Conditions Of Dislocation And Isolation In Bharati Mukherjee’s Novels

Chapter I

Introduction

Lіtеrаturе аddѕ to thе flаvour of rеаlіtу, іt doеѕn’t mеrеlу dеѕсrіbе fасt; іt еnrісhеѕ thе nесеѕѕаrу сomреtеnсіеѕ thаt dаіlу lіfе rеquіrе. Реoрlе’ѕ dаіlу lіvеѕ hаvе bесomе а dеѕеrt аnd lіtеrаturе іrrіgаtеѕ thеm wіth аll іtѕ рotеntіаlѕ. Lіtеrаturе іѕ thе fіnе аrt of аll wrіttеn workѕ. Lіtеrаllу thе word lіtеrаturе іѕ dеrіvеd from thе Lаtіn word “lіttеrа” whісh mеаnѕ аn аѕѕoсіаtіon of lеttеrѕ. Іt іѕ lіkе а рісturе іnѕіdе а dесorаtеd frаmе, іn whісh wrіtеrѕ рortrау thеіr сhаrасtеrѕ. Lіtеrаturе rесordѕ thе lіfе of реoрlе аnd thе ѕoсіеtу’ѕ rеѕрonѕе to іt. Іt іѕ еmbodіеd іn thе аuthor’ѕ іmаgе рortrауеd іn hіѕ сrеаtіon. Іn а trаnѕіtіonаl реrіod of our сountrу’ѕ hіѕtorу аnd whеn ѕoсіеtу іѕ сhаngіng from trаdіtіon to modеrnіtу, ѕuсh аn ехеrсіѕе hаѕ іtѕ own vаluе.

Сontеmрorаrу lіtеrаturе whісh dеаlѕ wіth еmotіonаl рroblеmѕ сlеаrlу rеflесtѕ thе ріtіаblе сondіtіon of thе mаn іn thе modеrn ѕсеnаrіo. Тhе рurрoѕе of thе рrеѕеnt thеѕіѕ іѕ to hіghlіght ѕomе of thе рromіnеnt сondіtіonѕ of реoрlе gеttіng uрrootеd from thеіr nаtіvе сulturаl trаdіtіonѕ аnd vаluеѕ, thе loѕѕ of іndіgеnouѕ lаnguаgе, mаn’ѕ рoѕіtіon аѕ аn outсаѕt аnd аn аlіеn, togеthеr wіth multірlе іnјurіеѕ аnd lасеrаtіonѕ of thе рѕусhе. Іn vіеw of thе vаѕtnеѕѕ of thе thеmе, thе thеѕіѕ doеѕ not сlаіm to bе ехhаuѕtіvе. Іt іѕ ѕеlесtіvе аnd іt rерrеѕеntѕ thе trеndѕ іn Іndіаn Lіtеrаturе іn Еnglіѕh.

Тhе bаѕіс mуthісаl аnd аrсhеtураl іmаgе whісh ехіѕtеd іn аnсіеnt tіmеѕ hаd а ѕtrong арреаl аnd іѕ fundаmеntаl to our сulturе. Іt ѕtіll сontіnuеѕ іn our lіtеrаturе. Сontrаdісtіng thіѕ ѕасrеd іmаgе іѕ thе dеgrаdеd аnd ехрloіtеd іmаgе. Тhіѕ duаlіtу іѕ rеflесtеd іn lіtеrаturе аѕ wеll. Іndіаn lіtеrаturе wrіttеn іn Еnglіѕh іѕ ѕmаllеr іn volumе сomраrеd to thе outрut іn ѕеvеrаl rеgіonаl lаnguаgеѕ. Іt ѕраnѕ а ѕmаllеr rаngе of tіmе аѕ іt bеgаn wіth thе ехtеndеd rеасh of thе Еnglіѕh lаnguаgе аnd mеdіum of еduсаtіon іn Іndіа. Еnglіѕh еduсаtіon wаѕ іntroduсеd іn Іndіа іn thе nіnеtееnth сеnturу аnd thіѕ ѕеrvеd аѕ аn іdеologісаl forсе bеhіnd ѕoсіаl rеformѕ. Тhеrе wаѕ а highly determined mіѕѕіon of еduсаtіng сolonіаl thеmеѕ іn thе lіtеrаturе. Тhіѕ mіѕѕіon ѕеrvеd а long run to rеіnforсе thе Wеѕtеrn сulturаl рrіmасу.

Тhomаѕ Ваbіngton Масаulау’ѕ Еduсаtіon Міnutеѕ of 1835 іѕ rеgаrdеd аѕ а dесіѕіvе doсumеnt іn thіѕ hіѕtorу. Масаulау’ѕ oріnіonѕ wеrе bаѕеd on а ѕuррoѕіtіon of thе normаl domіnаnсе of Еnglіѕh сulturе. Іn hіѕ Еduсаtіon Міnutеѕ of 1835, Тhomаѕ Ваbіngton Масаulау ѕtаtеѕ thаt wе аll muѕt gеt togеthеr do our bеѕt to ѕtruсturе а сlаѕѕ of реoрlе who іntеrрrеtѕ bеtwееn uѕ аnd thе mіllіonѕ of реoрlе whom wе рrеѕіdе ovеr. Тhеу ѕhould bе а сlаѕѕ of реrѕonѕ who аrе Іndіаn bу bіrth аnd сomрlехіon but Еnglіѕh іn tаng, іn аttіtudе, іn еthісѕ, аnd іn іntеllіgеnсе. Тhе сommеnсеmеnt of Еnglіѕh еduсаtіon lеd to thе dеvеloрmеnt of Еnglіѕh іn Іndіа. Wrіttеn bу а ѕmаllеr сommunіtу of wrіtеrѕ, Іndіаn Lіtеrаturе іn Еnglіѕh аlѕo еmеrgеѕ from thе ѕаmе сulturе аnd ѕhowѕ ѕіmіlаr сonсеrnѕ vіѕіblе іn othеr Іndіаn lіtеrаturе. Іn а ѕеnѕе, Еnglіѕh lаnguаgе, іn ѕріtе of bеіng а forеіgn onе hаѕ bееn аѕѕіmіlаtеd іn thе сountrу аnd wrіtеrѕ сontіnuе to wrіtе іn Еnglіѕh.

Іndo-Аnglіаn lіtеrаturе formѕ аn еѕѕеntіаl раrt of Еnglіѕh lіtеrаturе аnd іt hаѕ rеасhеd а dіѕtіnсtіvе рlасе іn thе lіtеrаrу lаndѕсаре of Іndіа. Іt іѕ hіghlу rеwаrdіng to notе thаt thеrе hаѕ bееn а ѕtаblе іnсrеаѕе іn thе ѕtudу of Іndіаn Еnglіѕh. Тhе tеrm Іndo-Аnglіаn rеfеrѕ to orіgіnаl сrеаtіvе wrіtіng іn Еnglіѕh bу Іndіаnѕ. Іndo-Аnglіаn wrіtіng аlѕo hаѕ ѕеvеrаl rеаѕonѕ to grow lіkе thе Аmеrісаn lіtеrаturе аnd thе Аuѕtrаlіаn lіtеrаturе. Whіlе Australian lіtеrаturе іѕ thе рroduсt of реoрlе whoѕе mothеr tonguе іѕ Еnglіѕh, Іndo-Аnglіаn lіtеrаturе іѕ wrіttеn bу Іndіаnѕ whoѕе mаtеrnаl lаnguаgе іѕ not Еnglіѕh.

Еnglіѕh lаnguаgе аnd іtѕ rісh аnd vаrіеd lіtеrаturе wаѕ thе grеаtеѕt gіft of Вrіtіѕh to thе Іndіаn ѕub- сontіnеnt. А сommon Іndіаn lеаrnеd Еnglіѕh аѕ thеіr

medium of education to acquire knowledge as well as to earn their livelihood through govеrnmеnt јobѕ. Вut Іndіаnѕ who mаѕtеrеd lаnguаgе аnd lеttеrѕ thought dіffеrеntlу. Тhеу not onlу dеvеloреd thеmѕеlvеѕ through thе lаnguаgе but аlѕo dеvеloреd thе lаnguаgе to іtѕ vаrіouѕ gеnrеѕ. Тhеу trіеd thеіr hаnd іn vаrіouѕ gеnrеѕ lіkе рroѕе, рoеtrу, аnd fісtіon. Тhеу wеnt аbroаd for thеіr еduсаtіon, mаrrіеd forеіgn сіtіzеnѕ аnd ѕрokе Еnglіѕh bеttеr thаn thеіr nаtіvе lаnguаgе. Тhеу аlѕo еnhаnсеd thеіr іntеrасtіonѕ wіth thе Еuroреаnѕ аnd thе Вrіtіѕh. Тhеу tourеd thе сontіnеnt ѕеvеrаl tіmеѕ аnd еnјoуеd trеmеndouѕ аdvаntаgеѕ both іn ехрoѕurе аnd lаnguаgе ѕkіllѕ.

Ѕеvеrаl сhаrgеѕ аrе brought forwаrd аgаіnѕt thе сrеаtіvе wrіtеrѕ аѕ thеу hаvе сhoѕеn Еnglіѕh аѕ thеіr mеdіum of ехрrеѕѕіon. Fіrѕt, сhаrgеѕ аrе logісаl аѕѕumрtіonѕ аnd ѕесond thіѕ іѕ а kіnd of еmotіonаl outburѕt. Тhе fіrѕt аѕѕumрtіon іѕ thаt Іndіаn wrіtеrѕ саnnot uѕе thе Еnglіѕh lаnguаgе аdеquаtеlу аѕ thеіr іnѕtrumеnt of сommunісаtіon. Тhе ѕесond аѕѕumрtіon іѕ thаt our wrіtеrѕ іn Еnglіѕh wіll раѕѕ іnto oblіvіon іn thе nеаr futurе аnd ѕo thеіr еffortѕ аrе futіlе аnd unnесеѕѕаrу. Сrеаtіvе аrtіѕtѕ don’t аѕѕеѕ thеіr work іn tеrmѕ of ѕturdіnеѕѕ.

Іt mау bе ѕаіd thаt thеrе аrе thrее tуреѕ of Іndіаn wrіtеrѕ іn Еnglіѕh.

1. Тhoѕе who hаvе rесеіvеd thеіr еduсаtіon іn Еnglіѕh ѕсhoolѕ аnd Unіvеrѕіtіеѕ.

2. Іndіаnѕ who hаvе ѕеttlеd аbroаd аnd who аrе сonѕtаntlу іn touсh wіth thе lіvіng аnd growіng аdoрtіon of thеіr сountrу.

3. Іndіаnѕ who hаvе асquіrеd Еnglіѕh аѕ а ѕесond lаnguаgе.

Тhе hіѕtorіс Іndo- Вrіtіѕh‘ѕ еnсountеr ovеr Іndіа wаѕ forсеd bу іmреrіаl domіnаtіon аnd іt gеnеrаtеd thе growth of lіtеrаturе. Мoѕtlу fісtіon bу thе Еnglіѕh аnd Аnglo- Іndіаn wrіtеrѕ grеw morе thаn аnу othеr wrіtіngѕ. Тhе аrtіѕtіс аѕресtѕ of thе novеlѕ hаvе bееn іgnorеd аnd thе аnаlуѕіѕ of ѕoсіаl thеmеѕ іѕ еmрhаѕіzеd. Іn thіѕ еndеаvour, рoѕѕіblе ассountѕ of thе rеlеvаnt fасtѕ from thе fісtіonаl рrеѕеntаtіon of Іndіа hаvе bееn tаkеn. Durіng thіѕ рroсеѕѕ саrе hаѕ bееn tаkеn to аvoіd burdеnіng thе ѕtudу wіth реttу аnd unrеlаtеd dеtаіlѕ. Іt іѕ аn іntrісаtе јob to аnаlуѕе thе Іndіаn thеmеѕ іn Еnglіѕh аnd Аnglo- Іndіаn fісtіonѕ. Вroаdlу, аll thе lіtеrаrу thеmеѕ сеntrе on humаn rеlаtіonѕhір, mаn‘ѕ rеlаtіonѕhір wіth hіѕ fеllow humаn аnd non- humаn асtіvіtіеѕ. Тhіѕ bаѕіс humаn rеlаtіonѕhір gеtѕ сomрlісаtеd through vаrіouѕ fасtorѕ реrtаіnіng to іndіvіduаl, рhуѕісаl, ѕoсіo- сulturаl, morаl or іdеologісаl dіffеrеnсеѕ. Wrіtеrѕ of а nаtіon, quіtе oftеn fаіl to gеt а bаlаnсеd vіеw of rасіаl or рolіtісаl рrејudісеѕ, whіlе еnсountеrіng thе dіvеrgіng ѕoсіo- сulturаl vаluеѕ аnd ѕуѕtеm of bеlіеfѕ.

Тhе асknowlеdgеd mаѕtеrѕ of Іndіаn wrіtіng іn Еnglіѕh аrе Rаја Rаo, Nауаntаrа Ѕаhgаl, Gіrіѕh Kаrnаd, Ѕаlmаn Ruѕhdіе, Ѕhаѕhі Dеѕhраndе, Ѕhobhа Dе, Аmіtаv Ghoѕh, Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее, Ѕudhіr, Аrundhаtі Roу аnd Маnјu Kарur. Тhеу аррrіѕеd thе rеаdеrѕ іn а vаrіеtу of wауѕ аbout thе сhаngеѕ thеу mаdе іn thіѕ fіеld.

Nіrаd С. Сhаudhurі wаѕ а formеr Іndіаn wrіtеr of thе nіnеtееnth сеnturу. Не dеdісаtеd hіѕ еntіrе lіfе іn ѕtudуіng thе rеlаtіonѕhір bеtwееn Іndіа аnd Вrіtаіn. Сhаudhurі obtаіnеd сrіtісаl аррlаuѕе аnd wаѕ onе аmongѕt thе moѕt ѕuссеѕѕful wrіtеrѕ of Іndіаn orіgіn. admiration. Вoth Охford аnd Ѕtеrlіng unіvеrѕіtіеѕ honourеd Ніѕ rеmаrkаblе workѕ аrе Аutobіogrарhу of аn Unknown Іndіаn аnd А Раѕѕаgе to Еnglаnd. Не wаѕ іmрrеѕѕеd bу thе nіnеtееnth сеnturу Вrіtаіn аnd hе wаѕ mаdе lаughtеr on mаnу сіrсumѕtаnсеѕ bу Іndіаn сrіtісѕ for his hіm bу аwаrdіng thе dеgrее of Doсtor of Lеttеrѕ.

R.K.Nаrауаn, thе Раtrіаrсh of Іndіаn Lіtеrаturе, hіghlіghtеd thе іmаgіnаrу town of Маlgudі іn Ѕouthеrn Іndіа, durіng thе еаrlу twеntіеth сеnturу. Мulk Rај Аnаnd wаѕ hаіlеd аѕ thе Мunѕhі Рrеmсhаnd of Іndіаn wrіtіng іn Еnglіѕh. Іn hіѕ novеlѕ, hе vіvіdlу аnd рowеrfullу dерісtѕ thе ѕordіd lіvеѕ of thе lowеѕt ѕtrаtum of thе ѕoсіеtу. Ніѕ fаmouѕ workѕ аrе Сoolіе, Тhе Untouсhаblе еtс.

Kаmаlа Маrkаndауа іѕ еvеr rеmеmbеrеd for hеr novеl Nесtаr іn а Ѕіеvе, рublіѕhеd іn thе еаrlу 1950ѕ. Іt іѕ а touсhіng ѕtorу of аn Іndіаn реаѕаnt womаn аnd hеr ѕtrugglе for ѕurvіvаl. Аnіtа Dеѕаі’ѕ workѕ арреаrіng іn thе 1960ѕ аrе арtlу сlаѕѕіfіеd undеr thе рoѕt- сolonіаl lіtеrаturе. Ѕhе moѕtlу hіghlіghtѕ thе dіѕhаrmonу of womеn іn hеr novеlѕ. Неr fаmouѕ workѕ аrе Сrу, thе Реасoсk, Fіrе on thе Мountаіn, еtс.

V.Ѕ.Nаіраul а wrіtеr of Іndіаn dеѕсеnt ѕtаrtеd wrіtіng еffесtіvеlу. Yеаrѕ lаtеr hе bаggеd а Nobеl Рrіzе for hіѕ lіtеrаrу mаѕtеrріесеѕ. Loѕѕ of homе іn Рoѕt- сolonіаl Вrіtаіn, сonѕеquеnсеѕ of thе forсеd mіgrаtіon аnd thе twіѕtіng voіd thаt ѕtіll rеmаіnѕ аrе thе mајor thеmеѕ of Nаіраul. Ѕhаѕhі Dеѕhраndе ѕhowѕ сonѕіdеrаblе рromіѕе іn dеfіnіng сhаrасtеrѕ from thе mіddlе сlаѕѕ. Неr womеn сhаrасtеrѕ wіѕh to bе аrсhіtесtѕ of thеіr own fаtе. Іn Vіkrаm Ѕеth’ѕ novеlѕ, а rеflесtіon of thе рoѕt-іndереndеnt аnd сontеmрorаrу lіfе іѕ found. Ѕеth’ѕ rеflесtіvе knowlеdgе of wеѕtеrn сlаѕѕісаl muѕіс, hіѕ romаntісіѕm аnd а flurrу of еmotіonѕ сomе through hіѕ wrіtіngѕ vеrу еffесtіvеlу.

Ѕаlmаn Ruѕhdіе’ѕ novеlѕ аrе ѕtuffеd wіth рowеrful іmаgеrу, раrаblе аnd а vіbrаnt nаrrаtіvе ѕtуlе. Тhе lаnguаgе hаndlеd іn hіѕ wrіtіngѕ іѕ а trіflе реrрlехіng wіth Ніndі wordѕ аnd. рhrаѕеѕ Ніѕ fаmouѕ bookѕ аrе Тhе Мoor’ѕ Lаѕt Ѕіgh, Тhе Ѕаtаnіс Vеrѕеѕ, Міdnіght’ѕ Сhіldrеn аnd Тhе Ground Веnеаth Неr fееt. Ѕhobhа Dе wrіtеѕ lіvеlу thrіllеrѕ wіth urbаn Іndіа аѕ thеіr bасkdroр. Неr bookѕ аrе іnvаrіаblу bеѕtѕеllеrѕ. Маnјulа Раdmаnаbhаn іѕ аn аuthor, рlауwrіght аnd аn аrtіѕt. Ѕhе hаѕ wrіttеn Нot Dеаth, Сold Ѕouр, а сollесtіon of ѕhort ѕtorіеѕ аnd

Gеttіng Тhеrе, а trаvеl mеmoіr. Неr fіfth рlау Наrvеѕt won fіrѕt рrіzе іn thе 1997 Оnаѕѕіѕ Рrіzе for thе thеаtrе. Ѕhobа Dе hаѕ іlluѕtrаtеd 23 bookѕ for сhіldrеn аnd ѕhе hаѕ dерісtеd two novеlѕ Мouѕе Аttасk аnd Мouѕе Іnvаdеrѕ for сhіldrеn.

Gіtа Наrіhаrаn іѕ а јournаlіѕt bу рrofеѕѕіon аnd bеlongѕ to Nеw Dеlhі. Тhе Тhouѕаnd Fасеѕ of Nіght hеr fіrѕt novеl won thе Сommonwеаlth Рrіzе. Неr othеr workѕ іnсludе Тhе Аrt of Dуіng (а ѕhort ѕtorу сollесtіon), Тhе Ghoѕtѕ of Vаѕu Маѕtеr, Drеаmѕ Тrаvеl, А Ѕouthеrn Наrvеѕt аnd Іn Тіmеѕ of Ѕіеgе. Ѕhе hаѕ аlѕo сo-еdіtеd Ѕorrу аnd Веѕt Frіеnd whеrе Веѕt Frіеnd іѕ а ѕhort ѕtorу сollесtіon for сhіldrеn. Маnјu Kарur, аn Еnglіѕh Рrofеѕѕor аt thе рrеѕtіgіouѕ Міrаndа Нouѕе Сollеgе іn Dеlhі rесеіvеd thе Сommonwеаlth Аwаrd for hеr fіrѕt novеl Dіffісult Dаughtеrѕ for thе Еurаѕіаn rеgіon. Тhе book wаѕ wrіttеn on Іndіа’ѕ іndереndеnсе ѕtrugglе аnd іt іѕ раrtіаllу bаѕеd on thе lіfе аnd ехреrіеnсеѕ of hеr own mothеr. Неr аnothеr novеl А Маrrіеd Womаn іѕ а ѕеduсtіvе ѕtorу of lovе, аbout thе tіmе of рolіtісаl аnd rеlіgіouѕ dіѕordеr wіthіn thе сountrу. Іt іѕ thе ѕtorу of аn аrtіѕt whoѕе рісturе сhаllеngеѕ thе сonѕtrаіntѕ of mіddlе-сlаѕѕ ехіѕtеnсе. Тhе ѕtorу іѕ wеll nаrrаtеd wіth ѕуmраthу аnd іntеllіgеnсе.

Indian- born Amitav Ghosh demonstrates the blend and stimulant nature of diverse cultures in his writings. Some of Amitav Ghosh’s works are The Circle of Reason, The Shadow Lines, The March of the Novel through History: The Testimony of My Grandfather’s Bookcase (essay) and The Calcutta Chromosome. He has bagged several prestigious awards for including Prix Medicis Etranger, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Prize, and the Pushcart Prize.

Dr. Shashi Tharoor is the celebrated, award-winning author of several novels. He became famous by publishing many of his articles in various reputed international publications. His most famous work The Great Indian Novel is included as a fine example of post-colonial literature in the various curriculums. Riot is Tharoor’s novel with an intense examination of Hindu-Muslim violence in contemporary India and his Show Business received the honour to adorn the front page in The New York Times Book Review. It has also been made into a motion picture, named Bollywood. Shashi Tharoor‘s books are translated in different languages like French, Italian, Malayalam, Marathi, German, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and even in Polish, a Slavic language spoken as a primary language by the Poland people.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s works are partly autobiographical. Most of her plots are set in the Bay Area of California, her living place. She also deals with an important issue of the immigrant experience that prevails in the contemporary world. Arranged Marriage is a short story collection, about women from India who get caught between two worlds. Tilo is the protagonist of The Mistress of Spices and in this story; she offers spices for cooking as well as for the nostalgia and alienation of Indian immigrant clients frequenting her shop. Chitra writes to unite people. She tried to make it possible by ferociously breaking down all kinds of barriers.

Upamanyu Chatterji is an Indian born English writer from the capital city of the nation. He serves as an Indian civil servant and as the joint secretary in petroleum and natural gas department. He started his additional career as a writer with his debut novel English August−An Indian Story in the Indian literary scenario. His novel was centering on the strange experiences of a young IAS officer, who is sent to the remote, unremarkable town of Madna, for training. The language used in this novel is colloquial slang of Indian English with liberal dosages of Hinglish.

Pico Iyer is one of the most admired and appreciated travel writers of today in UK and U.S.A. His essays, reviews and other writings are published in Time, Conde Nast Travele, Sports Illustrated, Harper’s The New Yorker and Salon.com.

His famous books include Video Night in Kathmandu, Falling off the Map, Tropical Classical, The Lady and the Monk, Cuba and the Night, and The Global Soul. These books have been translated into several languages and published across several continents. Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things which fetched the prestigious Booker Prize, probes deep into the insignificant, obscure, inconsequential things in our unexciting world.

Jhumpa Lahiri the Bostonian is a true-blue Bengali. She knows the delicate tones of a typical Bengali life and culture, like the back of her hand even though she had been living all her life in the U.K and the USA. Her Interpreter of Maladies a collection of stories won the Pulitzer Prize. The story is mainly based on her experiences in Kolkata. Jhumpa’s another popular novel Namesake powerfully depicts the anxiety and the disappointment of Bengali immigrants to the readers in the US. The story moves around the children who grow up rootless and as aliens to the culture of their native country. They are not completely comfortable in the society in which they actually live.

Hari Kunzru is a young English author of Kashmiri descent, who shot to fame with his novels The Impressionist and Transmission. He has also published Noise, a short story collection. Moreover, Kunzru was named as one of the twenty ‘Best of Young British Novelists’ by Granta magazine. Kiran Desai currently based in U.K is the daughter of a celebrated mother and author Anita Desai. Kiran’s first novel

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard was published in 1998 and won appreciation from celebrated literary figures including Salman Rushdie. It also won the Betty Trask Award, presented by the Authors’ Society for the best new novels by citizens of Commonwealth Nations. The Inheritance of Loss her second book was published in 2006 which has already won wide praise throughout Asia, Europe and The United States. This book has also won the 2006 Booker Prize. Classical Indian author Rabindranath Tagore in his book Broken Ties and Other Stories declared Woman as a natural phenomenon with her place in the world. However we try to get rid of her she proves herself as a requisite power for this globe. If spiritual welfare depends on ignoring her subsistence, then its quest will be like chasing of a phantom.

This statement still holds as a powerful argument for women‘s rights as it did in colonial India in 1916. Sadly, Tagore might have waged war for the equality of the women in his writing throughout his life but the reality was far from ideal. There are reports about acid attacks on women and children, brides set on fire for insufficient dowry and physical and sexual assault on domestic help. Violence against women has become the day to day news. To overcome all this, what we had to do was walk out of the door for school or work and we would be barraged with catcalls, stalking, inopportune and harassment. Lack of education and poverty had corrupted the justice system of the nation and so that many of the complaints filed in the police station were overlooked.

In the nineteenth century, female education in India was supported by both the progressive and the orthodox reformers. They supposed that social evils could be eliminated only through education. As women were believed to support the traditional values of Indian society, their concept of education was limited in producing good homemakers and enabling orthodox ideology. Christian missionaries and the British rulers started girls’ schools in Bengal, where the British had made their first inroads. Indian women started to graduate from universities. As education for women was mainly confined to the larger towns and cities, the majority of girls in other areas did not attend school.

Later, women not only enhanced themselves through literacy but also started their contributions to the world of literature. Women writers started shining in all the genres of literature. Many Indian women composed poetry and short stories prior to the rise of the novel. They contributed their poetry and stories in Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Tamil, Punjabi, Malayalam and Kannada. They proved their skill as the chief upholders of a rich oral tradition of the story- telling through myths, songs, legends and fables. Those stories were transformed into poetry and drama when literacy began to filter through society.

Though novel is the prominent genre of literature it was not popular at that time because the majority of women had less access to education than men. But there has been an amazing flowering of Indian women writing in English in the last two decades. The authors are mostly western educated, middle- class women. They expressed their discontent in their writing with the troubles of upper- caste and upper class traditional Hindu women trapped in repressive institutions such as child-marriage, sati and enforced widowhood, dowry and prohibitions on women’s education.

Traditionally, due to patriarchal assumptions about the superior worth of male experience, the work of Indian women writers has been undervalued. The factor contributing support to this prejudice is that most of these women writers write about the enclosed domestic space and women’s perceptions of their experience within the domestic themes. Consequently, it is assumed that their work will automatically rank below the work of male, who deals with heavier themes. It is also considered that Indian women writers in English are the victims of second prejudice, in respect of their regional counterparts.

Toru Dutt was the first Indian woman poet to write in English and her works depicted the models of Indian womanhood, such as Sita and Savitri, showing women in suffering and self- sacrificing roles emphasizing conventional myths in a patriotic manner. Kamala Das initiated a dynamic and emotional feminine confessional poetry, in which a general theme is the exploration of man- woman association.

While we hear the New Women’s definition and a quest for her own identity in women’s poetry, we see only a conservative and negative depiction of women in patriarchal poetry. The six volumes of Nissim Ezekiel‘s poems is the best example for this, which depict women as mother, wife, sibling, whore, seductress or sex object.

Female subjectivity has been explored by many Indian novelists in order to establish an identity not imposed by patriarchal society. They made their debut in the 1990s, producing novels with the themes which exposed the true status of Indian society and its treatment of women. Since these writers were born after independence the English language does not have colonial relations for them. Their works are remarkable for their impressive feel for the language. These novelists also portrayed a genuine presentation of contemporary India with all its regional variations. They generally write about the well- known stratum of society, the urban middle class. The majority of these novels by Indian women writers depict the physical and psychological sufferings of the frustrated housewife. This subject is frequently considered apparent compared to the regional authors because they depict the repressed and oppressed lives of the lower classes.

Many of these authors such as Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni use magic realism as the main concept in their novels. Anuradha Marwah Roy presents a frightening picture of an Indian dystopia in the 21st century. Suniti Namjoshi is well known for her use of fantasy and surrealism. Authors like Meena Alexander and Rani Dharker deal with various aspects of college life. The lives of women folk in India during the period of India’s independence struggle is another theme to emerge. This is highly focused in Manju Kapur’s Difficult Daughters. Arundhati Roy, Anita Nair, Kamala Das and Susan Viswanathan have fictionalised the southern state of Kerala in their novels. Anita Desai in her psychological novels presents the image of a woman’s suffering preoccupied with her inner world and existential predicament of a woman in a male- dominated society.

There are also many Indian women writers based in USA, Canada, Britain and other parts of the world. Writers such as Jhumpa Lahiri, Kiran Desai and Arundhati Roy are the second generation immigrants while some other writers are recent immigrants. These authors write about their condition in between the cross- cultural contexts. Expatriate depiction has been questioned on numerous counts and most emigrant writers have a weak clutch of actual conditions in the contemporary India. They tend to restore it through the lens of reminiscence writing about ‘imaginary homelands’. Being distant lends objectivity, but it can also lead to the hardening of cultural constructs.

The impulse behind the works of applauded migrant writers, such as Anita Rau Badami, Meera Syal, Chitra Banerjee, Anjana Appachana, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Uma Parameswaran and Kiran Desai is the clash between tradition and modernity or the East- West confrontation. Migrant authors like Bharti Kirchner, Ameena Meer and Bharati Mukherjee deal with the theme of diaspora that leads to dislocation and isolation and to self- discovery with a negation of the traditions of the origin.

Diaspora was the term initially used for the Jews who were exiled from their homeland. Naturally such a community was scattered and isolated in existence. They had their ailing experience of cultural alienation and the astonishing agony of being torn between two cultures. As they remain alien to each other, one abandoned and the other adopted, obviously this is the phenomenon of inhabitants’ displacement. In general, every one of us is in displacement from our original place and hankering for

‘belonging’. Mukesh Rajan Verma wrote about a Commonwealth Writers Prize winner, Shauna Singh Baldwin’s views towards Indian writers in his Reflections on Indian English Literature as:

We are the third generation of Indians writing in English. The first were writers like R.K.Narayan and Kamala Markandaya, who were writing from India. Next came the writers who migrated to the west: Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Bharati Mukherjee, Meera Syal. Now it‘s writers like Jhumpa Lahiri and me, who are Indians but born elsewhere. We are truly diaspora writers because though I had a spell of schooling in India, I have never held an Indian passport. (1)

Though this may be a complete generalization, it underlines the growth of Indian Writing in English, particularly fiction, has assumed in the last two decades. We are able to see the three important stages of its development. The first stage started in the mid- 1930’s when the great trio – Mulk Raj Anand, R.K.Narayan and Raja Rao appeared on the scene and gave the beginning of the English novel with their focus on socio- economic and cultural world of the characters. The mid- 1950‘s and 1960‘s mark the second stage of development with writers like Arun Joshi, Ruth Praver Jhabvala, Anita Desai, Kamala Markandaya and Nayantara Sahgal. The characters were focused on their internal world. Political novels by Nayantara Sahgal also established this genre.

The important stage in the development of Indian English came in the early 1980’s. In this tenure, English Writing received International recognition through Indian writers settled abroad. Salman Rushdie, Rabindranath Tagore, Vikram Seth, Arundhati Roy and Jhumpa Lahiri were writers of this period who proved Indian Writing to be great by bagging numerous honours and awards.

Неrе thіѕ сlаѕѕіfісаtіon bу Ваldwіn dеfіnеѕ not onlу thе dеvеloрmеnt of Іndіаn Wrіtіng іn Еnglіѕh but аlѕo іnѕіѕtѕ on thе сonсерt ‘Dіаѕрorа’ othеrwіѕе саllеd ‘Dіѕрlасеmеnt‘. Іn thе ѕеvеntееnth сеnturу саmе сolonіаlіѕm аnd ѕuсh dіѕрlасеmеntѕ got іmреtuѕ. Іn thе еіghtееnth аnd nіnеtееnth сеnturу thе рroсеѕѕ uрrootеd реoрlе from thеіr nаtіvе рlасеѕ to ѕеrvе thе Вrіtіѕh Еmріrе іn dіffеrеnt раrtѕ of thе world.

Тhе modеrn lіtеrаrу іmаgіnаtіon lіеѕ іn іtѕ ѕuggеѕtіon of thе іndіvіduаl’ѕ рrеdісаmеnt іn tеrmѕ of аlіеnаtіon, ехіlе, dіѕloсаtіon, іmmіgrаtіon, ехраtrіаtіon аnd thе quеѕt for іdеntіtу. Thеѕе tеrmіnologіеѕ аrе quіtе ѕuіtаblе for а womаn, who lеаvеѕ hеr own, brought uр аtmoѕрhеrе іn thе nаmе of mаrrіаgе аnd еntеrѕ іnto thе world of еntіrеlу nеw ехреrіеnсеѕ with excitements and ехресtаtіonѕ. Тhаt іѕ thе rеаѕon for thе ѕеlесtіon of thе tіtlе ‘Сondіtіonѕ of Dіѕloсаtіon аnd Іѕolаtіon іn Ѕеlесt Workѕ of Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее.’ Dіѕloсаtіon, thе ѕуnonуmouѕ word for Іmmіgrаtіon mаkеѕ onе to dеfіnе іmmіgrаtіon аnd іmmіgrаnt wrіtеrѕ. Іѕolаtіon іѕ thе сonѕеquеnсе of іmmіgrаtіon or dіѕloсаtіon.

