When mr pirzada came to dine summary?

Answer 1

When mr pirzada came to dine is a first person narrative short story by jhumpa lahiri which is narrated by a young girl of 10 years named lilia in where displacement of one person cailled pirzada as well as unerstanding of lilia about the sufferings of pirzada for missing his family members is disclosed.here the writer has exhibited how relation may build up between two unequal aged persons.though all the characters of the story are related to each other the reletion between lilia and pirzada is totally different .coming in a new unknown place pirzada treated with lilia as his daughters.he used to give her candy .moreover, he helped lilia at the time of the occasion in where lilia performed.thus a sacred relation grew up between them.

Answer 2

Lilia is a ten-year-old Indian girl. She recalls events that occur in the fall of 1971. Her family has a regular dinner guest at their home. Mr. Pirzada is from Dacca, the capital of Pakistan. He lives there with a wife and seven daughters whose names all start with A. Because of the war with India he does not hear from them in six months. Mr. Pirzada has a grant to study New England foliage. He begins in Vermont and Maine but now lives in a graduate dorm room at a university north of Boston where he lectures. His grant is small, so Lilia's parents feed him and others visiting from their homeland.

Lilia is unaware of country distinctions until she asks about setting a glass for the Indian man. They speak the same language, share the same customs and look similar, but her father says he is not Indian. He explains the British gave independence to India in 1947 and divided the country by Hindu and Muslim sects. Her father shows a map displaying Pakistan and India, one yellow and the other orange. He asks whether she is aware of the current situation. Lilia nods but is totally unaware. Her mother and father discuss what she learns in school and what she avoids by living in America instead of India. He wonders if she learns about Partition. Lilia silently recalls George Washington and King George.Mr. Pirzada usually arrives at six for dinner and shakes hands with Lilia's father. Lilia takes his coat. He dresses well in suits of matching ensembles and maintains a good posture. He walks to their house about twenty minutes away, although Lilia's father offers a ride. They express concern about the nine million refugees on Indian Territory. They sit down in the living room to eat while they watch the news. Mr. Pirzada follows a nightly ritual of giving Lilia little candies. She likes the treats but feels uncomfortable. They are like jewels she keeps in a sandalwood box by her bed. The family sits around the coffee table and Lilia's mother brings dishes from the kitchen. Lilia brings water glasses, lemon wedges and chili peppers. Mr. Pirzada takes out a band-less watch he holds to his ear, winds and puts on the table while they eat. The watch is set to the time in Dacca, eleven hours earlier. Lilia realizes his life in Dacca is ahead of his time here.When the news begins at six-thirty, Lilia's father turns up the volume and asks Lilia to pay attention to the news instead of the book she usually reads. There are tanks in the streets and Pakistanis fleeing to India. They discuss the news. Her father comments to Lilia what children her age do to survive. She imagines Mr. Pirzada's wife and children waving from a balcony and how relieved he would be. When Lilia goes to bed she thinks about Mr. Pirzada's life on the television. She cannot sleep, worries his family is dead and as she eats a piece of candy says a prayer. So as to not rinse the prayer away she does not brush her teeth.At school the next day Lilia studies the American Revolution but cannot concentrate. She finds a section in the library labeled Asia and a book about Pakistan. She reads about Dacca and is asked if this is part of her report. When she answers no she is told there is no reason to read it. News about Dacca becomes rarer as the weeks pass. Mr. Pirzada and her parents spend more time in the evening until the news at eleven to hear more. Lilia goes to bed earlier. She wants to join them, but can only pray for Mr. Pirzada and his family as she eats a piece of candy for their sake.In October Mr. Pirzada asks what the large orange vegetables are that he sees on porches. Lilia's mother answers pumpkins and asks Lilia to remind her to get one. Lilia explains to Mr. Pirzada that you make a jack-o'-lantern and they decide the next night to carve the one she gets. They all gather around the dining table and forget about the news. Lilia shows Mr. Pirzada how to carve a face on it. Her mother gives him a spoon to clean out the seeds. Her father separates them to dry before roasting. While carving the pumpkin they overhear that Pakistan and India may go to war. When Mr. Pirzada hears that, the knife slips. Lilia's father shows him how to fix the face so a new one is not necessary.The next night Lilia and her friend Dora dress up for Halloween as witches. They have empty rice sacks for collecting candy. Their parents agree to let them go alone this year if they follow certain rules. When Mr. Pirzada arrives he gives Lilia a box of mints when she says trick or treat. As the girls prepare to go Mr. Pirzada offers to go along. Lilia's mother assures him they will be safe and Lilia says don't worry. She says those words in her prayers for him but wants to say them to him for his family. She feels ashamed now that she says them for her own sake. Dora asks why he wants to go along. Lilia says he misses his daughters. The girls walk the route to Dora's. Lilia calls her mother who is not relieved to hear. Dora and Lilia sort candy and Dora's mother drives Lilia home.When she returns, Mr. Pirzada and her parents do not greet her. They are not watching television and seem upset. They hear that evening and several nights after that Pakistan and India are drawing closer to war. On December fourth they declare war and twelve days later Pakistan surrenders. During this period Lilia's father does not ask her to watch the news with them. Mr. Pirzada brings no more candy and her mother fixes boiled eggs and rice for dinner. Some nights Mr. Pirzada sleeps on their couch. Lilia recalls they seem to share lives as if they are one. Mr. Pirzada is busy the rest of the year and they do not see him very much. In January he returns to Dacca. Months later they receive a letter from him. He is reunited with his wife and children. They survive the war by staying with his wife's grandparents. Lilia and her parents have a special meal to celebrate and toast Mr. Pirzada. For the first time Lilia misses him. Every night since January she eats one piece of candy for his family. Tonight she does not and in time throws them away.