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| JHUMPA LAHIRI । Source of Image: CELEBRITYBORN |
Jhumpa Lahiri, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was born in London on July 11, 1967, and her family migrated to the USA where she did her PhD in Renaissance studies from Boston University. Lahiri's literary works have won several awards, including a Pulitzer Prize and a PEN/Hemingway Award. Her fiction often portrays Indian and Indian-American life and culture.
As the background of this descriptive essay says that along with wheat and corn, rice is one of the most consumed crops in the world, especially in Asia, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. 35 to 85 per cent of calories is consumed by millions of people living in India, China, and other Asian countries. Apart from this, rice can be symbolic as well. Rice is thrown at weddings as it suggests fertility and prosperity. However, the significance of rice for Lahiri is personal rather than universal. She describes her father's pulao dish as an expression of his idiosyncratic (distinctive) personality and a symbol that binds her family together.
This descriptive essay "Rice" by Lahiri describes how she has been influenced by her father's idiosyncratic personality. She opens her description of her father with his age and goes on describing his daily chores, habits and dislikes - he does not like getting lost while driving to new places.
Lahiri says that her father, seventy-eight, is a methodical man who is always careful, systematic and deliberate while doing anything. He does not like to get his job done without having a careful mindset or plan. He has also earned a reputation for andaj (estimate) because he is always accurate in gauging quantities that completely confuse other cooks. It is her father who knows well how many cups of rice are necessary to feed four, or forty, or a hundred forty people.
She particularly admires her father for making pulao which is a special dish that he has copyright. His pulao becomes such a demanding dish, and for his expertise in making pulao, he is always remembered and called to make pulao on different occasions like annaprasan (a rite of passage in which Bengali children are given solid food for the first time), birthday parties, anniversaries, bridal and baby showers, wedding receptions, and her sister's PhD party.
The author further affirms that although she has a superficial knowledge of ingredients and technique, she has no idea how to make her father's pulao, nor does she ever try to make it. The most amazing thing is that the recipe is his own, and has never been recorded anywhere else; however, he has never been unsuccessful in making it, nor is any batch of his ever identical to any other. She states that his dish will die with him when he dies since has earned the copyright of it.
This special dish of her father also bound her family together, too. Lahiri describes that although a caterer was hired on the occasion of her son's and daughter's annaprasans, her father was remembered and he made the pulao which was transported to Brooklyn from Rhode Island. This shows how they are brought together only because of his special dish - pulao. This dish has become a symbol of her father. Memories of the pulao mean the memory of her father. Every moment of having pulao flashes the existence of her father.
Comprehension
1. How does Lahiri describe her father? What is his most important character trait?
Lahiri describes him as consistent and committed to his routines. His methodical nature is the most notable trait for which he is known. He does everything systematically and accurately. He is also the man of a reputation for andaj. He has very accurate knowledge of estimating the quantity of making pulao or other food items according to the number of people, and this often baffles other cooks.
2. According to Lahiri, what is special about pulao? Why is it served just on festive occasions?
Pulao is distinctive from normal white rice that is cooked almost every day in the kitchen. It is because pulao is a combination of some specific ingredients and also involves a different process of cooking to bring a special flavour to it, and therefore, served only on festive occasions. This is considered a sophisticated dish.
3. What is an annaprasan? Why is this occasion so important to Bengalis?
Annaprasan is colloquially known as bhath (cooked rice). It is a special marking of the day when a Bengali child is given solid food for the first time. It is culturally considered a rite of passage among Bengalis.
4. Why, according to Lahiri, would she never try to make pulao?
Lahiri does not have any idea of making pulao. She does not fully understand the technique and proper ratio of ingredients that her father used to make it. He has never recorded his recipe. This dish has become an extension of her father, and he owns the copyright of it. It means only he has the right to make it.
5. What does Lahiri mean when she says that pulao is a dish for which her father "has earned the copyright"?
Because of this dish, her father has earned a special status and image among his relatives, friends and others. He is remembered and known for making pulao. He has made it with his own recipe for hundreds of people on different several occasions, and he never seems to get irritated for making it. His passion and skill for making this dish have made him what he is remembered and known for.