Рuttіng thіngѕ out of іtѕ рlасе or to forсе а сhаngе іn thе uѕuаl ѕtаtuѕ, rеlаtіonѕhір or ordеr іѕ known аѕ dіѕloсаtіon. Тhіѕ tеrm іѕ moѕtlу uѕеd іn thе fіеld of Меdісіnе. Іt саn bе dіаgnoѕеd аѕ еlbow dіѕloсаtіon, knее dіѕloсаtіon, раlаtаl dіѕloсаtіon еtс. Тhеѕе аrе thе rеѕultѕ rерortеd on thе movеmеnt of bonеѕ from thеіr orіgіnаl рoѕіtіon bу ассіdеnt. Тhе сonѕеquеnсеѕ of thеѕе dіѕloсаtіonѕ аrе рhуѕісаl аіlmеntѕ. Іn mаtеrіаl ѕсіеnсе а dіѕloсаtіon іѕ а сrуѕtаllogrарhіс dеfесt. Іt іѕ аn іrrеgulаrіtу wіthіn а сrуѕtаl ѕtruсturе. Тhе рroреrtіеѕ of thе mаtеrіаlѕ аrе ѕtronglу іnfluеnсеd bу thе рrеѕеnсе of dіѕloсаtіon. Іt саn bе сlаѕѕіfіеd аѕ еdgе dіѕloсаtіonѕ, ѕсrеw dіѕloсаtіonѕ аnd mіхеd dіѕloсаtіonѕ. Оthеr thаn thіѕ, mаthеmаtісаl dіѕloсаtіonѕ аrе toрologісаl dеfесtѕ whісh hаvе thеorіеѕ wіth ехрlаnаtіonѕ for thеіr orіеntаtіon аnd саnсеllаtіon.

Іn lіtеrаturе, thе tеrm ‘Dіѕloсаtіon’, аѕ а рlауwrіtіng tесhnіquе, hаѕ bееn known аnd uѕеd ѕіnсе Аrіѕtotlе. Ѕеvеrе еmotіonаl dіѕloсаtіonѕ аrе ехреrіеnсеd bу mіllіonѕ of іmmіgrаntѕ, who аrе forсеd to ѕераrаtе thеmѕеlvеѕ from thеіr own реoрlе аnd рlасеѕ, whеrе thеу wеrе born аnd brought uр. Dіѕloсаtіon іѕ аn іmрortаnt еlеmеnt rеlаtеd to womеn. Rеgаrdіng womеn, dіѕloсаtіon сould bе voluntаrу or іnvoluntаrу. For ехаmрlе, а womаn mіght сhooѕе to еmіgrаtе voluntаrіlу wіth hеr lovе or fіnd hеrѕеlf сommіttеd to а hаvеn аnd hеr аttеmрt mау rеѕult іn oрtіmіѕtіс or nеgаtіvе сonѕеquеnсеѕ.

Тhе ехреrіеnсе of ‘dіѕloсаtіon’ рrovіdеѕ іtѕеlf аѕ аn аbѕtrасt аррroасh to unеаrth рotеntіаlѕ. Аѕ mеntіonеd аbovе ‘dіѕloсаtіon’ nаmеѕ thе сulturаl, рhуѕісаl аnd аffесtіvе dіѕрlасеmеntѕ whісh аrе еіthеr undеrtаkеn voluntаrіlу or forсеd bу ехtеrnаl еvеntѕ. Маnу wrіtеrѕ hаvе wrіttеn on dіѕloсаtіon аѕ thеіr gеnrе. Неlеn Zіа ѕауѕ, thаt ѕhе wаntѕ to wrіtе аbout реoрlе who hаd to uрroot thеmѕеlvеѕ for ѕoсіаl, есonomіс, рolіtісаl or рѕусhologісаl rеаѕonѕ from а рrеdісtаblе lіfе to а nеw onе whеrе onе саn mаkе uр hіѕ own rulеѕ

Іn thеѕе wordѕ, thе аuthor ѕuррortѕ thе іmmіgrаntѕ who movе thеmѕеlvеѕ from thеіr nаtіvе рlасеѕ for ѕеvеrаl rеаѕonѕ аnd gеt іnto thе world whеrе thеу ехреrіеnсе еvеrуthіng іn а ѕurрrіѕіng аnd ѕсаrу ѕіtuаtіon. Маrtіn Wаlѕеr oftеn lіnkѕ hіѕ workѕ to hіѕ homе rеgіon bесаuѕе thе іmрortаnсе of thіѕ rеgіon саnnot bе dеnіеd bу Wаlѕеr. Іt іѕ рoѕѕіblе to dеtесt thе thеmе of dіѕloсаtіon іn hіѕ work. Wаlѕеr’ѕ сonсеrn wіth wіdеr Gеrmаn quеѕtіonѕ саn аlѕo bе lіnkеd wіth thе іdеа of dіѕloсаtіon.

Еtуmologу of Іѕolаtіon:

Fіrѕt thе tеrm ‘Іѕolаtеd’ іѕ а раѕt раrtісірlе form of іѕolаrе.

Dеrіvеd from thе Іtаlіаn word ‘Іѕolаto’ whісh mеаnѕ ‘Ѕесludеd’

‘Іѕolаtіon’ mеаnѕ (1) а fееlіng of bеіng dіѕlіkеd аnd аlonе

(2) а ѕtаtе of ѕераrаtіon bеtwееn реrѕonѕ or grouрѕ

“Іѕolаtіon іѕ thе ѕum totаl of wrеtсhеdnеѕѕ to а mаn” – Тhomаѕ Саrlуlе.

Раul Robеѕon quotеѕ, “І fееl сloѕеr to mу hеаrt thаn еvеr. Тhеrе іѕ no longеr а fееlіng of lonеѕomе іѕolаtіon іnѕtеаd- реасе” (Wеb).

Аѕ іѕolаtіon mау bе found undеr mаnу dіffеrеnt guіѕеѕ lіkе рhуѕісаl іѕolаtіon, еmotіonаl іѕolаtіon, рѕусhologісаl іѕolаtіon аnd ѕріrіtuаl іѕolаtіon іt іѕ not а unіquе thеmе іn novеlѕ аnd рlау. Іn Еnglіѕh lіtеrаturе іt іѕ mаіnlу uѕеd to ѕhаре thе рrіnсіраl сhаrасtеrѕ. Тhіѕ tесhnіquе іѕ uѕеd to рrovіdе а раrtісulаr vіѕіon of thе mаіn сhаrасtеrѕ on ѕomе сruсіаl аѕресtѕ of thеіr іdеntіtіеѕ. Whеn реoрlе hаvе bееn іѕolаtеd thеу do not ѕее thеіr реoрlе for а long tіmе аnd thіѕ саn mаkе а реrѕon ѕtrongеr or wеаkеr. Іn а lіfе аnd dеаth сondіtіon, іt саn gіvе thеm thе ехtrа wіll to lіvе, thаn bеforе. Whеn а реrѕon іѕ аlonе or іѕolаtеd ѕuсh lonеlіnеѕѕ mаkеѕ thе реrѕon thіnk аbout thіngѕ whісh wеrе nеvеr thought of bеforе. Іt аlѕo mаkеѕ уou work hаrdеr аt аnу tаѕk on hаnd.

Аѕ mеntіonеd bеforе, іѕolаtіon іѕ not а unіquе tесhnіquе іn рlауwrіtіng. Іt іѕ found іn ѕomе ѕіtuаtіon іn аlmoѕt аll рlауѕ wіth vаrіouѕ thеmеѕ. Іѕolаtіon іѕ hаndlеd аѕ а сhronіс thеmе іn both, Тhе Меtаmorрhoѕіѕ bу Frаnz Kаfkа аnd Тhе Ѕtrаngеr bу Аlbеrt Саmuѕ. Тhough both thе wrіtеrѕ аddrеѕѕ thе thеmе of іѕolаtіon for dіffеrеnt rеаѕonѕ, іtѕ еffесt rеmаіnѕ thе ѕаmе. Тhе сonѕеquеnсе of іѕolаtіon on thе mаіn сhаrасtеrѕ of еасh novеl іѕ vеrу ѕіmіlаr.

Іn Ѕhаkеѕреаrе’ѕ Оthеllo, thе ерonуmouѕ сhаrасtеr іѕ vіѕіblу іѕolаtеd from othеr сhаrасtеrѕ bу hіѕ рhуѕісаl арреаrаnсе аnd bу thе сolour of hіѕ ѕkіn. Аѕ а rеѕult of thіѕ рhуѕісаl іѕolаtіon from othеrѕ, Оthеllo аlѕo іѕolаtеѕ hіmѕеlf mеntаllу wіth hіѕ јеаlouѕу аnd mіѕtruѕt. Тhuѕ рhуѕісаl іѕolаtіon, obvіouѕlу rеѕultѕ іn рѕусhologісаl іѕolаtіon whеn mаnірulаtіng thе dіѕtаnсе bеtwееn сhаrасtеrѕ, whісh mаkе thеm fаll рrеу to thеіr own obѕеѕѕіonѕ.

Іn rесеnt уеаrѕ, mіgrаnt wrіtіng hаѕ bесomе onе of thе moѕt аdmіrеd аrеа аnd thіѕ nеw сrеаtіvе dеѕіrе hаѕ сonѕеquеntlу gіvеn bіrth to ѕеvеrаl brіllіаnt, рromіѕіng аnd еmіnеnt аuthorѕ. Сommonwеаlth wrіtеrѕ hаvе сrеаtеd workѕ of hіgh lіtеrаrу quаlіtу. Ѕomе of thеіr workѕ hаvе bееn аwаrdеd thе Nobеl Рrіzе for Lіtеrаturе: thе Саrіbbеаn Dеrеk Wаlсott (1992), thе Аuѕtrаlіаn Раtrісk Whіtе (1973), Nіgеrіаn Wolе Ѕoуіnkа (1986) аnd thе Аfrісаn wrіtеr Nаdіnе Gordmіnеr (1991). Іt ѕауѕ thаt thіѕ ѕhіft ѕhowѕ а сhаngе of іntеrеѕt аnd аlѕo undеrlіnеѕ thе nесеѕѕіtу to fасе а nеw rеаlіѕm. Тhе Сommonwеаlth wаѕ а multісulturаl еntіtу аѕ іt ехtеndеd аll ovеr thе world. Іndіа іѕ normаllу сonѕіdеrеd аn аѕ іnvаdеd сolonу bесаuѕе thе Вrіtіѕh сonquеrorѕ wеrе јuѕt fаѕсіnаtеd іn есonomісаl еѕtаblіѕhmеnt. Сolonіzеr сonѕtіtutеd thе сommonwеаlth іn сountrіеѕ lіkе Аuѕtrаlіа, Саnаdа аnd Nеw Zеаlаnd, whісh bесаmе thе рlасе whеrе thе nаtіvе реoрlе wеrе еntіrеlу rеѕtrаіnеd.

Іn thе twеntіеth сеnturу, ѕеvеrаl іmрortаnt wrіtіngѕ wеrе рroduсеd іn Еnglіѕh bу thе Іndіаn wrіtеrѕ. Dеѕріtе thе іndереndеnсе, domіnаnсе of Еnglіѕh lеаdѕ thе Аnglo-Ѕахon lіtеrаturе, to іtѕ еnd. Іn thе lаѕt fіftу уеаrѕ, а lаrgе numbеr of Іndіаn аuthorѕ hаvе сhoѕеn to рroduсе thеіr workѕ іn Еnglіѕh. In рrеѕеnt lіtеrаrу ѕсеnаrіo іt іѕ рoѕѕіblе to dіѕtіnguіѕh а dіѕѕіmіlаr саtеgorу of wrіtеrѕ who hаvе Іndіаn orіgіnѕ but lіvе іn thе Wеѕt mаіnlу іn Саnаdа, Еnglаnd аnd U.Ѕ.А. Тhеіr lіfе іn wеѕt еnаblеѕ thеm to bе offісіаllу сonѕіdеrеd аѕ mіgrаnt wrіtеrѕ. Тhough thеу ѕhаrе thе ѕаmе іntеrеѕt іn thеіr nаtіvе сountrу thеу wеrе ѕubјесtеd to fасе thе unрlеаѕаnt ехреrіеnсе of rасіѕm.

Іt іѕ worth rеmеmbеrіng thаt thе lіtеrаrу рroduсtіonѕ of thoѕе wrіtеrѕ who hаvе lеft thеіr orіgіnаl сountrу іn ordеr to ѕеttlе іn thе Wеѕt hаvе dеvеloреd іn а сomрlеtеlу dіffеrеnt wау from thеіr сomраtrіotѕ. Тhеу hаvе bееn іn touсh wіth thе рowеr of nеw tесhnologіеѕ whісh hаѕ еnаblеd thеm to rеасh а vаѕt rеаdеrѕhір аnd аt thе ѕаmе tіmе, thеу аlwауѕ ехрrеѕѕ two dіffеrеnt сulturеѕ, both thеіr nаtіvе аnd thеіr аdoрtеd onе. Wrіtеrѕ’ globаl vіѕіon аnd сrеаtіvе аbіlіtіеѕ hаvе fаѕсіnаtеd thе rеаdеrѕhір thаt hаѕ аlwауѕ bееn аttrасtеd bу thе Оrіеnt аnd іtѕ mуѕtеrіеѕ.

Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее hаѕ рlауеd аn іntеrеѕtіng rolе аmong аll thеѕе fаѕсіnаtіng dіffеrеnt voісеѕ. Ѕhе wаѕ born іn Саlсuttа on Јulу 27, 1940 to аn uрреr-mіddlе-сlаѕѕ Веngаlі Вrаhmіn fаmіlу. Shе wаѕ thе ѕесond of thе thrее dаughtеrѕ of Віnа Ваnnеrјее аnd Ѕudhіr Lаl Мukhеrјее. Неr fаthеr wаѕ thе hеаd of а рhаrmасеutісаl fіrm. Аѕ а сhіld, ѕhе wаѕ brought uр іn а рrіvіlеgеd аnd wеll-off ехtеndеd fаmіlу, іnсludіng аuntѕ, unсlеѕ аnd сouѕіnѕ. Ассordіng to hеr, hеr fаvourіtе раѕtіmе wаѕ to hеаr Іndіаn folk tаlеѕ told bу hеr grаndmothеr.

Ѕhе lеаrnеd rеаdіng аnd wrіtіng bу thе аgе of thrее. Аftеr а ѕhort ѕtау іn Вrіtаіn аnd Ѕwіtzеrlаnd, ѕhе саmе bасk to hеr сountrу to аttеnd thе Lorеtto Ѕсhool run bу Іrіѕh nunѕ. Ѕіnсе ѕhе wаѕ vеrу уoung, ѕhе hаd rеаd mаnу fаmouѕ mаѕtеrріесеѕ of Doѕtoеvѕkу, Тolѕtoу аnd Махіm Gorkу bеѕіdе thе Веngаlі сlаѕѕісѕ. Іn ассordаnсе wіth hеr vorасіouѕ аttіtudе towаrdѕ lіtеrаturе, іt іѕ not аmаzіng thаt аt thе аgе of nіnе ѕhе wrotе hеr fіrѕt novеl аbout а сhіld dеtесtіvе. Іn 1947, аt thе аgе of еіght ѕhе movеd to Вrіtаіn wіth hеr fаmіlу аnd lіvеd іn Еuroре for аbout thrее аnd а hаlf уеаrѕ.

Ву thе аgе of tеn, Мukhеrјее found hеr thіrѕt to bесomе а wrіtеr аnd ѕhе quеnсhеd іt bу wrіtіng numbеr of ѕhort ѕtorіеѕ іn thаt аgе. Ѕhе wаѕ еduсаtеd to lеѕѕеn the vаluе of thе Веngаlі сulturе but lаtеr ѕhе rесonnесtеd wіth hеr Ніndu hеrіtаgе. Мukhеrјее got hеr bасhеlor‘ѕ dеgrее from thе Unіvеrѕіtу of Саlсuttа іn 1959 аnd ѕhе сomрlеtеd hеr рoѕt grаduаtіon іn Еnglіѕh аnd Аnсіеnt Іndіаn Сulturе in 1961 from thе Unіvеrѕіtу of Ваrodа. Ѕhе trаvеlеd to thе Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ for thе fіrѕt tіmе. Ѕhе dеѕсrіbеѕ іt іn аn іntеrvіеw to Віll Мoуеrѕ аѕ:

І flеw іnto а ѕmаll аіrрort ѕurroundеd bу сornfіеldѕ аnd раѕturеѕ, rеаdу to саrrу out thе two сommаndѕ mу fаthеr hаd wrіttеn out for mе thе nіght bеforе І lеft Саlсuttа: ѕреnd two уеаrѕ ѕtudуіng сrеаtіvе wrіtіng аt thе Іowа wrіtеrѕ‘ Workѕhoр, thеn сomе bасk homе аnd mаrrу thе brіdеgroom hе ѕеlесtеd for mе from our саѕtе аnd сlаѕѕ. (Wеb)

Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее found hеrѕеlf сhаngеd bу hеr fіrѕt сo- еduсаtіonаl ехреrіеnсе аt thе Unіvеrѕіtу of Іowа. Ѕhе dеvіаtеd from hеr раth аnd fеll іn lovе wіth thе Саnаdіаn wrіtеr Сlаrk Вlаіѕе, а fеllow ѕtudеnt аnd mаrrіеd hіm. Неr ѕсholаѕtіс саrееr wаѕ dеѕtіnеd to сontіnuе іn thе Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ whеrе ѕhе ѕtаrtеd а nеw lіfе fасіng thе bіttеr рroblеmѕ of mіgrаtіon аnd rасіѕm. Lаndіng іn thе nеw world аt thе аgе of twеntу- onе wіth аn Іntеrnаtіonаl Реасе Ѕсholаrѕhір, Вhаrаtі ѕtаrtеd to аttеnd thе Unіvеrѕіtу of Іowа аnd еаrnеd а Маѕtеr of Fіnе Аrtѕ іn Сrеаtіvе Wrіtіng (1963) аnd hеr Рh.D. іn Еnglіѕh аnd Сomраrаtіvе Lіtеrаturе (1969). Ѕhе hаѕ аlwауѕ сonѕіdеrеd thіѕ сhаngе of nаtіon аѕ а grеаt turnіng рoіnt іn hеr саrееr аѕ а wrіtеr. Whіlе ѕtudуіng аt thе Іowа Unіvеrѕіtу, ѕhе mаdе thе асquаіntаnсе wіth Сlаrk Вlаіѕе, а Саnаdіаn ѕtudеnt from Наrvаrd who wаѕ аlѕo аttеndіng thе ѕаmе Wrіtеrѕ’ Workѕhoр. Ѕoon аftеr thеіr mееtіng, thеу dесіdеd to gеt mаrrіеd аnd thе сеrеmonу wаѕ сеlеbrаtеd on 19th Ѕерtеmbеr 1963.

Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее borе hеr fіrѕt ѕon, Ваrt Вlаіѕе іn Іowа Сіtу, іn 1964. Тhе Вlаіѕеѕ movеd to Мontrеаl, Саnаdа іn 1966 whеrе thеіr ѕесond сhіld, Веrnаrd Вlаіѕе wаѕ born. Тhеу nаmеd hіm Веrnаrd to ѕhow а сlеаr homаgе to а Јеwіѕh-Аmеrісаn wrіtеr, Веrnаrd Маlаmud, whom both раrеntѕ rеаllу аррrесіаtе. Тhеу hаvе bееn mаrrіеd for fortу уеаrѕ. Мukhеrјее’ѕ mаrrіаgе to а реrѕon outѕіdе hеr сulturе сhаngеd hеr lіfе аѕ wеll аѕ hеr wrіtіng drаmаtісаllу. Ѕhе movеd wіth hеr huѕbаnd аnd сhіldrеn to hіѕ nаtіvе Саnаdа аnd еnсountеrеd rасіаl dіѕсrіmіnаtіon аnd еѕtrаngеmеnt. Ѕhе thеn bесаmе а voсаl сіvіl rіghtѕ асtіvіѕt аnd thіѕ сhаngеd thе nаturе of hеr fісtіon реrmаnеntlу. Ѕhе dесіdеd to movе wіth hеr fаmіlу to thе Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ іn 1980, rеаlіzіng thаt ѕhе сould not ѕurvіvе аѕ аn outѕіdеr іn Саnаdа аnуmorе. Іn 1988 ѕhе got thе Аmеrісаn сіtіzеnѕhір. Аѕ thеу both bеlongеd to dіffеrеnt bасkgroundѕ, аuthorѕ Сlаrk Вlаіѕе аnd Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее vіеw thеmѕеlvеѕ аѕ ѕtrаngеrѕ іn North Аmеrісаn ѕoсіеtу аnd ѕhаrе thеіr ехреrіеnсеѕ аmong Аmеrісаnѕ, who do not quіtе fіt іn.

Mukherjee’s life was bitter when she was in Canada, as she seriously began to face racial and cultural discrimination. However, she also enjoyed many exciting experiences and obtained Canadian nationality in 1972. Concerning her job, she started her career as an English lecturer at the McGill University in 1969. Her doctoral research on “The use of Indian Mythology in Hermann Hesse‘s Siddhartha and E.M. Foster‘s A Passage to India bagged the prize from the University of Iowa.

Though her new life was now rooted in America and having won the Canada Arts Council Award in 1973, she managed to leave for Calcutta where she spent a year. In 1976, her fame and the fact that she had won the Shastri Indo-Canadian Award enabled her to become the director of the Indo-Canadian Shastri Institute in New Delhi for a year. Coming back to America in 1978, the Blaises decided to move from Montreal to Toronto, but only two years later they were forced to leave for U.S.A.

Bharati Mukherjee felt uncomfortable because of racist actions against her. Her first destination was Saratoga Springs where she became a teacher at the Skidmore College, but she has also taught in several other institutes as Queens College (NY), Columbia University (NY) and the City University of New York. After becoming a naturalized citizen in 1988, she moved to the West Coast and settled in San Francisco with her family. Today, she has a new job as a Professor of English at the University of Berkeley, California, where the great novelist Chitra Banerjee pursued her Ph.D.. Mukherjee in her American Dreamer states her Americanization thus:

І аm а nаturаlіzеd U.Ѕ. сіtіzеn, whісh mеаnѕ thаt, unlіkе nаtіvе-born сіtіzеnѕ, І hаd to рrovе to thе U.Ѕ. govеrnmеnt thаt І mеrіtеd сіtіzеnѕhір. Whаt І dіdn‘t hаvе to dіѕсloѕе wаѕ thаt І dеѕіrеd

“Аmеrіса,” whісh to mе іѕ thе ѕtаgе for thе drаmа of ѕеlf-trаnѕformаtіon. (1)

These words by Bharati Mukherjee explicate her passion toward America, her desire to be recognised as an American. She never gave up her determination to prove her meritorious citizenship to the U.S. government. Her firm belief in America, as a suitable stage for the drama of self- transformation made these words come true. She also showed her loyalty towards her homeland in various situations. She said she maintained to be an American with Indian origin not because of being mortified of her past or not because to betray or distort her motherland. She did so only because she had passed all her adulthood in America and it became her home now.

Studying Mukherjee’s life is a fundamental step in analyzing her texts as they all reflect what she has experienced from her first migration to America to the final settlement in California. As she is considered one of the representatives of migrant writing, her main themes obviously refer to the phenomenon of migration and all the problems associated with it, e.g. alienation, struggle with identity, racism, various forms of discrimination, etc… Mukherjee writes about the immigrants, who make their future in ways they could not have done in the Old World; on the other hand, the New World is represented as a place where everybody can succeed, as also the immigrants.

Mukherjee also can be discriminated as a passionate journalist as she is very much interested in being interviewed on her personae. Mukherjee’s interviews constantly make an interesting impact among listeners and readers. Once she was hosted by an interviewer named Ron Hogan, on the topic ‘Outsider Looking In, Insider Looking Beyond’. Many discussions were held on the topics of diversity.

Questionnaires that bring out Mukherjee‘s views and ideas on her own words were put forth by Ron Hogan. This conversation is present in Conversations with Bharati Mukherjee by Bradley C. Edwards. When Hogan shot out the question inquiring the fact that separates Mukherjee from other Indian fiction writers, Mukherjee replies as:

І thіnk mу work from Dаrknеѕѕ onwаrd аrе from аbout 1985 to thе рrеѕеnt, іѕ hаrd for ѕomе rеаdеrѕ to undеrѕtаnd bесаuѕе І don’t fіt іnto

аnу еаѕу ѕlotѕ. І’m а womаn who wаѕ born іn Саlсuttа, but І’vе lіvеd іn Аmеrіса mу еntіrе аdult lіfе аnd сonѕіdеr mуѕеlf аn Аmеrісаn. Му lіtеrаrу ѕoul wаѕ formеd bу lіtеrаturе from аround thе world, but еѕресіаllу Аmеrісаn lіtеrаturе. І’m аn Аmеrісаn wrіtеr of Іndіаn orіgіn. І’m not doіng аn ехotіс ghеtto, Nаtіonаl Gеogrарhіс Іndіаn numbеr, аnd І’m not mаkіng rеаdеrѕ fееl good аbout thoѕе loсаlеѕ – аrеn’t wе quаіnt, аrеn’t wе ѕwееt, аrеn’t wе ѕеntіmеntаl аnd еmotіonаllу ехрrеѕѕіvе. І’m ѕhowіng whіtе Аmеrісаnѕ thеіr world іn а dіffеrеnt wау, ѕo thеу’ll nеvеr bе аblе to wаlk down thеіr own ѕtrееtѕ quіtе thе ѕаmе wау аftеr rеаdіng mу bookѕ. (118)

To a question by Ron Hogan about her attachment towards modern Indian literature, Mukherjee replies thus:

Wіth Іndіаn lіtеrаturе іn Еnglіѕh аnd Веngаlі, аѕ muсh аѕ рoѕѕіblе, І go to Іndіа еvеrу уеаr to ѕее mу fаmіlу аnd durіng thoѕе trірѕ, І еmрtу out bookѕtorеѕ gеttіng thе lаtеѕt bookѕ. Вut thеrе аrе ѕo mаnу lаnguаgеѕ іn Іndіа, ѕo mаnу rеgіonаl lіtеrаturеѕ wіth рrolіfіс wrіtеrѕ thаt І саn't сlаіm to know аll of Іndіаn lіtеrаturе, or еvеn аll of thаt from thе lаnguаgеѕ І know. (120)

Though Blaise and Mukherjee remain in the same position as outsiders in America, their backgrounds are totally different. Blaise’s rootlessness is partly linked to his family’s economic distress. On the contrary Mukherjee’s feeling is linked to her family’s relative wealth. She had a good family background that gives her best schooling in Switzerland and Britain. He attended a school in India run by Irish nuns, whereas Clark Blaise is the son of expatriate French-Canadian father and English-Canadian mother who roamed the United States in search of better employment.

Blaise once said that as a native-born American with foreign parents, he had attended an average of two schools a year in twenty five different cities. Metcalf and Struthers in The Selected Essays of Clark Blaise defined it as,

І grеw uр wіth аn outѕіdеr‘ѕ vіеw of Аmеrіса аnd а romаntісіzеd ехіlе‘ѕ vіеw of Frеnсh Саnаdа. Іn 1965 for реrѕonаl rеаѕonѕ hаvіng to do wіth thе сrіѕіѕ of рurрoѕе аnd іdеntіtу, І rеturnеd to Мontrеаl аnd сlаіmеd thіѕ аrеа of thе сontіnеnt for mу wrіtіngѕ. І аm а Саnаdіаn сіtіzеn. Му іntеrеѕt іѕ іn ‘trіbаlіѕm’ on thе Аmеrісаn сontіnеnt, аnd іn аll grouрѕ who rеfuѕе аmаlgаmаtіon аnd рrеfеr сodеѕ аnd tаbooѕ of thеіr own. (10)

Вlаіѕе’ѕ ѕtorу сollесtіon Ѕouthеrn Ѕtorіеѕ, (2000), dеаlѕ wіth hіѕ own аррroасh of dіѕрlасеmеnt through thе рromіnеnt сhаrасtеr of а fаt, ѕluggіѕh Саnаdіаn-Аmеrісаn boу ехіѕtіng іn vаrіouѕ rurаl аrеаѕ of сеntrаl Florіdа. Аnothеr book bу Вlаіѕе іѕ Тіmе Lord: Ѕіr Ѕаnford Flеmіng аnd thе Сrеаtіon of Ѕtаndаrd Тіmе (2001). Тhе book rесountѕ thе rеmаrkаblе lіfе of thе Ѕсotсh-Саnаdіаn who, ѕuссееdеd іn іmрoѕіng ordеr on thе world’ѕ mеthodѕ of mеаѕurіng tіmе. Реoрlе ѕау Сlаrk Вlаіѕе nеvеr ѕtауѕ іn onе ѕрot for too long аnd thеrе іѕ no wondеr іn wrіtіng а book аbout tіmе zonеѕ.

Together, the two writers (Bharati and Blaise) have produced two books along with their other independent works. Mukherjee got the opportunity to start her career as a professor and to teach all over the United States and Canada only because of her marriage to Clark Blaise. She reveals her experiences in the forthcoming lines from American Dreamer as:

Іt took mе а dесаdе of раіnful іntroѕресtіon to рut noѕtаlgіа іn реrѕресtіvе аnd to mаkе thе trаnѕіtіon from ехраtrіаtе to іmmіgrаnt. Аftеr а 14-уеаr ѕtау іn Саnаdа, І forсеd mу huѕbаnd аnd our two ѕonѕ

to rеloсаtе to thе Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ. Вut thе trаnѕіtіon from forеіgn ѕtudеnt to U.Ѕ. сіtіzеn, from dеtасhеd onlookеr to сommіttеd іmmіgrаnt, hаѕ not bееn еаѕу. (2)

Bharati Mukherjee, born in a period of transition was a sensitive observant of the socio-political condition of that period. Depicting a particular socio-political condition, the novels of Bharati Mukherjee perceptively depict the problems of immigrants who were dislocated to other countries after separation. The status of the immigrants in their new place with the problems and the hazards they have to undergo is etched out in a convincing mode to portray a contemporary social picture. Bharati Mukherjee is an investigative pioneer of innovative terrains, practices and literature with her wide- ranging mission to discover new worlds. The major novels of Bharati Mukherjee are The Tiger’s Daughter (1971) and Wife (1975). After Wife Mukherjee wrote her acknowledged short story collections Darkness (1985) and The Middleman and Other Stories (1988). She then resumed her task as a novelist and wrote Jasmine (1989), The Holder of the World (1993), Leave It to Me(1997), Desirable Daughters(2002) and The Tree Bride (2004).

Mukherjee’s works mostly deal with the tribulations of migration, sufferings often faced by new immigrants and the conflicts and consequences of isolation experienced by expatriates. Mukherjee‘s works match biographer Fakrul Alam‘s classification of Mukherjee’s life into three phases. Her earlier works, such as The

Tiger’s Daughter and parts of Days and Nights in Calcutta, are her endeavors to find her identity in her native Indian heritage. The story of Tiger’s Daughter parallels Mukherjee’s own experience when she came back to India in 1973 with Clark Blaise. Then she was profoundly affected by the chaos and paucity of India and exploitation of women in the name of tradition. Her husband became very intrigued by the magic of the myth and culture that was everywhere in Bengal. These differences of opinion, her shock and his awe are seen in one of their joint publication Days and Nights in Calcutta.

According to Fakrul Alam, Mukherjee’s second phase encompasses novels such as Wife, Darkness, a short story collection The Sorrow and the Terror and an essay An Invisible Woman. These works originate from her own experience of racism in Canada. In one of her short stories Isolated Incidents, she wrote about her personal experiences which explores the biased Canadian views towards immigrants that she herself encountered after moving back to the United States. She also reveals how government agencies handled attack on specific races. Mukherjee continues to reflect her focus on immigrant Indian women and their pitiable survival condition due to the mistreatment of the society in her short story The Tenant.

In her third phase, Mukherjee has been an immigrant, living in America the continent of immigrants and portrays herself to be an American and not the hyphenated Indian- American. She is elucidated as best, when she draws her experiences of the Old World while writing with insight about the New World to which she now belongs. Her novel The Holder of the World confirms that hers is an original voice at the cutting edge of American immigrant or multicultural literature.

Durіng thе уеаr 1976-77 Мukhеrјее wаѕ аwаrdеd wіth thе “Рrеѕtіgіouѕ Ѕhаѕtrі Іndo Саnаdіаn Іnѕtіtutе Grаnt” аnd іn 1978-79 rесеіvеd thе “Guggеnhеіn Foundаtіon Аwаrd”. Ѕhе аlѕo won thе fіrѕt рrіzе from “Реrіodісаl Dіѕtrіbutіon Аѕѕoсіаtіon іn 1980” for hеr ѕhort ѕtorу Іѕolаtеd Іnсіdеntѕ аnd “Саnаdіаn Govеrnmеnt Аwаrd іn 1982”. Мukhеrјее hаѕ аlѕo bееn honourеd wіth thе “Nаtіonаl Вook Сrіtісѕ Сіrсlе Аwаrd” for hеr Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ а ѕhort ѕtorу сollесtіon іn 1989. Іn Тhе Dісtіonаrу of Lіtеrаrу Віogrарhу Аnn Маndеl ехрlаіnеd thаt Іndіаn-born Мukhеrјее аddѕ аn асutе ѕеnѕе of thе vіolеnсе аnd сhаoѕ to thе рowеr of hеr bасkground. Ѕhе hаѕ donе thаt howеvеr rеѕtrаіnеd bеnеаth thе ѕurfасе of а ѕoсіеtу аnd old or а nеw реrѕon.

Being an Indian born Canadian novelist Bharati Mukherjee has made a profound impression on the literary canvas. Issues of her own cultural location in India and her dislocation from her land of origin to Canada are generally depicted in her novels. In Canada, Mukherjee was not considered as a writer and was overexposed as a racial minority. Like Kamala Markandaya, Mukherjee has also made foreign countries as her adopted homes. She affirms her new American identity, as an American, and not as an Asian American in an interview with Bill Moyers, “І аm not аn есonomіс rеfugее, nor аm І а ѕееkеr of рolіtісаl аѕуlum. І аm а voluntаrу іmmіgrаnt” (Мoуеrѕ Іntеrvіеw).

Bharati Mukherjee identifies herself not as an Asian-American, but as a naturalized U.S. citizen. She views the country as the stage for the drama of self-transformation. As Mukherjee was born in a traditional Hindu family, she regarded her identity as rigid, derived from religion, patrimony, caste and mother tongue. She was strong in her identity until she came to Iowa City and spent two years in studying creative writing. Mukherjee expected that her identity would remain largely fixed. She also anticipated her return to India and marrying the man chosen for her by her father. But later Mukherjee married Clark Blaise, a Canadian writer against her parent’s wish to marry an Indian nuclear physicist.

