Interpreter of Maladies

I'll take this opportunity to just say that Mr. Kapasi's life just kind of blows. He works a job where he feels unappreciated, he has virtually no feelings for his wife, and he just seems generally unhappy with his position. However, he does seem to take an active effort in making his life better, as is evident from his working tours, which he thoroughly enjoys, to chasing a potential relationship with Mrs. Das. However, that last part didn't really work out well, which brings me to my question from the book: How does Mr. Kapasi's job as an interpreter of maladies relate to the action in this story? Does he have the occasion to use his diagnostic ability in his interactions with the Das family?

Mr. Kapasi may be good at interpreting language, but he is definitely not good at interpreting nonverbal communication. I would have likely categorized Mrs. Das's questions toward him as polite banter which was most likely said in order to avoid boredom on a very long car trip. Mr. Kapasi interpreted this as flirting and naturally assumed that she wanted hook up. However, this is not really the case, after all. She ends up spilling the beans on a huge secret she's kept, and he attempts to interpret what it means, but she doesn't particularly like his answer and runs off all upset. So to answer the question, yes he does interpret various situations, but not very well at all.

The monkeys have apparently transitioned from tools to weaponry.