FOOD AS A MIGRATORY MOTIF IN JHUMPA
LAHIRI’S INTERPRETER OF MALADIES
Subhashree
Pandey,
Research Scholar, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, M.P.
Email – subhashreepandey300@gmail.com
Dr Shibani Basu Dubey, HoD English, The
Bhopal School of Social Sciences, Bhopal, M.P. Email – shibanibs10@gmail.com
Abstract
This paper explores how food serves as a central motif in Jhumpa
Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, symbolizing cultural transition and identity crises experienced by
the characters in a foreign land. For many, food becomes a hold-on to their
roots, a comfort, or an escape. It is a marker of identity for the diasporic
community, reinforcing where they come from and who they are. For others, it
helps them forget the past and explore new lives. As M.H. Abrams defines, “a
motif is a recurring element that contributes to the development of the theme.”
In this case, food is more than sustenance; it is a symbol deeply tied to
emotion, culture, and identity.
In Indian culture, food is more than a
necessity; it is an expression of life, emotion, and celebration. Special
dishes are tied to significant occasions, and each region has its own unique
culinary traditions. In Lahiri’s stories, food is not only a basic need for the
diaspora but also a cultural anchor, continuously reminding them of their
heritage. It can also express emotions, as noted by Eve Jackson in her
exploration of the meanings attached to food:
Keywords: Food, culture,
migration, imagery, symbols, relationship.
My exploration of the subject of food and
eating was stimulated by interest in the complex meanings we attach to
food…References to particular food-stuffs need to be evaluated in terms of
individual and collective associations…The latter are deeply ingrained in our
culture and may hark back to the experiences of our Paleolithic ancestors and
beyond.
The “maladies” in Interpreter of Maladies
stem from the pressure of balancing old and new identities. Lahiri's own life
is reflected in these stories, as she, like her characters, has struggled with
finding clear roots. Her parents, originally from Bengal, moved first to
Britain and then to America, seeking better opportunities. Jhumpa Lahiri, born
in Britain and raised in America, experienced a similar sense of not belonging.
In interviews, Lahiri reflects on the conflicting nature of her family's choice
to immigrate, driven by the desire for better prospects but also marked by a
sense of misgiving about leaving behind their homeland.
The recurrent imagery of food in Lahiri's stories is rooted in her
own experience of cultural displacement. She recalls feeling intense pressure
to balance loyalty to the old world with the need to adapt to the new world.
This tension is reflected in her writing, where food often becomes a source of
connection or a reminder of what has been lost. In her short story An
Unaccustomed Earth, for example, a mother feels embarrassed by her son's
rejection of Indian food, highlighting the generational divide in the immigrant
experience. Jhumpa Lahiri’s own two children
"are pretty good about that. They eat Indian food; they will eat Chinese
food. They sort of live on pasta. And they love beans and rice. You know, my
husband is from Latin America, and that is his comfort food. Black beans and
rice on a Sunday morning: they love that."
The wide gamut of stories is related by Lahiri
with an array of emotions. None of the stories are like the other; the subject
matter differs in all of them. But all of them use food as an expression in
some way or the other. ‘Food becomes the Interpreter of Maladies.’ “Eating is
traditionally largely something we do with others” (Jackson, 1996).
In A Temporary Matter a couple struggling with their marriage falling
apart, use food to connect with each other and say things they could not say
before. In M.S.A. Rao’s contributions to Food, Society, and Culture, he states,
“If a shift in residence occurs across the cultural regions, then the question
whether the migrants retain the same food habits or change in favor of the
dietary style of the locals in the new place of residence, becomes a
significant one.” The same affects
Shukumar and Shobha; being far away from their native land, they have adopted
the dietary habits of America. The essence of Indian meal timings is lost for
them.
