PPT on Diaspora literature of Jhumpa Lahiri by Dr Mangesh Gore

REFLECTION OF DIASPORIC SENSIBILITY
IN THE WRITINGS OF JHUMPA LAHIRI
Presentation by
DR. GORE MANGESH MADHUKAR
Head, Department of English
Sundarrao More ACS College
Poladpur Dist Raigad
Maharashtra - India

(Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri)
July 11, 1967

On 10th Sept. of 2015 US President Barack
Obama has presented the prestigious National
Humanities Medal (2014) to Pulitzer Prize
winner, Jhumpa Lahiri. On the occasion of the
award, the White House citation read as,
"The 2014 National Humanities Medal to
Jhumpa Lahiri, for enlarging the human story.
In her works of fiction, Dr Lahiri has
illuminated the Indian-American experience in
beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement
and belonging."

INTRODUCTION
 The relationship between literature and society is reciprocal
and mutually dependent.
 Literature deals with number of historical, sociological
movements, concepts aesthetically in its various genres like
short stories, fiction, drama, and poetry.
 ‘ Diaspora’ is one of such sociological concepts that finds its
reflection in today’s literature.
 In fact the term ‘Diasporic Literature’ generates from this
sociological and historical concept of ‘Diaspora’.

Diasporic Literature deals with ‘Expatriate Sensibility’
dominates today’s literary scene. It highlights the lives of the
immigrants and their inner and external conflicts in a foreign
land.
 It focuses reactions of different individuals to different
situations in an alien culture.
 By highlighting issues like the cultural dilemma, quest of
identity, multiculturalism and universal aspects of human
existence, diasporic literature occupies an important
position in today’s literary field.

The Origin of the Concept of Diaspora
Before dealing with the concept and origin of Diaspora, it is necessary
to discuss the concept of migration through which ‘Diaspora’ emerges.
 Migration is the movement of people from one place, origin or
country to another. In today’s era of globalization, it becomes a
dominant factor in our lives. People have constantly migrated since
their emergence as a species.
The word Diaspora is derived from the Greek word ‘diasperio’
which means to distribute. It is a compound of ‘spiro’ i.e. to sow, to
scatter like seed and ‘dia’ means from one end to the other.

The Oxford English Dictionary 1995 Edition (second)
discovers the etymology of the word 'Diaspora' back to its
Greek root and to its appearance in the Old Testament. It
is mentioned that God's intentions were that the people of
Israel should be dispersed across the world.
 The term is associated with the Jewish historical
experience. They were banished from their motherland
Palestine forcefully. To survive, they spread throughout the
world. This process of scattering gave birth to the new term
‘Diaspora.’

CHANGE IN THE MEANING OF ORIGINAL
CONCEPT OF DIASPORA
Today, this term has obtained a more extended meaning beyond
the original implications of aggression, calamity, alienation, loss,
exile and return. The ordinary usage of the term Diaspora in today’s
world contains an indication to a common inherited homeland,
voluntary or involuntary migration and a sense of estrangement and
marginality in the country of residence.
 Ashcroft Bill and others define the concept as “Diaspora is the
voluntary or forcible movement of peoples from their homelands
into new regions.”

It should also be noted that the concept of diaspora has
made a substantial development in recent time. In the past it
is linked with many negative things, at present it reveals
positive implications. Diaspora is always intimately
connected to displacement that, on the one hand, points out
disturbing experiences and on the other hand also
relationships with different cultures which promotes the
understanding of human life among the diasporans.
 Today,’ Diaspora’ insisted more on relocation rather than
dislocation.

Diasporic Sensibility or Diaspora Consciousness
Another comparatively fresh approach to ‘diaspora’ puts more stress on
unfolding the diversity of experience,
a state of mind
and sense of identity.
Diaspora consciousness or sensibility is a particular kind of awareness said
to be generated among present-day transnational communities. Its
distinctiveness is described as being marked by experiences of dual or
paradoxical nature.
Feeling of loss of tradition, culture, identity and hence sense of alienation,
displacement and nostalgia in the first generation immigrants and cultural in
betweeness and no whereness for the immigrants of subsequent generations.

