When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine Themes

In “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” the adult narrator, Lilia, looks back on her childhood and remembers being fascinated by her parents’ dinner guest, the kindly Mr. Pirzada. Back in East Pakistan (what is now known as Bangladesh), Mr. Pirzada has a wife and seven daughters of his own—but he has been separated from them, first by moving to the U.S. for work and then by the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War that…

Lilia, the narrator of “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” grows up in a suburb of Boston. At school, she is taught exclusively American history and traditions, but at home, Lilia’s parents—who emigrated from Calcutta—try to educate her about the food, neighborly traditions, and family members they left behind in India. Lilia’s curiosity about her cultural roots increases when she meets Mr. Pirzada, a man from East Pakistan (now known as Bangladesh) who…

Lilia, the narrator of “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” reflects on her childhood, much of which she spent learning the history of American independence by heart at school. Her school’s proximity to Boston means a steady stream of field trips to Revolutionary War memorials, and the curriculum focuses heavily on George Washington and the other Founding Fathers. But while Lilia’s schooling tells a celebratory tale of historical revolution, her own family is wrapped…

Though “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” is about decidedly adult subject matter—the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which was a time of mass death and displacement for Bangladeshis (then known as East Pakistanis)—it is told through the context of the narrator, Lilia’s, childhood. Each night, Lilia, who lives in a quiet suburb of Boston, watches the news on TV and sees children her own age in East Pakistan trying to survive the violent…