rice, can't tell the difference between fennel and cumin seed" (163). He cites her lack of culinary skills as an insurmountable obstacle to marriage. Nevertheless, the idea of marriage excites Bibi who immediately begins preparing for married life, "hounding [the townswomen] for recipes, for vermicelli pudding and papaya stew, and [inscribing] them in crooked letters in the pages of her inventory ledger" (162). For Bibi, grocery lists and recipes are tangible aspects of marriage and security; the thought of preparing meals for her family gives her hope for the escape from her dreadful life.

Aptly, times of happiness for the characters are always marked by an abundance of food. The metaphor of food to highlight the contrast between times of happiness and times of discontent continues with Shoba and Shukumar. Before the troubles start in their marriage, Lahiri goes into great detail to describe the copious amounts of food in their kitchen. Their pantry is stocked "with extra bottles of olive and corn oil, zippered sacks of basmati rice, whole sides of lambs and goats…chopped up and frozen in endless plastic bags" (6). Shoba's mason jars neatly line the kitchen shelves, "in endless sealed pyramids" (7). Shoba and Shukumar do not just have enough food, they have an excess amount. After their lives become disrupted, however, the emptiness of their cupboards visually symbolizes their waning love and the apathy they both feel towards maintaining a healthy relationship. Lahiri points out that they have been going through their supplies steadily; in the same way, their relationship is surviving off of what is left of their commitment to each other.

Similarly, in "Mrs. Sen's," an abundance of food characterizes Mrs. Sen's kitchen. Mrs. Sen bustles about the kitchen with her trusty blade, chopping vegetables and preparing lavish meals in a flurry of activity. Indeed, the "brimming bowls and colanders" that line her countertop and the "collection of broths [simmering] over periwinkle flames on the stove" clearly invoke a sense of abundance and productivity (117). In stark opposition to this abundance are Mrs. Sen's dark days when she misses her home, her family, and all that she has left behind in India. During those times, her kitchen blade never emerges from the cupboard; instead, "in silence, she [prepares] crackers with peanut butter for Eliot" while she reads old aero grams from her family (128). The ceasing of kitchen activity clearly parallels her loneliness and unhappiness. The comfort of her Indian heritage symbolized by her blade and its food preparation help her cope for brief periods at a time in America; however, it is not enough to provide sustained solace.

In "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine," Lahiri further uses a difference in meals to project a difference in mood. Mr. Pirzada, who is far from his family and home in Dacca (now the capital of Bangladesh, but at the time of the story a part of eastern Pakistan), has come to America on a research grant. In America, he is befriended by an Indian family who has a young daughter named Lilia. Lilia's father stresses that "Mr. Pirzada is no longer considered an Indian" ever since India was divided in 1947. Nevertheless, ethnic differences do not prevent Lilia's family from sharing with Mr. Pirzada their home and their meals as well as their fear and anxiety over the plight of eastern Pakistan, which is fighting for autonomy from the ruling western regime. Although Mr. Pirzada is uncertain of the safety of his family in Dacca, the mounting tension in Pakistan does not affect their evening meals. Neither does the mounting tension in Pakistan interrupt the daily kitchen duties of Lilia's mother who still busies herself each evening "presiding over the skillet" with "the fierce scrapes of her spatula" (25). Lilia recalls that, "in spite of it all, night after night, [her] parents and Mr. Pirzada enjoyed long, leisurely meals. After the television was shut off, and the dishes washed and dried, they joked, and told stories, and dipped biscuits in their tea" (34). Additionally, the sweet delicacies that Mr. Pirzada brings each evening for Lilia mark a time of happiness or normalcy. "The steady stream of honey-filled lozenges, the raspberry truffles, the slender rolls of sour pastilles" all are certainly a stark contrast to the famine in Pakistan (29).

The troubles resulting in civil war between the eastern and western frontiers of Pakistan clearly affect the lives of Mr. Pirzada as well as Lilia's family; however, while they are in America removed from the violence, the daily routine of their meals continue. Once war begins, however, their meals change drastically. Lilia remembers those twelve days of war; she states "My father no longer asked me to watch the news with them, and…Mr. Pirzada stopped bringing me candy, and…my mother refused to serve anything other than boiled eggs with rice for dinner" (40). When Mr. Pirzada returns home after the war, he writes to Lilia's family that he has been reunited with his family and then another change in meals occurs. Lilia's mother prepares a special dinner in celebration of the good news. In this way, Lahiri uses food to represent the anxiety that characters feel in response to different events in their lives as well as the comfort and hope that food provides for them.

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[ Contents | Absract | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | Works Cited | Appendix ]

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