Sociology professor Morrie Schwartz once said: "The rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you'll be in a lot of trouble. If you don’t know how to compromise, you’ll have a lot of problems If you can’t talk openly about what’s going on between you, you’ll have a lot of problems…” (Albom 149 concisely). by Jhumpa Lahiri tell the truths told above Three stories in particular: “A Temporary Affair”, “When Mr. Pirzada Comes to Dinner” and “The Third and Last Continent” particularly illustrate the above quote. , Jhumpa Lahiri describes the struggles of Indians to build new relationships while trying to assimilate into American culture; Lahiri illustrates that to strengthen any relationship, one must demonstrate compassion, respect, and honesty; portrait of a young Indian couple, Shoba and Shukumar, who become cold and distant after the birth of their stillborn child. Both Shoba and Shukumar are very well assimilated into American culture, so much so that their Indian culture has slowly faded away and they often struggle to reconnect with their Indian roots. His wife Shoba decides to play a game of truth every night when the lights go out. She says it reminds her of her grandmother in India. Shukumar jumps at the chance to spend this time with his increasingly distant wife. Shukumar thinks the game is a way to help Shoba reconnect with his past in India, but he later learns that the game is much more than he thought. After their child died, Shukumar said Shoba "treated the house like a hotel." " she avoids her husband as much as possible...... middle of paper ......b. February 17, 2010. .Lahiri, Jhumpa. "A temporary affair." The Interpreter of Diseases. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. 1-22. Print.- - -. “The Third and Final Continent.” Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Print.- - -. dinner." Interpreter of Maladies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. 23-42. Print. Morace, Robert A. "Interpreter of Maladies: Stories." Magill's Literary Annual 2000 1999: 198. Literary Reference Center. Internet. April 6. 2010. .