Different Aspects of Diaspora related with Diasporic
Literature
Belonging and Not Belonging in Diasporic Writing
Concept of Space
The concept of Living in- between conditions
The Concept of Multiculturalism
Similarly, the concepts of Belonging, Hybridity, Identity,
Home and Homeland are also associated with Diaspora
Theory.

Indian and South Asian Diaspora
The human movement has always taken place as nomads, hunters, traders, cultural carriers,
exiles, and conquerors. Indians too have migrated since the dawn of history. Recent population
studies suggest that the Indian Diaspora of about 25 million people is dispersed in about 110
countries of the world.
 South Asian Diaspora is the term commonly used to refer to people who emigrated from and
belong to one of the ethno- cultural groups originating in the geopolitical region of the world
where countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri -lanka are located.
Indian Diasporic Literature in English
Diaspora Theory with its various features has influenced the literature of every language of the
world. This literature is widely known as Expatriate or Diasporic Literature.
Diasporic Literature is a very vast concept and an umbrella term that includes in it all those
literary works written by the authors outside their native country, but these works are associated
with native culture and background. In this wide context, all those writers can be regarded as
diasporic writers, who write outside their country but remained related to their homeland
through their works.

It is interesting to note that the history of Indian diasporic writing is as old as the diaspora
itself. The first Indian writing in English is attributed to Dean Mohmet who was born in Patna,
India. His book The Travels of Dean Mahomet was published in 1794. . The first Indian English
novel, Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s Rajmohan’s Wife, was to be published much later in 1864.
Main Contributors and Portrayal of Different Issues
Anita Desai’s Bye Bye Blackbird and Kamala Markandaya’s. The Nowhere Man. These novels
reveal racial prejudice against Indians in the UK of 1960’s
Bharati Mukherjee’s novels like Wife and Jasmine depict Indians in the US – the land of
immigrants both legal and illegal – before globalization got its momentum.
 Salaman Rushdie in his novel The Satanic Verses approaches the metaphor of migration by
adopting the technique of magic realism
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in her novel The Mistress of Spices depicts Tilo, the protagonist, as
an exotic character to reveal the migrant’s anguish.

 Amitav Ghosh’s novel The Shadow Lines shows the extent of rootlessness encountered by
character born and brought up on a foreign land.
Amit Chaudhari, in his novel Afternoon Raag, portrays the lives of Indian students in Oxford.
Writers like V. S. Naipaul, Cyril Dabydeen, David Dabydeen, Sam Selvon, M.G. Vassanji,
Subramanian, K.S. Maniam, Shani Muthoo and Marina Budos are important contributors in this field.
 The ranks of second generation diasporic Indian writers like Meera Syal, Shashi Tharoor, Hari
Kunzru, Sunetra Gupta, Jhumpa Lahiri, etc. have faithfully demonstrated the lives of both first and
second generation immigrants in the US. Their literary works reveal that the inner needs of first
and second generation immigrants..
 Many Indian diaspora writers writing in English have portrayed in their literary works dislocation,
fragmentation, nostalgia for home, marginalization, racial hatred, cultural and gender hatred, conflicts,
identity crisis, generation differences, transformation of subjectivities, emergence of new patterns of
life with cross-cultural interaction and disintegration of family units of Indian diaspora leading to
anguish, traumas and dilemmas suffered by the members of such families
Some of these literary texts have also brought out the predicament of the illegal immigrants
This problem of racial antagonism took a dreadful from in America for the South Asians and especially for the Sikh

