Jasmine

Two years into their marriage, Prakash is still frustrated by his employment circumstances. He encourages Jasmine to brush up on her English by reading electronics magazines and manuals, as he believes that electronics are the wave of the future, even in India. Prakash even gives Jasmine a future to imagine—an electronics store that they both run equally.

But outside their fantasy for the future is the reality of the changing times in India. Now the Khalsa Lions blend in with the rest of the populace, identifiable only by a steel bracelet. Jasmine and Prakash look at people’s wrists first before engaging with them.

Prakash brings Jasmine news that he has been accepted to the Florida Institute of Technology. They will have to lie on her visa that she is 18, not 16, to get her into the United States. Prakash will go first to America, and then send for Jasmine. Jasmine declares to her husband, “I can’t live without you” (91), somewhat surprised that she means it.

As a gift to Jasmine, Prakash takes her into town to a high-priced sari shop to purchase her an exquisite wedding sari as a gift. Jasmine is proud: “I felt rich, prized, a queen” (92)—“It was the beginning of the real life we wanted, needed, to live (92).