As explained in an earlier entry, Aloka was raised to be the perfect "Hindu wife." For this reason she has made Sujata the black sheep of the family because she is more shy yet at the same time more opinionated than Aloka is. However, her upbringing does not necessarily help her survive in jungle of New York, and in fact does nothing to salvage her relationship with Pranab. Aloka tries to be a perfect as possible for Pranab and pay special care to everything he likes, constantly stepping aside and tending to his every nook and cranny, just as she was taught to do:
"In India she'd been taught to cater to a man's wishes, not challenge them. Modern woman that she had been, she stillcouldn't quite shake herself out of traditional ways. She offered him larger servings at dinner, let him sleep on the window side of the bed, even made sure he got first chance at the front section of the New York Times in the morning." (98)
In the paragraph right after, Aloka blames herself for the failure of the marriage, when Pranab's attitude and inability to be honest with Aloka about his feelings for Sujata, as well as his unwillingness to accept the new life in New York, is also what is breaking their marriage, even though there was not any true chemistry between them in the first place. (So, we're kind of back on Aloka being delusional, except that now she's delusional over what it means to be a woman.)
On an interesting note, Aloka finds success in New York ends up working for newspaper that features her articles as well as her advice columns for Ask Seva, and becomes a working independent woman while adjusting to her new life in New York.
Another interesting thing to note is her relationship with Jahar. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like Jahar holds her up to the same societal standards that her culture and Pranab may have (well, not so much Pranab, but he was to marry her only because of her social status as well as her being the perfect Hindu wife), and in that sense, Aloka is able to break free of her bonds and become here own individual person. You can say that her relationship with Jahar literally has brought her down from her uncomfortably privileged pedestal, which I found to be represented by the high-end lifestyle Aloka lives that lets her fit in, in comparison to Jahar's more down-to-earth interests:
"He was loving, courteous, generous, and protective. In the midst of the brutal chaos of the city, he'd created a small oasis and carved a nook for her in it. But what would her friends say about a man who didn't attend City Arts and Lectures or hang out in the Theater District or at Spierman Gallery, one who couldn't comment on Paul Taylor Dances?" (201)
In this sense, Jahar symbolizes Aloka's heart... which I will explain later...
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