Diaspora after 9/11 which has been presented by Chitra Banerjee- Divakaruni in her novel The Queen
Of Dreams (2004)
Another aspect that surfaces from the novels like Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine and Chitra
Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices is the violence and sexual exploitation suffered by Indian
women both at home and at workplaces for various reasons.
However, writers like Chitra Banerjee- Divakaruni and Jhumpa Lahiri have also shown, certain
characters making conscious attempts to keep their family units together and adapting themselves to the
requirements of the culture and lifestyle of their children.
 These writers also portrayed positive aspects of diasporic situation.
Hari Kunzaru, in his novel Transmission (2004) has dealt with another contemporary realistic aspect
of the professional Indian Diaspora who are now facing the problems of job saturation.
Sub-group of Bengali diasporic writing within Diasporic Indian Fiction
The exclusive thing about Indian diasporic writings lies in the fact that the Indian diaspora differs
from another diaspora. Unlike other Asian diaspora, the Indians, despite being ‘Indian’ do not
involuntarily share a common faith, language, cuisine, dress, etc. The result is that the variety we have
in India gets echoed in the literature of the writers of diverse background typically based on regions and
sometimes on castes and religions.

In the great success of diasporic fiction of Indian writers, particularly in the last two decades
of the 20th century – there has appear a substantial sub-group within diasporic Indian fiction
that is writing in English from the Indian state of Bengal, the country of Bangladesh and by
Probashi Bengalis (diasporic Bengalis) outside the two Bengals
 This sub – group contains writers like – Bharati Mukherjee, Amitav Ghosh, Upamanyu
Chatterjee, Sunetra Gupta, Nalinaksha Bhattacharya, Joydeep Roy – Bhattacharya, Bidisha
Bandopadhyay, Adib Khan, Amit Choudhary, Chitra Bananarjee - Divakaruni, and the three
recent authors Amal Chatterjee, Ruchira Mukherjee, and Jhumpa Lahiri.
While reading these writers, we find the manifestation of delicate Bengaliness in their
writings. These writers use language, themes, moods that are very culture specific.
Jhumpa Lahiri. Though she lives in the U. S, her literary works faithfully mirror
Bengali culture and sensibilities. Through these works, she has minutely portrayed
Calcutta and middle – class Bengali milieu.

Jhumpa Lahiri -- Brief Biography
Born on July 11, 1967 in London
Her real name was Nilanjana Sudeshna but when she was enrolled in school, the teachers decided
that Jhumpa (the nickname and easy to articulate) should be her school / good name
Lahiri grew up in Kingston, Rhode Island, where her father Amer Lahiri works as a Librarian at
the University of Rhode Island.
Married Albert Bush, a journalist who was then Deputy Editor of Time Latin America. She lives
in Brooklyn with her husband and two children
After receiving B. A. in English literature from Barnard College in 1989, she had many degrees
from Boston University, M.A. (English) M.A. (Creative Writing), M.A. (Comparative Literature)
and Ph.D. (Renaissance Studies). Important Awards –
National Medal for Humanities on 10th Sept. 2015, awarded by USA President
Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her short-story collection, her debut literary work Interpreter of
Maladies (1999)
PEN / Hemingway Award (1999), due to her extraordinary literary genius
Latest literary work The Lowland (2013) has won DSN award for South Asian Literature in Jaipur Litfest in
Feb.2015.

Literary Career
Interpreter of Maladies-1999 (Short-stories Collection)
Through this collection, Lahiri attempts to interpret maladies of immigrants by revealing their
diasporic sensibility convincingly.
The anthology has a notable subtitle, Stories From Beagal, Boston and Beyond.
The word ‘beyond’ points out the universality of her stories which tells us about the lives of
immigrants navigating between their indigenous culture that they inherited and the new one that
influences them on various levels.
All the stories in the collection deal with the theme of the search of ‘home’ amidst the
experiences of alienation. Characters like Shobha, Mira, Mr. Kapasi, Mrs. Das, Mrs. Sen
Miranda, Boori Ma, Bibi Haldar experience displacement and alienation in different contexts
The collection attempts to highlight identity crisis and displacement experienced by Lahiri’s
expatriates in diasporic and native milieu.
Along with Nostalgia and assimilation, these stories around alienation and displacement. It
can be observed that in this age of globalization the sense of alienation and displacement
becomes more psychological and the same is highlighted by Lahiri in her debut collection

