Say Cheese

Cameras and photography are present in both "Interpreter of Maladies" and also in "A Pair of Tickets". However they are used in two different ways. In the "Interpreter of Maladies", Mr.Das uses his camera to take photographs much like a tourist would do. This differs from "A Pair of Tickets" because in this story, Jing-Mei uses photography to win over her little cousin by taking photos with her to make her cousin feel more comfortable around Jing-Mei. In the first story, Mr.Das is using his photos more to capture a moment, something to put in an album and say yeah, we went to India where my parents are from and saw this and that. However, Jing-Mei uses her camera to win over a little cousin, using it as a toy or something to do that doesn't necessarily mean that she's a tourist, she's just playing the likes of the little cousin. That's how the two cameras differ from each other, they have the same purpose, and the same use, but each person is using them to a different degree, where one is for capturing a moment of a time and place, and the other is used to keep a little girl happy in a meeting between two family members.