In the
second story, When Mr. Pirzada Came to
Dine, Mr. Pirzada gets entry into Lilia’s family to find solace, comfort in
his lonely life, and bring company to Lilia’s distressed parents during
dinners. Interpreter of Maladies
brings forth the unknown secrets from the Das family with Mrs. Das’s puffed
rice being the harbinger of upcoming events. The search for Indians each new semester
and invite them over for dinner to their home depicts her parents need to feel
at home in a foreign land. While in India it was common to associate and bond
over food in each other’s place which her parents feel the loss of in America. In
The Migrant’s Table, Krishnedu Ray’s study of Bengali-American households, he
notes: “women do express and maintain their social position in the community
through food work. They keep account of friends and neighbors who have
invited them for dinner and the number of times they have been invited” (Ray
122). These
meals were bonds of affinity which transgress the boundaries of countries. “These
dinners served as a refuge for Mr. Pirzada in his home-sickness.” (Dr. Asha
Choubey)
The
third story from the collection Interpreter
of Maladies is the one after which the collection has been named. Das
family has come to spend their holidays in India and go about sightseeing to
Sun Temple in Konark. Even though the family is quite foreigner in their ways
and living, they enjoy the ‘Indianness’ as they enjoy eating at a dhaba. Mr.
Kapasi is invited to join them by Mrs. Das who strikingly does not enjoy the
company of her own family. “Just who is invited to the table is a thorny
question. We prefer to ask only those we feel comfortable with…” (Jackson,
1996). “And so, together, they had
bottled mango juice and sandwiches and plates of onions and potatoes deep-fried
in graham-flour batter… Mr. Das took more pictures of the group as they
ate.”
Sexy, the fifth of the
collection showcases the verve of an American woman (Miranda) in a relationship
with a married Indian man (Dev). This story is arresting as it is told from the
point of view of the ‘other woman’ in a relationship with a Diaspora Indian man
rather than the man himself. It is about her experiences which she has with him
and how they affect her life and turn her into a mature woman. In Sexy, an American woman in love with a married Indian man, trying
to get close to him through the food of his country, realizes her self-worth
and comes to terms with her life. Once
when she visits an Indian grocery store and goes through the food items the man
at the cash register suggests that she does not try those as they are “Very
spicy…Too spicy for you”. This comes as
a portent of her contagious relationship with Dev which is not for her and
would not do her any good.
Mrs.
Sen
is a story about a lonely wife babysitting a young boy, going at great lengths
to acquire a “whole fish” as that connects her back to her native land. As stated by Dr. Asha
Choubey, “Fish becomes the leitmotif in the story.” In
The Third and Final Continent, a
Bengali man confused regarding his identity is helped by his wife who brings
him back to his roots through her Indian ways and food. When he moved to America, he had to adjust to new ways of living, “Even
the simple chore of buying milk was new to me.”
His life turns sour as his milk. “The
lack of social cohesion is mirrored in irregular eating patterns, sandwiches
gulped down on commuter trains, breakfast taken standing at a kitchen counter,
foods that come in prepackaged portions…when people live alone…they often
neglect to cook at all” (Jackson, 1996). He gets used to his life in America
when there is an entry by his wife Mala which discomforts him. He suddenly
feels embarrassed because of her Indian ways. But soon this divide too seems to
elude. She brings with her a packet of Darjeeling tea which reminds him of his
native land. Suddenly his food habits change with Mala’s arrival. “We ate with
our hands…”
When their son is born, they are
mostly afraid that he might lose hold of his own culture. They try to embed
their cultural values in him so that he imbibes the love for his country. “…So
that he can eat rice with us with his hands, and speak in Bengali, things we
sometimes worry he will no longer do after we die.” This is a thought which
worries almost all of Diaspora parents that their children might have to
struggle like them and never understand and embrace their own culture. As
stated by Jackson, “For many people growing up now the table will have lost its
traditional significance.”
The
analysis of the stories threadbare presents before us the ‘exile’ experienced
by the people displaced from their home and culture. “Home” here can be
symbolic of not just the place a person spends most part of his life in, but
the one to which his soul connects him. Malashri Lal affirms that “many women
writers in India are using food imagery to talk back to patriarchal society
that insists on situating them in domestic space” (Jain, 2004:105). Similar is
the case with Lahiri who convincingly and tactfully employs women characters in
her stories do this job, whether it be Mrs. Sen, Miranda, Mala, or Lilia. It is
also interesting to see the characters struggling for their freedom and coming
to terms with their new life whilst keeping intact their cultural identity. And
when someone or something tries to spoil this balance, they revolt back or
succumb to it.
