Jhumpa Lahiri herself is the “Interpreter of Maladies” in her poignant collection of short stories, laying bare the universal characteristics of loneliness and isolation. The enlightening experiences of Calcutta allowed the Indian-American author to write from the perspectives of seemingly different characters, most of whom are afflicted with the emotional confusion of an outsider, resulting from geographic displacement, migration, family neglect or lack of communication. These range from a displaced stair sweeper and a grief-stricken couple to an eleven-year-old boy left in the care of an ailing local Indian wife. Infused with explicit details of Indian and American cultures, the tales speak with universal articulation and empathy to anyone who has ever felt alienated. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayThe “migrant experience” responsible for evoking feelings of isolation worldwide personally or indirectly affects all of the characters in Lahiri. From a global perspective, the anthology expresses serious repercussions on the Indian diaspora. Focusing on Boori Ma, a seemingly insignificant stair sweeper, Lahiri argues that the feeling of isolation is universal, regardless of social status, ethnicity or age. Her "deportation to Calcutta after Partition" shapes Boori Ma's desperate fate. She is consequently "separated from a husband, 4 daughters, a two-story brick house" and a community of people who make her feel at home. Despite initial appreciation from the residents of the lower-class building she unofficially guards and voluntarily sweeps, she is still treated as an outsider. "Knowing not to sit on furniture, she instead crouches in doorways and hallways, and watches gestures and mannerisms in the same way a person tends to watch traffic in a foreign city." This state of discouragement is exacerbated when Boori Ma is blamed for the theft of the building's new water basin and "thrown" outside, homeless and alone on the street. Although Calcutta becomes Boori Ma's new home politically, she is once again banished, this time for allegedly neglecting her duties as "A Real Durwan". By proving that geographic displacement is not the only condition of exile, Lahiri finally states the universal character of isolation. Sen's speaks to isolated immigrants around the world through the distressing depiction of a woman expected to assimilate into a new culture. Mrs. Sen is unable to separate herself from her Indian customs and accept that even though “everything is there,” India is no longer her geographic “home.” Mrs. Sen's solitary life in America intensifies her need for face-to-face communication with her family, which is inferred from the comfort she seeks in "airgrams" from them and in a recording of their voices. The imminent danger of Mrs. Sen's stubborn attachment to India is symbolized by the knife she possessively withholds from everyone. This danger arises when Mrs. Sen's frustration at not being able to assimilate – symbolized by her inability to drive – culminates in her loss of "control of the wheel" and a car accident. Lahiri, however, asserts that Ms. Sen chooses an isolated life and that there is a possibility of her assimilation into America. The "strong wind, so strong that she has to go back", signifies the difficulties of adapting to the United States, but Ms. Sen finally "screamed" with joy, "laughing", indicating that a different attitude would allow her to enjoy its.