Purpose and Audience
1. How much does Lahiri assume her readers know about Bengali culture? How can you tell?
There are some examples in her descriptive essay which let her readers know that she assumes her readers do not know much about Bengali culture because she uses some Bengali words like andaj and annaprasani, and she explains what they mean in English as well. She also explains both the type of rice Bengalis often eat for dinner and how the normal white rice differs from pulao.
2. Is this essay simply about rice - more specially pulao - or is it also about something else? Explain.
Although it seems that this essay is more about rice, the fact is that it is not simply about it, rather it is about her father. Lahiri talks about how methodical her father is, and she uses his special dish as an example to explain his character traits. She says how accurate he is at estimating the quantity of rice according to the number of people who are to be served and using ingredients to bring different flavours without having his recipe recorded elsewhere. This essay also illustrates how calm he is even working under pressure. He seems to be able to adapt to new circumstances. Moreover, it is also about the impression of her father's idiosyncratic personality upon her.
3. Does this essay have an explicitly stated or an implied thesis? What dominant impression do you think Lahiri wants to convey?
The thesis is not explicitly stated in this essay, rather it is implied here, and it is that Lahiri's father's methodical personality made him very skilled at making pulao. It seems that Lahiri wants to convey a dominant impression of warmth and respect for her father.
Style and Structure
1. Why does Lahiri begin her essay by describing her father?
The reason to begin her essay with a description of her father is to set a framework so that the readership can understand how orderly and deliberate her father is. She must have assumed that describing her father this way helps the readership to see how meticulous he is - even at making pulao.
2. This essay is divided into three parts: the first describes Lahiri's father; the second describes the making of pulao, and the third describes the occasions on which her father cooked pulao. How does Lahiri signal the shift from one part of the essay to another? What other strategies could she have used?
Before describing the process of making pulao, Lahiri talks about how accurate he is at estimating the quantity of rice. To make it clear to her readers, she has used an anecdote in the third paragraph to give a good description of making pulao that her father is famous for.
After this description, Lahiri discusses the occasions on which he cooked pulao by mentioning a specific time: "In 1968 when I was seven months old...". This transition mentally prepares the reader for a shift in the essay.
To shift from the section of the essay that talks about the making of pulao, Lahiri could have used the transition like "My father knows how to make pulao by heart." or "I have seen my father involved in a process of making pulao several times on different occasions throughout my life.". While making a transition into the third part after talking about the making of pulao, she could have tried using transitions like "It was the occasion of my annaprasan when I tasted pulao for the first time.".
3. Why does Lahiri go into so much detail about her father's pulao recipe?
The reason to go into detail about her father's pulao recipe is to show that he can make pulao without his recipe recorded, and she has seen the process to know how it is made well; however, she has never attempted to make it. The details like the importance of the colour of the raisins and the preferred type of baking tray show his attachment to his dish.
4. What does pulao mean to Lahiri? Does it have the same meaning for her father? Explain.
No, pulao does not mean the same to her father as it means to Lahiri. For her, pulao is an indication of her father's love for her and others around along with his methodical nature. On the other hand, pulao for her father is a matter of pride, and he gets meticulously involved in making the dish. He does it to expose his methodical personality and express love to those he makes pulao for.
5. Why does Lahiri end her essay with a quotation? Is this an effective closing strategy? What other strategies could she have used?
Of course, this is an effective closing strategy here. Ending her essay with a quotation has made it emotional and impressive. When the author asked him to describe his experience, he expressed no frustration and replied "It was fine...". This quotation is enough to reflect her father's methodical and cool nature.
Instead of quoting her father to end her essay, she could have restated her main idea "His careful, systematic and deliberate way of carrying out the intended job made him a good cook who often puzzles other cooks.".
Vocabulary Projects
1. Define each of the following words as it is used in this selection.
2. Throughout her essay, Lahiri uses several Bengali words. What might she have gained or lost if she had used English equivalents?
If she had used English equivalents of Bengali terms, they would bring down the importance of the essay. When she says that her father "has a reputation for andaj", there is a connotation that having a talent for accurate estimation is considered special in her culture. Simply replacing it with "estimate" would take away this implication.
Replacing annaprasan with an English equivalent term would not work because there is no exact translation of this word, and it couldn't be changed to something else without fundamentally changing the meaning.
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