Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

Kulwinder prepares for a visit to India. She and Tarampal, one of Nikki’s students, used to be friends, but there’s bad blood now. Tarampal is annoyed by the stories and laughter of the other women in class, as she only wants to improve her English skills. The chapter embeds another erotic story, “The Shopkeeper and His Customer,” which introduces the use of fruit and vegetables in sexual innuendos. Tarampal storms out of class. In her absence, the women gossip about Kulwinder’s daughter, Maya, who was caught alone with a man. Manjeet does not know all the details; when it happened, she was in Canada visiting her son and pretending to mourn for her not-dead husband. Jason, the young man Nikki met smoking a cigarette outside the temple, comes to visit her at work. Nikki begins a friendship with Sheena, who is closest to her in age. Sheena has a budding romance with a Hindu colleague but holds back due to community pressures. The issue of colorism emerges, as well as foreshadowing of the Brothers, a group of young, self-appointed “morality police” (145).