“Throughout the entirety of Interpreter of Maladies,
Jhumpa Lahiri uses the food customs and dining traditions of her
Indian-American characters to illuminate the importance of family and
community.” (Godfree, 2010) Ray quotes Alice Waters, a chef and culinarian
in The Migrant’s Table: “If you see the same ingredients every place you go you
lose a sense of time and place. Then nothing is special’” (Ray
132). He explains, “…that is exactly why immigrants crave some of the
distinctive products of their homeland, notwithstanding time or place” (Ray
132).
Food
serves as a link between the old and new world traditions. One can notice surprisingly,
how an individual acquires more of his culture when displaced from it rather in
his own country. While the Diaspora citizens look for means to come closer to
their land, the Indians are moving away from it. Like it is taken as low for a
person to eat out of his hands in India and he is termed as uncouth but abroad
these are the practices reveled and enjoyed the most.
Food is a motivating factor
that propels action on the part of an individual, a community or an entire
society. Food is part of the cyclical pattern of life; food is culture, but the
question of the 'Indianness' of Indians acquires a particular poignancy
overseas, as Indians abroad are presumed to shed their regional, linguistic,
and ethnic identities in deference to the more general identity of being an
Indian. It is arguable that one is more easily an Indian abroad than in India;
the category of 'Indian' is not contested abroad as it is in India
(Choubey)
But
this practice is not just a matter of connection but of choice as well. Not all
individuals drawn away from their homeland look for such linking factors that
would bind them to their culture. Sometimes people are ready and willing to do
away with the old practices to assimilate with the new ones. This contradicting
factor can be seen in the case of Twinkle from This Blessed House, who is very comfortable with the life in a
country in which she technically does not belong. But she is prepared to and
thus does not feel displaced or dislocated like Sanjeev who never feels at
home. One can point out that this conduct of hers might be an outcome of her
never being close to her homeland. Unlike Lilia’s case, most probably, her
parents never took the pains to make her learn and practice their cultural
integrities. Thus, it also points out
that the second generation gets the basic knowledge of their culture and
religion through their parents and it is the choice of parents as to how much
they want their child to get accustomed to it.
The
lack of understanding of the importance of meals and proper dinners can be
attributed to this. It can be taken as an imperative to be comfortable in their
new lives. While some can carry both old and new with them, some are not and
they prepare themselves in such a way that it does not impede their personal,
social, economic growth in a foreign land where they are both literally and
metaphorically alone. So, according to them it is better to be one with the
people of the new world rather than hanging on to the burden of the old. It
comes as an advantage to many. So, its advantages cannot be undermined. “We now
have greater flexibility, liberation from the tyranny of set mealtimes and an
alimentary eclecticism matched
by
the possibility of relatively free social exchange” (Jackson, 1996). This is
how they can adjust to the “fast-paced, time- consuming and demanding”
(Godfree, 2010) life of the unknown.
In
the end all that can be said, is that food is of course a vital means of
survival for the ones alienated and dislocated. The amazing dimension in which
food’s significance has been laid down in a subtle manner is indicative of how
noiselessly the meals do their job. Even in normal circumstances, whether in
happy or tumultuous situations we unconsciously drift towards food to serve as
a medium of transferring our emotions. Henceforth, it becomes a motif in our
daily life.
References
· Abrams,
M.H. and Geoffrey Galt Harpham: A Glossary
of Literary Terms. 10th ed. Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
· Jackson,
Eve: Food and Transformation Imagery and
Symbolism of Eating, 1996. Print
· Khare, R.S., and M.S.A Rao, eds: Food,
Society, and Culture: Aspects in South Asian Food Systems. Durham,
North Carolina: Carolina Academic, 1986.
· Lahiri, Jhumpa: Interpreter of Maladies, New York:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. Print
· “Motif.”
Literary Devices. Definition and Examples
of Literary Terms. 2016. Web.6 April 2016. http://literary
devices.net/motif/.
· Ray, Krishnendu: The
Migrant's Table: Meals and Memories in Bengali-American Households,
Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2004.
· Tayler, Christopher: Change
and Loss, The Guardian, 2008, Web. 24 March 2017. www.theguardian.com/uk