The Namesake- 2003 (Novel)
Jhumpa Lahiri, in her second work and first novel, The Namesake spotlights the private,
restricted spaces of middle-class Bengali immigrants in America.
The strain of following Indian culture and grasping American culture, between keeping
family tradition and fascination for the individual freedom
 And consciousness that one is an ‘outsider’ and ‘other’ even though one is born there is
realistically highlighted in The Namesake.
 Much of the part of novel revolves around the identity crisis of Gogol. In fact, Gogol
Ganguli’s struggle for searching his identity is twofold.
The name that eventually defines a person’s uniqueness becomes a problem for him. It
does not offer him an identity but puts him in a dilemma, about his original identity
inherited from his parents, as a child of immigrants in America.
He constantly has to struggle with contradictions occurring due to his Indian roots.
Gogol has had to negotiate two very dissimilar cultures during his life, as well as a third
brought about by his name.

The film adaptation of The Namesake gives a fascinating, corresponding picture
of the novel. Lahiri, writing not long after 9/11, spotlights on the second generation
and on its attempts to express their Indian/Bengali-American identity.
Mira Nair, on the other hand, prefers to detail the experience of the first generation.
Although she does not modify Lahiri’s plot, she incorporates more footage meant to
build up a most wanted return to the motherland.
The novel mirrored double dislocation encountered by Gogol as his naming
heightens his identity crisis in the foreign land.
 It also unfolds a journey of Ashima from nostalgic alien to the transnational citizen.
 It also focuses diasporic sensibilities of Ashoke, Sonia and Moushmi as all of them
negotiate cultural encounters in different manners.
The novel focuses intergenerational gap as it explores the psychology of both first
and second generation immigrants.

Unaccustomed Earth- 2009 (Short-stories Collection)
Jhumpa Lahiri continues to deal with the theme of the cultural disconnection experienced by
immigrants trapped between the culture of their Indian origin and the unknown ways of their
adopted land in her second short stories collection Unaccustomed Earth.
 The collection more prominently highlights the lives and diasporic sensibility of second-
generation immigrants who are passing through both traditional values of their immigrant parents
and the mainstream American values of their peers.
In all stories of the collection Jhumpa Lahiri applies the metaphor based on the epigraph, that is
introduced in the beginning and which is taken from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Custom-House”
Through this epigraph, Hawthorne recommends that resettling people into the new land of the
unaccustomed earth makes them prosper better as they become hardier.
The stories revolve less around the dislocation and more around relocation.
Lahiri’s second generation expatriate characters strongly discard values respected by their
parents in favor of American lifestyle and partners
 The sense of alienation and displacement is strongly reflected in the stories ‘Hell-Heaven’ and
‘Unaccustomed Earth’.

The garden metaphor in the title story, ‘Unaccustomed Earth’ becomes a unifying aspect
bringing three generations in the diasporic synthesis of optimism of further sustenance in their
own new found world.
 It can be observed that most of the second generation immigrants depicted by Jhumpa Lahiri in
Unaccustomed Earth did not engage in nostalgia and also did not oppose cultural assimilation.
Their marriage, alcoholism, relationship with other men / women can be considered as their
journey towards hybridity.
Transplantation of characters from one milieu to another continues to run through the collection
as a recurring motif.
The clash of two cultures has been added to the gap between the two generations.
 Almost each story deals with children who struggle to fulfill their parent’s traditional
expectations as well as the cultural demands of their American peers.
Like the title proclaims, first-generation Indian immigrants generate circumstances for their
children to strike roots into ‘unaccustomed earth’.
Yet at the end of the book one understands that some of them do and are happily transplanted,
others do and are not satisfied.

