Communication is the key for a healthy and long lasting relationship. “It is the successful
convey of sharing ideas and feelings.” In the short story “Interpreter of Maladies” Jumpha
Lahiri writes about the theme of communication by describing how relationships without
communication have a huge effect on many families. In the story the lack of
communication starts when Mr. and Mrs. Das go to India on a family trip; where most
families would communicate and the Das did not. They hired Mr. Kapasi to drive them to a
famous temple, during the trip their attitudes and lack of interactivity show how distant
they are from each other. They hide themselves behind their camera, guidebook and puffed
rice resulting in the loss of intimacy in their relationships. Miscommunication is reflected
throughout this short story.
When regular families plan a trip or vacation to a foreign country that they do not know
much about, they tend to stick together and watch out for each other. However the Das
family was the total opposite. The parents acted as brother and sister and the children did
not listen to their parents. *** The lack of communication is also shown in the way the
parents treat the kids and how they argue about who should be the next one to take the
little girl to the bathroom. “At the tea stall Mr. and Mrs Das bickered about who should
take Tina to the toilet.” (335) Mr. and Mrs. Das are mostly focussed on themselves; they
rarely pay close attention to their children. “He frowned, watching as Ronny rushed toward