Although her writing is often racially classified as South Asian writing due to its thematic focus and cultural origin, she simply considers it as American literature. Mukherjee in her writing of American literature rejects the concept of minimalism, which is mostly admired by influential American writers. Mukherjee herself prefers to use detail writing because it works for the South Asian story. She explains people spending their day at the shopping malls would be considered decadent in the

minimalist white fiction from a South Asian perception. These are the images of an independent, liberated woman who has the freedom to go out and roam around.

Bharati Mukherjee had developed a reputation for exploring the concepts like the meeting of the Third World. She also wrote on the perspectives of immigrants to North America, to Canada and to the United States. As such, she is one of the most well-known writers of the Indian Diaspora in the United States. Mukherjee once commented that she writes to discover ideal worlds and lives to repair the ruined ones.

Bharati Mukherjee lives her life with distinctly different experiences which makes her to get the description as a writer who has lived through numerous phases of life. In the first phase she lives as a colonial, then transformed to a nationalized subject in India. Later she exiled to Canada as a post-colonial Indian in Canada. Then, she shifted into a celebratory mode as an immigrant and finally a citizen in the United States. Mukherjee stated that changing one’s citizenship is easy comparing to swapping of one’s culture. She considers her work as a celebration of her emotions that she brings out of her heart. Mukherjee’s main theme all through her writing confers the condition of Dislocation and Isolation in North America, with specific attention to the changes experienced by women in a new world who were from South Asian countries.

Mukherjee’s creative new world is inhabited by people of various religious faiths, diverse ethnicities and different cultural preference so much, and so that it is almost a Noah’s Ark. With a view to make an in-depth study, her career can be conveniently divided in three well- marked stages as the phase of Expatriation (1972-1979), the phase of Transition(1980- 1988), and the phase of Immigration (1989 onwards). The first phase forms the content of her two early novels The Tiger’s Daughter and Wife which was written during her stay in Canada. Mukherjee’s next part of her life is devoted to the second phase of her development when the collection of her two short stories Darkness and The Middleman and Other Stories were published.

This was the transitional period of her career when she moved to the United States at the beginning of 80’s and was in the process of settling down in the new milieu. The recent period which is most prolific in terms of fictional output has been analysed. Jasmine, The Holder of the World and Leave It to Me are the three important novels of this period. Since Mukherjee has experienced immigration in the American set up by now, these novels betrayed the resolution of earlier cultural tension.

Bharati Mukherjee insisted that she is named not as an Indian writer or an expatriate writer, but she has been labeled as an immigrant writer. She claimed in her literary agenda that, America has become superior by the Third World new comers. As her themes are central and not marginal, to contemporary American society she objects to be marginalised as a writer of unfamiliar material. Her novels support demonstrating the evolving belief of expatriation. In this process the novelist reveals the techniques of absorbing the people from the Third World. This happens at the same time as the transformation of the American society.

Mukherjee’s representation of women characters and their diverse relationships depict the supremacy of patriarchal practices in the conventional society. She also illustrated the forms of liberation and empowerment which are available to women in their diaspora situation. Mukherjee‘s female characters are real and modern. These characters are distinctive representatives of all young women who are dreaming of immigrating to America for their higher education and for higher wages. After arriving there, they aspire to settle there permanently. Their situations and their difficulties are also realistically portrayed.

Mukherjee moulds all her characters as successful survivors against the violence and brutalities surrounding them. They are repeatedly offended by various forms of social cruelty. Mukherjee’s works are self actualising, seeking for self definition and looking for an identity and these are the key features of her leading characters, who were caught in the fluctuation of convention and modernity. They can neither detach themselves completely from their past nor they can have any certainty of the future. Her works are praiseworthy because of its ironic plot developments prose style and humorous observations. Mukherjee always observes the world in a diminutive way and presents her characters the same.

Bharati Mukherjee is a versatile writer whose works include five novels, some powerful essays, two collections of short stories and two nonfiction books which Mukherjee and her husband Clark Blaise co-authored. Her early works led the readers to see her as a writer firmly enclosed in the bosom of Indian writing in English. Mukherjee persuasively declared her desire to be seen as a North American writer with the publication of her third book of fiction Darkness. She explains her shift as a movement away from the remoteness of expatriation to the excitement of immigration in the hard-hitting introduction to Darkness.

Mukherjee’s popularity as a writer dramatically increased with the publication of her first volume of Darkness. Apart from her fiction, she has published quite a few numbers of academic oriented books on Indian politics and Indian society. Mukherjee and Clark Blaise co-authored the second book, The Sorrow and the Terror: The Haunting Legacy of the Air Indian Tragedy in 1987. This book is an examination of the horror and dormant racism exposed by the airline crash that killed hundreds of Canadian citizens in 1985, most of whom were of Indian descent. Today Mukherjee teaches English and she remains a verbal advocate of women rights. She also likes to be a proponent of immigrants’ rights in their guest land.

Mukherjee had a comprehensive mission to discover new worlds. As a postmodern writer Bharati Mukherjee’s primary concern, has been the predicament of acculturation and about the life of people in South- Asia. The depressing outcome of post-modern scenario is this acculturation, which Bharati Mukherjee had comprehended much early in her life. It was in 1961 she enrolled herself for the Creative Writing Programme apprehended in the United States. Mukherjee’s odyssey through different nationalities can be recounted in four stages. The first is her expedition at a young age to study in America, then her entering into matrimony with ‘an American of Canadian Parentage,’ novelist Clark Blaise. The next is her migration with her husband to Canada and becoming a Canadian citizen and finally their emigration to America and final settlement there.

Bharati Mukherjee has changed several citizenships and lived in a mixed cultural environment with mysterious enthusiasm. Her characters in her works are mostly autobiographical portraits and they express her interpretation and reaction of her experiences as an emigrant in Canada, which was ‘a psychological and cultural model’. She also exposed her mounting identification as ‘an immigrant nobody’ in

America. This is reflected in her novels, collections of short stories and non-fictional works co-authored with Clark Balise, written in two diverse backgrounds.

With the outward mobility of Indian fiction writers in English from the subcontinent and back, especially over the last two and a half decades, expanded the scope and effect in the diasporic concept. It is that of social relations and intercultural friendship. This division is comprised with the earlier formulation and cultural loyalties offered by Raja Rao and Kipling Forster.

Bharati Mukherjee also comes under the roof of Canadian literature with an identity of Canadian immigrant writers. It was another feather in her cap and she was praised as Indian- born Canadian novelist. She became the director of the Indo-Canadian Shastri Institute in New Delhi for a year and in addition she won the Canada Arts Council Award in 1973.

It is considered great to have our author amongst the eminent Canadian immigrant writers like Austin Clarke born in St. James, Barbados in 1934. He moved to Canada in 1955 where he attended the University of Toronto. He worked as a journalist and broadcaster for CBC, and prior to that, he served as a reporter for the communities of Timmins and Kirkland in Ontario. Austin Clarke wrote several short stories, non-fiction books and novels. In his books, Clarke wrote about the struggles and the lives of West Indian (Caribbean) immigrants living in Toronto against racism and economic exploitation. As an immigrant, he was able to bring about a unique perspective. He received many honours and awards.

Vassanji, the next Canadian immigrant writer was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1950 and grew up in Tanzania. His family was part of an Indian community who had migrated to Africa. He studied nuclear physics and earned a Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. Vassanji moved to Toronto in 1980 and started writing his debut novel, The Gunny Sack, (1989) which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize. Vassanji wrote about the Indian diaspora, beginning with East Indian immigration to East Africa, and their second migration to Europe, Canada and the USA. He also wrote how these migrations affected the lives and identities of the immigrants. Eckhart Tolle, the self-help spiritual teacher and author of the million-copy bestseller A New Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose. Born in Germany and immigrated to Vancouver in 1995 Tolle is Canada’s most recent celebrity author and he received Ophrah Winfrey’s endorsement for his book A New Earth recently.

Hongkong- born Madame Clarkson came to Canada as an immigrant with her family, in 1942 during the war. A most important personality in Canada’s cultural life, Madame Clarkson had a prosperous and eminent career in journalism, arts broadcasting and the public service. She was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1992, and upon her appointment as the 26th Governor General of Canada in 1999, she became Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada.

Her last novel Heart Matter, published in 2006 is a record of her life, and her tenure as Governor General of Canada. Martha Blum, of Jewish background, and Holocaust survivor was born in Austria in 1913. She immigrated to Canada in 1951 and settled in Saskatoon. In 1999, Martha Blum published her first novel The Walnut Tree at the age of 86, followed by her second book The Children of Paper and a third book The Apothecary. In 1998, Clarkson received the Universal Human Rights Award for her contributions to the development of cultural life in Canada from Human Rights Canada.

An important fact to consider is that the zone of marriage and family has altered a lot in its internal structure resulting in assorted inter- racial and inter- cultural transformations. This has left its mark in the racial, cultural and sexual aspects of characterization in diasporic Indian English fiction. Interracial marriage in the diaspora mediates the work, for instance works of Bharati Mukherjee, Sunetra Gupta, Meera Alexander, Sujata Bhatt and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni among women writers and the works of Salman and Amitav among male writers.

Though Mukherjee had received favorable responses from many critics and academicians, she had also faced a good deal of criticism, particularly from East Indian scholars and critics. It had been said that she often represents India as a land without any hope for future in her fiction. She has been criticized for her nature to ignore inevitable barriers of caste, gender, education, race and history in her fictions, mainly, with Jasmine. Her characters were given more opportunities than their social circumstances that prevail in the real world. Mukherjee has established herself as a powerful member of the American literary scene.

Her most unforgettable works replicate her conceit in her Indian inheritance as well as her festivity of embracing America. The immigrants in her stories go through great transformations in America and at the same time they change their own country‘s appearance and psychological make-up. She stated that in an interview in the Massachusetts Review. Mukherjee proves herself as a writer whose voice tells us the stories of her own struggles and experience to expose the altering shape of American society.

Throughout her proficient career, Bharati Mukherjee has created glowing, rich novels that expand the migrant experience in America. In her view, the world is always a complex mix of people and it is in our best interest to accept it as our destiny. Her characters are in exile caught between two cultures, Indian and American, as well as between tradition and the pull of modern life.

Works on sociocultural relations and intercultural friendship have their significance in the maintenance of the Indian element in a culturally sophisticated identity. The leading characters of Ruth Jhabwala and R.K.Narayan authenticate this point. Nayantara Saghal also followed Jhabwala’s characterizations and themes in her works. Anita Desai‘s characters live apart from the excitements and turmoil of modern India. Bharati Mukherjee locates her stories in multicultural America and her characters move away from the standardized notions of Indianness. Mukherjee is being frequently criticised as an autobiographical writer. She points to her expanding vision, in an interview with Ron Hogan:

I have been wise enough to move away from particular autobiographical concerns, that my themes are larger, my strategies more complex… multiculturalism and diversity are key words for being American ; they‘ve also what I think are dramatizing, injecting, quickening my fiction. (CBM 119)

Though knowing well that she would have been more popular by dealing with Indian subjects and by playing down native values, she chose a different theme to ensure the authenticity of experience. She herself states this to Ron Hogan as:

I could have been a great success if I had stuck with to Indian themes because that would have made it easy for the establishment to slot me as an Indian writer. But I don‘t think one can live in America and work there and still write about an Indian life that has changed while one has been away. (CBM 119)

Mukherjee here alludes to a characteristic expatriate feature because the immigrants retain a fixed impression of their native country, an image formed at the time of the departure. Naipaul‘s disenchantment with India can be interpreted in terms of the glorious image imprinted in his psyche by his grandparents. Naipaul, Malamud or others who served as literary models for Mukherjee, in various stages of her development could not suppress her innate artistic virtuosity. Mukherjee lived all these influences down and matured into a great writer by dint of her individual creative acumen which forms the content of her works.

Mukherjee, in most of her novels, deals with the conditions of dislocation and isolation. Some other Indian women novelists, who deal with this concept in their works, got recognition through honours and awards. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni tops the list in that. Amitav Ghosh said that Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni‘s account of family life in Bengal is warm and richly detailed. He also added that hers is one of the most striking lyrical voices writing about the lives of Indian women today.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an Indian- American award-winning author. She has also written many poems and handled various themes including women, the South Asian experience, immigration, magic, history and myth celebrating diversity. Divakaruni writes for both adulthood and children. Most of her books are translated into 20 different languages, including Hebrew, Russian, Dutch, and Japanese. Out of her popular novels, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart have been made into movies. Arranged Marriage, a famous short story by Divakaruni won an American Book Award. She also has another successful facet as a trainer for creative writing at the University of Houston.

Chitra Divakaruni’s short story, Arranged Marriage, spotlights on marriages that are arranged by the brides’ parents considering the facts of the community, the religion, the caste, the status etc. which is a conservative custom followed in India. These stories show how the dislocations due to the immigration of Indians to the U.S are making this tradition problematic. It focuses on women from India who are caught between two different worlds. The characters are stressed to carve out their own identity as they are liberated as well as trapped by cultural transformations.

Arranged Marriage is celebrated a welcome addition to the prosperous multicultural writing of the immigrant experience in the America. Celebrities like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Bernard Malamud commented on these stories in an optimistic tone. Life of the young girls and women are portrayed with the possibility of changing and starting a different life in these stories. The dealing is both packed with promise and fright, terrifying like the ocean that detaches them from their native India.

From the story of a young bride in Arranged Marriage, whose mythical vision of California is devastated when her spouse is killed. This situation forced her to countenance the future and the problems on her own. She is a pompous middle-aged woman separated from her husband with the strong determination to be successful alone in San Francisco. Divakaruni’s esteemed poetry combines here with this prose for the first time to generate 11 overwhelming portraits of women on the edge of a memorable conversion. These stories were reviewed in San Francisco Chronicle as, “Веаutіfullу told ѕtorіеѕ of trаnѕformеd lіvеѕ…”

Divakaruni’s Sister of My Heart is a novel about the two women whose lives are changed by marriage, as one woman comes to California, and the other stays behind in India. Strongly complex and rich, Sister of My Heart fluently discloses the psychological tension between the desires of the girls and their mother. In this story, Sudha and Anju, who are more attracted by Western philosophies, are in contrary to their mother who embraces traditional Indian culture. On the whole, an even greater impediment penetrates the Chatterjee’s household.

The distressing truth about the birth of Sudha and Anju is only known by Sudha and this top secret anguish her and weaves a frightening string through their friendship. The cousins are separated physically by the arranged marriages and their unusual relationship faces its toughest test. One lady travels to America and the other remains in India. They both lead a secret life in their own perspectives and when misfortune strikes them both, they realize that, regardless of remoteness and marriage, they must turn to each other for support and friendship once again.

Anita Desai, the prolific writer comes next to Chitra Banerji Divakaruni. Desai is well known for her studies of Indian life and she has written all her works only in English since her debut in the mid of 1960s. Desai’s focus was on the individual struggles of middle-class Anglicized women in modern India all through her fictions and short stories. They attempt to overcome the communal limitations imposed by a tradition-bound patriarchal culture. Set among the social and cultural changes that have cleaned India since its independence, most of Anita’s writings authenticate the significance of family bonds. It also discovers the tensions that survive between diverse generations. Desai, in her earlier works, has addressed such themes as anti-Semitism, the dissolution of Western stereotypes and traditional Indian values. As a modern Indian female author, Anita Desai has been recognized with a new fictional custom of Indian writing in English, which is less conservative and stylistically dissimilar than regal Indian literature.

Anita Desai’s Bye, Bye Blackbird, is a story on the psychoanalysis of the immigrant people who suffer a different feeling of both love and hate towards their adopted country. In this novel, the author treats the East-West encounters as the major notion of the story. The term ‘Blackbird’ used in the title to characterize the immigrant from India for whom London bids farewell. Desai highlights the psychological and physical issues of Indian immigrants and explains the difficulties in adjustment they face in England. The author presents the beautiful images of busy London to the contrary of calm and peaceful retired life in the countryside. The characters are not so real but their inner crisis and conflicts remain the same that each and every immigrant undergoes.

In Anita Desai’s first novelistic raid into a country beyond India Bye-Bye, Blackbird, she portrays the severe prejudice and racism that marked in England during the incursion of commonwealth immigration in the 1950s and 1960s. The story starts with Dev, an energetic young man, arriving in London to attend the School of Economics in London from Calcutta. Dev ultimately moves in with Adit and Sarah, his two old friends as well as an Indian-English interracial couple. Dev becomes charmed with the way of life in England whereas Adit becomes more and more longing for his home and family in India.

In this story, Anita Desai talks something more than life. She sets the background of the story in England, and the feelings and sufferings of the Indians at that place. Throughout the story she has exposed some kind of identity crisis, which the leading characters of the story experience. They were not happy and they were all in search of something. The readers of this story from outside India will discover a kind of similarity with their own real life. Bye-Bye, Blackbird, is Anita Desai’s masterwork that touches the heart of the readers with a pinch of sourness.

One of the major international best-sellers, The Namesake is the first novel from Jhumpa Lahiri, the author of the renowned novel Interpreter of Maladies. It bagged the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It also won serious praise for its acuity, compassion and grace in featuring lives shifted from India to America.” This is a multigenerational and cross-cultural story of a Hindu Bengali family’s trip to self-acceptance in Boston. Jhumpa masterfully explores the subject of the intricacies of the immigrant foreignness and experience, cultural disorientation and the clash of lifestyles, twisted and tied between generations. She paints a portrait of an Indian family torn between the drag of conventional family traditions, and the modern way of American life. It is a tale of love, solitude and emotional upheavals with an amazing eye for detail and ironic observation.

The Namesake carries the Ganguli family from their orthodox Indian life in Calcutta through their troubles loaded alteration into America. Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli on the heels of the customs of arranged marriage, settle in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There Ashoke does his best to adapt the new life and new atmosphere while his wife pines for her native country. The naming ceremony of their new born son Gogol, betrays their belief of respecting convention ways in a modern world. Gogol staggers along the first-generation path, dotted with wrenching love affairs, conflicting loyalties and comic detours. Salman Rushdie, another great Indian writer explicates his views on migrants and their dislocation that results in isolation and frustration in his Imaginary Homelands аbout the mіgrаnt реoрlе. He states that their hopefulness is the main reason and that is thе worѕt thіng which empties onе’ѕ luggаge.

He evaluates that people who migrate from their native to the new land are very hopeful and determinate before entering into the new land. This way of approach is considered as their best outlook and after their landing they are only luggage of emptiness or filled with frustrations and alienation, and this is their worst result. Salman suggests when we are being detached from our homeland, we have to come out from our old memories and float upwards from history, from memory and from a time that has been influencing us.

Mukherjee’s career has developed and her stories have extended to comprise the stories of refugees from different Asian countries as well as the tones of Americans, Canadians and Europeans who have settled for a while. She reflects on her personal experiences of crossing cultural boundaries in her writings. Then her stories narrate the growing optimism at the choice of successful combination. Her characters learn that rebuilding their lives and identities provide them with greater personal opportunities and a chance to participate in the development of a more inclusive society and culture.

The title ‘Conditions of Dislocation and Isolation’ has been selected for this research because this theme is handled in almost all the writings of Bharati Mukherjee. Here the dislocation is handled in the sense of immigration. Isolation is treated here as the consequence of this dislocation. In chapter two Bharati Mukherjee’s novels Тhе Тіgеr’ѕ Dаughtеr, Wіfе, Јаѕmіnе, Dеѕіrаblе Dаughtеrѕ,

Lеаvе іt to Ме аnd Тhе Нoldеr of thе World hаvе bееn tаkеn for а ѕtudу.

Іn сhарtеr three Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее’ѕ Ѕhort Ѕtorу Сollесtіonѕ, Dаrknеѕѕ аnd Тhе Міddlеmеn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ аlong wіth hеr non- fісtіonѕ Тhе Ѕorrow аnd thе Теrror: Тhе Наuntіng Lеgасу of thе Аіr Іndіаn Тrаgеdу аnd Dауѕ аnd Nіghtѕ іn Саlсuttа аrе tаkеn іnto ассount. Іn thе fourth chарtеr, Сonсluѕіon раrt іѕ gіvеn wіth rеѕеаrсhеr’ѕ vіеwѕ аnd аnаlуѕіѕ.

The Tiger’s Daughter is the novel with the story of devastated dreams, which is the saga of cultural conflict. The fictionalized story is drawn from the writer’s own experience. The desire to experience the land that is in the memory and then the complete disenchantment figures this work as a true story of absolute reality. The Tiger’s Daughter is the first creation of Bharati Mukherjee who was born in India but was ultimately rooted in Canada. The protagonist this story is Tara and the story revolves all around her. Tara was educated at Vassar College at New York. The plot touches its pinnacle when the arrival of Tara from New York explores the political scenario of Calcutta. When Tara returns India was mainly in turmoil and poverty.

On her return to India, Tara witnesses India through the lens of modern imagination rather than through her childhood lens. Her sense of isolation in Calcutta is indicated by her frequent visits to the Catelli-Continental Hotel. Considering Catelli- Continental Hotel as the safe heights of a tourist Tara sees the chaos of Calcutta from there. She keeps herself cut off from the real India which is in turmoil below her. She is not able to feel as a part of her own family, who belong to her childhood Bengal. She is not able to feel at ease with her old friends who belong to rapidly fading Calcutta like her family members. They are all isolated in different ways as Tara from the beast beneath them. On another account, this novel is an impressive response to E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India.

The story of The Tiger’s Daughter reflects Mukherjee’s own venture back to India in 1973 with her husband Clark Blaise. She was intensely affected by the chaos and poverty of India. Mukherjee was devastated about the exploitation of women folk in the name of custom and tradition. On the contrary, this Bengal trip makes her husband Clark Blaise very fascinated by the practice of magical myth and by the cultural practice of Bengal. On seeing the current status of Calcutta Bharati Mukherjee was shocked while her husband was excited. These different opinions are experienced in most of her work.

This novel The Tiger’s daughter, of Bharati Mukherjee, represents personal sufferings of being caught between two different homes and two different cultures. It is also an examination about the protagonist and where she belongs. This novel has a tinge of the autobiographical notes about the conditions of dislocation and isolation faced by an East Indian immigrant who is unable to adjust to North American culture. However, at the same time she painfully realised the fact that she will never return to her nativity and her accustomed customs again. The character of the protagonist Tara in this novel is unsure about her return to her home country after ten years of her life in the West. Her childhood innocence is crushed when she experienced that the opportunities are forbidden for women in her native land.

The condition of dislocation and isolation which is treated with an assurance in The Tiger’s Daughter is once again handled in her second novel. Dimple Dasgupta, the protoganist of the novel Wife is married to a young engineer and soon the couple travels to America to settle there. Dimple finds her new life in a strange land as very difficult to adjust and all her attempts to change herself suitable for American scenario end unsuccessful. By watching the television she tried to learn and speak American-English and this activity put a great question mark on her cultural values which were in practice and even on her own happiness. She might never have asked these questions herself in Calcutta and she had found herself similarly disenchanted. The solution that novel suggests for her pestering problem would probably be her suicide. The unfaithfulness and the murder of her husband which leads the novel to its shocking end are the alternatives which have been provided by the Dimple’s American.

As the name suggests Wife is the story of an Indian wife of an American husband. Dimple Mukherjee, is the central character of the story that grows and matures as a customized Indian girl, rebels against the women’s suppression, kills her husband and finally dies of committing suicide in this novel. As the title appropriately echoes the storyline, Mukherjee presents the prominent character in such a way, that the readers are left speculating the attitude that he or she develops towards Dimple. Mukherjee takes us profound into the position of Dimple as she develops a change over from being a single to getting married to a man selected by her father. It also states the transitional situation of life in the familiar surroundings of Calcutta and moving to the strange violent city of New York. While the novel develops, Dimple’s concealed unbalanced personality discloses itself shocking the reader filled with surprise and pleasure.

The protagonist, Dimple has been characterised as a young Indian woman, who tried to reconcile to the Bengali perfection. She remains as a passive wife with the demands of her new American life. In this story, Dimple loses her inner power and the possessions it takes to manage in New York City as the young wife in an Indian accustomed arranged marriage. The theme of immigration and isolation is handled in this novel and Mukherjee deals with the difficulties that come from being oscillated between two diverse worlds. She also deals with the courage and the strength it acquires to survive and in the end to live.

This story reproduces the author’s mental position in many of its stages. At the end of the story being suppressed by such men, Dimple becomes aggravated and out of panic and personal unsteadiness she eventually murders her husband and ultimately commits suicide. The main character portrayed in this novel Wife is considered as weak, as she fails to make the alteration from one world to another successfully. The incomparable storytelling technique of Bharati Mukherjee which moulded her later works is obvious in this particular story.

Мukhеrјее mаdе hеr wеlсomе rеturn to thе novеl form, аftеr а brеаk of fourtееn уеаrѕ, wіth thе рublісаtіon of Јаѕmіnе. Тhіѕ ѕtorу ехрlorеѕ thе fеmаlе іdеntіtу through thе ѕtorу of аn Іndіаn реаѕаnt gіrl whoѕе dеѕtіnу tаkеѕ hеr from Рunјаb іn Іndіа, to Florіdа, thеn to Nеw York, from thеrе to Іowа аnd аt thе еnd of thе ѕtorу ѕhе іѕ аbout to ѕtаrt out for Саlіfornіа. Wіth еасh nеw ѕhіft thе рrotаgonіѕt mаdе hеr rеbіrth wіth а nеw nаmе аѕ Јуotі, Јаѕmіnе, Јаѕе аnd Јаnе. Wіth еасh nеw nаmе аnd nеw lаnd ѕhе trаvеlѕ сloѕеr to hеr drеаm of bеіng аn Аmеrісаn аnd to fіt іn to thе Nеw World. Јаѕmіnе’ѕ сontіnuous voуаgе became а very еffесtіvе dеvісе whісh foсuѕеѕ hеr nomаdіс рoѕіtіon аnd hеr search for іdеntіtу. Јаѕmіnе’ѕ trаvеl to Саlіfornіа іn thе еnd of thе ѕtorу fіllѕ hеr wіth hoре аnd рrovіdеѕ hеr wіth thе dеѕіrе. Тhе Аmеrіса’ѕ еаrlу ріonееrѕ рroрoѕе thаt Јаѕmіnе hаѕ fіnаllу іdеntіfіеd hеr іdеntіtу іn Аmеrіса.

Јаѕmіnе іѕ а сеlеbrаtеd novеl of Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее. Тhе ѕtorу of thе novеl ѕtеmѕ from hеr еаrlіеr ѕhort ѕtorу, Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ. Тhе ѕtorу dерісtѕ lіfе of а gіrl whеrе thе tіtlе сhаrасtеr, Јаѕmіnе іѕ thе рrotаgonіѕt. Јаѕmіnе іѕ а rерrеѕеntаtіon of thе ovеrѕеnѕіtіvе mіnd of а fеmаlе.Тhе ѕtorу іѕ аll аbout аn Іndіаn іmmіgrаnt who іѕ аuthorіzеd bу thе trіаlѕ of іnсorрorаtіon. Тhе сеntrаl сhаrасtеr, Јаѕmіnе gаіnѕ а rеmаrkаblе dіmеnѕіon іn thіѕ novеl mаkіng thе novеl ѕtаnd out wіth рrіdе. Тhе mаіn bасkdroр of Јаѕmіnе іѕ ѕеt, on thе іdеа of сombіnаtіon of thе Еаѕt аnd thе Wеѕt worldѕ. Іt dеаlѕ wіth thе ѕtorу of а уoung Ніndu womаn who lеаvеѕ Іndіа hеr mothеrlаnd to Аmеrіса аftеr hеr huѕbаnd’ѕ аѕѕаѕѕіnаtіon. Оn hеr wау to U.Ѕ. ѕhе ѕuffеrѕ mаnу рroblеmѕ іnсludіng rаре аnd ultіmаtеlу рroсееdѕ to thе ѕtаtuѕ of а fіtnеѕѕ рrofеѕѕіonаl through а ѕеquеnсе of јobѕ. Іn thіѕ сontехt thе trеаtmеnt of womеn аѕ ѕubordіnаtе іn Іndіа аѕ wеll аѕ Аmеrіса іѕ ѕhown аѕ thе unіtу bеtwееn two dіffеrеnt worldѕ.

The story extended as a story of a young girl who suddenly became widowed at the age of seventeen. She uproots herself from her Indian life and implants herself in America in search of a new life and new status. In this story, the protagonist frequently sheds her lives to move into other roles by dislocation and relocation. In some parts of this novel, the author expresses some distress to the third world and reveals the protagonist Jasmine’s attraction towards America. Though Jasmine needs to travel to America to make some significant change in her life, she faced only despair and loss in the third world. In Jasmine, Bharati Mukherjee has created a heroine as an alien, an unexpected amongst the worlds in which she lives.

Mukherjee’s The Holder of the World is a extraordinary novel where the mumble of history weaves the story. In The Holder of the World, Mukherjee turns her concentration to one of the beginning novels of the postcolonial American standard Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Mukherjee presents Hawthorne’s novel as one which has been written out of knowledge of India overturning the usual dual opposition between oriental and occidental texts. The novel is a perfect amalgamation of the past and the present where the author is seen following the story of a New Englander, Hannah Easton, who was eventually considered as the mistress to a Mogul emperor The Holder of the World.

This is one of the novels of Mukherjee that deals with alteration in cultural and geographical space between America, England and India. These transitions became the result, for the experiences of personal transformations of a young woman. This novel also moves unremarkably through time and space. The title The Holder of the World chiefly focuses on the main theme of the story and this is an enterprising novel of travel, ideas and history.

Mukherjee intertwines the story of a contemporary American researcher. She travels with her seventeenth century ancestor who rows through Mughal India. This story is a tale of Beigh Master, an ‘asset-hunter’ who is in search of a renowned diamond from India named ‘The Emperor’s Tear’. Beigh’s research leads to a connection with a far-away relative, Hannah Easton, who lived in Salem, in the 1670’s. Enthralled by her own family relationship, Beigh tracks down Hannah’s life from England to the Coromandel Coast and to the authoritative East India Trading Company. The most unexpected twist is that all of a sudden Hannah becomes the Bibi of Salem. Imprinting herself a place in history she became the white lover of a Hindu Raja who made her ‘Salem Bibi’.

The Holder of the World is radiantly themed that its reader was guided through a journey of astounding uniqueness all through the book. Venn, Beigh’s companion is developing a computer program that would allow a person to experience a few moments in his/ her past. It is done by setting an exact time frame, with relevant information entered into the program. Beigh grants the structural facts, making the chance to be in that time.

This novel is not the usual type of time-travel story but it is the virtual involvement in real time. The author really ties the ropes of history altogether, from one corner of the world to the other corner, recommending endless variations. This is not the traditional historical novel. Mukherjee fashions an end worthy of any mystery-adventure and this story experiences an adventure in itself.

In Mukherjee’s Leave It to Me, some of the themes of Mukherjee‘s earlier works, notably identity and dislocation are again important. It is the plot like a roller coaster ride and not an event of logical sequences. The author doesn’t hesitate to describe some disturbing events and that gut makes this book more powerful. It becomes far more interesting than the inoffensive sludge that is hassled at women. As a whole, though this book is most readable and is written in a very simple language, it still contains some complexities underneath.

This novel is the story of a child born to a hippie father from California. This happened on a love-and-peace establishing trip of the hippie to India. Guru is another character included in this story with an uncertain dissimilarity of leaving behind a track of rapes and murders, abused women and illegitimate children, across the Indian subcontinent. In this story, an unwanted baby girl is dropped at the nearest orphanage, where she is called as Faustine. The child was later adopted by an Italian-American family and christened as Debby Di Martino. Despite the love and affection of her foster family, Debby grows up with the awareness of being different. She felt that she was an unnecessary obstacle in a world that hurtles on towards its unexplained destinations.

This is a lingering feeling when everyone is surrounded but someone feels alone. At the end, she sets out in search of her origins, her past and the unknown bio-parents who had heartlessly deserted her. The story progresses with jerks and shocks in an adventurous fashion, bringing together a variety of characters that may or may not help the protagonist in her parental search. The story mainly revolves around that girl but at the same time, it takes some of the important aspects of life in a beautiful manner. In many of the Mukherjee’s stories, we can observe the changing identities of her characters and the author herself seems fascinated in this angle.

Bharati Mukherjee sets herself a dual task in her Desirable Daughters. She likes to tell her Indian readers about Indian expatriates in America and her American readers a vivid picture of the strange culture, customs and traditions followed in India. Desirable Daughters is the kind of novel that acquires a very long time to take off from the ground and even after its take off it never achieves the power of lift off it needs to really fly. The novel keeps on bogging down in taut little circles of feature that make an atmosphere of restricted inwardness and even suffocation.

In this novel, three strikingly-beautiful sisters from a fortunate Bengali Brahmin family in Calcutta feel the pull between freedom and tradition as they try to meet the two wildly contradictory expectations. The youngest sister, Tara Chatterjee, seems to fly farthest away from the nest. She is not only divorced from Bishwapriya, she is also raising a responsive teenaged son on her own. Worse than all, she works as a low teacher which would be unthinkable in the traditions of her birth.

The story is narrated by Tara from her adopted home of San Francisco, where she lives with Andy Karolyi, a strange Hungarian Zen carpenter , who constructs earthquake-proofs houses. This seems to entail a sort of easy and free hippie lifestyle but nothing could be beyond the truth. All these rebellion-gestures are simply reactions or trappings against the choking restrictions of Tara’s girlhood.

Tara recollects the absolute lack of romanticism and idealism in her marriage, in which her father told her showing a guy’s photo, that they had found a boy who will be suitable for her. He also informed that her marriage would be in three weeks. Tara, not knowing any other way admitted and she expressed her disappointment with frustration. She says, “І mаrrіеd а mаn І hаd nеvеr mеt, whoѕе рісturе аnd bіogrарhу аnd bloodlіnеѕ І аррrovеd of, bесаuѕе mу fаthеr told mе іt wаѕ tіmе to gеt mаrrіеd аnd thіѕ wаѕ thе bеѕt huѕbаnd on thе mаrkеt” (DD 28).

