She had listened to him, partly sympathetic, partly horrified. For it was one thing for her to reject her background, to be critical of her family's heritage, another to hear it from him. Jhumpa Lahiri More Quotes by Jhumpa Lahiri More Quotes From Jhumpa Lahiri And wasn't it terrible, how much he looked forward to those moments, so much so that sometimes even a ride by himself on the subway was the best part of the day? Wasn't it terrible that after all the work one put into finding a person to spend one's life with, after making a family with that person, even in spite of missing that person...that solitude was what one relished the most, the only thing that, even in fleeting, diminished doses, kept one sane? Jhumpa Lahiri fleeting solitude missing On the screen I saw tanks rolling through dusty streets, and fallen buildings, and forests of unfamiliar trees into which East Pakistani refugees had fled, seeking safety over the Indian border. Jhumpa Lahiri tanks safety tree For that story, I took as my subject a young woman whom I got to know over the course of a couple of visits. I never saw her having any health problems - but I knew she wanted to be married. Jhumpa Lahiri saws couple stories In the days that follow, he begins to remember things about Moushumi, images that come to him without warning while he is sitting at his desk at work, or during a meeting, or drifting off to sleep, or standing in the mornings under the shower. They are scenes he has carried within him, buried but intact, scenes he has never thought about or had reason to conjure up until now. Jhumpa Lahiri drifting-off sleep morning I wanted to pull away from the things that marked my parents as being different. Jhumpa Lahiri being-different different parent A writer has to true to him or herself. Period. That’s it! Jhumpa Lahiri periods Do what I will never do. Jhumpa Lahiri She is stunned that in this town there are no sidewalks to speak of, no streetlights, no public transportation, no stores for miles at at a time. Jhumpa Lahiri namesake towns speak You remind me of everything that followed. Jhumpa Lahiri namesake The knowledge of death seemed present in both sisters-it was something about the way they carried themselves, something that had broken too son and had not mended, marking them in spite of their lightheartedness. Jhumpa Lahiri broken way son She supposed that all those years of loving a person who was dishonest had taught her a few things. Jhumpa Lahiri taught persons years ...that in spite of living in a mansion an American is not above wearing a pair of secondhand pants, bought for fifty cents. Jhumpa Lahiri pairs pants fifty Isolation offered its own form of companionship Jhumpa Lahiri companionship isolation form She learned that an act intended to express love could have nothing to do with it. That her heart and her body were different things. Jhumpa Lahiri different body heart Most people trusted in the future, assuming that their preferred version of it would unfold. Blindly planning for it, envisioning things that weren't the case. This was the working of the will. This was what gave the world purpose and direction. Not what was there but what was not. Jhumpa Lahiri purpose people world My grandfather says that's what books are for," Ashoke said, using the opportunity to open the volume in his hands. "To travel without moving an inch. Jhumpa Lahiri opportunity book moving He tries to peel the image from the sticky yellow backing, to show her the next time he sees her, but it clings stubbornly, refusing to detach cleanly from the past. Jhumpa Lahiri yellow trying past It interests me to imagine characters shifting from one situation and one location to another for whatever the circumstances may be. Jhumpa Lahiri location may character Gogol remembers having to do the same thing when he was younger, when his grandparents died...He remembers, back then, being bored by it, annoyed at having to observe a ritual no one else he knew followed, in honor of people he had seen only a few times in his life...Now, sitting together at the kitchen table at six-thirty every evening, his father's chair empty, this meatless meal is the only thing that seems to make sense. Jhumpa Lahiri grandparent father people In New York I was always so scared of saying that I wrote fiction. It just seemed like, 'Who am I to dare to do that thing here? The epicenter of publishing and writers?' I found all that very intimidating and avoided writing as a response. Jhumpa Lahiri new-york writing fiction
