Page 312 - DENG201_ENGLISH_II

English - II

Notes Sanjeev
Sanjeev is a thirty-three-year-old Indian immigrant to the United States, married to Twinkle. His
parents still live in India. Sanjeev is a successful man, with an engineering degree from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After graduating, he moved from Boston to Connecticut
to work for a firm near Hartford. He excels at his work, in which he supervises a an attempt to fix
every small imperfection. Sanjeev keeps his life as orderly and precise as possible. He tries to control
his life by controlling the things.
Self-Assessment
1. Choose the correct answer:
(i) Where does Twinkle take all the guests during the party?
(a) The basement. (b) The porch. (c) The yard. (d) The attic.
(ii) What did Sanjeev feel about all the Christian paraphernalia in his home?
(a) Concern. (b) Apathy. (c) Hate. (d) Amusement.
(iii) What did Sanjeev’s friend Prabal call Twinkle?
(a) Fancy. (b) Wow. (c) Hot. (d) Silly.
(iv) What kind of statue does Twinkle find hidden in the yard when they are raking?
(a) Virgin Mary. (b) Jesus Christ. (c) Saint Peter. (d) Saint Francis.
(v) What surprisingly good meal does Twinkle prepare for Sanjeev?
(a) Fish stew. (b) Pasta primavera. (c) Mughlai chicken. (d) Samosas.

23.4 Summary

• “This Blessed House” is set in present-day Connecticut. A young Indian couple, Sanjeev and
Twinkle, are recently married and have just moved into their new house. As they go about
investigating and fixing up the house, they begin to find small Christian knickknacks, left behind
by the previous owners. Twinkle first finds a porcelain effigy of Christ. Sanjeev does not like it
and tells Twinkle to get rid of it, but she thinks it is pretty and might even be worth something.
Sanjeev reminds her that they are not Christians. No, she confirms, they are Hindus. She puts
the statue of Christ on the fireplace mantel.
• Over the next few days, more Christian items turn up: a 3-D postcard of Saint Francis, which
had been taped to the back of a medicine cabinet; a wooden cross key chain; a framed paint-by-
number painting of the three wise men, which had been hiding in a linen closet; a tile trivet
showing Jesus delivering a sermon on a mountaintop; and a snow-filled dome containing a
miniature Nativity scene. Twinkle arranges them all on the mantel. Sanjeev thinks they are all
silly and wonders why Twinkle is so charmed by them. He wants her to throw them all away,
but Twinkle says it would feel sacrilegious to do so. She hopes to find more.
• A week later, Twinkle finds a watercolor poster of Christ, weeping and with a crown of thorns
on his head. She wants to display it, but Sanjeev refuses. Twinkle says she will put it in her
study, so he will not have to look at it.
• When Sanjeev has a moment to himself, he recalls a dinner he and Twinkle had in Manhattan a
couple of days before. Twinkle drank four glasses of whiskey in a bar, then dragged him into in
a bookstore for an hour, and then insisted that they dance a tango on the sidewalk.
• A few days later, Sanjeev returns from the office to find Twinkle on the phone to her girlfriend
in California, talking enthusiastically about the “Christian paraphernalia.” Each day is like a
treasure hunt, she says. As Sanjeev observes her, he is aware that certain things about her
irritate him. The way she sometimes spits a little as she speaks, for example. They have not yet
been married two months, and they only met four months before. The meeting, which took
place in Palo Alto, California, had been arranged by their parents. Twinkle’s parents live in
California, and Sanjeev’s parents live in Calcutta, India. They married in India after a brief
long-distance courtship punctuated by weekends together.

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