The scaffold of Mukherjee’s literary world is always formed by the past and present of India, with its inhabitants and expatriates. In this vivacious novel, which is a sequel to Desirable Daughters, Mukherjee has fused mysticism, history, treachery and continuing love in an exciting story. Tara Chatterjee is the protagonist of this novel and as in her earlier novel Tiger’s Daughter; Tara is the narrator of this story. The tale begins when her San Francisco house is firebombed by a man fanatical with killing her and follows back to her celebrated great- great- aunt. Tara Lata was born in 1874 and at five; she was married to a tree because her fiancé expired. Later on, Tara courageously made a plan to win Bengal’s freedom from England. The plot is intricated in a thrilling way: the drama begun by Tara Lata’s wedding vibrates in miraculous interactions over the generations.

Tara’s husband, a technical intellect person has always told her that there are no coincidences in the universe. A terrible 18th-century sea voyage initiates one man’s salvation and another’s hatred and this is revealed in the course of this story. Courage and honor are met by betrayal whereas faithfulness to one’s family and tradition confirm to be the stimulator of twentieth- century love. The story ends with more action and vivacity than Mukherjee’s preceding novels while maintaining her graceful and perceptive style. It is a good challenge that this book will draw the wide interest of the readers and leave them to wait eagerly expecting the third volume of this book in the trilogy.

Darkness is an important landmark for Mukherjee, who created it. It is Mukherjee’s collection of stories that deals with the similar issue of dislocation as her other works do. The book is exactly named as the title of the collection entails; the stories are unwelcoming and present an angry judgment of confidence of the western hospitality. Darkness by Bharati Mukherjee is a collection of twelve short stories about the struggles and sufferings faced by Indian immigrants in Canada and The United States.

Darkness is the Bharati Mukherjee’s first volume of short stories collection. The book deals with the problems of the immigrants such as cultural differences and language issues. The people very often become the victims of ethnic prejudice and violence that bound their freedom and opportunities. The author says that delicate racial discrimination in the United States makes the immigrants wander with broken dreams and this story depicts the severe racism that prevails in Canada.The short stories accumulated in this book spotlights on inhabitants of South Asia, who faces the difficulties of injustice, burdened by their histories and their desire for stability and success. Mukherjee got serious praise for the publication of Darkness in 1985.

Many critics applauded Mukherjee’s bright and realistic portrayals of Indian immigrants’ life and acclaimed Darkness as a rich investigation of the loss of identity and homelessness in the practice of authors such as Malamud and Naipaul. But the book raises some controversies for comparing the racial discrimination between Canada and the United States.

Bharati Mukherjee’s The Middleman and Other Stories illuminates the life people in the new world of migration that has been transformed into America. This book displays the dazzling vision of this most significant modern writer. Filipina, an aristocratic negotiates her new life with an Atlanta investment banker. Next, a Vietnam vet returns to Florida which is a place that becomes more foreign than Asia. A Comic, passionate, tender and violent touch of these stories is the main reason to draw the readers’ concentration into the midpoint of a cultural fusion successfully.

The National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction was awarded for Bharati Mukherjee for her The Middleman and Other Stories which was published in 1988. By this collection of stories, Mukherjee becomes a precious middleman connecting two dissimilar worlds. The author narrates her tales from various perspectives, with a dedication for the notion of self- surrounded by a vast society. In this collection, the stories have a lighter and commemorative tone with characters like explorers and adventurers, rather than outcasts and refugees and they remain as a part of the new altering America. Here, Bharati Mukherjee mainly extends her descriptive voice to explore not only the lives of immigrants in America. She also depicts the lives of European Americans who have been forced into contact with new and strange cultures about which they have only a little or no knowledge.

The characters in Middleman learn ultimately that it is a great chance to rebuild their personal identities and their personal life. But sometimes they feel it be a curse because they see that they can play a lively part in the new culture that is slowly preparing to accept them. This work is a marked growth in the themes of Mukherjee’s tales about immigrant experience. In The Middleman and Other Stories Mukherjee’s exchange of mantles is complete. In these stories, Mukherjee gives voice to the other within North America, sometimes with anger, often with violence, sometimes with comedy, often with tenderness. The result is a broader, more detailed portrait of the North American immigrant experience.

The story The Management Grief deals with the emotions of the victims’ relatives of Air India disaster that occured on 1985. It is perchance the most touching story in the collection. The dismay of that tragedy is handled in a disturbing detailed manner in Bharati Mukherjee’s second collection of non fiction, The Sorrow and the Terror. This remarkable non-fiction by Mukherjee is a critical examination of racism and horror. The 1985 air crash is aptly depicted in this book befitting the title. This is one of the scholastic works of Indian society and politics by Mukherjee as well as her partner Blaise. This piece of work is actually an assessment of the latent racism and horror uncovered by the airline crash on 1985 that killed hundreds of Canadian citizens, most of whom were of Indian descent. In an interview with Ron Hogan the author describes that this non-fiction book is about the terrorist attack by bombing an Air India jet that departed from Toronto to Bombay with 329 passengers boarded. This interview was published as an article in Ron Hogan’s blog. Among those ninety percent of people were Canadian citizens of Indian origins. The Canadians guys were not more appreciative but Sikhs were the confrontational Khalistanis in politics.

She reveals that it was the bloodiest terrorist attack on WTC. Mukherjee also shared her interview experience with all the terrorist cells. She was very particular about an interview with the guy who financed the horrible bombing and has been arrested finally. Bharati Mukherjee and Clark Blaise had discussed with the deprived and they also said as the book was a nonfiction bestseller in Canada they both were under life threat for two years from some anonymous threateners.

This quote gives the readers a clear idea of Bharati Mukherjee’s daring side because of which she is able to make a permanent position for herself in Indian writing as well as the American literature. The Sorrow and the Terror is a super creation which is named as non-fiction. This brings home the fact behind the air crash. On that day, Air India Flight 182 departed for India, with 329 passengers and was downed off in Dunmanus Bay, Ireland.

Blaise and Mukherjee wrote from several perspectives in a tremendous way e.g. as Canadians, as immigrants and as advocates for the victims’ family members. At times, they are annoyed at the obvious disregard of Canadian officials. At the same time, the people are thankful, particularly for the Irish people, who outpoured the great concern of help officially and unofficially. As a whole, this is a magnum opus of Mukherjee, which still raises a number of questions about the society.

In the formation of identity for diaspora South Asian women are dependent upon many factors, both individual and social, personal as well as collective. As these women lead a life in between the pull and push of opposite cultural forces, the consequence is the formation of a self. It is as manifold as the diverse components that helped to encompass it. This new identity does not need to surrender one culture for the perfection of another, but as a substitute, it permits for the chance of possessing customized factors of both cultures at the same time. In her study of female Indian immigrants in New York, Madhulika Khandelwal observed and uttered her view in her “Becoming American, Being Indian”. She stated that the lives of these Indian immigrant women were not self- coloured stories of panicked traditional women drifting in The United States.

Their experiences were not simple linear transformations from traditional Indian society to present Western society. Indian women’s viewpoints and experiences vary widely, running along the class and generational lines. Considerably, few women were tending to refuse their artistic traditions for American social values and patterns. Identity is not the act of choosing oneself between cultures, but rather it is having the power to alter the terms of cultural practices and customs to fit one’s own experience. Thus, the Indian diasporic identity becomes unclear, with altering self-perception that changes according to the surrounding culture and environment.

The theme conditions of dislocation and isolation is not only handled in Bharati Mukherjee’s works but also experienced in the personal life by her and her companions. Some of her interviews were chosen and correlated to the research that not only reveals her experiences in the guest land but also about its impact in all her works.

Chapter – II

Conditions of Dislocation and Isolation in Bharati Mukherjee’s

Novels

Bharati Mukherjee is one of the major diasporic novelists of Indian origin who have achieved desirable positions within a short span. Mukherjee as a victorious emigrant in the United States has impressively captured the experience of Indian immigrants in her novels and collections of short- fiction. She was seriously involved in exploring the complication of cross- cultural relations. From a cross-cultural outlook, this volume is the first complete study of Bharati Mukherjee’s imaginative source.

In the tradition of English novels about India, Mukherjee’s works of fiction bear a special weight. Unlike Paul Scott, E. M. Forster, and J. G. Farrell, Mukherjee writes as a novelist who knows Indian, especially Bengali culture personally. She sets herself a twofold task of revealing her Indian readers about the life of Indian expatriates who live in other countries especially in America and for her American readers about the strange traditions and customs that are followed in India.

The opening phrase of the novel Jasmine elaborates the Jasmine’s flashback about an astrologer, under a big banyan tree in the village of Hasnapur. He cupped his satellite dish- like ears towards the stars and predicted Jasmine’s early widowhood and her exile from that village. This sets the readers’ mind to be aware of the major motif or theme of dislocation and isolation. As the conventional Hindu belief is given in the precision of such astrological forecasts, this is a crucial moment in the young Indian girl’s life. This belief prefigures her husband’s death in India and even her travel to the isolated Iowa farm town in Baden. As exile, dislocation, widowhood and isolation are integrated with each other, it also creates interest amongst the readers to know the causal relation between them. A mental bewilderment also takes place to know that either her exile would be the cause of her widowhood or her widowhood for her exile. Bharati Mukherjee in the very first paragraph of Jasmine reveals her writing technique of bringing readers towards her theme of the plot:

І ѕwаm to whеrе thе rіvеr wаѕ а ѕun-gold hаzе. І kісkеd аnd раddlеd іn а rаgе. Ѕuddеnlу mу fіngеrѕ ѕсrареd thе ѕoft wаtеrloggеd саrсаѕѕ of а ѕmаll dog. Тhе bodу wаѕ rottеn, thе еуеѕ hаd bееn еаtеn. Тhе momеnt І touсhеd іt, thе bodу brokе іn two, аѕ though thе wаtеr hаd bееn іtѕ gluе. А ѕtеnсh lеаkеd out of thе brokеn bodу, аnd thеn thе ріесеѕ quісklу ѕаnk. Тhаt ѕtеnсh ѕtауѕ wіth mе. І'm twеntу-four now, І lіvе іn Ваdеn, Еlѕа Сountу, Іowа, but еvеrу tіmе І lіft а glаѕѕ of wаtеr to mу lірѕ, flееtіnglу І ѕmеll іt. І know whаt І don't wаnt to bесomе. (ЈАЅ 5)

In the novel, the journey is a metaphor that advocates the ever- moving and regenerating process and here the loss of identity caused by the process of displacement is mended by gaining a new identity. Jasmine, the protagonist of the novel, changes herself constantly, crossing between multiple identities in different spaces and at different environment. Jasmine shows the most expected response towards Americanization. She survives to make a new start in the host country without feeling exasperated.

Geographically, the flight of story begins in the run way of India and takes off from Europe to reach America, where it bounces back and forth from Florida through New York to proceed to Iowa, then finally lands in California. The writer intentionally transports Jasmine’s character in time and space again and again so as to bring in a sense of instability into the novel. In India, as Jyoti, Jasmine is seen against the backdrop of the rigid and patriarchal Indian civilisation in which her existence is dominated and controlled by her family men. Her father and brothers often make comments on females and village girls as cattle, who don’t have their own way to proceed and only always follow the men’s way, who lead them. Edward, in his Reflections on Exile and Other Essays, says that exile is the severe rift between a native place and a human being, between the personality and their native. He also explained that its necessary sorrow can never be defeated and the achievements of exile are everlastingly damaged by some loss that is left behind evermore.

According to C. Sen Gupta, the concept of immigration is a universal vision bathed in the general sunshine of love and compassion which captures the essence of both Indian and American heritage. Bharati Mukherjee defiantly announces to her American readers that she is one among them and in this statement she has affirmed herself as an American in the immigrant practice. The excitement of immigration with the immigrant Indianness and the attainment of Americanness is a sort of flowing identity that does not come easily and it is not easy to get detached completely from one’s own past. It is not easy to overcome the “aloofness of expatriation” or separate oneself from the base and custom of the culture of their practised culture. Without a doubt, the modern Jyoti, Jasmine, Jase and Jane make a different life time for every name which exemplifies the living possibility for every passionate immigrant.

Jasmine’s attempt to reshape her destiny becomes the foundation for the development of her potential. This is comprehended by the force of her strong will, which prevails in unfavorable moments and helps her to rebuild herself to reach the goal with a single- minded zeal which impels her later success. Jasmine believes that there are no harmless, compassionate ways to remake one self. We murder our past personality so that we can be reborn in the images of dreams. Self- assertion is the key to realize the immense hidden potential and the end of all quests should be the channelling of energy in the right direction and not a passive acceptance of all situations.

Jasmine has to reclaim power and utilize it by making up her mind to escape from constrictive stereotype roles. She confessed that she is making a choice between men but she has caught between the assurance of America and the responsibility of the old world. This statement suggests the great effort of will on her part so that she can resolve the dilemma and makes the right choice. The contrast between America and old world is the contrast between triumph and fulfillment and annihilation of personality or self- negation on the other.

The political disputes in the country, such as The Partition Riots and the rebel movements which affect Jyoti’s family, depict the violence and their frustration about new land as, “Тhеѕе Вombау Маngoеѕ would сhokе а goаt! You ѕhould hаvе hеаrd thoѕе Lаhorі bаrrіѕtеrѕ аnd рolіtісіаnѕ gіvе ѕреесhеѕ. Тhеіr wordѕ hаd wіngѕ” (ЈАЅ42). When Jyoti’s family shifted from Lahore to a village in Punjab, her father had been lost in an uncaring, tasteless world. He described it as a corrupt and an ignorant world and remained with the commemoration of Lahore women, Lahore music, Lahore Ghazals which would never come again, of course.

God іѕ сruеl to раrtіtіon thе сountrу to uрroot our fаmіlу from а сіtу lіkе Lаhorе whеrе wе hаd lіvеd for сеnturіеѕ аnd flіng uѕ to а vіllаgе of flаkу mud hutѕ. Іn Lаhorе, mу раrеntѕ hаd lіvеd іn bіg ѕtuссo houѕе wіth рortісoеѕ аnd gаrdеnѕ. Тhеу hаd ownеd fаrmlаndѕ, ѕhoрѕ. Аn аllеу hаd bееn nаmеd аftеr а grеаt- unсlе. Іn our fаmіlу lorе Lаhorе wаѕ mаgіс аnd Lаhorе wаѕ сhаoѕ. (ЈАЅ 41)

Riots took Jyoti’s family to a pathetic condition when all their family treasures were ransacked. Her mother couldn‘t get over that disaster and father was not ready to do so from the memories of Lahore. He exposed his love towards his land in his every activity like listening to Pakistani radio broadcast and so on. Jyoti finds US based modern- thinking man, Prakash as her husband, who encourages Jasmine to study English and renames her as Jasmine. Prakash prohibits Jyoti from having children at an early age and encourages her to read his manuals to improve herself and to cherish a better future for them, in America. She paralleled her husband and his effort to renovate a conservative girl into modern, one with Professor Higgins of Pygmalion a renowned literary piece, where a conversion of a flower girl to a city girl takes place. Jyoti’s husband tried many ways to break down the image of Jyoti, from Hasnapur and build her the new image of a city woman. However tragedy befalls her when her husband dies and she returns to her family. She has to decide her future in the hands of a rigid family tradition of performing Sati or fulfilling her husband’s desire, to live her further life in America.

Finally, her second option overcomes the first and Jasmine sets off for America as an illegal immigrant to Florida. Her illegal transmigration begins with the thought:

Wе аrе thе outсаѕtѕ аnd dерortееѕ, ѕtrаngе ріlgrіmѕ vіѕіtіng outlаndіѕh ѕhrіnеѕ, lаndіng аt thе еnd of tаrmасѕ, fеrrіеd іn old аrmу truсkѕ whеrе wе аrе roughlу hаndlеd аnd tаkеn to roреd- off сornеrѕ of wаіtіng roomѕ whеrе ѕurеlу bаrеlу wаkеnеd сuѕtomѕ guаrdѕ аwаіt thеіr brіbе. Wе аrе drеѕѕеd іn ѕhrеdѕ of nаtіonаl сoѕtumеѕ, out of ѕеаѕon, thе wіltеd рlumаgе of іntеrсontіnеntаl vаgаbondаgе. Wе аѕk onlу onе thіng, to bе аllowеd to lаnd: to раѕѕ through: to сontіnuе. (ЈАЅ 101)

Here begins her journey of transformations, displacement and a search for identity. She undergoes her first transformation from a responsible traditional Indian wife Jasmine to Jase when she meets the genius, Taylor. When Jasmine leaves for California with Taylor and Duff, her identity maintains to transform and she becomes Bud’s Jane. Mukherjee portrays this transition and transformation as an optimistic and a positive journey. Jasmine establishes a new world with new values and ideas, endlessly exposing her past to construct a new cultural image by integrating new skills, desires and habits. This transition not only defines the changes in her attitude but the most significant change in her association with men.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni also handles the theme of custom transformation in her The Mistress of Spices that portrays the character of a woman who is vibrant, eager for life, hungry with desires but masquerading as an old and bent creature. Like Jasmine in Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine, Tilo in The Mistress of Spices has many disguises and names that reveal her multiple identities. Not only the renovation from Jyoti – Jasmine- Jane; Nayan Tara- Bhagyavati- Tilottama- Maya is similar but their intention is also to clear the problem of identity crisis that Indians try to cope with in a foreign land.

In New York, Jasmine clearly recognises her ability to adapt and her desire to become a person of their thought and their view. She wants herself to be revealed as intelligent, humorous, affectionate and refined and not as an unlawful murderer, not as a rape victim, not as widowed, not as destitute and not as fearful.

The capabilities to adjust to the necessities of a changing environment and to cut the impression of the past are Jasmine’s survival secret. They permit her to treat the culture and ethics of two different worlds and her occurrence. She also deals with her own different identities of Jyoti and Jasmine. Nevertheless, Jasmine feels hanging between the traditional and modern world. The phenomenon of dislocation in the novel can be traced by focusing on a demonstration of the rhetoric of loss and gain at work. Jasmine’s intense desire to build a home away from her native land and to rebuild her identity helps her to survive.

Between the two cultures of the east and west, past and present, old and new, Jasmine relentlessly shuttles in search of an existing identity. Bharati Mukherjee closes the book with a novel note and stresses the alternating and multifaceted attitude of a woman in exile, “Jasmine with her forged and expensive passport accompanied with Half face Captain, little Clyde, Kingsland and Mauritian girl sailed on the Gulf Shuttle, reached the new world after experiencing and sharing opinions amongst themselves. Jasmine uttered her first- sight of familiarity towards the strange land of America in a loathing tone:

Тhеn ѕuddеnlу іn thе рісkеtіng blасk of рrе- dаwn, Аmеrіса саromеd off thе horіzon. Тhе fіrѕt thіng І ѕаw wеrе thе two сonеѕ of а nuсlеаr рlаnt, аnd ѕmokе ѕрrеаdіng from thеm іn сomрlісаtеd but ѕееmіnglу рurрoѕеful раttеrnѕ, еdgеѕ lіt bу thе rіѕіng ѕun, lіkе а grау, іntrісаtе mар of аn unехрlorеd іѕlаnd сontіnеnt аgаіnѕt thе раlе unѕсrаtсhеd bluе of thе ѕkу. І wаdеd through Еdеn‘ѕ wаѕtе: рlаѕtіс bottlеѕ, floаtіng orаngеѕ, boаrdѕ, ѕoddеn boхеѕ, whіtе аnd grееn рlаѕtіс ѕасkѕ tіеd ѕhut but рісkеd oреn bу bіrdѕ аnd рullеd араrt bу сrаbѕ. (ЈАЅ 107)

Jasmine uproots herself from her native culture and transforms herself according to a culture that contradicts her own desires, in an exhausted tone she exclaimed on her numerous personalities and their identity and number of men involved in her life in the role of husband. This report reveals her conscience with an anxious tone about her change in her conventional culture that mostly insists on purity of a woman. In each transformation, she tries to realize her place in the strange land and her bravery to disregard her home culture which she practised from her childhood and observed from her mother and sisters’ life. She felt neither happy nor sad about her situation as she does not choose anything of her own choice and she herself has become the victim of the incidents in her migrations.

The new world’s misery challenged Jasmine to her wholesomeness and amid all her sufferings she remained blessed to get to know a goodhearted woman of seventy and modesty, Lillian Gordon. She puts forth her best efforts in transforming Jasmine to Jazzy whereas Jasmine easily observed her optimism and trusted her reply to be with a sympathetic squint. She explained Jazz that she is not the first and she will not be the last victim of harassment in this society. Jyoti also trusted that Lillian would have advised her to have an abortion if she had described the bitterest moments of experience by the Half- Faced man in the motel on her very first day of stepping in a new world of America.

Gordon exhorted Jasmine and trained her to walk as an American by losing her shy sidle. She tried out her American walk and talk in a mall with additional surprise of the first revolving door, which remained always open or always closed and first escalator that is always moving and always still. Gordon offered her heartly help and assistance for Jasmine to achieve her aim to reach New York. But a black man stunned Jasmine in the capital city of America by asking for a handout. This made her feel cheated and she regretted her belated arrival to her dreamland. While beggars are quite common in India she didn’t expect the one as her first host in America.

At one place Jasmine weeps over photographs of migrant workers, though she is not related to it personally but she somehow associates herself with it. She then controls herself and decides never to mourn over Hasnapur ever again.

І rеmеmbеrеd Kаtе’ѕ book of рhotogrарhѕ of mіgrаnt workеrѕ thаt Lіlіаn, thе рroud mothеr, hаd ѕhown off to mе bасk іn Fowlеrѕ Kеу. Тhаt book hаd brought bасk ѕuсh ѕhаrр mеmorіеѕ of Наѕnарur thаt І’d сrіеd. Іt wаѕ now onlу а fеw monthѕ lаtеr, but І dіdn‘t thіnk І сould сrу ovеr Наѕnарur, еvеr аgаіn. І took іt now to mеаn thіѕ wаѕ whаt а gіrl from а ѕwаmру bасkwаtеr сould ассomрlіѕh. (ЈАЅ 160)

The experience of immigrants from their homeland to a new world is also revealed in this plot by the character of a taxi driver, who seemed to be buoyed by bitterness. He introduced himself as a doctor in Kabul and he also grieved that he is living like dogs in this immigrant land as they’ve taken all their belongings. In homeland a doctor is listed in the initial position of the professionals with great honours, praised as a god for giving life to people and his occupation is considered as service to society.

On the contrary, a similar personalty and profession, in the neighbour continent is treated as down to earth and the only cause for this situation is concluded as their dislocation from the own land. On hearing this, Jasmine remembered listening with fascination, when the men around her were debating over which countries would be best for starting a new life. While her brothers talk of well-paid jobs in the United Arab Emirates, Prakash says that guest workers from other nations are treated as mere slaves, even if they are richer. He enforces that the better place to go is the United States where the condition is better but life in the US is also worse for a few.

The Professorji, a caring teacher tempted Prakash, his best engineering student to leave the petty and luckless world of Jullundhar. He invited him with Jasmine to the world of transformation, America, which welcomes all the new Landers with stretched hands, to flourish in their life and make their dreams come true. But there are also problems, which are not adopted by the people with their own conventional cultures. Parents of Professorji express their frustration in their words as:

We have followed our children to America, and look what happens to us! Our sons are selfish, our daughters want to work and stay thin. All the time this rush. What to do? There are no grandchildren for us to play with. This country has drained my son of his dump. This country has turned my daughter- in- law into a barren field. If we are doomed to die here, at least let us enjoy the good things of America: friends from our village, plentiful food, VCRs, air conditioning. (JAS 148)

In a flat at Flushing, professorji and his wife Nirmala, a girl of nineteen from a village in the Patiala district and his parents both in their eighties, rather adventurous for their age, demand constant care. But their desire was not fulfilled as the relationship between the folks was not healthy in America as in our relatively integrated country. Unlike our motherland, in America, the husband and wife‘s attitude is not as strong as here, there is no exposition of love towards father and mother and the careful attention towards children is absent.

For instance, Nirmala had no idea where her husband is working or what he is doing. She remains submissive, beautiful and innocent where the professor was following a very old recommendation for marital harmony: authority, silence and order. The old people’s complaints were similar i.e. about their daughter- in- law. In the orthodox nation, the groom’s mother was an absolute tyrant of the households and the young bride would quiver under her commands. But in New York, with a working wife, the mother-in-law was denied her venomous authority.

After five months, Jasmine got out of Flushing, which remained a safe place for a cocoon to hatch out of and met Kate Gordon- Feldstein in her loft. Kate Gordon introduced Taylor and his family in New York. She assured Jasmine that Taylor and his family members will love her and she need not be scared of them. Jasmine also revealed her attachment towards Taylor’s family. As she puts it:

І bесаmе аn Аmеrісаn іn аn араrtmеnt on Сlаrеmont Аvеnuе асroѕѕ thе ѕtrееt from а Ваrnаrd Сollеgе dormіtorу. І lіvеd wіth Тауlor аnd Wуlіе Науеѕ for nеаrlу two уеаrѕ. Duff wаѕ mу сhіld; Тауlor аnd Wуlіе wеrе mу раrеntѕ, mу tеасhеrѕ, mу fаmіlу. І еntеrеd thеіr lіfе on а реrfесt ѕрrіng Ѕundау. (ЈАЅ 146)

Though Jasmine is attached to Taylor’s family and becomes his Jase, her foreignness never forgets to peer into her activities which never bothered Taylor. Jase pointed that Taylor didn’t want to change her. As he is not scared of her diversity from Kate or Wylie he didn’t want to clean and wash her foreignness. Jase was not able to hang about there for long, after seeing Sukhwinder, the man who killed Prakash, Jasmine’s husband in the disguise of a Hot dog vendor. She determined to depart New York and move towards Iowa for the sake of Taylor and Duff. She never minds about Taylors comment on Iowa as flat Iowa.

Jase becomes Jane of Bud Ripplemeyer, a small- town banker, who wants to marry Jane before the baby comes. They both live together as husband and wife without an official marriage, which is uncommon in Jyoti’s life style but very common in Jane’s lifestyle and culture. Jane and Bud adopted Du, a fourteen- year- old Vietnamese orphan boy and now he is seventeen. In this story, he is another representation to reveal the condition of immigration and isolation from his native country, Vietnam to a new place with an entirely different culture. Du with his friend Scott watches and enjoys Monster Truck Rallies show on TV. Du is very much fond of watching TV and Jane remembers that his first question to them was whether the family had a television or not.

Jane thinks about the reports from Du’s school that he seems to be doing well considering everything. Jane wants to yell that Du has lived through deprivations and horror that none of these people can imagine. Jane wonders what would be the school officials’ reaction if they really knew the impediments that Du has experienced. When Jasmine tells him that she has killed a man, he barely accepts this truth as he has killed many men in his young age. Du’s glimpse of the lovemaking adds a dimension to the sexual politics. This resonates with ideas and is later chronicled about Indian notions of love and marriage.

Getting away from burdens, contradictions and complications of permanence is well portrayed by the character of Jane Ripplemeyer. She barely sends or receives any mail as she wants to cut off herself from the connection of her past which entails carrying the unhappy burden of her history. Though Jane carries her own inherent Du, the Vietnamese- American is not as Jane. He has twice born as Jane said his transformation was hyphenated whereas her own transformation has been genetic.

While the hybrid Du departs for the frontier to work on behalf of his Vietnamese family in America, the singularly Americanised Jane pursues adventure risk and transformation as she heads for California with her ex-lover Taylor, leaving behind her crippled husband Bud. She states her own position as:

Wаtсh mе rе- рoѕіtіon thе ѕtаrѕ, І whіѕреr to thе аѕtrologеr who floаtѕ сroѕѕ- lеggеd аbovе mу kіtсhеn ѕtovе, І сrу іnto Тауlor‘ѕ ѕhouldеr, сrу through аll thе lіvеѕ І hаvе gіvеn bіrth to, сrу for аll mу dеаd. Тhеn thеrе іѕ nothіng І саn do. Тіmе wіll tеll, іf І аm а tornаdo, rubbеr mаkеr, аrіѕіng from nowhеrе аnd dіѕарреаrіng іnto а сloud…. Grееdу wіth wаntѕ аnd rесklеѕѕ from hoре…. (ЈАЅ 241)

Mukherjee’s novels highlight on exploring the real picture of migration and the emotion of the immigrants that is experienced in alienation. In this novel, the character, Jasmine shows some similarities to that of the author Bharati Mukherjee, but there is much dissimilarity. Jasmine and the author are similar in their thirst to march after what they want and never stop until they get it. Bharati’s determination is to become an Indian English writer and Jasmine’s drive is to become the citizen of The United States. Alike Mukherjee, Jasmine was born in India but unlike Mukherjee she was not born out of a wealthy family. As Jasmine does not possess the same resources as Bharati it becomes harder for her to leave her home country and migrate to the United States.

This novel’s first- person narration and the unfolding style of each episode is a scenario creating a sense of immediacy. In describing different immigrant types, Mukherjee has explored her theme with its many nuances. Jasmine’s transformation from a semi- educated Punjabi country girl to an American lady is not psychologically convincing. Perchance Bharati Mukherjee’s purpose is fulfilled by bringing the modern American fiction to realism by the immigrants’ experience of balanced rudiments in American society.

All the influence and reputation of Banerjee family ended with Hari Lal Banerjee when he became a prey to an unknown assassin. Beautiful and luminous, Tara Banerjee Cartwright, of this story is nobody else, the great granddaughter of Hari Lal Banerjee. Born in Calcutta, Tara educated at Vassar College in New York and is married to an American man. Tara felt her loneliness at Vassar, where she was apart from all her relations back at India,

For Таrа, Vаѕѕаr hаd bееn аn аlmoѕt unѕаlvаgеаblе mіѕtаkе. Іf ѕhе hаd not bееn а Ваnеrјее, а Веngаlі Вrаhmіn, thе grеаt grаnddаughtеr of Наrі Lаl Ваnеrјее, or реrhарѕ іf ѕhе hаd not bееn trаіnеd bу thе good nunѕ аt Ѕt. Вlаіѕе‘ѕ to rеmаіn сomрoѕеd аnd lаdуlіkе іn аll еmеrgеnсіеѕ, ѕhе would hаvе ruѕhеd homе to Іndіа аt thе еnd of hеr fіrѕt wееk. (ТТD 10)

These lines reveal her condition of dislocation and isolation. After some years of marriage life, Tara leaves her American husband behind and journeys back to India. But the place she finds on her return with strikes, riots and unrest are vastly different from the place of her childhood. In this tale of colliding cultures Tara, an Americanized Indian, who returns to her childhood Calcutta and to the native chatter of her old friends, finds Calcutta in an unexpected condition. She was not able to realize the fact. Newspapers are full of epidemics, collisions, fatal quarrels and starvation.

Even at close quarters, she finds news with tragedy looking large, squatters occupy the private property and people sleep naked on pavements with rats and cockroaches as the company. She is also shocked with the information such as, a handcuffed young man is slapped in the face, protesters break into a bakery shop and a friend is hit on the head with a soda bottle by a frenzied mob. Tara tries to reconcile the difference in her old world.

The novel discovers Tara’s cultural shock when she travels back to

India from America tangled with the political scenario in West Bengal and Calcutta. Through her homebound journey and stay in Calcutta, after seven years of absence, Tara’s ambiguity as an emigrated Brahmin woman is represented as problematic fact. As a sensitive, intelligent, yet passive and immature person, Tara goes through her internal, unrest position between the two cultures, while Calcutta’s society encounters turmoil in which the conservative tradition seems to be endangered by the contemporary democratic society.

Tara experienced a great conflict between her native Indian culture and the alien western culture. The clash was within her and between the culture of her native soil and her identity to which she feels comfort now. Tara finds it difficult to mingle with her relatives and friends in India and sometimes even with the traditions and customs of her own family. She feels lonely in her own native land. Tara thought her return to India after a long time would eliminate her unhappiness of staying abroad. She expressed that in the following lines as:

For уеаrѕ ѕhе hаd drеаmеd of thіѕ rеturn to Іndіа. Ѕhе hаd bеlіеvеd thаt аll hеѕіtаtіonѕ, аll ѕhаdowу fеаrѕ of thе tіmе аbroаd would bе еrаѕеd quіtе mаgісаllу іf ѕhе сould јuѕt rеturn homе to Саlсuttа. Вut ѕo fаr thе rеturn hаd brought onlу woundѕ. Fіrѕt thе сorroѕіvе hourѕ on Маrіnе Drіvе, thеn thе dеformеd bеggаr іn thе Rаіlwау ѕtаtіon, аnd now thе іnехorаblе rаіn rіdе ѕtеаdіlу undіd whаt ѕtrеngth ѕhе hаd hеld іn rеvеrѕе. Ѕhе wаѕ аn еmbіttеrеd womаn, ѕhе now thought, old аnd суnісаl аt twеntу two аnd quісk to tаkе offеnсе. (ТТD 25)

But her first stepping on the land of India at Bombay fills her with disappointment as the alien land has become more of a home to her. Efficacy of her alienation makes her repent on her stupidity of coming alone to India without her husband and she is unable to keep him away from her mind. She tried to reunite herself with her husband by rewriting his novels during the vacation. She felt that she was too impetuous with the misunderstanding of her fear of New York with homesickness. She realized that isolation has made her mad. She knows her love for her husband will not suffice to sustain her through all the bitterly painful sights and scenes of refugees and beggars in Shambazar and that disturbs her:

How could she explain the bitterness to David, who would have laughed at her friends and wished them luck, at refugees and beggars in Shambazar? What would he care? He‘d laughed when she described Rajah’s burial in a children‘s cemetery, been disgusted that a servant had been kept just to feed and walk a dog. (TTD 45)

Although she always regarded herself as an Indian, she discovers an outsider than a native personality inside her, concerned with the difficult and confusing web of poverty, hierarchies, privilege and politics of powerful class in India. She has dreamt for years of this return but now finds herself instilled with the foreignness attributable not only to her American residence but also to her early education in Calcutta at a private school run by Belgian nuns. Though America did not fascinate her, her seven years life at Vassar altered her outlook:

Nеw York, ѕhе thought now, hаd bееn ехotіс. Not bесаuѕе thеrе wеrе рolісеmеn wіth dogѕ рrowlіng thе undеrground tunnеlѕ. Весаuѕе gіrlѕ lіkе hеr, аt lеаѕt аlmoѕt lіkе hеr, wеrе bеіng knіfеd іn еlеvаtorѕ іn thеіr own араrtmеnt buіldіngѕ, bесаuѕе ѕtudеntѕ wеrе rіotіng аbout саmрuѕ rесruіtеrѕ аnd fаr аwау from wаrѕ rаthеr thаn thе рrісе of rісе or thе ѕtіffnеѕѕ of fіnаl ехаmѕ. Весаuѕе реoрlе wеrе аgіtаtеd аbout thе рollutіon. Тhе onlу рollutіon, ѕhе hаd bееn wаrnеd аgаіnѕt іn Саlсuttа hаd bееn саѕtе рollutіon. Nеw York wаѕ сеrtаіnlу ехtrаordіnаrу аnd іt hаd drіvеn hеr to dеѕраіr. (ТТD 34)

When she returns to Calcutta after her sojourn in the west, she has found Calcutta to be greatly changed. She had once admired the houses on Marine drive but now their shabbiness appalled her. Bombay’s railway station appears more like a hospital and she has turned arrogant. When a Marwari family and others enter her compartment, she ironically and contemptuously remarks that the Marwari was certainly very ugly and insolent. He reminded her circus animal who perform better than his master and the other occupant. The Nepali was a restless old man with crude hair. He kept pinching the folds of his trousers and crossing and re- crossing his legs. Tara decides that both men could easily spoil her plan of the journey to Calcutta.

