In much of ‘The Interpreter of Maladies’, the young Mr and Mrs Das and their three children are confined to a car while Mr Kapasi, their guide, drives them to the Konarak Sun Temple. Bored by the car journey, the static-like travelling, Mr and Mrs Das talk to Mr Kapasi and discover that he has another occupation – he translates for a doctor. Mrs Das, suddenly intrigued by his other job, declares it romantic, causing Mr Kapasi to experience a rush of feelings.
“Her sudden interest in him, an interest she did not express in either her husband or her children, was mildly intoxicating. When Mr Kapasi thought once again about how she had said ‘romantic’, the feeling of intoxication grew.”
Lahiri is a magician-like writer. You think you know where this story is going, but then it veers away, surprising you; leaving you a little in awe of how skilful she is in the art of misdirection and the laying down of clues.
First published in AGNI #47, 1998. Collected in The Interpreter of Maladies, Flamingo, 2000
A Personal Anthology 