The Lowland – 2013 (Novel)
It is on this background; Lahiri focuses the diasporic dilemma of her characters whose lives cutting
shuttle between India and the United States over the course of five decades.
The story deals with the theme of uprooting and assimilation with attempts made to set up connectivity
among the characters.
It can be observed the novel focuses on individuals and his or her fortune rather than focusing collective
element in the diaspora.
After dealing with historical movement, the remaining novel discloses the pathetic story of personal
choice, guilt and memory of the past affecting the Mitra family for decades and generations together.
The recently published novel is a synthesis of political and historical event of Naxalite Movement with
personal and family life of Mitra family.
The novel highlights the political history and its effects on Mitra family on the background of the
diasporic dilemma of characters struggling to deal with the problems of familial relationships and
interconnectedness between people.
The author highlights emotional twists of the characters and establishes the need for an enhanced
emotional link between them to resolve conflicts and problems of mutual adjustment.

Literary Focus
Lahiri’s writing is featured in her ‘plain’ language and very clean, neat and
engrossing narrative technique.
Her characters are mostly Indian (Bengali) immigrants, navigating between
the cultural values of their birth-place and their adopted nation.
 Her writing is autobiographical and frequently draws upon her own
experiences as well as those of her parents, friends, acquaintances, and others
in Bengali communities with which she is familiar.
Lahiri investigates her characters’ struggles, dilemmas to faithfully reflect
the details of immigrant psychology and behavior.

Her first two literary works, Interpreter of Maladies and The
Namesake, spotlighted mostly on first generation Indian American
immigrants and their struggle to raise a family in a country very different
from theirs
 The stories of her third literary work Unaccustomed Earth have dealt
with the destiny of the second and third generation immigrants. As
subsequent generations become more and more assimilated into
American culture and are at ease in the construction of perspectives
outside of their country of origin
Lahiri’s two novels The Namesake and The Lowland highlight the
needs of the individual. She shows how later generations of immigrants
depart from the restrictions of their parents

Some Observation about Diaspora Literature
In the context of Globalization, extensive diaspora has been witnessed in the last few decades
It has earned prestigious status abroad with its values, commitment to work, honesty and
adaptability.
The growth and presence of Indian Diaspora all over the world is a matter of great pride for us.
On such background the great need in depth and profound study of Indian Diaspora is always
stressed upon by the eminent thinkers and scholars
 Literature is a medium through which we can understand the concept of Indian Diaspora,
particularly the mindset and feelings of Indian Diaspora
The undertaken research has attempted to understand the same as Jhumpa Lahiri is an
internationally recognized author of our times who has dealt with diasporic sensibility through
her literary works.

Pedagogical Implication
On the background of globalization we witness extensive Indian diaspora which also
resulted in a very fast development of Diasporic Literature.
Students of literature will certainly benefited by the undertaken research being dealt with
internationally recognized contemporary writer Jhumpa Lahiri.
The present research will also prove useful for students as it will try to analyze theories of
Diaspora, Multiculturalism from the point of view of their reflection in Indian Diasporic
Writing in English.

Social importance of the Research
The diasporic literature recognizes cultural diversity and appreciates the
value of tolerance. Such literature is definitely helpful to establish cultural
contracts and encourages the value of harmonious co-existence of diverse
cultures.
In the age of globalization, we are heading towards a multicultural society
and the study of Diasporic literature will certainly promote our understanding
of people from all cultures and will motivate peaceful co-existence of humanity
The society will also benefit from undertaken research as Jhumpa Lahiri
imparts the message of the multiplicity of culture and universal aspect of
human existence
Such sort of message will certainly spread wisdom among the society on the
backdrop of ever-growing terrorism caused by cultural and racial hatred.

Common Thematic Aspects of Lahiri’s Literary Works
It can be observed that four elements viz;
The Sense of Alienation and Displacement
 Nostalgia and Cultural Assimilation
 Identity Crisis and Family Relationship
Intergenerational Gap
They are the main constituents in the formation of Diasporic Sensibility
reflected in the literary works of Jhumpa Lahiri. It is under the framework of
these four elements, literary works of Jhumpa Lahiri will be analyzed and
interpreted in the respective chapters of the undertaken research work.