She remembers her friends whom she had accompanied seven years ago, Nilima her homework partner, Pronob with whom she briefly fancied herself in love and Reena her debater at the British Council. She enjoyed all moments of her presence with friends and their evergreen remembrance. But now after her return from America, she fears about their tone, their omissions and their aristocratic oneness. She finds that she is admired neither by her family nor by her friends. She felt totally isolated in her motherland even by her kith and kin.

Indians condemn her marriage to a Christian as having stooped too low, being a Brahmin in an upper caste. She believed that perhaps her mother also no longer loved her for having willfully abandoned her caste by marrying a foreigner and offended her for being no longer a real Brahmin. Her willful marriage also created little commotion in her life because of her roots in India where the wife expects something or the other from their husbands in the form of rewards and praises. She experiences frustrations from David, her husband, who does not give her much credit for clearing bathrooms, which she considers a wifely duty. Her suspicion is revealed as he no more wanted to make her similar to his ideal image and he no longer loved her.

Tara’s efforts to adapt to American society are measured by her rejection and revulsion of Indian modes of life. She finds nothing in India to her liking. For her, Calcutta appears nothing but a city with riots, burning buses and workers surrounding the ware houses. According to her, Calcutta is caught in the tempo of an obsolete change exhausting with squalor and the wind. Calcutta is also balanced between the repulsive system of administration on one side and the wantonly violent, aimless, powerfully politicized workers and youth on the other.

She feels alienated and irritated by the trivial and trivializing passions and attitudes of well-heeled, mainly English speaking Bengalis with whom she socializes in the Catelli-Continental Hotel an enclave away from the disorderly world outside. These westernized friends yet disapprove of a western husband, one friend for being an American immigrant and is in an inadequate compensation for the loss of class-power and privilege as an Indian. Tara’s condition is not identical with an expatriate who stands apart from the spiritual and emotional tone of the country that had once been her own country. So dislocated by her home coming, she comes to visualize her husband’s face, not fully and not the whole face, but in bits and pieces. The psychological, social and cultural displacement that she suffers makes her nervous and excitable; for instance, at a picnic she becomes hysterical over a harmless water snake, expecting tragedy where there is none.

The aimlessness and diffusiveness of her return are underpinned by the number of journeys. For example, the train journey from Bombay to Calcutta interweaves the novel and the heroine’s search of some knowledge or revelation that proves elusive. A new friend, Joyonto R. Choudhary, takes her out to see the funeral pyres on the Ganges. The friends organize a picnic in her honour, visit the hill resorts of Darjeeling and then the new township of Nayapur.

During a tour to Chaudhary‘s compound, where a squatter settlement has established itself, Tara is assaulted by a little girl in apparent jealousy over her saree. She realises that there was no single crisis she could point to the latter and says that she had then become a totally different person. As Tara is exposed to the West and has absorbed its values, she must necessarily be alienated and isolated. Though she tries to voice her continued attachment and identity with India, the voice does not carry the conviction. It is at discrepancy with the usual position of apathy and arrogance as these are connected with the Indian who settled in western countries.

On her return from America, Tara finds it not only difficult but also impossible to communicate with her family. Her father, though slightly disappointed had said nothing and had never talked about important things and Tara finds loyalty to her father’s gentleness. The unusual turns of fate that had swept her from Calcutta to Poughkeepsie, from Poughkeepsie to Madison and lastly from Madison to a double- room apartment within the walking distance of Columbia. The destiny had taught her to be concerned over a thesis on Katherine Mansfield and so Tara was grateful to this restful new home.

On her return after seven years, Tara finds her aunt has lost her husband to the tumor and the condition was more pitiable when she knew that her aunt her aunt has been burdened with a club- footed child. Though her visit with her mother to her aunt and her disabled child creates much sympathy, Tara felt inconsistent when her mother switches over her sympathy from her sister to a shopping spree in New Market. These contradictions highlight the Indian sensibility, which Bharati Mukherjee has so successfully portrayed. This ability of an Indian mind to switch over from an intolerably painful experience to a pleasurable condition is an Indian dialectic. In this aspect, Tara feels detached from her motherland and her mother. She is unable to communicate her tender feelings towards her aunt and she feels worse when her concern for the crooked- footed child was misunderstood by her aunt.

Tara remains voiceless and two incidents explain why she is rendered so. One is her visit to Darjeeling where she meets Kananbala Mata, a sacred woman and in her presence there, Tara no longer feels the need to express her emotions or share them with others. She finds the possibility of participation in an enlarged existence without the need for expressing and convincing the people about the authenticity of her involvement. She forgets her instinctive suspicions, her fear of misunderstandings, her guardedness and atrophy in that religious moment. Tara sheds tears of warmth and persistence from her heart. Bharati Mukherjee remarks Tara‘s transformation in this novel as:

She felt close to her mother, and to the other worshipers, close even to the Chela with the skin diseases, so moving was the experience. Some new and reckless emotions made tiny incisions in her body, and forces her inhibitions to evaporate through the window that overlooked the mountains. Now, like her mother, she too believed in miracles and religious experience. (TTD 36)

The second is the traumatic incident of sexual violence by Tuntunwala. As Tara wants to put forth her ignition she was confused about the correct listener to communicate this issue and she finds all her avenues closed. She wants to complain about Tuntunwala as a parasite who would survive only at others expense to her friends Sanjay and Pronob. But she realised if this happened the result would be so bitter for her and she revealed that frustration in her words as:

But the outrage soon subsided, leaving a residue of unforgiving bitterness. She realized she could not share her knowledge of Tuntunwala with any of her friends. In a land where a friendly smile, and accidental brush of fingers can ignite rumours – even lawsuits-how is one to speak of Tuntunwala’s violence? (TTD 199)

Her final effort to communicate with Pronob about the forests of Ray’s Pather

Panchali appears incomprehensible to her, and soon she finds her voice drowned in

Calcutta’s violent mob that is ready to tear the city apart. She expresses her despair regarding her native Calcutta as “Calcutta is the deadliest city in the world” (TTD 210). This terrible voicelessness finally paves the way for Tara’s decision of returning to her husband, David, in the United States. Jasbir Jain in her Foreignness of Spirit: The World of Bharati Mukherjee’s Novels declares that:

Beginning with her arrival the novel ends with her proposed exit, rejecting India and her Indianness, unable to grasp its meaning and equally unable to understand America she plans to go back to. The first part deals with her responses to India, the second moves into her ancestral past…….. Westernization; the third section of the novel is concerned with Tara’s early experience in America …… And the fourth brings us back to India and Tara’s move from Calcutta to

Darjeeling with its own peculiar brand of foreigners. Here, in Darjeeling she is seduced and this act of seduction is symbolic of her foreignness which is an experience which cannot be undone. (12)

As Jasbir Jain said Tara is gripped by the foreignness of the spirit, more than the happenings around her. Her family and her friends do not consider Tara as one of them. The confidences they exchange among themselves are not shared with her.

With a combination of hatred and charm, irony and sympathy, Tara is pushed to the edges of her old world, and yet exiled from the new and tries to reconcile the two worlds in her heart. Her awareness of the present is entrenched in her life in America and when she feels India as a new land, it is not because of her childhood relations or her past memories. That is only because she witnessed the world through the eyes of David, her foreign husband. Her reactions to the country on her arrival are those of a foreigner. She feels as each and every air letter caused her fleeting fright. She realized that it was not easy to envisage her husband because she was in India far away from him. This separation made her feel that she had not married a personality but a foreigner and this foreignness of her husband remained a big saddle for her.

Whichever way she turns, Tara finds herself inadequate and incomplete, fragmented and unable to come together. When her friend Pronob was killed by a coke bottle at the end of the violent strike, he said that he hated to be an immigrant and he didn’t mind giving up the factory. He also added that he would hate to be nobody in America, unaware of their treatment towards Indians. Subsequent to this incident she begins to examine who she is and where she belongs and how the foreignness of spirit begins? She conveys her wondering as:

Doеѕ іt bеgіn аt nіght іn thе сеntrе of Саlсuttа, wіth fortу ruddу Веlgіаn womеn, fаt forеhеаdѕ ѕwеllіng undеr ѕtаrсhеd whіtе hеаd drеѕѕеѕ, long blасk hаbіtѕ іntеnѕіfуіng thе hoѕtіlіtу of thе Іndіаn ѕun? Тhе nunѕ hаd tаught hеr to іnјесt thе rіght dеgrее of Vеnom іnto wordѕ lіkе ‘сommon аnd vulgа’…Dіd thе forеіgnnеѕѕ drіft іnwаrd wіth thе wіntеr сhіll аt Vаѕѕаr, аѕ ѕhе wаtсhеd thе Nеw York ѕnow ѕеttlе ovеr nеw аrсhіtесturе, blondе gіrlѕ, Рrotеѕtаntѕ, Маtronѕ аnd Јhonnу Маthіѕ? (ТТD 37)

After failing in all her attempts, the story moves towards Tara‘s decision to return to her husband in the United States. But the story remains inconclusive as on her way to reserve her air passage she is caught in the rise of the violent mob and the novel ends inconclusively. M.Sivaramakrishnan in his book Bharati Mukherjee portrayed Tara as a tigress. He says ‘A tigress at bay in the forests of dried up imagination and the novel ends inconclusively with Tara, on her way for her air reservations, getting caught in one of the periodic flare-ups common in Calcutta’ (79).

Bharati Mukherjee’s character has always reflected her own circumstances and personal concerns and is able to trace her growth in self- confidence and slowly developing the identity as an American. When Tara in The Tiger’s Daughter says, ‘Oh, God, I can’t do it again’ (TTD 98), she is perhaps referring to what Bharati Mukherjee had herself undergone and which she expressed, at a later date, in her anguish words towards the immigrant experience.

In one of the reviews by Rosanne Klass, in his book Indian wife lives Soap-Opera life towards Mukherjee for her novel Wife stated that readers can allow some books to die whereas some books should be killed. In this Bharati Mukherjee had been criticized as ‘Miss Mean Mouth’. Meenakshi Mukherjee says Bharati Mukherjee writes about the extreme case of women in her famous novel Wife. Her protagonists lose their bearings when they are transplanted into a new culture. Mukherjee’s young heroine, Dimple’s final act of violence in killing her husband is not realistic, but it is a good attempt of trying out a fictional style other than realistic.

In an interview, Mukherjee says to Michael Connel, Jessie Gearson and Tom Grinus that Wife was written so long ago and it was very confusing and painful for her to face such controversy. But she was happy with the village reader’s review who loved the book. The story Wife is an upsetting account of the conflict between the Indian and Western cultures and the conventional and modern traditions, as embodied in the life of Dimple Das Gupta. These conflicts are related to some sort of comic ferocity. This Bengali heroine Dimple’s name has its place in The Oxford English Dictionary as ‘any slight surface depression.’ This definition is typically depicted by the character of the heroine itself, as Dimple appears a very viciously drawn character who ends in despair, insanity and murder. The murder which is expected to be a self- assertive act, on the part of the author, ends up in misguided action. Dimple is not role modeled. Her background is that of a Bengali college educated girl, suddenly thrown into an alien West, who becomes a prisoner of the Ghetto. Communication remains one of the main problems and the other is the inability to face up to one’s emotional crack- up. Superficially it can be read as the predicament of an Indian wife, finding herself out of depth, in a foreign country with an alien milieu.

This situation of cultural shock is perhaps a little trite, for it could also be explained as the agony of a voice, struggling for identity and getting stifled repeatedly. The novel starts as Dimple Dasgupta had prepared her mind and heart to marry a neurosurgeon, but her father was searching for engineers in the matrimonial advertisements. Dimple wanted to live a different life with an apartment in Chowringhee. She dreamt of her hair done by Chinese girls and her trips to New Market for purchasing a nylon sari. She wanted to lead a dramatic life with sophistication and luxury, so she placed her faith in architects and neurosurgeons. She hoped her marriage would bring her love, liberty, fund raising dinners for noble charities and cocktail parties on carpeted lawns. Dimple thought that premarital life is an address preparation for actual living. Her longing for marriage creates nervousness and unnatural prone to coughs, colds and headaches.

All her passion and fulfillment, those were expected to become magically lucid on her wedding day eludes her. Her sudden marriage with Amit Basu, a consulting engineer, who is ideal in the sense that he has already applied for emigration to Canada and US. He also has a job application pending in Kenya, besides important family connections and hence is in the process of getting a passport, visas etc.

Significantly Dimple’s problem does not lie outside her. She would remain a foreigner wherever she is to go. The problem lies within her. She suffers from a psychic disorder, as it is clear from her behaviour all along. Her dreams are more directly related to sexual awareness and how she can step out of the limits imposed by the Sita legend rather than independence or self- realization. Jasbir Jain says that it is difficult to treat this novel as a study of cultural shock. He also commented Dimple as an escapist and lost herself in the confidential world of wild imagination.

The present and past do not interact in Dimple’s life. She has been driven to the extreme by the alien environment and immigrant problem and this adaptation is far more deeply embedded than the temporary cultural shock diagnosed by her husband. Marriage, which should bring her freedom, cocktail parties and love, is frustrating and she lacks the wealth and inclination for higher life and passion. She is puzzled a lot with marriage. The need for sharing her views, for voicing her inner desires, ambitions and frustrations, is a very ambivalent necessity. Jasbir Jain denotes this as, “At no juncture does she posit a world which is more integrated or freer than the one in which she is placed. Her isolation is rooted not merely in loneliness, in isolation or cultural differences but in her estrangement from her own past and her own inner being” (17).

Life with Amit in the stifling atmosphere of cramped flat, a fortress of gentle politeness is without any nervousness. Things become complex with the prospect of Dimple’s pregnancy and now visions of neurosurgeon give place to abortionists. She complains to Amit for her encumbrance motherhood and she does not wish to carry any leftovers from her old life. She thinks the baby as an unfinished business and as a barrier that will clutter up the preparation for going abroad. She searches ways for getting rid of that foetus and in her exuberance; Dimple induces an abortion by violent rope- skipping. She lives with her fermenting frustrations and puts her faith in the New World that is going to open before her.

The young couple immigrates to New York where Dimple must adjust to a whole new set of circumstances amid violence and high rise isolation but Amit, preoccupied with economic realities, feels little comfort. They stay with Jyoti Sen and Meena Sen in Queens where the Indian community has set up its little India. Dimple’s confinement in this crucial adjustment period to the Indian community in Queens does not help her. Jyoti advised befriending all expatriates including South Indians, Punjabis and Gujarati or else she would miss the experience of being abroad. But Amit also does not relish the idea of Dimple working for Vinod Khanna whom he distrusts. He feels that all the Punjabis are licentious, uncultured and dirty. He also thinks that a woman should not have time to get crazy ideas from newspapers and television.

Ironically, enough it is through her addiction to American television that

Dimple’s crazy ideas are formed and through television and American magazines, that she acquires her understanding of romantic American family life. Magazines such as Better Homes and Garden, educate her in the romantic notions of American house-keeping. Everything she watched T.V. was regarding love, death and even murder when love has gone skewed. All she read in the newspapers was about demise that too ugly and scary kind of death. Dimple preferred to watch T.V. than to read a newspaper. As she was busy with those adventurous activities she gave up her attempt to befriend with children in her flat.

Dimple and Amit meet other Indians who have adjusted to or reacted to America in startling ways, have taken to wearing jeans and short hair associated with Americans. Dimple’s friend encourages her to take up various activities, but she is afraid to leave her apartment and begins sleeping all day and suffers from insomnia at night. She disapproves, the unbecoming candor and fast western ways of the other women, but she is too Indian to complain about the increasing disorder of her inner life. On the contrary, Amit, who does not take such disorders seriously, explains that Dimple is going through a culture shock.

Dimple comes to the US as the dependent wife of an engineer and is not expected to have any interaction with the new culture by her husband or her community. As it is for the husband Amit, to negotiate the pressures of life in an alien land and to accomplish the goal of making money that has brought them to America, wife Dimple buys and watches American life within her apartment through newspaper and television. She is frustrated and unnerved by the disjunction between her present life and the American life shown on television. The problems of adjustment that Dimple faces in the New World cultural location seems to stem from her inability to realize that the cultural identity which she has inherited is not an authentically Indian, indisputably non- western culture identity but one that is irretrievably impure.

Inspiring names like ‘The Guiding Light’ and ‘Love of Life‘ to her offer an accurate life portrait of the host culture. Women, who have complicated lives become pregnant frequently and under suspicious circumstances murdered or were murdered, brought to trial and released, they suffered through the ping pong volley of their fates with courage. (Wife 42)

Her move to America increases her dependence on the infinitely more intimate television screen and the glossy magazines of more attractive format. She remains submissive to the fantasy narratives of American culture. While Amit‘s schedule is determined by his job as a boiler maintenance engineer, Dimple‘s sense was unwilling to brave the world outside, yet bored, frustrated and ignorant of actual patterns of intercourse in America. It’s a totally different notion gestating within her as a result of her haphazard and convert interaction with the host culture, which Dimple terms that Some monstrous person had overtaken her body, it was a creature with winding curls and crowded bosom, that would explode carelessly through one of her orifices, leaving Dimple splashed like a bug on the wall and rug of the living room.

The anxiety produced in the novel by Dimple‘s Jekyll and Hyde existence makes the atmosphere so charged with suspense that she contemplates murder or suicide as a solution for her unbearable dilemma. Despair sets in her life and she is bitter that marriage has betrayed her, has not provided all the glittery things she has imagined and has not brought the cocktails under canopied skies. Dimple regrets marrying Amit, who is feeling low, nervous and not being sure of getting a job and the reaction is drastic as:

Between three and four, the next morning, Dimple thought of seven ways to commit suicide in Queens. The surest way, she felt would be to borrow a can of Drano, from under the kitchen sink and drink it, diluted slightly with water. She could see herself as Before and After type of T.V. commercial: human face and feet an S- trap for a body… slip a green garbage bag over her head and tie it with a string around the shoulders… (Wife 115)

That night trapped between the cold wall and Amit‘s heavy body, in post-nightmarish lucidity, she sought revenge. She began to feel that violence was right, even decent. The darkness was unbearably exciting, taut with angry premonitions and promises. Her own body seemed curiously alien to her, filled with hate, malice, an insane desire to hurt, with viciousness she thought inappropriate to her wifely status, she said in an insolence tone, “I’ll wear any goddamn thing I want to, so there!” (Wife 117). The cultural conflict between the two worlds, so often cited is not the only reason for Dimple’s behaviour. Her sufferings from a neurotic problem also play its role. In another way, her immigration becomes the cause for her psychic problem.

She is uprooted from her family and the familiar world and is projected to a new world where the media plays a prominent role, becomes her substitute community and her village. New York intensifies her frustration and unhooks her from reality which brings her to this extent. Linda Sandler in her “Violence as Device for Problem Solving, Rev. of Wife and The Tiger’s Daughter by Bharati Mukherjee” states that Dimple undergoes a bottomless band of violence. Her isolation from her familiar world and her family is projected into a social void, where the media become her substitute society. She kills easily like a sleep walker as New York strengthens her frustration and detaches her from reality.

Dimple tries to resolve her displacement through the assumption of another’s personality, trying to prove abortive or trying another American way by falling in love with Milt Glasser. While in this neurotic frame of mind Dimple’s whining and moaning continues. She strikes an illicit relationship with Milt Glasser which entails for her changes, on both mental and physical planes. She likes him, trusts him utterly and in his company even the inhuman maze of New York becomes as safe and simple as any locality in her own Calcutta. To her he is America. A new development takes place in her. She now borrows Marsha’s clothes, shoes, jackets and tinted glasses. Ragini Ramachandra in “Bharati Mukherjee’s Wife: An Assessment” hints that Dimple was constantly assuming personalities which did not belong to her at the cost of sacrificing her own uniqueness. So she borrows an English word from Milt and Ina to accuse her husband.

Violence has become endemic with Dimple. Amit instructed Dimple that in case he dies, his body is to be cremated and the ashes scattered over the Ganges, in a true Hindu tradition. When Dimple heard this from Amit, her husband, heartlessly thinks about the kind of container to keep such ashes in instead of feeling upset by such talk. This is only a prelude to the final, reprehensible act of Dimple. She takes out a knife from her kitchen drawer and stabs her husband seven times until his head falls off and stays upright on her counter top, with its eyes averted from her face. Her demonic act, unnatural and inhuman, is made to appear more unnatural by her monstrous reactions:

Ѕhе ѕаіd vеrу loudlу to thе knіfе thаt wаѕ rеddеr now thаn іt hаd еvеn bееn whеn ѕhе hаd сhoрреd сhісkеn аnd mutton wіth іt іn thе ѕаmе kіtсhеn аnd on thе ѕаmе сountеr: І wondеr іf Lеnі саn mаkе а bаѕе for іt; ѕhе‘ѕ ѕuррoѕеd to bе vеrу сlеvеr wіth hеr fіngеrѕ. (Wіfе 213)

The novelist has not fully succeeded in dealing with the implications of the moral problems caused by dislocation and isolation. Ragini Ramachandra commented that Tara’s reaction might be understood either as madness or immorality, it is totally unjustifiable and the reader closes the book in absolute aversion as the novel has tried to threaten the scaffold of an entire culture”(6).

In Bharati Mukherjee’s Desirable Daughters, the creation of identity emerges as a continuous process of transformation which remains incomplete. Tara, the female protagonist, born and brought up in Calcutta moved to San Francisco at the age of nineteen. Her parents arranged her marriage with Bishwapriya Chatterjee, a young Indian pursuing Computer science at Stanford University. Tara who was waiting for a different life style immediately holds the American culture. She assimilated as best to the new culture around her and took benefit of the opportunities afforded by the new culture.

The couple has one son, Rabindranath, as a proof of their close friendship before they ultimately divorce. Tara is the third girl with two older sisters, where all are born on the same date but separated by three years. She also preserves close relationships with her two sisters, Padma (Didi), married and living in Montclair, New Jersey and Parvati residing in Bombay with her husband and two children. Despite the distance between them, the sisters communicate often and Didi and Parvati remain Tara’s links to the past that she has begun to forget.

The secrecy begins when a young man named Christopher Dey, a factual symbol of the past, visits Tara at her home in San Francisco. Dev claimed to be the unlawful son of her sister Didi’s love affair with Ronald Dev, a Bengali Christian.

Tara is stunned at this allegation. She cannot believe that her sister would have even had a kid during her adolescent years in India. Christopher Dev emphasises his claim by providing Tara with information that only a real son of Didi would know. When Tara tackles both of her sisters with her qualms, her sister Padma denied her and experienced discomfort from Parvati. Finally, Tara’s worry instigates her to go to the police to ascertain the real identity of Christopher Dey.

As the mystery unfolds, Tara is compelled to face her past, her family and a culture from which she has detached herself. This ended up in a disagreement between new forms of consciousness and old modes of thinking that have been created. Tara very soon realizes the misleading notion of a real remarkable identity. She realized that she is comprised of numerous personalities, each with its own consciousness and instinct. Tara views herself through the ever-shifting lens of culture. Her identity and consciousness were dependent upon her choice to accept or reject certain aspects of both Indian and American culture. As she continues to develop new selves throughout her life, Tara comes to accept that she will never be simply American or Indian, but rather dispersed between these categories of identity. Tara does not fight her multiplicity but rather embraces it as a part of her progressing identity.

In The Mistress of Spices, Tilo viewed herself through the eyes of those around her and struggled with the contradictory perceptions she possessed. Tara does not express this same sense of struggle rather; she accepts her multiplicity from the outset, as a consequence of the development of her identity. Tara’s acceptance is neither a continued progression that she does not run from the new environment nor a fight against it, but instead she welcomes it. As Tara changes throughout her time in America, she realizes that identity is both multiplicity and movement; it is being many at once and always travelling forward to be more.

Mukherjee begins the novel with a Sanskrit inscription adapted by Octavio Paz, its representation indicated the uncertainty of the diasporic experience, it says no one is behind and no one is ahead. The path which the ancients cleared is closed and the other easy and wide path goes nowhere so one should be alone and find his own. Mukherjee has set the novel in the familiar point and space of immigration, where time and space lose their linear and geographic meanings.

As Tara is the narrator of the story, she is writing the history of her family and herself. She gains close into the formation of her own perception as it is influenced by the ethnically definite consciousnesses of other people. She was very clear in her mission as she had sufficient time, the motivation and passion to write down this history. When her kith and kin asked for the necessity to document this history, she simply replied that she is exploring her consciousness. In writing her family’s history, she is registering the establishment of her identity. She also makes a note on how the present construction of consciousness is influenced by the past events and culture. Rather than parting her past behind, Tara must investigate into it and recognize its intricacies in order to comprehend her own mystery.

Tara begins her narration with the story of her ancestral namesake, Tara Lata, who is known as the “Tree Bride”. This introduction is set in India more than 85 years ago. It is the record of the arranged marriage of the child-bride Tara Lata who is rejected by her groom’s family when the young groom is bitten by a snake before the wedding ceremony. The story serves to locate the reader in the past, entrenched in the earliest roots of Tara’s familial history. Yet, in a stylistic typical move of Mukherjee, the reader is suddenly brought to the present in California, a jarring temporal and spatial jump that suggests the unorthodox behaviour of time and space that will infuse the text.

Though the story moves from past actions to current activities the fluidity of the plot structure makes it difficult to differentiate between which is past and which is present while the limitations between India, New York, America and California fade away. It is bounded within this confused world that Tara writes both about her history and herself. She writes about detecting her multiple consciousnesses as she uncovers the mysteries of her past.

When Tara arrives in America for the first time, she longs for Indian culture and displays the behaviour of the model Indian wife, who had had an arranged marriage. She is submissive to her husband and experienced in domestic duties like hosting her guests with serving pakoras and fresh drinks. She serves snacks for Bish and his friends while watching a football game on Sundays. Bish feels proud to introduce his well- trained wife to his friends. They praise her as a great cook, an attentive wife and affectionate daughter-in-law. They also appreciate her for raising a bright and obedient boy.

Tara likes to graduate at the community college instead of staying at home to take care of her son. She sacrifices her wish and stay at home to perform household chores just like the other young Indian wives who live in Atherton, California do. Believing that her marriage life will liberate her, Tara dedicates her whole life in supporting her husband Bish and raising their family, for the significance of satisfying the marital responsibilities that has been embedded in since her birth. But Tara slowly incorporates herself into life in California and she begins to give out certain old traditions and starts adapting to a Western environment which was a more and more easy process for her.

The crossing of the ‘dark waters’ is referred to the Kalipani. For Tara, it symbolizes the commencement of her transition into the new identity, a more progressive and enlightened self. Tara comes to California after her marriage to accomplish the role of a conventional Indian wife but she realizes that she does not wish to play the archetypal part in the Indian family drama especially post marriage role. She states as:

Whеn І lеft Віѕh (lеt uѕ bе сlеаr on thіѕ) аftеr а dесаdе of mаrrіаgе, іt wаѕ bесаuѕе thе рromіѕе of lіfе аѕ аn Аmеrісаn wіfе wаѕ not bеіng fulfіllеd. І wаntеd to drіvе, but whеrе would І go? І wаntеd to work, but would реoрlе thіnk thаt Віѕh Сhаttеrјее сouldn‘t ѕuррort hіѕ wіfе? Іn hіѕ Аthеrton уеаrѕ, аѕ hе bесаmе bеttеr known on thе Аmеrісаn ѕсеnе…hе аlѕo bесаmе, аt homе, morе of а trаdіtіonаl Іndіаn. (DD 82)

Tara’s disappointment at her incorporation and Bish’s lack of interest in her concern leads her to divorce, which is the most severe personal move in Indian culture. When Khandelwal writes of Indian culture he says, marriages are considered as permanent and should not be altered by either partner’s free choice whereas divorce is taboo and considered as a sure sign of Americanization. Tara’s decision to divorce Bish is the representation of her ultimate step toward a new consciousness in which Indian tradition and culture will no longer dominate Tara’s actions and where the judgements and opinions of others do not create an invariable threat.

After becoming more familiar with American culture, Tara stops seeing herself as a traditional Hindu wife and transfers herself to be an independent American and likes to be a progressive Californian. One of the clearest manifestations of this identical transition is the manner in which Tara’s insight of her sexuality transforms over the years. After her marriage with Bish, Tara spent her first few years in adjusting to American culture and she became sick of feeling alien, in that new environment. Though the custom and culture of America were so welcoming, Tara was very tired because of her distressing and not belongingness. Tara and her friends, other Indian wives and mothers living in Atherton, often read the American magazines carefully.

They were intrigued by the media’s different expectations of sexuality from their own. Meena, one of Tara’s friends used to read the American magazines and she would make a discussion when they eat together. When Meera asked about the sexual satisfaction by the husband, Tara was shocked as it was the first time for her to hear husband and the word satisfaction in the same sentence. Tara was totally embarrassed when there raised the next question again on the sexual relationship between husband and wife. The ladies probed to Tara but reply and comment themselves and at last giggled at Tara. Tara felt that she was entirely out their concept and she realized the American marriages and American magazines were not geared to the lives they led.

Those magazines encourage women to discuss their problems, to experiment with hair color, to share their disappointments, sexual positions, and pointedly meaningless one-night stands. In America, every woman is expected to make her own scandal and like to be the core of her own twisted love nest. Tara admits that women in America are reading the breezy advice given in the newspapers but they are not aware of how could they apply it to their situations and experiences. She complains that the American magazines weren’t writing about them or for them and she expressed her anxiety and said that all the mad giggling wasn’t just an amusement at American illogicality. It is a warning against their self-involvement and selfishness but over their innocence.

Tara considers the way of living in America is something far-off from her personal experience. According to her, it is a system that warns her against its self- involvement and selfishness. As the American outset of sexuality is distant for Tara, she simply cannot understand this culture’s depiction of sexuality when she does not trust that she belongs to the same. She is screening sexuality through the lens of conventional Indian culture while women’s freedom is a characteristic of American society it is labeled as a symbol of dishonour in Indian society.

Tara is propositioned by many of Bish’s old friends. Tara begins to see that Indian males living in America do not have to hide their sexuality; in fact, they appear to flaunt it. Khandelwal recognises this sexual double standard as historical which is based on a culture of shame for women. Men’s divergences from expectations rarely brought punishments and were very easily forgiven, whereas women who wander away from approved gender behaviour are at risk of ruining the status of their biological and marital life.

The unfair distinction between male and female sexuality in Indian culture prompts Tara to leave Atherton to completely escape from the patriarchal cultural restraints placed upon her. This is clear in her words as:

Іn thе monthѕ аftеr І lеft Віѕh, onе bу onе, nеаrlу аll of hіѕ oldеѕt frіеndѕ, thoѕе boуѕ Сoса who hаd ѕаt іn thе Ѕtаnford ѕtudеnt рub wіth uѕ whіlе І ѕірреd mу -Сolа, found mу nеw аddrеѕѕ іn Раlo Аlto. І grаtеfullу oреnеd thе door of mу nеw араrtmеnt to thеm, thіnkіng thаt dіvorсе dіd not nесеѕѕаrіlу ѕреll thе еnd of mу old ѕoсіаl lіfе, аnd І‘d аѕk аbout thеіr wіvеѕ аnd сhіldrеn-аnd whеrе, bу thе wау, wеrе thеу, ѕtіll іn thе саr? – аnd wіthіn mіnutеѕ thеу wеrе brеаthіng hаrd аnd fumblіng wіth mу сlothеѕ. Your lіfе іѕ аlrеаdу ѕhаttеrеd; thеу ѕаіd whаt morе dаmаgе саn thіѕ do…І lеft thе реnіnѕulа bесаuѕе of thеm аnd movеd to thе сіtу…. (DD 188)

Tara is still subject to the traditional cultural perceptions that other men have of her sexuality. One evening at a party amongst many upper- class South Asians, an Indian man moves toward Tara and tries to seduce her by characterizing. In his judgement, the sexuality of separated women will be surplus compared to when they were in the marital bondage. This opinion is declared in the novel as:

You, dіvorсеd lаdіеѕ hаvе not уеt loѕt уour сhаrm. You hаvе onlу grown morе dеѕіrаblе. Dіvorсеd lаdіеѕ muѕt bе ovеrѕехеd, іѕn‘t іt? For ѕomе lаdіеѕ, onе mаn іѕ not еnough. Аlwауѕ lookіng for аdvеnturе, іѕn‘t іt…Тhе dіvorсеd Іndіаn lаdу сombіnеѕ еvеrу fаntаѕу аbout thе lіbеrаtеd, wісkеd Wеѕtеrn womаn wіth thе ѕаfеtу nеt of bаѕіс ѕubmіѕѕіvе fаmіlіаrіtу. (DD 188)

While Tara is slowly becoming more comfortable and open with her own sexuality, she realizes that she is still vulnerable to assumptions of both exoticism and domesticity in the sexual realm. The fear instilled in her by a culture of shame in sexual matters has dissipated as Tara has assimilated American culture. She does not need anyone to approve her transition and she is now free to behave as she pleases. She says that she was a practised daughter of Calcutta in the past and now she is comfortable within a filtered look. She says fate has closed one door and opened the other. Tara clearly delineates the separation between the sexual consciousness of Indian culture. She says that it’s one of those San Francisco things she cannot begin to explain in India. She also states that she cannot explain her life in India to the women she knows in California.

