As mentioned in Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Lahiri's "This Blessed House" touches upon changing gender roles in seemingly traditional Indian homes. Reverend Mother pretty much ruled her family and took charge when Amina's husband was "frozen". Aadam Aziz was watched by three women when he looked after Naheem through the perforated sheet. Amina had an affair with an old lover and Padma was seen as Salim's partner, not as an inferior woman.
Lahiri takes a similar approach. Sanjeev and Twinkle met through their parents and married soon after. They had a wedding in India after spending two months together. They moved to Connecticut and instead of taking the role of a "traditional" wife, Twinkle smoked, drank and so on. She barely does any work around the house and gets manicures instead. When Sanjeev wanted to get rid of the Virgin Mary statue on the front lawn, Twinkle wouldn't allow it and threw a fit. "In the end they settled on a compromise: the statue would be placed in a recess at the side of the house, so that it wasn't obvious to passers-by, but was still clearly visible to all who came" (403). She basically gets her way, even at the end when she puts the big bust of Jesus on a mantle instead of putting it in her study.
This view of gender roles could be applied to Mistry's story. Mrs. Mody isn't a passive wife, but instead checks up on her husband and Jehangir. She screams at Dr. Mody for spending time with "some stranger" (252) instead of his own son and doesn't reserve herself. She stands up for what she believes in, even though it causes embarrassment upon Jehangir.
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