Major Features of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Literary Works
 Jhumpa Lahiri has adopted relatively recent approach to ‘diaspora’ that puts more emphasis
on describing a variety of experiences that stress on more on RELOCATION than
DISLOCATION
. Out of various aspects of diasporic sensibility four aspects namely, Sense of Alienation and
Displacement, Nostalgia and Cultural Assimilation,. Identity crisis and, family relation,
Intergenerational Gap are prominently reflected in the literary works of Jhumpa Lahiri..
 Lahiri’s literary works can be placed under the emerging sub –group of Bengali writers who
have been contributing in Indian Diasporic ;Literature in English as she reflects typical middle
class cultural milieu through her writings.
Lahiri’s writing reflects intense studies of individuals caught in between conflicts of
interpersonal relationship and cultural traditions. They try to establish their individual identities
in a new milieu, experiencing at the same time the sense of displacement, alienation, and
isolation. These individuals, caught up in the confusion of their migrant lives, attempt to get
connected to family and friends for emotional fulfillment.

 Lahiri has presented the distinctive dilemma of second generation diaspora
being caught between two worlds; two cultures and yet belonging to neither. This
creates an acute sense of loss of identity.
 The majority of Lahiri’s first-generation female characters first go through
processes of displacement and loneliness in foreign cities. Ultimately, however,
they are able to negotiate these transnational urban environments in their favor
 Jhumpa Lahiri has raised this dilemma of generation gap in her literary works.
 Jhumpa Lahiri’s literary works highlight multiplicity of cultures in the
globalized world of our times. She has responded very effectively to the changing
nature of diasporic sensibility of the second generation immigrants who transplant
themselves successfully by acquiring third space.

Avenues for further Research
As is mentioned in the slide of features, Jhumpa Lahiri’s literary works should not be studied only in
the light of diasporic sensibility. She has dealt with various aspects of human relationship. They can be
explored with multiple angles such as parent- child, husband- wife and siblings’ relationships.
 The place of ‘Home’ is remained very central in Lahiri’s works where negotiations between
characters often make or mar their lives. This aspect of her writings can be researched.
 Within diaspora study the recent emergence of regional subsets need to be studied as they offer an
uniqeness to Indian diasporic literature. Bengali subset forms a formidable body which can be analyzed
for its thorough exposure.
 Lahiri’s female characters like Ashima, Ruma, Sudha, Moushmi, Gauri have shown their diasporic
journey from alienation to assimilation in different context. They have encounter cultural alienation and
assimilation with much more struggle as compared to their male counterparts. These diasporic female
characters can be studied both in the line of diaspora and also from feminist point of view.
 Comparative study of Jhumpa Lahiri with other contemporary diaspora writers would throw more
light on her literary works and offer balanced and composed view of diaspora literature. Some other
features of Lahiri’s writings such as her narrative techniques, plot construction, character development
can also be explored.

FINAL REMARK
Jhumpa Lahiri’s literature highlight the inner life of the characters with their in-
between condition as she herself experiences this diasporic dilemma.
This dilemma of the second generation immigrant is properly reflected in her following
remark
As she informs what it means to reach out her parents as a second generation expatriate in
the following remark;
“For though they had created me, and reared me, and lived with me day after day, I knew
that I was a stranger to them, an American child. In spite of our closeness, I feared that I was
alien. This was the predominant anxiety I had felt while growing up.”
Her first generation immigrant character Ashima equates immigration and calls it as a sort of
‘lifelong pregnancy’ a perpetual wait.
 Lahiri becomes successful to present through her works how this ‘pregnancy’ eventually
results in the delivery of a hyper mobile autonomous, transnational and transcultural self.

PPT on Diaspora literature of Jhumpa Lahiri by Dr Mangesh Gore

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