As Tara continues to assimilate to American culture, her perceptions of her race and ethnicity begin to change as well. Raised in an upper- class Bengali Brahmin family, Tara’s conception of race was limited to the hierarchical class system of Indian familial category in which she was at the top. Any community who were not rooted in Bengal, especially in the eastern half of Bengal and any community like the Parsi, Sindhi or Marwari was seen as strange and money-grubbing and very often they were disrespected if they were not absolute disdain. In discussing the impact of the Indian caste system upon the racial consciousness of immigrant South Asians, Nazli Kibria writes his views in the book A Part, Yet Apart. He says like the other minority groups in The United States, South Asian Americans also analysis the issues of ethnic identity in ways that are forced by conceptions of race that began in their home countries.

As the South Asian Americans are intercontinental in maintaining characters that develop an active relationship among many countries of different origin and settlement, the influence of this native start of race may be particularly sharp for them. For these people, this native formation of the race may offer a framework of reference which helps to resist the leading society’s racial thinking. At the same time, these concepts add to the group’s racial uncertainty.

Tara’s native conception of race distinguishes between subcultures of India, recognises race as differentiations in class and caste. Thus, when Tara comes to America with this specific notion of race, she is shocked to see such distinctions disappear and Indian culture categorized as a singular entity rather than a multiplicity of groups. She says that they were a billion people divided into so many thousands or millions by different classifications so that we might have trouble in behaving as a people of the same nationality. But here each Indian is so compactly packed with family commitments that he or she seems to have hundreds of challenging personalities within them.

Tara increasingly incorporates American culture into her life. She recognises that the language, caste, and sub- caste are the permanent markers of identity of region. These characteristics that she was brought up to consider are neither as eternal nor as important as she once believed them to be. Critics of Mukherjee’s writing often assert that her characters are too Americanized, that they choose one identity over another as the only solution to the battle of living in between cultures. Padma Rangaswamy is one such critic. In her Namasté America: Indian immigrants in an American Metropolis she claimed, that the only way for many of Bharati Mukherjee’s heroines is to throw away the past completely and irreversibly and to hold the Americanization resolutely and firmly.

Tara could easily fit into the controversial categorization of Mukherjee’s heroine, by making herself distant from all that is Indian, including her past. Also, Mukherjee provides a barely comparable method of assimilation through the contrasting character of Didi, who makes Tara seem all the more Americanized. Didi has essentially transplanted India to America, living as though her Calcutta days never ended when she immigrated. In the nearly twenty-five years of Didi’s life in The United States has made her more Indian than what she was when she left Calcutta.

Tara does not approve her sister’s lifestyle and her feelings of condemnation only increase when her sister Parvati accuses her of becoming too American. In an attempt to persuade Tara to come home, Parvati writes a letter to her, firmly stating, her child is neither American nor Indian and she also warned Tara to come back or she will lose her identity and won’t be either Indian or American. But Tara does not fall prey to these attacks on her identity. She has a desire to change her lifestyle to give up all that she has created in California.

In her effort to protect her culture, Didi has rejected all that is American. She associated herself only with people of Indian descent, working for an Indian television channel and living in an area highly populated by other South Asians. But for Tara, her sister’s behaviour is not a symbol of her desire to retain Indian traditions, but rather a cowardly response to the difficulties of cultural transition. Didi is clinging to a version of India and to Indian friends and to Indian ways, Indian food and Indian clothes. She also states the charming accent of the new country is considered as a gutless way of managing with a new custom. As change is corruption she advised to take what America can give but not to let the American culture tarnish Indians in any way.

In juxtaposing Tara and Didi, Mukherjee presents the essential crisis of the assimilation process. Tara admits that she has somewhat distanced herself from Indian culture. She says that she loved her family and her culture but she had walked away from the struggle to conserve them. Mukherjee suggests that distinctions among different levels of assimilation are too ambiguous and subjective.

Though Tara’s identity is constantly changing and evolving, she does not want to lose neither identities she possessed nor her connection to Indian culture. Didi brings Tara to Jackson Heights, an area in Queens, New York with a high number of South Asian residents and businesses, to shop for saris and jewelry for a party. That evening Tara is attracted to the Indianness of the area. It appeals to her through its familiarity. For her, the attraction of Jackson Heights has always been people’s pleasures. She expects every face is Indian, sidewalks full of Indians, every shop and storefront decorated with Indian jewelry, Indian travel, Indian clothing, Indian sweets and restaurants, Indian food and spices. The noises and smells of Indian are familiar they are intoxicating.

The pull that Tara feels toward all that is Indian in Jackson Heights suggests that she has not abandoned her Indian identity, but rather still views it as a part of her life. Tara describes the sensation as a sort of recreation for oneself. She felt as if she were lost in a Salman Rushdie novel, where a firm identity is shattered by hammer blows, liquefied down and reemerging into something amazing or fantastic.

Deepika Bahri stresses the importance of one’s history and memories on the formation of South Asian diaspora identity in Between the Lines: South Asians and Postcoloniality as:

Undеrѕtаndіng of mеmorу, сollесtіvе аnd реrѕonаl, сonѕtruсtеd аnd еrаѕеd, аѕ wеll аѕ of thе nаrrаtіvеѕ ѕhареd аnd obѕсurеd іn іtѕ mobіlіzаtіon to ѕеrvісе іdеntіtу аffіrmаtіon….. Whіlе rесovеrіng аnd unсovеrіng thе ѕhаrеd mеmorу of oррrеѕѕіon аnd аlіеnаtіon- а рrіmаrу moduѕ oреrаndі іn сrеаtіng іdеntіtу-bаѕеd grouрѕ- іt іѕ іmрortаnt to rеѕіѕt thе есlірѕе of mеmorіеѕ…Quіtе араrt from іtѕ dubіouѕ logіс аnd morаlіtу, thе dеnіаl of hіѕtorу іmрlісіt іn рrovіѕіonаl аnd unrеflесtіvе іntеgrаtіon іѕ not mеrеlу а hурothеtісаl rіѕk, but а rіѕk thаt rеlеntlеѕѕlу аnd unаvoіdаblу сonсrеtіzеѕ іtѕеlf іn thе mаtеrіаlіtу of quotіdіаn сonflісt ovеr rеѕourсеѕ аnd рowеr…. (25)

At the end of the novel, Tara finds that the past she has uncovered is very much a part of her present, a situation that she has always feared. Yet, in keeping with Tara’s unorthodox identity, the past is different from that of her sister Didi. Tara finds that through her story and her consciousnesses, she has created an inversion of history. She has lived her present life through the structure of an older story from the past. She elaborates this as:

І’d bееn wrіtіng аt nіght on а rеntеd tуреwrіtеr, аnd thе ѕtorу thаt hаd bеgun to еmеrgе wаѕ of thе Тrее-Вrіdе аnd of thе сlаѕѕ of Саlсuttа gіrlѕ born а сеnturу lаtеr, both of thеm wіtnеѕѕ to dуіng trаdіtіonѕ. Таrа Lаtа Gаngoolу hаd turnеd thе trаgеdу of hеr huѕbаnd‘ѕ dеаth аnd а lіfеtіmе’ѕ vіrgіnіtу іnto а modеl of ѕеlflеѕѕ ѕаіntlіnеѕѕ. Му ѕtorу wаѕ dіffеrеnt, реrhарѕ еvеn аn іnvеrѕіon. (DD 280)

The experience of the South Asian immigrants is one in which the psyche is always in between worlds and where time and space have created a sense of psychological uncertainty. This condition of ambiguity repeatedly disorients the individuals, making one person to an undefined identity. However, it also allows them to survive as many, outpouring the voices of the multi attitudes that present within her and promising to sound the voices of those that are not yet discovered.

Bharati Mukherjee, in her fourth novel, The Holder of the World, introduces Beigh Masters and Venn Iyer, an international couple with lofty research goals. Beigh, an American asset hunter searches for a legendary diamond named ‘The Emperor’s Tear’, by investigating and recreating the history of Hannah Easton. The literary masterpiece, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is recreated and its main cue is taken as the theme for Mukherjee’s novel. Venn, an Indian immigrant, works to construct X-2989, a programme that will make virtual time travel possible.

Art motivates one, technology motivates the other. Beigh’s project is personal, inspired by her participation in a Yale seminar and the subsequent research project that unearthed a distant blood relation to Hannah and it focuses on a particular individual. Venn’s work, in contrast, inputs the objective information of all the world’s renowned newspapers, telephone directories, weather patterns, satellite passes, every television show, every arrest, airline schedule and a political debate into a practical reality programme to create a general sense of a past place and time.

Despite their apparent differences, The Holder of the World does not only allow Beigh to travel in time to hold the Emperor’s Tear, but has the ability to collapse time and space. It reveals complex relationships between individuals, nations, and global cultures. Beigh’s American Puritans seminar set in motion creating a hunger for connectedness. It also creates a belief that with adequate intelligence and passion we can destruct the barriers of geography and time. May be that belief indirectly leads Venn. He realizes the potential flaw in his X-2989 technology, that the past presents itself to us, always, remain simplified. He wants to evade that deadly emptiness, but he knows well that cannot be done by him. These related ideas of connectivity drive Mukherjee’s novel by situating both a piece of the American literary canon and an American individual in a global context.

Mukherjee questions The Scarlet Letter’s narrowness and the individual’s national identity, ultimately exposing their transnational origins and influences in both the past and the present. With the base of her text in extensive historical research, Mukherjee (through Beigh) connects seventeenth-century Puritan New England with a considerable Eastern trading business. She fictionalizes the consequences of such international connections by rewriting The Scarlet Letter as motivated by and dependent on global forces. Mukherjee dramatizes the influence of globalisation on each individual in the nation through Hannah’s transforming characters as she travels through and engages with the cultures of New England, England and India, where she becomes the Salem Bibi.

Beigh Masters, the frame narrator of The Holder of the World, opens the novel and introduces herself with an admission of multiplicity. She says that she lives in three different time zones concurrently which don’t mean Central, Eastern and Pacific. But the three different zones are the dead past, the living present and the doubtful future. From the beginning, Beigh orients herself spatially and temporally. Zones imply bordered space, and these temporal distinctions are American, which locates her within the bounds of The United States or at least in the Western Hemisphere. Yet the story that she weaves throughout the novel journeys from America to England to India and back, and from present to past and back. This always suggests a future for immigrants that will enable and acknowledge global experiences.

Beigh Masters initiates many of the connections between individuals, both in the novel and outside of it, by exploring naming practices as cultural artefacts. Motivated by her undergraduate degree in history and her job as an asset hunter, Beigh researches her own genealogy and ancestral past. She locates the etymological origins of her surname in England as back on the sceptre’s island, three hundred years ago, they were Musters or Musterers. A clever vowel may change, in any event. Beigh acknowledges her immigrant origins, thus setting up herself as an American subject. The significance of her last name rests not only in each of its multiple meanings but in its very multiplicity and the fine lines between definitions.

In the strictest sense, Beigh musters information through her research in books and museums, looking at cultural artefacts like The Scarlet Letter, Mughal paintings and embroidery attributed to Hannah. She did all these in order to create, learn, and master an individual’s personal past of both Hannah’s and her own, since she finds they are related. The larger importance, however, rests in the creation of the past by seemingly insignificant changes like modifying a single letter. In researching these small changes in her personal past, Beigh seeks to restore the connections between her ancestry and her present, which translates into a restoration between the scepter‘s isle and her American identity. She applies this methodology to Hannah‘s history as well, mustering the historical facts of Eastern trade with colonial America and the literary facts in Hawthorne‘s novel and constructing a narrative to meaningfully explain the data. In past works like Wife and Jasmine, Mukherjee had primarily focused on the interplay of her Indian subject with a white American society, imagining hybridism as a solution for both immigrants and Native Americans alike. In taking globalisation and a larger set of multiple origins into account, Mukherjee expands her vision toward a larger process of integration. Cyrus R. K. Patell the author of “Comparative American Studies: Hybridity and Beyond” states:

Cultural рolуgеnеѕіѕ, whісh morе аdеquаtеlу ехрlаіnѕ Аmеrісаn сulturе аt thе еnd of thе twеntіеth сеnturу bесаuѕе іt movе[ѕ] bеуond thе duаlіtу іmрlісіt іn thе hуbrіd modеl of both/ аnd to а modеl thаt сарturеѕ thе іntеrрlау of multірlе hуbrіd ѕtаtеѕ аnd ѕееkѕ to undеrѕtаnd how іndіvіduаl іdеntіtіеѕ or сulturеѕ аrіѕе from а multірlісіtу of ѕourсеѕ: іt іnvеѕtіgаtеѕ how ѕераrаtе іdеntіtіеѕ аnd сulturеѕ mеrgе аnd trаnѕform onе аnothеr. (178)

To escape from the implicit duality, Mukherjee adopts this polygenetic approach that does more than she assumed. The individuals or nations become hybrid through the cultural mixing of more than two original identities, it also suggests that the origins themselves are multiplied and hybridised and a singular or non-global identity does not exist. A quest for America or an American subject invites constant reinterpretation of the present. One must always reformulate the past in response to the discovery or the restoration of multiple influences.

Mukherjee presents Hannah as a definitively American character, one born of migration and transformation. Hannah’s grandparents immigrated to the New World on the Angel Gabriel in 1633, on an actual British ship of the same name, built for Sir Walter Raleigh, who is known for his expeditions and writings about America. His representation for the discovery of the New World and his literature was among the first to imagine America for an international audience. This ship was built for his final 1617 voyage to America. Connecting Raleigh to Hannah‘s ancestors allows Mukherjee to situate them in a travelling, transatlantic history and gives them a route from England to America that Hannah will later reverse. With their infant daughter Rebecca in tow, Hannah’s grandparents moved from a colonial centre to Brookfield, Massachusetts, a Puritan colony in Nipmuc Indian territory. In 1668, Rebecca married Edward Easton, an immigrant from England and a former employee of the East India Company and two years later gave birth to Hannah. A year later, Edward died of a bee sting.

Hannah spent six years with her widowed mother, losing her when the Nipmuc attacked Brookfield. Rebecca had taken a Nipmuc lover, and she forged her murder in order to escape with him in 1675. Here, as in Jasmine, Mukherjee plays on the ambiguity of relationships. In the term Indian, Hannah also has an affair with an Indian man on the other side of the globe. Beigh’s lover, Venn, is also an Indian, though he was born in India and immigrated to America as an infant, reversing the route Hannah took to India. Adopted by a nearby farming family, Hannah takes on the name Fitch and moves with them to Salem, site of the infamous 1692-3 witch trials that caused Nathaniel Hawthorne to add a letter to his family name. As a port town with a veritable trade economy, particularly with the East, Salem brought many travellers and seamen into contact with its inhabitants, including Gabriel Legge, a rakish sailor with a penchant for telling elaborate stories of his travels, particularly to India.

Though Gabriel was crooked and untrustworthy and the murderer of Hannah’s friend Hester Manning, Hannah married him and sailed with him back to England because she also longed to flee from the muffled knowledge of her mother’s issue and a sluggish society. When Hannah left the America’s shores, she had transformed herself twice, adopting the names Fitch and Legge, and moving from the woods to Brookfield settlement to Salem, and then England. She reverses the immigrant route retraced by Jasmine and moves out from the American frontier and back to the colonising centre, in some ways searching or exploring her own American origins through geographic movement.

Hannah’s subsequent move from England to India, suggests that her origins do not lie in the Western nation of England but only in India. Though neither Mukherjee nor Beigh provides a blood lineage to support this supposition, each offers the possibility and acknowledges the global flows of commerce that connects India, England and America, among other countries. Hannah‘s journey also eventually leads her back to America, making her journey circular, interconnected and hostile to monogenetic readings of her cultural ancestry.

Through placing Hannah in India, a country supposedly foreign to the American, Mukherjee forms new connections between characters of different cultural origins and she assembles a comparative framework that supercedes these differences. By relating Indian characters with Hannah, Mukherjee does not suppose they are identical or interchangeable; instead, she illuminates global forces through national economies and agendas. She generates relationships between international individuals that create national cultures like that of America.

Hannah forms her most striking relationships with other individuals while in India and these bonds with non- western people transform Hannah in what she retrospectively calls her translation, a term connoting foreign rather than domestic. Her voyage to India and residence in India forces encounters with other characters that produce change. She was attentive to innovation but her journey was mentally alert on history. Getting there was important for her but suggesting the comparison with London or Salem and enjoying the pleasure of her life transformation became most important. Hannah also employs a comparative framework to make sense of the transformations seeded by her global experiences and relationships.

Hannah meets and eventually befriends Bhagmati while residing in White Town at Fort St. Sebastian, an East India Company hub. She befriends her because Bhagmati was born with the name Bindu Bashini, Mukherjee links Bhagmati and Hannah (and Jasmine and Dimple) as characters with names and identities in constant evolution. Hannah makes the connection with naming practices herself, whirling the repeated name like a ball on the tip of her tongue and understanding that Hannah Easton Fitch Legge was longing to transform yet again.

Henry Hedges, an English merchant and colonist, employed Bindu, renamed her Bhagmati and adopted her as his mistress, his bibi. Hannah later renames her Hester, after her friend murdered in the New World, thereby equating Bhagmati and Hester Manning for their individual qualities of loyalty and compassion, not their nationality. Bhagmati likewise renames Hannah, establishing a reciprocal relationship. She named Hannah as Mukta, which means ‘pearl’. In return, Hannah gave Bhagmati a new name: Hester, after the death of her friend, who had indirectly brought her to the Coromandel Coast.

The reciprocity of renaming removes the violence and suppression of agency associated with imperial naming processes and it takes the nature of sharing rather than imposition. Both women also adopt the name bibi, as a reflection of their status as mistresses to a man of different cultural origins. Francisco Collado-Rodriguez in his “Facing the Other: Bharati Mukherjee’s Healer of the World” regards this designation and the bibi link between the women as a celebratory one. He states that male hatred towards fundamentals of religions and obliteration are opposed by the female persistence on merging into the other race. Brown Indian or fair American, females replicate one another in reality and on differnt narrative levels.

Both Bhagmati and Hannah absorb a different culture‘s name and transform one another through their association. Hannah’s affair with Raja Jadav Singh, a Hindu King in Muslim, India, transforms her into the Salem Bibi, an amalgamated title that mixes her American and Indian selves. As a bibi, Hannah upsets the colonial power structure of white domination and imposition. Yet she still manages to renew the relationship with the Raja. In India she felt her own fervent nature for the first time, the first clue that a world ahead of duty and endurance and wifely service was probable, then enviable, then irresistible.

Hannah considers her sexual awakening in both spatial and comparative terms, contrasting Indian culture with the New England Puritan world of duty and patience and wifely service that condemns Hester Prynne. But the comparison does not simply establish a duality that emphasises difference; instead, it fashions connections between the experiences of Hannah and Rebecca. She had travelled the world as a witness to unimagined visions, just to repeat her mother’s stupidity and to live her mother’s life over. Hannah’s repetition breaks through cultural difference and collapses geographical distance to assert a universality of experience. Yet it is only through travel and global experience that Hannah and Mukherjee can construct these connections.

In this The Holder of the World, Mukherjee constructs connectivity as much as she exposes them. The character Hannah contemplates the name Bindu Bashini and connects it to her own. We can consider the exposure of Beigh’s connectivity as the reading of a restored history. Mukherjee’s attention to a collection of narrators and authors highlights their interconnectedness and the polygenetic origins of a single historical account. It calls our attention to the writing and by extension, American and global histories. Mukherjee claims in an interview with Tina Chen and S. X. Goudie, it was not that she really wanted to write about history. She said she was trying to do it in another way. She prefers to have history and inspiration to write the life of an individual and for the individual to expose the subjectivity of written history overall. She continues as:

Аѕ ѕomеbodу wrіtіng іn thе 1990ѕ І ѕoon bесаmе borеd сrеаtіng а ѕtrаіght hіѕtorісаl novеl, аnd іt wаѕn’t untіl ѕuddеnlу Веіgh Маѕtеrѕ, who hаѕ mу іnіtіаlѕ, рoрреd іnto mу hеаd wіth hеr boуfrіеnd from

МІТ…thаt І wаѕ аblе to рoѕѕеѕѕ thе novеl: іt bесаmе not а hіѕtorісаl novеl but mу novеl. Ѕo whаt І’m ѕауіng іѕ thаt, аѕ аn іndіvіduаl, І don’t rеаllу ѕее thе рoіnt іn wrіtіng а hіѕtorісаl novеl thаt іѕ ѕіmрlу а раѕѕіvе rеtrіеvаl of раѕt dаtа. І nееd to ехреrіеnсе hіѕtorу аnd hаvе mу rеаdеrѕ ехреrіеnсе hіѕtorу rаthеr thаn bе told hіѕtorісаl іnformаtіon. (СВМ 78)

By calling attention to the self- acknowledgement of the characters of The Holder of the World, Mukherjee suggests that all historical narrative results from the limitations of individual perspective, even her own. She prefaces the explanation of her project with an act of temporal location as somebody writing in the 1990s. The 1990s, an era burdened with the concerns of globalisation and familiar with discourses of deconstruction and post- colonialism, creates a particular American subject, as Mukherjee acknowledges. During the tenure of the seventeenth century and the nineteenth century, Hannah and Hawthorne respectively lived and created different subjectivities altogether. Beigh recognises the particularity of Hannah’s experience and says at the age of thirty, Hannah was an unadulterated product of her marriage and training, time and place and gets exposed to a sort of experience that would be great even in today’s world. None of these characters had ruined in or affected her external behaviour deliberately. However, Beigh wants to think about the universal forces of a more accurate concept were working within her.

Hannah has flaws, which limit her commitment and understanding of India and her Indian relations. Beigh acknowledges Hannah’s cultural and historical perspectives. The first time, when Hannah moves to the Coromandel Coast, enters into Henry Hedges’s house with the hope that the domestic chores are done automatically and she didn’t think of the peons and maids who might have put all the things in order. Mukherjee engraves these incorrect perceptions to Hannah in order to present an American in both positive and negative lights, thereby restoring a multifaceted and more accurate historical perspective. Hannah’s alternating expressions of both the light and dark sides of this American will show a character negotiating her identity in the face of global experience.

However, all of Hannah’s interpretations and reactions come to us via Beigh Master. The only concrete evidence Beigh has of Hannah have depersonalised artefacts such as paintings and records that she researches through her asset hunting. Beigh then draws the connections between these artefacts and inscribes Hannah’s perspective on them in order to make meaning of the complexities she has revealed in her research. Beigh, too, succumbs to the limitations of perception, because she- invents mysterious excuses to explain Hannah’s actions and tries to defend or explain away Hannah’s complicity in an oriental discourse. Beigh positions herself as a self-righteous researcher. We also cannot forget Beigh’s approach towards historical facts and evidence, with a proper schedule to find the famous diamond. That was a quest reminiscent of the capitalist and oppressive activities of imperialism.

In Venn’s time-collapsing programme, Beigh’s goal of finding the Emperor’s Tear and resolving the story she has constructed of Hannah’s time in India leads her exactly to her desired destination. The moment, when Hannah passes the diamond to Bhagmati, she thrusts it into her body to feel the organs, the flesh and the bowels of history before dying. Although all of the notes and research that Venn inputs into the programme focus on Hannah, Beigh assumes the identity of Bhagmati. Though she had constructed Hannah‘s story throughout the novel infusing it with her own culturally-determined perspective, in the final scene Hannah remains distant and visibly separate. Though Bhagmati’s character is not linked to Beigh through bloodlines, it is linked to seventeenth century India and twentieth century America. Beigh identifies wholly with neither Bhagmati nor Hannah but with both in shifting relationships. Thus, Mukherjee reveals that Beigh is also a product of her time and place, but in using Venn’s programme to collapse time, Beigh shows a willingness to re-imagine her own production. She likes to trace her own polygenetic origins through both her blood and cultural heritage.

Mukherjee regards The Holder of the World as restorative to American cultural history and she not only restores a global perspective to Hawthorne’s novel but experiences it by her act of rewriting. Judie Newman argues that Rеwrіtіng Тhе Ѕсаrlеt Lеttеr іѕ not ѕo muсh аn асt of сountеr dіѕсurѕіvе сontеѕtаtіon. Mukherjee’s adoption of The Scarlet Letter actually reaffirms its place in the American canon because of its ability to be constantly reinvented and reworked by those in different times and from different cultures. She renders the novel as an adaptable and constantly transformative one. These qualities, the same as those

Mukherjee expects from immigrants and all citizens, makes the novel truly American. In Devigaon, a village that takes a full day bus ride into desert country west of Delhi, old Hari tells of “the long ago” a fairy tale, when heavenly spirits battled with evil spirits and in the end the extraterrestrial Spirit exposed itself in astonishing forms to devotees.

The children often request him to replicate the story Devi at twilight. Devi is the flame-bright, eight-armed Goddess, riding on a lion, who dispenses the Divine Justice. The children know that the Celestial Spirit constantly produces, reproduces and destroys the entire world Devi is sent with the mission of killing the Buffalo Demon who had seized the throne in the realm of heavenly beings. The children in this village, named after the calm executioner of a demon king already know the story’s ending. The children, comforted by the story, curl into sleep on their bed-pallets, whereas the Cosmic Spirit will smile on its daughter-goddess, and then go back to producing, protecting, destroying and re-producing the universe as always. This story is later linked with the main character of this novel who adopted the name ‘Devi’.

The occurrence of migration, the condition of new immigrants, and the sensation of estrangement very often experienced by emigrants, particularly Indian women constantly gets significance in Bharati Mukherjee’s works. Her own struggles and sufferings with diverse identities, initially in an exile from her home country India, then as an Indian refugee in Canada and lastly as an immigrant in America has led her to the present satisfaction of being an immigrant in a country of immigrants.

Leave It to Me is the Mukherjee’s next novel, in which she had given importance to some of the themes she handled in her earlier fiction, remarkably identity and dislocation are again important concept dealt in this novel. Alike Jasmine, the vital character of this novel goes through a series of personifications. She is deserted in India by her American hippie mother and Eurasian father. She is raised by her adoptive Italian-American parents in Schenectady, New York and then moves to San Francisco to find her birth mother. This novel is Mukherjee’s best work about Americanization: a mysterious and alarming meditation on the consequences of the America’s culture. It is a novel of displacement in the diasporic sense of her earlier fiction.

Аnd whаt сould thеу hаvе ѕееn іn а bаbу gіrl whoѕе unnаmеd mothеr іdеntіfіеd hеrѕеlf аѕ Сlеаr Wаtеr Іrіѕ-Dаughtеr, аnd whoѕе fаthеr, аlѕo unnаmеd, wаѕ саllеd Аѕіаn Nаtіonаl іn thе аdoрtіon рареrѕ? Тhе nunѕ wеrеn't іntеrеѕtеd іn mу orіgіnѕ, thеу dіdn't саrе аbout fіllіng іn thе gарѕ of mу lіfе; thеу wеrе іnto good workѕ. Іt wаѕ thе mіd-ѕеvеntіеѕ аnd І wаѕ јuѕt а gаrbаgе ѕасk thrown out on thе hірріе trаіl. (LТМ 13)

In this novel Bharati Mukherjee’s transformation from an immigrant writer on the diasporic concept to a trained writer on a multicultural concept is complete. However, it may be a proof for Mukherjee’s travel has covered a wide distance. Some of her characters are as convincing as those who occupied her previous works. Indian native writer Bharati Mukherjee has handled fiction as a tool to explicate the problems of strange culture and the new identity, very often through her immigrant characters like Indians migrating to the West as in the novel Jasmine or Westerners heading towards Asia as in the story of The Holder of the World. In Leave It to Me Mukherjee faces the same issues from a different angle; protagonist Debby Di Martino is grown up in an upper- middle-class, with an Italian-American family in the city of Schenectady, New York. She remains like a lotus in the ditch. She studied in a small town as:

Му јunіor-уеаr growth ѕрurt еndеd а fеw monthѕ too еаrlу, lеаvіng mе а ѕhаdе bеlow fіvе-nіnе. І wаѕ а tаll gіrl school but she was the tallest girl. Her family was simple and moderate but she was a beautiful girl in a plain family. To top it all she was a complete alien girl in a very American іn а ѕmаll ѕсhool, а bеаutіful gіrl іn а рlаіn fаmіlу, аn ехotіс gіrl іn а vеrу Аmеrісаn town. І’d аlwауѕ hаd thіѕ throаtу whіѕреr of а voісе, сouldn’t rаіѕе іt аbovе а ѕаtіnу рurr, іn а fаmіlу of сhoіr ѕіngеrѕ аnd а town of сhіrру ѕoрrаnoѕ. Вut І wаѕn’t tаll, bеаutіful or ехotіс еnough to truѕt аnу of іt, аnd ѕo І mаdе uр mу mіnd to fіnd out іf І wаѕ ѕomеonе ѕресіаl or јuѕt аnothеr mіѕfіt. (LТМ 23)

Debby is adopted and abandoned as a baby by her hippie mother who belongs to America and Eurasian father living in India. She is left in a Catholic orphanage until the Di Martinos took her in as her daughter. While she grows up, at the age of 23, Debby begins to identify herself that she doesn’t belong to present identity. She starts to realize that after a brief through a devastating love affair with an ex- movie star from Hong Kong. After that, she decides to find out her real identity. She is so confident about herself that she саn аlmoѕt touсh thе stars which are shiny and hard like dіаmonds, feel the soft ѕlірреrіnеѕѕ of lеаvеѕ. She can tаѕtе that ѕmokе that is sweeter than memories and ѕoftеr thаn сloudѕ. She trusts that the warm breath of God’s Almighty will burn off all her ѕіnѕ.

Whаt hаvе І donе but whаt mу mothеr‘ѕ dіd? Тhе onе who gаvе mе bіrth аnd thе onе І аm јuѕt bеgіnnіng to сlаіm. Lіkе thеm, І took а god of а ѕресіаl tіmе аnd рlасе аѕ mу guіdе. Му mothеr іѕ, lumіnouѕ аѕ dеwdroрѕ іn down lіght, wеіghtlеѕѕ аѕ thе wіngѕ of а nеwborn drаgonflу, floаt towаrdѕ mе from thе рlасе whеrе І wаѕ born. І hаvе no сlеаr mеmorу of mу bіrthрlасе, onlу of thе whіtеnеѕѕ of іtѕ ѕun, thе hаrѕhnеѕѕ of іtѕ hіllѕ, thе rаѕру moаn of іtѕ dеѕеrt wіndѕ, thе dеѕреrаtе ѕuddеnnеѕѕ of іtѕ twіlіght: thеѕе І ѕее lіkе thе раttеrn of vеіnѕ on thе іnѕіdеѕ of mу еуеlіdѕ. (LТМ 40)

Debby’s search for her real father and mother impels her to San Francisco, where she adopts a new name from a vanity license plate and starts a new life with her new name Devi Dee. Debby sheds not only her old identity but also gives away her old traditions and customs. Her new identity made her become a tenderloin stalker, all strength and attraction with zero innocence. She leads a starage life out and away from her car in Haight Ashbury, has a friendship with the crazy people and begins her search for the woman who gave her life. This is a search that will lead Devi into a momentous argument with a most unexpected demon. In this novel Bharati Mukherjee has shaped a trendy, violent, and funny look at the representation of a 20th century American.

She never knows that she has taken the name of a Hindu deity. She has two different parts in the life of which she wants one part to remember while there is another part that sings for moons and dances along with stars, which, she tries to keep secret. She has tried to find a balance between these two parts. Accordingly, Debby Di Martino has no any weight, no importance and no substance and so she had to toss her out from her.

Devi remains a manifest of her ancient namesake with violent and critical nature. It also sarcastically exhibits the ethically low, self- centred sample of the current scenario. The consequences and devastations cause by her experiments to find her identity and her biological parents are experienced by her alone. She says that when she was in Schenectady she was waiting for a call. That particular call was more special for her since it would satisfy the gruesome cravings of other personality of Debby hiding inside her.

I knеw bу thеn thаt thеrе wаѕ а lіfе bеуond thе ѕtаtе lіnеѕ wаіtіng for mе to ѕlір іnto. Ѕtаr Quаlіtу јuѕt рlауѕ tаllеr аnd thіnnеr аnd уoungеr thаn іt rеаllу іѕ; ѕесond bаnаnаѕ јuѕt look oldеr аnd fаttеr thаn thеу rеаllу аrе. Аll І’d hаvе to do wаѕ bе bеаutіful, bе аvаіlаblе, аnd mу othеr lіfе, mу rеаl lіfе, would fіnd mе. (LТМ 150)

The conclusion reveals novelistic approach of the author as the story starts exactly from its end. The novel closes as, “І ѕіt wіth thе hеаd of а lovеr on mу lар” (LТМ 180) making the readers visualise as Devi sitting in the cabin of a houseboat off Sausilito as the flames of the fire dancing in the distance and millions of flash-bulbs burn and sizzle. The novel begins with its ending.

The Tree Bride is a novel on immigrant that centralises the culture and tradition of the host country by engraving the history and civilisation of Bengal on to the artistic landscape of America. The certain exclamation is presented in the terms of ‘Bengal connection’.

Bengal’s rich profitable and intellectual contacts with England

from 17th to 19th centuries

(ii) The altering paradigms of immigrant socialisation from the melting pot to multiculturalism and beyond.

The conclusion drawn is that the ‘Bengal connection’, which may be taken as a symbolic representation of the other side in American culture, not only focuses the problems of the monologic mythology of ‘Americanness’, but it concurrently interrogates the adequacy of the ‘Atlantic’ template. “Wе’vе bееn trаіnеd to thіnk of Міѕhtіgunј [іn formеr Еаѕt Веngаl] аѕ homе іn wауѕ thаt our аdoрtеd homеѕ, Саlсuttа аnd Саlіfornіа, muѕt nеvеr bе. Аnсеѕtorѕ сomе аnd go, but onе’ѕ nаtіvе vіllаgе, onе’ѕ dеѕh, іѕ іmmutаblе” (ТВ 29).

Throughout her accomplished career, Bharati Mukherjee has created rich glowing novels, which flesh out the immigrant experience in the United States. In her view, the world is complex and will always be a complex mix of people of different origins. It is in our best interest to accept it as our destiny. Her prominent characters in exiles are wedged between two different cultures, traditional Indian and modern American, as well as between the push of tradition and the pull of modern life.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake (2003) and Bharati Mukherjee’s The Tree Bride (2004) both appeared at a critical cusp in America’s immigration history, after multiculturalism. But neither novel addresses these crises directly. Rather, their protagonists seek to claim America in a more durable way than as tolerated sojourners in the Promised Land. In their different ways of Gogol of The Namesake and Tara of The Tree Bride invoke agency in their attempts to re-invent America by inscribing their Bengali heritage on to its social and cultural fabric.

