Asha

 When Dinesh asks his mother how the meeting with Mrinal went, Asha admits that she “made a mess of things.” She offers to tell him about it over some hot milk with pistachios. Smiling, he agrees. As she prepares the milk, she plans the letter she will write to Mrinal to tell her the truth. She knows that she and Dinesh will not always agree, but they solemnly raise their glasses to their “precious, imperfect lives.” Asha is an Indian-born woman and the protagonist of “Meeting Mrinal.” Brought up in India, Asha leaves college early and agrees to an arranged marriage to Mahesh, an Indian man who has immigrated to the United States. Asha moves to California to join her husband, and they enjoy a seemingly happy married life. Asha throws herself into traditional wifely activities such as cooking elaborate meals for the family. When the novel opens, Mahesh has just left Asha and their teenage son, Dinesh, for a younger white woman, Jessica. Asha is forced to move beyond her accustomed role as a wife and mother and forge an independent life in an alien culture that offers more freedom but also poses more challenges than her culture of origin in India. She is afflicted by a sense that she has failed in her traditional role as a wife and that she is too gauche and unsophisticated to fit into the harsh, fast-moving Western culture that beckons. A turning point for Asha comes when she meets a childhood friend, Mrinal, with whom she has always had a competitive relationship and to whom she feels inferior. Mrinal has succeeded in those areas that Asha finds threatening, having built a successful career and an independent life. Asha finds herself lying to Mrinal, pretending that her marriage is fine. When Mrinal admits that she is unhappy at her lack of a loving family life, Asha falls into despair. She attempts suicide but, when she reaches her lowest point, is finally able to let her mask of motherly control drop and accept help from her son. For the first time, Asha’s relationship with Dinesh is one of truth and honesty, and she prepares to tell Mrinal the truth about her marriage. Asha’s journey has taken her from desperately working to maintain the pretence of a happy marriage to an acceptance that while no one’s life is perfect, every life is infinitely precious.

 Dinesh

 Dinesh is the teenage son of Asha and Mahesh. As is typical of the American-born children of immigrants, he has become much more assimilated into Western culture than his parents. He favors  T-shirts emblazoned with gruesome slogans, wears an earring, and has his hair cut into a brush-like style. He talks to his mother very little since his father left and treats her with the withdrawn politeness of a stranger. However, the anger he feels at the breakup is suggested by his habit of locking himself in his room and playing hard rock music at full volume and by the fact that he can only refer to his father Dinesh’s anger surfaces when he overhears Asha lying to Mrinal on the telephone about the state of her marriage. He does not understand why his mother cannot tell the truth. She tries to win him round by cooking his favorite meal and calling him by his baby name, Dinoo. The tactic fails because Dinesh is no longer a child and is thoroughly impatient with all kinds of lies, including those that are told to children to make them feel safe in an uncertain world. The fact that he moved into the master bedroom when his father left is symbolic of his claiming new status as an adult. The crisis between Dinesh and his mother is resolved when she attempts suicide. Dinesh moves into the adult role of protector, becoming, as Asha notes, “ motherly ,” and helps her to the bathroom, where she vomits. Dinesh has seen his mother drop her pretences and descend to the role of a helpless child, and he has heard her honestly admit that she made a mess of her meeting with Mrinal. Now that he is being treated as an equal and trusted with the truth, he is at last able to show his love for his mother. He smilingly accepts her offer of pistachio milk, and together, they drink to their “precious, imperfect lives.”

 Jessica

 Jessica is Mahesh’s red-haired secretary, a white woman who is younger than Asha. Mahesh falls in love with Jessica and leaves Asha for her. She does not appear in the story.

 Mahesh

 Mahesh is Asha’s ex-husband. At the time the story opens, he has already left Asha for a younger white woman, Jessica, so he is only presented through the memories of Asha. After his arranged marriage to Asha, Mahesh quickly settled into the role of dutiful husband, gazing adoringly at the baby Dinesh and choosing Asha’s outfits when they would go out. Mahesh had thought he was happy in his marriage until he fell in love with Jessica; it was then that he realized he did not know what happiness was.

 Mrinal

 Mrinal is Asha’s close friend from childhood. She provides a contrast to Asha. While Mrinal has stayed in India, she has turned her back on Indian conventions and chosen a more Western way of life. She has remained unmarried, forging a highly successful career. Mrinal is intelligent, glamorous, and wealthy. When she meets Asha, she is as determined as her friend to pretend that her life is perfect, but when she sees Asha’s love for her family shining in her eyes, she can no longer maintain the pretence and admits that she is lonely and unhappy. Mrinal is proof that however impressive a person’s life looks on the outside, much grief and anxiety can lurk beneath the glossy surface.

Source:

Ira Mark Milne – Short Stories for Students – Presenting Analysis, Context & Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories, vol. 24, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Published by Gale Group, 2006