Currenlty I am reading Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's book - The Unknown Errors of Our Lives. It is a slim book with nine short stories. Each story rings true in the hearts of Indian immigrants; those who are uprooted from their homeland due to circumstances and others who come to America willingly but unwittingly carry the excess baggage of Indian customs on their backs and despite outward assimilation feel out of sorts in their newly adopted country.

For the next nine days I will be reviewing each of the nine stories.

Mrs Dutta Writes A Letter Today while shopping at Prudential complex, here in Boston my eyes fell on an old Indian lady window shopping. She was dressed in a salwar kameez with white sneakers, her hair roots needed to be done with the white hair contrasting starkly with the old dyed dark hair and her slow gait spoke of loneliness.

I found myself thinking of the story I had finished last night. Mrs Dutta, the character of Chirtra B Divakurani's first short story. Mrs Dutta, a widow leaves her family and friends behind in India and moves in with her son and his family in Sunnyvale, California. The initial enthusiasm that the family had for her begins to wane as she slowly becomes like nuisance for the family despite her best attempts to blend into the background.

The story reflects the changing cultural dynamics within the Indian society due to globalization, where the threads of joint family systems are unravelling and nuclear family system are becoming the norm and individualism is the code of conduct.

Obviously, the post colonial generation are uncomfortable with yawning gap between them and the present individualistic generation and many maybe facing an old age quite different from that their own parents had. However by the end of the story Mrs Dutta finally makes peace with herself. She realizes that one cannot find happiness in a crowd of people, it lies within and the best way to be live is to be the mistress or master of one's own fate.