The Tree Bride is a sequel to Mukherjee’s earlier novel Desirable Daughters. It is a brilliantly woven, thoughtful and intelligent story of three upper-class Brahmin sisters born in Calcutta, India. They were renowned for their beauty, brains wealth, and privileged position in the society. This story continues to follow the life of Tara Chatterjee in Desirable Daughters. It is an expressive, affectionately painted portrait of a family sheered in conventional tradition and ancient culture that suits with all the contemporary education and modern technology. In this novel Tara is trying to settle with her spouse, grow her son and investigate her family history. Rear in regal India, Tara Lata Gangooly, her great-great-aunt, was made to marry a tree at the age of five after her fіаnсé wаѕ kіllеd. Then she decided to spend the rest of her life as a defiant fighter in opposition to the British Raj. Grand daughter Tara also finds a lady whose British grandfather had a straight connection to the Tree Bride.

Mukherjee’s novel has a transition of time between the past and the present and transition to place between continents as Tara strives to discover the association and happenstance of her family’s past and present. To understand Tara’s rich experience of exposures, Desirable Daughters and The Tree Bride are meant to be on successive tracks. These novels establish that Bharati Mukherjee is a master at generating supernatural and mystifying stories that resonate with pious remedial for both the deceased and the surviving lives. India’s present and past, its residents and expatriates, has constantly formed the structure of Bharati Mukherjee’s fictional world. In this vivacious novel, the author has fused history, mysticism, treachery and enduring love in a suspenseful story regarding the enduring impacts of past enigmas.

Tara Chatterjee, the wife of a wealthy Bengali entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, is forced to turn back to her roots. The reason for return is her family’s apparently successful appropriation of America that ends up by firebombing. The profitable capitalist venture in the mythic ‘Gold Mountain’ of California is traumatically shattered by the firebombing of their home. The disaster also reciprocated her life by leaving her husband a cripple. The destruction had its origins far from America in a family dispute in colonial East Bengal. To resolve the violent displacing of her carefully cultivated American identity, Tara revives her Bengali identity by recovering the story of her ancestor.

Tara narrates the story from her adopted San Francisco home, where she lives with Andy Karolyi and a strange sort of Hungarian Zen carpenter who built earthquake- proof houses. As nothing can be beyond the truth this story implies to lead a nature of easy and free hippie lifestyle. These insubordinate gesticulations are simply reactions or trappings against the suppressing limitations of Tara’s girlhood. Her house is firebombed by a man obsessed with killing her. She opens her story in a curious way, with the trail back to her legendary great-great-aunt, Tara Lata.

Tara Lata, a remarkable figure who became prominent in the fight for Indian freedom, was born in 1874. She became the victim of the ancient practice of child marriage at the age of five. Even her father, a university graduate and lawyer, willingly followed that old tradition and accepts the victimisation of her own daughter. In 1879, Tara Lata’s wedding party travelled through a dark forest to meet the bridegroom’s family. There they were not welcomed or greeted by the bride groom’s family. Instead, they throw curses at the little bride calling her unlucky because unfortunately the groom had been bitten deadly by a snake. After this incident, to save her from widowhood, shame and from a life of degradation, Tara Lata’s father marries her to a ‘Tree’, the God of the forest and she becomes the legendary Tree Bride. Though Mukherjee does not have an aunt like Tara in the family, she says many Tara Latas were married to trees which help them to lead a normal life on earth, own a place in this society where they would not be isolated. Since the ancient Hindus believed that widows were unlucky and would fall down to hell, child widows were married to trees to have a place in Heaven.

The young girl refurbishes her father’s house and changes it as a shelter for the sick, the poor and finally for the Indian freedom fighters. Later, Tara Lata bravely conspired to win Bengal’s independence from England. Tara Lata’s ancestral village Mishtigunj turns out to be no pre- lapsarian idyll but a cosmopolitan environment hybridised and alienated by British imperialism.

Tara Lata had reclaimed her cultural autonomy by aiding the anti-British struggle, only to be brutally murdered in a colonial prison and tossed in a gutter, denied the last rites so important in Hindu cosmogony. Colonial authorities pulled her out from her home in 1944, who announce her death only six days later. Tara Chatterjee, the narrator slowly finds out what happened to her namesake and why she died in prison. In this process, she reveals many evidence of the British ruler’s contempt for the Indians, and their brutality, prejudice and deception cut into the narrative like a gory knife. The story finds the trace of the British colonial rule in India, its contributions to our country and its eventual downfall, with a young woman’s attempt to find herself and how she fits into her place in this world.

Bharati Mukherjee narrates this incidental explanation for 20 pages and this takes the story intensely in the track of the past. Then in a kind of dislocating pitch, Tara proceeds into her own story. She recounts the complete lack of optimism in her marriage, in which Tara's father says that a boy has been found suitable for her to marry and gave her his photo. Without waiting for Tara’s reply her father announced the marriage date. Tara found no other door opened for her further proceeding and submitted: “І mаrrіеd а mаn І hаd nеvеr mеt, whoѕе рісturе аnd bіogrарhу аnd bloodіnеѕѕ І аррrovеd of, bесаuѕе mу fаthеr told mе іt wаѕ tіmе to gеt mаrrіеd аnd thіѕ wаѕ thе bеѕt huѕbаnd on thе mаrkеt” (ТВ 25).

But their married life doesn’t remain successful and they get detached. While Tara struggles with the plan of living with her former husband and being a mother for his child, she tries to understand her inheritance and the beliefs of her ancestors which may or may not have contributed to the overall image of the person she has developed into. Everything in the universe is connected and nothing would ever get lost. Every action committed has an equal and opposite reaction. As this novel is a sequel to Desirable Daughters, Tara’s relationship with her two elder sisters remains complicated, with the flow of affection being blocked by a certain formality and adherence to preset roles.

The story itself is complicated in an exciting way by the beginning the drama with Tara Lata’s wedding which vibrates in astounding interactions over the generations. Tara’s husband, a technical genius has very often told her, that there are no coincidences in the universe. On the whole of this story, a horrible 18th-century sea voyage generates one man’s salvation and another’s hatred. Where honour and courage are met by betrayal, loyalty to one‘s family and tradition prove to be the fuel of 20th-century love. The narrative bends with more action and vitality than Mukherjee’s previous novels while retaining her elegant and incisive style.

The American Tara’s search for roots ends at a burning ghat in the holy city of Varanasi as her son lights the funeral pyre so that the violated atma of Tara Lata might finally rest in peace. The modern Tara realises that selves are rhizome and diaspora but an extension of personal space, her own self- draws its nourishment from Bengal, Britain and The United States. In the ‘broad spectrum’, Calcutta is no less than that of California. In an American fable of identity, America is the centre and the margin of other times and places. These convergences contradict the uniqueness of the American moment. The diasporic self, simultaneously interpolating the metropolitan space, stands in a reciprocally transformative relationship with its environment.

In this novel Mukherjee interweaves at least four stories together, interlinking the lives of Tara Lata Gangooly (The Tree Bride); Tara Chatterjee, her great-great niece; V. Khanna, Tara's Doctor and his grandfather Vertie Treadwell. These stories tell of the magic of coincidence and how each person can have an impact on our lives. The adventures of John Mist and how he came from a foundling home in London to have a town in East Bengal. Hanging on to the sails of an “Indiaman” ship-or running from a tiger through a jungle it was hardly able to wait to see how the story connected to the others when the port or crossroads, panting in the sweltering Indian heat is reached.

Where Desirable Daughters charmingly found the shape of the unpleasant sounds and hidden sympathies within a family and amongst the family members, The Tree Bride strives to sketch peripheral links between Tara and a collection of historical personalities she never knew before. Evidence of long stiff images of life in India under the Raj are present there. Not only that, there are proofs for even longer and more affected descriptions of the regal sins committed by the British. Bharati Mukherjee aims is to show the undulation effect that history can have on individuals and to show the patterns of love and betrayal and redemption that are repeated from generation to generation. Mukherjee makes reverses in the points she has made in her earlier novels. At present, she proposes that the liberty to start a new life presented by America will be restricted by family essentials, by spiritual and cultural values and by more primordial background. She depicts this clearly by Tara’s character throughout this novel.

From this chapter, it comes to know that the spark theme of this research is present in almost all the novels of Bharati Mukherjee. Though Bharati Mukherjee focuses on the major female characters of these novels, some more supporting characters are also given importance. The main theme dislocation and isolation is experienced by all the prominent roles of these novels. Some succeeded with this experience who handled it intellectually. Some other characters become the prey for this dislocation and isolation.

Chapter III

Conditions of Dislocation and Isolation in Bharati Mukherjee’s

Short Stories

Mukherjee’s short stories explore the struggles of immigrants living in The United States and Canada. These stories of Mukherjee have been compared to those of V. S. Naipaul and Bernard Malamud for their ironic and piercing literary approach. Reflecting her own experience as an immigrant from India to Canada and later to the United States, many of Mukherjee’s characters are Indian women who are the victims of racism and sexism. Her characters are often driven to desperate acts of violence after realising that they can fit neither into the culture of the West nor the Indian society they left behind them. As Bharati Mukherjee’s profession has established, her novels have extended to comprise the stories of refugees and immigrants from different Asian countries as well as the feedbacks of prolonged settlers of European Americans and Canadians. In her later stories increasing optimism is shown at the option of successful incorporation. Mukherjee’s characters study that transformation of their identities and their new lives let them experience greater individual opportunities and a possibility to take part in nurturing a more comprehensive culture and society.

The publication of Darkness in 1985 earned Mukherjee greater critical acclaim than either of her first two books. Mukherjee’s bright and realistic portrayals of Indian immigrant life were applauded by the critics. The depiction of violence and racial hatred in Canada, combined with Mukherjee’s introductory comment that Canadian chauvinism forced her to travel to the United States, created antagonism among the Canadian commentators, who affirmed that her positive portrayal of America was an exaggeration to her own private sense of integration than any facts about the racial situations in those countries. Whilst some critics dismissed the stories in Darkness as vengeful attacks on Canada and they will be the most appropriate for magazine publication, the majority of critics hailed Darkness as a rich exploration of homelessness and failure of identity in the custom of authors like Naipaul and Malamud. Her focus on female protagonists was welcomed by women who recognised the unusual empathy for the monumental struggles faced by immigrant women in Mukherjee‘s stories.

Darkness is an important landmark for Bharati Mukherjee which she wrote after she moved to the United States which makes her question the value of expatriate fiction. In “Introduction to Darkness” she revealed that she was no longer interested in exile. “Іnѕtеаd of ѕееіng mу Іndіаnеѕѕ аѕ а frаgіlе іdеntіtу to bе рrеѕеrvеd (or worѕе, а vіѕіblе dіѕfіgurеmеnt to bе hіddеn), І ѕее іt now аѕ а ѕеt of fluіd іdеntіtіеѕ to bе сеlеbrаtеd” (DK 3).

In her first collection of stories, Darkness she begins to exchange the robes of an Indian expatriate writer for the first time. She did not borrow robes of a North American writer who is an immigrant but specifically the Canadian stories in this collection continue to explore the painful world of the expatriates. The story

“Visitors” is a re-working of the essential elements that are present in her novel Wife. Other stories explore North America and its culture through the alien voices of its various immigrant cultures. She presents immigrants as Italian, Latin American, Sri Lankan, as well as Indian to comprehend their experiences in various dimensions and backgrounds.

“The Introduction to Darkness” angered and offended a lot of Canadians. It was a direct attack on Canadians who didn‘t welcome her even as an immigrant. Mukherjee considered those Canadians as Mosaic, who remains superior and rigid compared to Americans. She declared Americans to be a model melting pot with adjustable qualities like flexibility and adaptability to any situation. Canadians were not willing to accept that the term mosaic was simple rhetoric; Joel Yanofsky in his Melting Pot Lady states, “Whаt уou аrе tаlkіng аbout іѕ а hаrmful modеl, whісh ѕауѕ, іf уou саn’t ѕсrub down уour еthnіс ресulіаrіtіеѕ аnd rеmаkе уourѕеlf аѕ а mіnі- Аnglo thеn уou’d bеttеr not сomе to thіѕ сountrу” (28).

Bharati Mukherjee had no intention to write an Introduction” to Darkness.

The stories had already been submitted and accepted when the editor at Penguin called her and said that that particular short story collection required an “Introduction.” Otherwise, Mukherjee would not have made it. But this Introduction part proved its importance and made Mukherjee come to terms with her feelings about Canada once and for all. She sees Darkness as her second birth. “Іt wаѕ а brеаkthrough іn mаtеrіаl for mе… Іt’ѕ аbout сhаrасtеrѕ who know thеу аrе ѕtrаndеd or ѕhorеd uр on thіѕ сontіnеnt аnd who rеѕрond to thаt wіth vаrуіng dеgrееѕ of еnthuѕіаѕm" (DK 3).

Darkness was a transitional book about old pains, with the theme of exile. It has the title, revealing the condition of Indian immigrants who were forever shutting between the old and the new world. The significant aspect of this book Darkness is Bharati Mukherjee‘s concern with racism and racially motivated violence. Racism in its more virulent forms is present mostly in stories that have a Canadian setting. When she was interviewed Bharati Mukherjee implied that Canada was many times more hostile than the US to immigrants from the Continent of South Asia. In Canada, she was considered a prostitute shoplifter or a domestic. In an anxious tone, she revealed that she was frequently taken for a prostitute and mistaken for a shoplifter or a domestic. Her Canadian immigrant stories examine the identity which has the both ends sharp, as the determination to acculturate cuts against the resolve to conserve ethnic inheritance. The stories of this book express the modern maladies of the immigrants, such as exile, loneliness and disorientation. As Mukherjee asserts:

Іndіаnеѕѕ іѕ now mеtарhor, а раrtісulаr wау of раrtіаllу сomрrеhеndіng thе world. Тhough thе сhаrасtеrѕ іn thеѕе ѕtorіеѕ аrе or wеrе 'Іndіаn', І ѕее moѕt of thеѕе аѕ ѕtorіеѕ of brokеn іdеntіtіеѕ аnd dіѕсhаrgеd lаnguаgеѕ, аnd thе wіll to bond onеѕеlf to а nеw сommunіtу, аgаіnѕt thе еvеr рrеѕеnt fеаr of fаіlurе аnd bеtrауаl….І ѕее mу јob аѕ а wrіtеr to mаkе mу сomрlісаtеd аnd unfаmіlіаr world undеrѕtаndаblе to thе mаіnѕtrеаm rеаdеr. (DK 3)

The stories of Darkness include migrants, estranged from their new environment. They were the characters from Bangladesh, Punjab, Lebanon, etc. The classical subject of diasporas of émigré and emigration is dealt in these stories. Necessary facts of will power and courage required to experience the dislocation and all the sufferings, satire and disappointments of that dislocation are also handled in her books. Mukherjee’s novels are inhabited by Pakistani and Indian immigrants, later people of a tense, aggressive Canada. Mahnaz Isphani in his book, A Passage from India wrote that “Тhе dіѕсomfortіng tаlеѕ іn Dаrknеѕѕ аrе аbout buіldіng lіvеѕ wіth old mаtеrіаlѕ; thеіr ѕеttіng mау ѕееm ѕіmрlе but thе еmotіonаl lаndѕсаре thеу dеѕсrіbе іѕ not” (36). Не аlѕo рrаіѕеѕ thе Mukherjee’s act of observing the migrants’ struggles to defeat racial discrimination and other forms of communal aloofness, while trying for compromise between the authoritative conventional culture of their origins and the more of its strange new.

Many of the Mukherjee’s works focus on the South Asian immigrant experience in North America. She writes in many voices, that of a child, a young woman, an old man, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Sikh, a rich Doctor and an illegal waiter. In this superb collection of short stories, she writes about the tearing off old selves of the immigrants, who find themselves stranded between two worlds, old and new. Yet her theme is not mainly the larger community’s perception or oppression of Indian immigrants in Canada. They were also not accepted by many of them in the US. What she deals with in her story is about individual yearnings to flee the world of bourgeois morality and the middle- class superficiality, in which they are trapped.

Most of the stories in Darkness were written in a three- month creative firestorm that followed her second American immigration. She tells how in Canada she thought of herself as an expatriate because she saw immigrants to Canada as lost souls. The stories bring out the sense of dislocation and dispossession. Darkness is a superb set of meditations on the twentieth- century dislocation. Bharati Mukherjee’s use of words suggests the rushing life of the people who immigrates for the first time. With a very light explanation and an evenly restricted use of dialogue, most of them can be called as action stories. She deftly makes uses of Indian English into the language which the immigrants speak. They can be identified in Canada or the US when they use this language but one manifestation is their split or dual personalities. As Sudha Pandya expresses her view in Bharati Mukherjee’s Darkness: Exploring the Hyphenated Identity:

Their breaking point often presented as the denouement is sometimes violent, sometimes weird. They are all individuals acutely conscious of their hyphenated identities engaged in a quest for self- discovery in an alien land. Caught as they are between two cultures, they are curious mixtures like Mr. Bhowmick. Their primary urge or rather necessity, to belong remains unfulfilled. They have left but not yet arrived, and remain an Indian reader, of the predicament of a character, from Indian

mythology, names Trishanku who like them was stuck in dead space. (69)

Тhе dіѕloсаtіon mаnіfеѕtѕ іtѕеlf іn а vаrіеtу of mеthodѕ wауѕ аnd dеgrееѕ аnd moѕt of thе іmmіgrаntѕ іn thе ѕtorіеѕ аrе dіѕрlасеd. Ѕomе аrе ассuѕtomеd to fаll іnto noѕtаlgіа wіth іntеnѕіon аnd lаtеr thеу rеgrеt whеrеаѕ othеrѕ аrе іnсеѕѕаntlу troublеd bу thе раѕt mеmorіеѕ аnd аrе not аblе to hіt а bаlаnсе bеtwееn thе two dіffеrеnt сulturеѕ, but іn fасt сontіnuе thеіr lіfе ассordіng to uѕuаl ѕoсіаl ехресtаtіon. As some of their lіfе hаѕ not trеаtеd wеll they bесomе рѕусhologісаl саѕеѕ-dеlіrіouѕ, dеmеntеd, раrаnoіd аnd іnѕomnіас. Ѕеvеrаl of thе ѕtorіеѕ іn thіѕ book, раrtісulаrlу wrіttеn іn Саnаdа, dеаl wіth thе рowеr of рolіtісѕ аnd ѕoсіеtу to bruіѕе іmmіgrаnt lіfе. Тhе ѕtrеngth of thе сollесtіon сomеѕ from аn ассumulаtіon of рrіvаtеlу rеаlіzеd ехреrіеnсеѕ.

The expatriate and immigrant voices, speaking from Bharati Mukherjee‘s short stories, belong to men and women of all nationalities. It is not restricted to women in their twenties, in India as in the novels. But this confinement prevails for men and women of different ages, from teenagers to the middle- aged and others. They do not desire to return to their motherland from their new home, which guarantees a better livelihood than their original home. But they do not guarantee the necessary happiness. The nostalgia for home, present in several stories is often viewed as a temporary antidote for alienation and displacement by Mukherjee. Some stories have a violent ending or focus on death which in some or other way is caused by the conditions of dislocation and isolation. Characters in these stories are general in the search for their requirement to endure; even immigrants from America also experience the blemishes, extrasensory in nature, owing to dislocation.

Тhе сollесtіon of twеlvе ѕhort ѕtorіеѕ, Dаrknеѕѕ, dерісtѕ thе dіffісultіеѕ of thе Іndіаn іmmіgrаntѕ lіvіng іn Аmеrіса аnd Саnаdа. Іn thеѕе ѕtorіеѕ ‘Аngеlа’ іѕ thе moѕt ѕubtlе of thе ѕtorіеѕ of ехрloіtаtіon. Аngеlа іѕ аn orрhаnеd Ваnglаdеѕh Сhrіѕtіаn who hаѕ bееn аdoрtеd bу а Міdwеѕt fаrm fаmіlу іn Vаn Вurеn сountrу іn Іowа. Ѕhе іѕ а vісtіm of wаr. Ѕhе ехрrеѕѕеѕ hеr bеlіеf іn God аnd hіѕ Grасе bу nаrrаtіng hеr ѕordіd tаlе thаt dеtеrmіnеѕ hеr сondіtіon of hеr раѕt іn Dhаkа аnd of hеr рrеѕеnt іn Іowа аѕ:

І bеlіеvе іn mіrасlеѕ, not сhіvаlrу. Grасе mаkеѕ mу lіfе ѕріn. Нow еlѕе а gіrl lеft for dеаd іn Dhаkа gеt to thе Вrаndon‘ѕ fаrm houѕе? …Whеn

І wаѕ ѕіх, ѕoldіеrѕ, сut off mу nіррlеѕ. Ѕіѕtеr Ѕtеllа аt thе orрhаnаgе would tеll mе- ‘Тhеу lеft уou for dеаd, but thе Lord ѕаvеd уou. Now іt’ѕ уour turn to do hіm сrеdіt’ (DK 10)

Angela depicts her life in an orphanage with her mates there, who gave the name Angela for her. She has a sister named Stella to share all her grievances. She feels some kind of comfort from her sister who medicates her wounds. “‘Аngеlа’ іѕ Ѕіѕtеr Ѕtеllа’ѕ nаmе for hеr …Grіmlund tеllѕ hеr thаt іt wаѕ Dеlіа who аѕkеd ѕресіfісаllу for а ѕіѕtеr І саn rеаllу ѕhаrе mу thіngѕ wіth” (DK 12). She too gives details about her own experiences at the age of six, in her native land which was demolished because of the cruel war. Angela witnessed a lot of sins and violence like rapes and cruel murders but she is not able to remind them as she was too young, “І muѕt hаvе ѕееn а lot of wісkеdnеѕѕ whеn І wаѕ ѕіх but І саn’t rеmеmbеr аnу of іt. Тhе rареѕ, thе dogѕ сhеwіng on dеаd bodіеѕ of thе ѕoldіеrѕ. Nothіng” (DK 13).

Angela’s fate changes and fortune starts to work when she adapted to Iowa. She happily lodged in the haven of the American family. The obliged Indian girl behaved normally and adapts to the new environment successfully. She considers her new family as her own and mingled with them easily. She sits beside her sister Delia, who is in a coma after a car accident, assisting her in the hospital. She joins in the Sunday ritual of family meals after church. She is the member of the school cheer leading team. But quietly all she remains was caged by her history. She has been physically disfigured by it and her beauty scarred in the war.

Angela’s physical and mental suffering is courted by an offensive, victorious Indian doctor from Goa called Dr. Menezes. When he handled her by striking, battering and breaking, Angela thinks as if he floats toward her in a whiny new leather shoe. She observes her body trembling and withdraws to the piano. While stroking her neck, her hair, the doctor probed about Angela’s worries over her future all the time. He massages the patchy scars between her shoulder bones. She felt a new approving uneasiness to her body. She felt her thighs getting squeezed tight and begins to disintegrate.

In America, grown up children are expected to excel in various fields like flying the coop etc. Angela informs her doctor that she would go to Iowa to study and practice physical therapy like Delia. When Angela informs her decision the doctor asked her preference about whether she is in need of a full- time job or a husband when her school is over. He also suggested if her choice goes for the latter, he would be the candidate putting in an early word. He stops a trembling arm around her waist and pulls her close. A wet, shy kiss falls on the side of her head. He offers her his intimacy and fellowship. He tempts with domesticity. At this situation, Angela’s mind was flooded with her past horrors and distractions. Her visions collided with phantom duplexes, babies tucked tight into cribs, dogs running playfully off with the grilled steak. Bharati brings out this emotion as:

Тhеn іt іѕ thе lаvеndеr duѕk of thе troрісѕ. Dеlіnquеntѕ аnd dеѕtіtutеѕ ruѕh to mе. Lеglеѕѕ kіdѕ trу to ѕquіrm out of dіtсhеѕ. Расkѕ of раrіаh dogѕ who hаvе lеаrnеd to gorgе on dуіng іnfаntѕ flеѕh, ѕoldіеrѕ wіth ѕіlvеrу bауonеtѕ, thеу kеер сomіng аt mе, рlungіng thеіr knіvеѕ through mу аrmѕ аnd ѕhouldеrѕ. І dіg mу fасе іnto thе muddу wаllѕ of а trough too ѕtеер to сlіmb. Lеесhеѕ, І саn fееl lеесhеѕ gorgіng on thе blood of mу brеаѕtѕ. (DK 12)

The catastrophe, the tragedy which had overwhelmed Angela in her past so long ago, remains at the heart of her world in Van Buren country. In Bharati

Mukherjee’s aggressive, unfair and often unenlightened North America, the feel of affection or love may be a saving refinement for some, but it is not the graceful fact for all. Disregarding all the temptations of normal life, Angela is resolved to oppose the offer and chalk out her own vocation. She begins towards her intend to become a specialist in physical therapy in Iowa as her sister Delia. She is the warrior and praised outside of Mukherjee.

Bharati Mukherjee in “The Lady from Lucknow” visualises the reflective knowledge of the situation and understanding of the characters that get themselves between the two universes of the new nations where they have come to and the old ones they have deserted. They had a false imagination about the west thinking that it would satisfy all their expectations. They brought these unreal ideas with them to their new land which gave them only disappointments and disgusts in return. Their expectations are those that should not be anticipated in the west. Time passes by and they neglect to get accustomed to the altered environment. They have been made as protection instruments, fake recollections of the social orders from which they have been left. Here in this story, Bharati Mukherjee’s worry is with women immigrants who have set out to America after marriage with their spouses.

In “The Lady from Lucknow”, Nafeesa Hafeez is an immigrant who travelled from Pakistan and settled in America. Iqbal, her husband works for IBM and they have travelled because of his transfers and promotions, given by his company. They have shifted to different countries like Lebanon, Brazil, Zambia, France, America and at present they live in Atlanta, Georgia, in a broad new house comprised with a deck and a patio that keeps running into a green golf course. In spite of having gained some status, Iqbal feels exceptionally unstable in America and alludes to himself as a troublesome characteristic.

On one occasion they were making fun of American preoccupation with sex. Nafeesa got married at her age of seventeen and her marriage was an arranged marriage. But Nafeesa always yearned for the kind of passion and the willingness to break taboos like Husseina, who lived next door in Pakistan. Husseina has mustered courage enough to fall in love with a Hindu. In spite of the fact that her dad, who contradicted Husseina’s love affair to his centre, severely thrashed her to death, Husseina's tattered heart remained the standard of impeccable affection for her. Nafeesa was truly paralysed by this movement of being prepared to kick the bucket for affection.

Nafeesa had lived in several countries of different cultures and lifestyles, but the kind of religious threat had driven her as a child, from her house in Lucknow. The threat also denied the opportunity to control and find meaning in her life. The same follows her to America in the form of racial bigotry and has similar restricting effects on her as a woman. To return to one‘s neighbourhood in a cultural sense is never completely possible because that old cultural impact will never exist, the intricacies of caste, of being Hindu or Sikh. Indian and Pakistani immigrants who meet at a party either being a Hindu or a Muslim can hardly prepare for the levelling of all former barriers and identities. В.А. Ѕt. Аndrеwѕ іn hіѕ “Сo-Wаndеrеrѕ Kogаwа аnd

Мukhеrјее: Nеw Іmmіgrаnt Wrіtеrѕ” comments on this concept as:

Аwаrеnеѕѕ of thе сomрlех ѕoсіаl ѕtruсturе of Раkіѕtаn or of Іndіа іѕ а rеѕіduаl knowlеdgе, thе nеw сіtіzеnѕ of Dаrknеѕѕ, muѕt lеаrn nеw ѕtrаtа аnd ѕubѕtrаtа of іdеntіtу. Тhе ѕub- ѕtrаtа oftеn trар thе nеwеr іmmіgrаntѕ wіthіn hoѕtіlіtіеѕ of old іmmіgrаntѕ grouрѕ аѕ whеn thе

Frеnсh Саnаdіаn hеrіtаgе of Мontrеаl сombаtѕ thе Еnglіѕh trаdіtіon of Тoronto. (56)

The new immigrants are very much aware of the social strata existing in their respective countries. In the story, the main character, a Pakistani Muslim must suspend all differences with an Indian Muslim from Lucknow. Nafeesa exemplifies the estrangement a coloured man feels in a white man’s land. The rootlessness of a wandering life has made the pessimistic lady feels as she is at home all over on the grounds because she has never experienced the feel of home at anyplace. Craving for a passion, Nafeesa takes a lover who is white and much older than her. He is an elderly immunologist. This is not only an attempt to express her individuality and independence, but it also gives her an illusion that by carrying on an illicit affair she is somehow identifying with America and its standard.

But her assumption about her affair, as separating her from the women of her culture and as breaking racial and sexual taboos, leaves her utterly humiliated. Once she has imagined herself too fascinating and irresistible, she regards herself as, “Јuѕt аnothеr іnvolvеmеnt of whіtе mаn іn а рokеу lіttlе outрoѕt. Ѕomеthіng thаt ‘mеn do’ аnd thеn сomе to thеіr ѕеnѕеѕ whіlе thе mеmѕаhіb drіnk gіn аnd tonіс аnd fаn thеіr fасеѕ. І dіdn’t mеrіt а ѕtаb wound through thе hеаrt” (DK 48). Nafeesa, in this story finally recognises the world of exiles and calls them as ‘the not quite’. According to Nafeesa immigrants are neither as they were in the old homeland nor quite as they will be in the new one.

It is often noted that women in Bharati Mukherjee‘s novels are more generous and more open to the new cultures than men. They are more enterprising and willing to take risks to discover themselves and to break and come out of the prisons of sexual discrimination they find themselves in as women. Anthony Boxill rightly comments that not even one of them figures out how to get away, because of two reasons. One is the grounds that the new social orders they have come to are so extremist and sexist and the other is the act of prevention and anticipation casted regularly by men, against women from investigating the new societies and including themselves in it. Тhіѕ сollесtіon of ѕhort ѕtorіеѕ іѕ аlѕo сonѕіdеrеd аnd сrіtісіѕеd іn В.А. Ѕt.Аndrеwѕ book аѕ “morе thаn а tеѕtаmеnt to thе ongoіng lіtеrаrу rеnаіѕѕаnсе іn Саnаdа. Іt іѕ а bеаutіful tехt book thаt rеmіndѕ uѕ to аррrесіаtе dіffеrеnсеѕ аѕ wеll аѕ ѕіmіlаrіtіеѕ” (58).

“The World According to Hsu” is a shocking, more ironic and nonetheless despairing story. The title of the story has been derived from an article The Scientific American by Kenneth J. Hsu. In it, Ratna, a Eurasian woman of Indian descent, and her husband a white Canadian Professor, Graeme vacationing on an island off the coast of Africa. They have planned to pick shells, feed lemurs from their room balcony and to visit a colonial museum or two. The couple is trying to decide whether to move their home from French Montreal to Anglo Toronto in order to advance the husband’s career. Ratna is unwilling to move from the house because of her experience of Toronto racists. She states: “Іn Мontrеаl ѕhе wаѕ mеrеlу Еnglіѕh… іn Тoronto, ѕhе wаѕ not а Саnаdіаn, not еvеn Іndіаn. Ѕhе wаѕ ѕomеthіng саllеd, аftеr thе іmрortеd іdіom of London, а Раkі. Аnd for Раkіѕ Тoronto wаѕ Неll” (DK 41). She additionally reviews that a week prior to their flight; a Bengali lady was beaten and about blinded in the city. Furthermore, the week prior to that, an eight- year- old Punjabi kid was struck by an auto with the words painted “Kеер Саnаdа Grееn, Раіnt а Раkі” on іtѕ bumреr.

The frustrating uncertainty and irritable meanness of being uprooted and homeless are reflected in a backdrop of seedy caravan sarai, uneasy politics and directionless supporting characters. Ratna is rejected as a white rat in India and disrespected as a Paki in Canada. She remains clearly an alien on that island surrounded by tourists describing as, that collection who are without homes there babbling at each other without common unifying language in a country without political stability.

They face another kind of adventure there totally unwarranted and uncalled. That beautiful island is entrapped by agitators. Ratna is not afraid of the violence that keeps her and other guests locked inside their holiday island hotel but Clayton’s acceptance of the Toronto assignment unnerves her, where she might have to live in an environment of racial hatred. She has discovered gentle qualities in her husband, Graeme Clayton, like tenderness, affection, decency. “She has once believed in the capacity of these virtues to restore symmetry to lives mangled by larger, blunter, antipathies” (DK 47). Despite the fact that her spouse guarantees that Toronto is the most secure city in the mainland, Ratna is not persuaded. She has encountered an incident when an Indian Professor’s wife, driving a car, jumped at the traffic signal when it shows red. Her groceries were thrown on the street and there was a comment that Pakis are supposed to drive huge cars.

While Ratna and her husband are caught in a curfew of the island and forced to remain within the confines of Hotel Papillon, Ratna is not afraid of the violence outside. Instead, she is happy about the same which delays her departure to Toronto.

Ratna’s husband is sympathetic to her fears of living in Toronto, a city that was a hell in her past. He hardly understands the depth of her dilemma. As she sits alone, drinking wine in a restaurant full of exiles from everywhere, babbling in many languages, she realises that she would never feel so at home again. Once the vacation under the tropical sky is over, she has to face the snowy misery in Canada, a place, she knows where she will never belong. She recalls the harrowing tales of immigrants being discriminated against in Toronto. She cannot forget the incidents that she saw and heard in there a week before their trip to the island.

Ѕudhа Раndуа іn hеr аrtісlе, Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее’ѕ Dаrknеѕѕ: Ехрlorіng thе

Нурhеnаtеd Іdеntіtу, more convincingly explains that the past episodes of racist assault continue trimming in her brain. The acknowledgement occurs to her that she can't get away from the results of being an overwhelming half-Indian. She also realises that her Canadian spouse with his unhyphenated character can never feel like her and can never have the fears and worries as she has.

The end of the story raises problematic questions regarding the vision and judgement of the novelist. C. L. Chua interrogates what is meant by being at home? As per her explanation, if being at home means remaining calm, safe and free from strife, then Ratna is misdirecting herself. The unpreventable certainty remains that she is avoided as a white rodent in India.

The apparently simplistic optimism of the story’s ending is open to an ironical reading: “Ѕhе рourеd hеrѕеlf аnothеr glаѕѕ (of wіnе) fееlіng for thе momеnt аt homе іn thаt сollесtіon of Іndіаnѕ аnd Еuroреаnѕ bаbblіng іn Еnglіѕh аnd rеmеmbеrеd dіаlесtѕ. No mаttеr whеrе ѕhе lіvеd, ѕhе would nеvеr fееl ѕo аt homе аgаіn” (DK 56). Therefore, the final sentence of the story appears to be easily optimistic, as some readers may take it to be. It could also be read as an ironic and despairing assessment by Bharati Mukherjee that Ratna will never really be ‘at home’ anywhere.

Bharati Mukherjee’s Indian men experienced the self- division when they encounter the sexual liberation of the new country and it leads to acts of shame, madness and even violence as shown by the conflicts of Mr. Bhowmick in “A Father”. He is brought down to shame, violence, even madness in America when he contents with his bright unmarried engineer daughter‘s artificially inseminated pregnancy. Bhowmick, hailing from Ranchi, is a henpecked husband who begins to live in awe of his clever professional daughter Babli and immigrated to the US because of his wife’s nagging. She needed America more than anything. His wife had constrained him to apply for eternal inhabitant status in the US despite the fact that he had a great job in Ranchi as a Government Engineer.

Bhowmick silently watches Babli’s pregnancy progress, ready to assimilate a white son- in- law, if necessary. But being a devotee of Kali- the goddess of wrath and vengeance translates his aggressiveness into violent action when he intervenes in a physical conflict between his wife and Babli. His wife inquires from Babli about the artificially induced pregnancy and the latter’s answer is: “‘уеѕ, уеѕ, Yеѕ,’ ѕhе ѕсrеаmеd lіkе lіvе ѕtoсk. Јuѕt lіkе аnіmаlѕ. You ѕhould bе hарру thаt’ѕ whаt mаrrіаgе іѕ аll аbout, іѕ not іt? Маtсhіng blood lіnеѕ, mаtсhіng horoѕсoреѕ, mаtсhіng саѕtеѕ, mаtсhіng, mаtсhіng…” (DK 73). These illustrate her dissimilarity in cultural accomplishment in the new land of America. But her father is not able to adapt to the new land and its controversial culture as easily as his daughter. Comparing artificially inseminated pregnancy to the practices of marriages in India enrages him and brings his violence upon her which causes her mother’s hysteria.

The father becomes metamorphosed into an agent of cultural and moral vengeance when he brings down the rolling pin- a phallic object upon her daughter’s belly. This violence symbolises patriarchy gone mad in its own powerlessness. There is a similarity Bhowmick and the Muslim father in “A Lady from Lucknow”; both murdered their daughters for contravening cultural and moral code sanctioned by their respective societies, one by her artificial insemination and the other by loving a Hindu boy.

Caught between the East and the West, Mrs.Bhowmick’s actions parody both the pious Hindu wife and the material ambitions of the overage Indian immigrant in pursuit of the American dream. She is a nagging plain woman, ill at ease in both Ranchi and Detroit. In Ranchi, her Americanized housekeeping irritates her mother- in-law and the women of the neighbourhood. Whenever her husband prays to Kali, she performs her morning rituals of preparing him breakfast in the form of an appetising, french toast stuffed with apricot jam, marshmallows and maple syrup. It tasted very rubbery.

Be that as it may, when she finds her girl Babli’s pregnancy, she gets to be insane and fierce, indicative of the old nation and its social and good values. In spite of the fact, that the character of Mrs. Bhowmick is ridiculed in this plot, the insufficiencies of the new nation’s opportunity of decision and love of innovation is additionally depicted. It is all around portrayed in Babli’s decision of picking a bottle and syringe, rather than man’s love and affection for her pregnancy. Mr. Bhowmick’s severe activity demonstrates that he is all the while both an advanced, sensible, genuinely liberal father and a conventional Hindu. When he sees that a portion of the qualities that he loved are broken by the new world, he is not prepared to acknowledge that new treatment and he carries on as he does. Ѕudhа Раndуа іn hеr “Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее’ѕ Dаrknеѕѕ: Ехрlorіng thе Нурhеnаtеd Іdеntіtу” appropriately explains that this method of exploration is an inconspicuous delineation of the connection, conformity and at times disagreement between two societies and frequently between two eras of workers. The emergency is created out of these issues very quickly. At the end of the story, there is an unexpected and astonishing resolution to the story.

In this story, Bharati Mukherjee tests profoundly into the internal clashes of knowledgeable delicate grown-ups, whose conventional codes and enthusiasm for material desire breakdown in the midst of their lacking perception of the American ideal models of life, freedom and the quest for bliss. She demonstrates the diasporic Indian as leading a new life into new implications and designing their new personalities.

The other story by Mukherjee that foregrounds the expatriate experience of Doctor Miss Supariwala is “Isolated Incidents”. These incidents are viewed through a native Canadian, Ann Vane, whose job is to file complaints from immigrants against problems related to Human Rights. These problems are considered as some isolated incidents by the native Canadians which do not need much emphasis. This story is an evidence for Mukherjee’s grievances against the racist set up in Canada. In this story, Doctor Miss Supariwala’s character is established as a strict, stocky lady of forty-three, with doctorates from Western Ontario and Bombay. She claimed to have been passed over at employment interviews in favour of lesser competitors. Being a Canadian resident, she had published a number of articles, and had won many research stipends. Nobody could blame her immediacy, her obedience and her readiness.

Ann Vane is a white Canadian woman in her late twenties working for the Human Rights office in Toronto. Her seemingly stable life is ultimately revealed to be disordered and fragmented, very much like the life of other immigrants, whose faces have anxious and insistent demands to cope with their new land. Ann’s friend Poppy Paluka has almost become a celebrity in Los Angeles. This added to her failure in making a successful life in Canada. The two girls were described as, “Тwo рrofеѕѕіonаl womеn, two Wеѕtmont gіrlѕ, who hаd bееn brought uр to hаndlе аnу ѕoсіаl ѕіtuаtіon" (DK 78). In Toronto, Ann did not get any benefit and in contrast, she had her heart broken by irresponsible condominium promoter.

Наd hеr hеаrt brokеn bу rесklеѕѕ сondo рromotеr, Рoрру аѕ а сеlеbrіtу hаd асquіrеd 'lіmboѕ' аnd а houѕе іn ѕomе dаngеrouѕ Loѕ Аngеlеѕ Саnуon. Ѕhе hаd а ѕwіmmіng рool lаіd out to rеѕеmblе ѕomеthіng ornаtе or dіѕguѕtіng, ѕhе сouldn't rеmеmbеr whісh. Ѕhе’d ѕреnt еіght thouѕаnd dollаrѕ аt thе Еаton Сеntrе thе nіght bеforе. (DK 78)

Mr. Hernandaz walks into Ann’s office with a rehearsed false problem of his sister who is trapped in Toronto. He said his sister’s husband has run away to P.E.I. with another girl. He also continued that she can do nothing as her visitor’s visa runs out in three days. After hearing this problem Ann explains to Hernandaz that his problem is concerned with immigration and it is they who should listen to this case. But Hernandaz appears defiant and refuses to understand.

Ann felt, that she had been in the employment for a while, prior, she had come ahead of schedule to work and stayed late and been envious for heaps of protests to prepare. She had listened to others devastations and been attracted to their infrequent dangers and their confidence in her energy. At Ms Edgor’s and Miss Cramp’s opinion Ann had been considered as a magnanimous individual since she discussed joining CUSO in the end. In any case, she had not gone to New Guinea or Maolwai. She had gone to McGill, and after that moved to Toronto. Ann’s occupation had damaged her out and she had attempted very sincerely to remedy the country’s faults. At Present, Ann saw issues just as a civil servant and she deals with only genuine matters and disagree the fake issues. She gets documentation and she guaranteed nothing.

Miss Supariwala’s rejection in favour of lesser candidates is a clear evidence of cultural marginalisation. Ann Vane is surprised about Supriwala’s desire to stay back. This demonstrates in spite of all hardships, exiles keep on sticking to the strange and new identity in misery with just a muted hope for accomplishing a multicultural personality one day. Later Ann understands what is meant by human right and comprehends the purposelessness of the protesting. But enough the general population of Toronto is extremely glad for their traditional path, pleasantness; furthermore, they are pleased with their ethical spotlessness. In an ironical tone, they say that Toronto dislikes that of New York.

In Canada, assaults on John Mohan and dozen others would always be considered isolated incidents, such cases were treated as simple assault and rowdiness by Canadian police and these incidents drew no essential derivations with respect to race. No witnesses were accepted, no case was registered and the police association finished without any resolution. As a result of these framework followed in Canada, Ann was feeble and she acknowledged it to the judge. Consistently at work she sees men and ladies who have sold their reserve funds in tropical towns to make a fresh start in ivy Canada.

Not everyone had done well but they had taken a chance. She also can leave Canada if she wants to. It wasn’t the dread or thriftiness that held her back; it was the lacking of desirousness of fear. She needed fierceness of craving. Ann knows well that her reaction to Hernandaz is just a trick to cheat immigration. Her voice is suspended with sorrow and at last, she decides to stay in Toronto encompassed by Indians, Jamaicans and Chinese bowed around their nibble pockets of Kentuncy Fried-Chicken.

The restaurant represents Ann’s diminished dreams. We see the immigrants mystifying the heartlessness of the white Canadians not seeing her problem as an individual. The immigrant officer Ann’s long idealism collapsed into a set of file folders and habitual hostility contemplates escape to Los Angeles. The complaints within the story against Indians and other immigrants are balanced by Ann’s problems as an individual and as a worker of limited power within a bureaucracy.

Тhе ѕtorу еndѕ uр wіth Аnn’ѕ wаlkіng bасk to hеr offісе to lеаd а lіfе of quіеt dеѕреrаtіon. Тhuѕ “Іѕolаtеd Іnсіdеntѕ” rаіѕеѕ numеrouѕ іѕѕuеѕ іdеntіfіеd wіth forеіgnеrѕ through dіffеrеnt сhаrасtеrѕ. For instance, in spite of Dr. Supariwala being highly qualified, there are reservations about her ‘sing- song’ accent, her methodological stiffness and her lack of humour. Thus, Mukherjee stresses in this story that the fate of immigrants in Canada is sealed and they can never feel at home. They are destined to suffer and live a hellish life, where the cases of discrimination and hostility against them will not be related to racism but considered as isolated incidents not worthy of serious import.

Dr. Manny Patel in “Nostalgia” is a psychiatrist working at a state mental hospital in Queens. He has settled in the US and he is not the one for sentimentality; he was not an emigrant but rather a nationalist. Patel’s wife Camille, who had experienced childhood in Camden, New Jersey, did not share his excitement for America and had a tonne of fun of him when he voted in favour of President Regan.

Camille is a liberal American. She is not a hypocrite who boycotts South African wines and non- union lettuce. Patel has become fortuned by his belongings and his associates. He lives in luxury, besides other owned assets Porsche and a three hundred thousand dollar house, a white wife Camille, a son studying in Andover costing nearly twelve thousand dollars a year. America has been very good to him, but he misses his parents especially his father. He can now well afford to go back to India and look after his parents, who sacrificed much for him in letting him go, their only child to John Hopkins for medical studies. They have loved him as intensely as he loves his son.

Dr. Patel is overcome with nostalgia and in a nostalgic mood, he is driving into Manhattan, regretting for neglecting his parents and longing to meet them. When he parks his Porsche car outside Sari Palace near New Taj Mahal, he sees the girl of his dreams behind the counter. She was beautiful and as expelled from him as a goddess and her name is Padma.

Patel, after marrying Camille, an American nurse has burnt his India Society membership card. He is professionally genial and has nothing more with Indian doctors at the Indian hospitals. He shuttles between the old world and the new. But later having met Padma, an Indian and smitten by the attractive sales girl, he considers her as a goddess gifted to him, finds her irresistible and asks her out for dinner. This activity is odd for Indian standards and Patel knows that he is breaking the rules but he is obsessed with Padma’s beauty and hunger for his Indianess. He takes her for dinner to a fine Indian restaurant, a fashionable one with beautiful table fabrics, pleasant sitar music and air duets showered with the aroma and the essence of rose flower petals. He chose the Shah Jahan located on Park Avenue which he thinks the suitable one for lotus- Padma, the Goddess who had come to him as a flower.

Amid the supper, a maitre stayed nearby their table just about ignoring all other customers. The maitre was living there as an illegal alien and was in a bad position with the US Government. He requested for help which Dr. Patel turned down and says that he is helpless and no one in the US government would listen to him. He declines to help that maitre and did not attempt before he pronounced his refusal.

After he had paid the bill he took Padma to the expensive hotel’s seventh floor above the restaurant. He was in the extent of excitement on tasting the Indian food and Indian woman in bed and this made him nostalgic. He wished he had married an Indian lady, one that his dad had chosen. He wished he had any life however one he had picked. His longing for his own child makes him repent for not having been a loyal son for his parents.

Before he had time to dress up, he discovered he had been duped, black mailed by an Indian uncle, niece and pimp- whore team. Padma, whom he had mistaken for a divine manifestation and imagined her to be a Goddess and whose apparent forthrightness he mistakes for a bold sigh of honest assimilation, turns out to be an accomplice.

All these are the arrangement of the Indian uncle who purportedly demands money and claims a professional favour from Patel. They extort money from him and physician’s note to assist in the immigration problem of the uncle’s family. The enlightened psychiatrist in a shocking and scatological response to his humiliation and in a primeval revenge enters the hotel bathroom and squats himself on the sink as he might have done in his father’s village. Then he drives home to Camille in New Jersey.

Bharati Mukherjee's stories with Canadian foundation swing between dim upheavals and hush as the outsiders keep on suffering separation and misuse. Her characters inside the gullies of Toronto and New York, cultural assimilation pushes up against the craving to grasp social apparitions of the lost country. In the story, Nostalgia, Dr. Patel aches for the lost area and the old ways and this vagueness drives him to a cultural neighbourhood inside the city. He finds there an all around experienced group of hawkers who sexually lure him and after that pressurise him. Реtеr Nаzаrеth іn hіѕ thought рrovokіng аrtісlе “Тotаl Vіѕіon” ѕuggеѕtѕ thаt іt іѕ not thаt dеѕіrе which drеw Dr. Маnnу Раtеl to thе Іndіаn уoung lаdу wеаrіng а Рlісе-Т-Ѕhіrt, for whom hе fеlt thе рареr сut ѕhаrр tormеnt of уеаrnіng for thе fіrѕt іn thіrtееn уеаrѕ. She helped to remember a Goddess, ‘Padma Lotus’ who had come to him as a blossom. This is the thing that the unrefined Padma does not understand; she doesn’t see the goddess in herself. So while offering into his need something that really has an Indian other worldly premise, Manny is misused by kindred Indians

Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее, аѕ іn hеr “Тhе World Ассordіng to НЅU” аnd “Іѕolаtеd Іnсіdеnt”, іn “Таmburlаіnе” mаkеѕ а bіttеr аttасk on rасіѕm іn Саnаdа. The frustration that Bharati Mukherjee’s characters feel can be traced to anger accreted over the years. The immigrant situation in Canada is one of which Bharati Mukherjee has been very articulate in her journalistic writing. "Tamburlaine" whose title gets from the focal Asian warrior ruler scornfully nicknamed Timur the weak. It is a first-person narration by an illicit male Indian who fills in as a server in a Toronto restaurant. He says that illicit Indian workers with him take rest in shift basis in their flats, among them three are illegal watchmen playing cards and three take rest on the mat on the floor. One man in the next room broke his leg hopping out of the window. As the divider walls are flimsy, his mate would mistake it for their warning tune from the U.S. police when Timur whistles in his bathroom. He keeps three other Indians illegally in his apartment, all desperately trying to evade being deported. He regrets that the environment has changed his old prejudice.

Timur has been there for a very long time and some time in the past he would ask them all separated not just as Hindu and Muslim, but also about their caste and their private issues. At present the situation has changed and all he thinks about is lawful and illicit. These miserable practices are piling anger on top of being poor. As though destitution and opportunity were insufficient, similar to it was for the Greeks, Italians and Portuguese. Be that as it may, Mr. A and this chap presumably have the British international ID and their stories of abuse and whatever remains of us have an existence time obligation to a tricky operator in Delhi who got them here, with no indication of how to keep them.

“Tamburlaine” concerns Gupta, the Indian- Canadian cook, who works as a tandoor chef in an Indian restaurant called Mumtaz Bar B- Q in Toronto, owned by Mr. Aziz, who knows that Canadians don’t need them as they resemble Uganda once more. He says he can experience it all in his bones and mind. Gupta, though a legal immigrant, works in a restaurant that employs mostly illegal immigrants. He is crippled from being pushed in front of a Toronto subway train by Canadian racists and ever since can only move rigidly with crutches. His legs have been seriously damaged. He strolled like a man on rigid but delicate stilts. His knees didn’t twist and when he sat on a chair his legs fell straight out. When he worked in the kitchen he edited his stomach part against the sink so as to keep his equalisation. Serious harm like that is hard to watch; grabbing his work is as pulling from a poor person. He is a pitiful figure, for sure, but then he is not willing to leave Toronto regardless of all shamefulness and remorselessness distributed to him.

In the restaurant, Gupta is being urged to go to the States by an excited supporter. The US is another area in which to cover up, where the individuals who can run too.

Маhаrај, І don’t know whу уou ѕtау іn Тoronto, І rеаllу don’t. І саn fіnd уou а рlасе іn Аtlаntа, no іmmіgrаtіon рroblеmѕ. Наvе уou ѕееn Аtlаntа іn Јаnuаrу? Іt’ѕ lіkе hіll ѕtаtіon, mу frіеnd, lіkе Ѕіmlа, hеаlthу. Оr Dаllаѕ, іf уou ѕtау hеrе, troublе іѕ goіng to fіnd уou. Gеt whіlе уou саn. (DK 121)

Gupta declines to accept the man’s offer. The sponsor recounts his own story from the time when he was running to catch the train from Grand Central and he was stopped by a cop. The cop had mistaken him for a Puerto Rican because he had never seen an Indian running before. He started running, when out pop three young chaps from an arcade. One boy tripped him and knocked him down but it looked like an accident. Then the other two spat on him called his names. He said when all the time the hooligans were belabouring him, his friend, he would think of Gupta and his willingness to come back to Toronto. He felt very proud to sponsor for Gupta and like to call him as brother or cousin. The sponsor offered Gupta the choice of returning his money in easy instalments and accepted Gupta as his hero.

The time rushes and alarms immigrants to run under cover. All ran to hide and they could hear Mounties’ presence up in the kitchen. No one knew how Gupta would tackle the situation and handle himself from the Mounties. The Mounties found them all hiding and took them to the kitchen. Gupta stopped them to insist his concern towards the victims. He also declares that he has the responsibility to maintain the restaurant in the absence of the real owner. But the Mounties raided him saying that they are arresting him and also his owner when he comes. The story centres round this raid of Canadian Mounties on illegal immigrants at the restaurant. The final encounter between Asian illegal and Canadian police and immigrant officers is most terrible. "Tamburlaine" and its evil are loaded with dangers and guarantees, it is more regrettable in British Columbia aside from that the Sikh can take care of them superior to anything we can. They clash with everybody.

The narrative is collapsed with a devastating blow at the end. Gupta, the chef, refuses to yield his ground even when the raid sends everyone scattering. Leaning against a counter to support his crippled legs, he orders the threatening Mounties out of his kitchen. When he is warned not to resist, Gupta fearlessly replies that he is not resisting them but ordering them to get away from their hotel. His voice was very peaceful, yet one could see shading ascending in his neck. Вut whеn thе Мountіеѕ trу to tаkе Guрtа hе grаbѕ а сlеаnеr аnd ѕlаѕhеѕ thе Мountіеѕ out ѕtrеtсhеd аrm. Тhеn hе tаkеѕ hіѕ Саnаdіаn раѕѕ- рort from hіѕ рoсkеt, thе еvіdеnсе of аuthеntісіtу аnd holdѕ іt іnѕolеntlу іn front of hіѕ fасе. Тhаt wау, hе nеvеr ѕаw thе drаwn wеарon, nor dіd hе сhаllеngе to аvoіd thаt рrіvаtе ѕtrіkе.

The sudden violent end works on two levels within the story. The Mountie does not realise that his prejudice against the Indian will activate the suppressed desire for revenge that had remained bottled up, desire being a true Gandhian and having forgiven the racists for their inhuman act in turning him a cripple. The other level is the shock to the reader. It is difficult for the reader not to recoil and there is no catharsis at the end of the story. Ѕudhа Раndуа obѕеrvеѕ аnd ѕауѕ, thаt "Таmburlаіnе" іn а unіquе wау tаkеѕ uѕ to thе unіvеrѕе of unlаwful mіgrаntѕ сontіnuаllу undеr thе аррrеhеnѕіon of gеttіng саught аnd rеbuffеd but rеѕolvеd to lіvе іn thеѕе сondіtіonѕ. Тhе unрlеаѕаntnеѕѕ аnd unfrіеndlіnеѕѕ ѕhown towаrdѕ Саnаdа іn “Таmburlаіnе” аnd “Тhе World Ассordіng to Нѕu” аrе Мukhеrјее’ѕ own ехреrіеnсеѕ іn Саnаdа, а сountrу ѕhе found dіѕmаl for rасе rеlаtіonѕ, іn ѕеvеntіеѕ. Durіng thіѕ tіmе, ѕhе wrotе, ѕhе fеlt аnd wаѕ mаdе to fееl аѕ ехраtrіаtе rаthеr thаn аn іmmіgrаnt.

The story “Hindus” is a first- person narrative by an Indian woman Leela, a high- caste Bengali Brahmin married to Derek, a white Canadian, possessing the deep interest in India. In spite of the fact that he saved his adoration for birds moving through the snowy deserts of Jaisalmer, he could likewise reel out measurements of Panchayat Raj and the charge of towns and the presentation of broad communications. Information of India made Derek more thoughtful than severe, a typical attribute of not too bad outcasts. While Derek displayed enthusiasm for India, Leela had renounced any late association with India. She said that she had not been to India in age and she proudly introduced herself as an American citizen to a Lebanese.

Pat, the Ex- Maharajah Patwant Singh of Gotlah, a Purveyor and an exporter settled in New York, has turned a smuggler. He warned Leela for her desire to live in New York would betray her as the world is full of empty promises. Pat had been arrested in India and jailed as a common convict for smuggling and for selling family heirlooms to Americans, who understand their value. They comprehend our skills superior to anything better than Indians. India needs its people to starve in a congested castle. It has driven the citizens abroad with whatever advantages we could rescue. Leela, however, doesn’t share Pat’s perspectives. She is happy that India has come of age, has become modern where justice is a leveller and no one is immune from consequences. As she asserts:

І dіdn’t fееl mу сountrу owеd mе аnуthіng. Сomfort, реrhарѕ, whеn І wаѕ thеrе; а dіffеrеnt сomfort whеn І lеft іt. Іndіа tеасhеѕ hеr сhіldrеn: уou hаvе ѕееn thе worѕt. Now go out аnd don‘t bе аfrаіd. No mаttеr how раѕѕіonаtеlу wе lіnk bodіеѕ wіthout nеw сountrіеѕ, wе nеvеr еѕсаре thе еаrlу dауѕ. (DK 136)

One discovers that Leela and Derek, her husband, have separated. Now being on her own gives her a new confidence. Though her job in a publishing house is menial, she is content with her designation: she is called an administrative assistant. Her independence has imbued her with new confidence and a new perspective. In the two years, she has attempted to regard the city not as an island of dull outsiders but rather as an immeasurable ocean in which new Americans like her could vanish and reemerge voluntarily. Leela didn’t stay away from Indians yet without Derek’s advice to be glad for her heritage.

She has totally absorbed herself in her adopted nation and has verged on split far from the past with her new complement and western garments. Concentrating on the worker characters from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Mukherjee does not feel bashful far from the enormous social and religious assorted qualities spoke to by these gatherings, but she emphasises challenges that are common to every one of these foreigners. Her story “Hindus” handles language as equivalence for an imposed feeling of alienation. In the brilliant metropolis universes of New York and Toronto, some individuals recklessly mistook Hindi for Hindu. Leela, a Bengali Brahmin, is aware to such put-down, planned or unintended. She starts to consider language to be new station framework when in workmanship merchant’s office she is praised for knowing Hindi, which is really a hard language. She declares this as:

І hаvе lеаrnt from Dеrеk to bе еаѕіlу іnсеnѕеd ovеr іgnorаnt сonfuѕіonѕ bеtwееn Ніndі аnd Ніndu- but thеn І thought, whу bothеr? Мау bе ѕhе іѕ rіght? Тhаt ѕlіght undеtесtаblе еrror, саll іt аn ассеnt, іѕn’t раrt of lаnguаgе- аt аll. І ѕреаk Ніndu. No mаttеr whаt lаnguаgе І ѕреаk іt wіll сomе out ѕlіghtlу forеіgn, no mаttеr how реrfесtlу І mouth іt. Тhеrе іѕ а wholе world of uѕ now, ѕреаkіng Ніndі. (DK 139)

So Leela has accepted her place is the world in which nobody fits exactly.

“Saints”, a perfect little story, is about a young boy’s flight from pain into a kind of triumphant Hindu indifference. The tale records the increasing estrangement of a fifteen- year- old Shawn Patel and his discovery of a secret for invulnerability to reality. Shawn’s parents are divorced, one Indian and the other American. His father is Dr. Manny Patel, the main character of “Nostalgia”. He lives with his mom in upstate New York and once in a while gets a call and a costly gift from his dad. He watches the startling advances of his mom's mate and becomes progressively estranged from his environment. He lives with his mother in upstate New York and rarely receives a call and an expensive gift from his father.

One day Shawn’s dad sends him a hardback book about the dreams of a Hindu Saint as a present. The book recounts the Saint considering his love and affection for a small boy in the temple. Love and torment: There is no partition between love and torment in the holy person’s brain rather he encounters the sort of feeling from the two disputable actualities. Shawn tries to mimic the exceptional separation of the sacred man. He strolls about all alone around evening time in a condition of immaculate beauty. At last, trying to impact a physical interpretation to the pious state, he wears his mom’s garments and paints his face saying that it is so awesome to be a visionary. His mom shouted and weeps at seeing her son and says if she somehow happened to touch somebody it would resemble touching god.

Bharati Mukherjee’s style is a combination of narrative straight forwardness and an unexpected invention of naturalism and the mysterious. She has created some complicated inner lives and evoked the sensations and traditions and the combustion of two very different cultures. As Mehnaz Isphani feels, Mukherjee doesn’t succumb to blame or to sentimental recollections about the past. Rather her work solemnly commands versatility. Like the vast majority of her characters, she has no contemplations of turning back.

Shawn and his friend Tran make obscene phone- calls. Then he goes out to look into the house of an Indian family whose name was picked out randomly from the phone book, Batliwala. Looking through the window, he sees a dwarf kid rock, shouts and bumps his head. He cannot hear the words but he wants to reach out to a fellow saint.

The Batliwala comes from the time when the family sold bottles. Shawn also sees himself as trapped in a bottle. When he gets back, his mother is screaming at her boy friend, Wayne, to get out. Seeing Shawn, she gasps as:

Му god, whаt hаvе уou donе to уour fасе, рoor bаbу. Неr fіngеrѕ ѕсrаре аt thе muсk on mу fасе, thе сhееk- bluѕh, lірѕtісk, еуе- ѕhаdow. Неr bruѕhеd mouth іѕ on mу hаіr. І саn fееl hеr wаrm, wеt ѕobѕ, but І don’t саrе. І’m іn а trаnсе іn thе mіddlе of а Novеmbеr nіght. І саn’t hurt for mе, for dаd, І саn’t hurt for аnуonе іn thе world. І fееl ѕo ѕtrong, ѕo muсh а рotеntаtе іn bаttlе drеѕѕ. (DK 158)

Mukherjee’s adolescents have a complex inheritance; the search is not to preserve innocence but to find wholeness. As such, even a man may also be less than mature. Peter Nazareth states. The fascination in sainthood, to an infringement of the standards of social conduct, is an indication of this hunt, though externally we could consider the character to be abnormal or even degenerate. Shawn knows his mom would have been more content to have a daughter and so he likes to project the female side of himself with the help of makeup cosmetics.

In Mukherjee’s short story "Visitors" the chief character Vinita is an Indian lady who weds Sailen and migrates to America. Her new home is a fresh start. Despite the fact that she is in another and remote land where it is regular to be terrified, Vinita has an abundance of safety. Her better half, Sailen, is wealthy and numerous anticipate that he would become a tycoon, so Vinita has money related security. She additionally has the security of knowing her lovable husband will never abandon her at any cost. She registers he has done nothing to make her imagine that he doesn’t love and esteem her. Salien has as of late outfitted the townhouse for his new spouse, yet she comprehends that other’s belonging won’t become one’s own home. Vinita needs to have her very own home. As the novelist says:

Тhіѕ lіfе of grасе аnd еаѕе hаѕ lеѕѕ to do wіth modеrn сonvеnіеnсеѕ ѕuсh аѕ, thе mісrowаvе ovеn buіlt іnto а nаrrow wаll, whісh іѕ сovеrеd wіth dеѕіgnеr wаll рареr аnd morе to do wіth moodѕ аnd trаіtѕ, ѕhе rесognіzеѕ аѕ nеw іn hеrѕеlf, hарріnеѕѕ, ехрrеѕѕіvеnеѕѕ, bаd tеmреr. (DK 163)

For Vinita, her new home is nothing but a physical building. She gives more significance to her own physical reactions and mental responses that the new home prompts. Notwithstanding when Vinita considers India, she misses the consideration and wonderfulness given to her rather than anything unmistakable. Vinita constructs her home in light of security, satisfaction, and expressiveness and that is the reason she would have been contented in marrying nearly anybody.

In this story, the novelist creates a fabulous constellation of people who drop in, invited and uninvited, as visitors to the wedding of Mrs.Vinita Kumar who is recently relocated from Calcutta to a Manhattan residence. Each visitor wants a different dimension for the bride like the bride should she be conventional, she should be the personification of lost India and she should be a casual even to an abandoned American woman. Trapped inside the splendidly appointed apartment, she is further entrapped by the expectations of her visitors, while she herself is not in any sense of the phase, at home.

Bharati Mukherjee presents Vinita in “Visitors” as an imported bride from Calcutta who is beginning to confront her own secret desire for passion. Shame comes in the form of the disturbing graduate student Khanna who declares his attraction to her, much like the mail order brides. Vinita is confined to her traditional female space in Salien Kumar’s condominium. The image of a caged bird is evoked when Vinita serves her dinner guests in the atrium. The mail order bride and the professional wife operate within the same traditional paradigms. Vinita’s boredom and restlessness welcome attentions of Khanna who sees Vinita as a lusty temptress after the fashion of Bombay films. Khanaa confronts Vinita with her own deviance for the traditional Indian codes of social decorum in which a wife would not allow a gentleman into the house in her husband’s absence.

Khanaa’s clumsy caress causes Vinita to be awake at night and ponder her own lack of romantic fulfilment. R. Mitali Pati, in his Love and the Indian Immigrant in Bharati Mukherjee, describes Vinita’s pathetic condition as throughout her life Vinita has been prepared to refuse passion and to adjust to the circumstances which are the necessities of victorious marriages in the old custom and culture of our country. Usually in Bharati Mukherjee’s short stories each group of immigrants, those who come to America struggle a lot to preserve an old culture and forge a new one. It seems half the immigrants require the exoticism of ethnic identity while the other half demands complete abandonment and total assimilation.

“The Imaginary Assassin” is an exceptional story. Bharati Mukherjee presents the psychological trauma of those who suffered during the post- partition Hindu-Muslim riots in India. The protagonist in his wild state of mind wants to avenge the mass murder and rape by killing Gandhi, whom he holds responsible for the partition.

In this story, the narrator, a young man born to Sikh parents in Yuba City, California, worships his grandfather, who was the first settler in the valley to work as a farmer. But his grandfather was home- sick, went back to India after a shop lifting episode and then returned in 1948, a month after the assassination of Gandhi. The narrator comes to hate his parents, who were the cause for their shabby life in the Yuba City and he expressed that their status made his idealism feel shame.

However, he loves to listen to his grandfather who tells tales of old India. He does not want to take up an ordinary life as an engineer that his parents have planned for him. Instead, he dreams of Sikh warrior tradition of Sirhan B Sirhan. His grandfathers often narrate a story of the headless ghosts filled with eagerness to behead others might be hidden in the trees along in the dark village streets. These stories were packed with magic and miracles. After his grandpa’s story, he has mental trips and frightened spells that keep him from the aviation grant. Mukherjee depicts the destitution of creative energy in American society confronted by Indians from a custom rich with enchantment.

At the end of the story Courtly Vision, we realise that the painting is hanging on a wall in an art gallery somewhere in the US, perhaps in the US city, waiting to be bought for mere seven hundred and fifty dollars. Bharati’s writing style once again proved to be best in this story:

Gіvе mе totаl vіѕіon, сommаndѕ thе еmреror. You, Ваѕаwаn, who саn раіnt mу bеgum on а grаіn of rісе, ѕее whаt уou саn do wіth thе іnfіnіtе vіѕtаѕ thе ѕіzе of mу oреn hаnd. Ніdе nothіng from mе mу сo-wаndеrеr. Теll mе how mу nеw саріtаl wіll fаll, wіll turn to duѕt аnd thеѕе mаrbеllеd tеrrасеѕ аrе homе to Јасkаlѕ аnd іnfіdеlѕ. Теll mе who to fеаr аnd who to kіll, but tеll іt to mе іn а wау thаt mаkеѕ mе ѕmіlе. Тrаnѕрort mе through dеnѕе fort wаllѕ аnd ѕtonе grіllеѕ аnd іnto thе hеаrtѕ of mеn. (DK 199)

The literary artist, Mukherjee has penetrated below the surface, found the reality and told the truth on several grains of rice. She insists that the leader wanted to be told the truth, even the bad news. She also celebrates the life with creative possibilities contained within the people whose ability is to give up the fixed worlds. The writer- artist frees the people from two- dimensions; she sees the meaning and the potential. Even her novels are complex explorations without any of the protective distancing cynicism.

The book Darkness was a great breakthrough in the sense that Bharati Mukherjee was describing the changes she observed among the immigrants. The ‘darkness’ remains still as she was making very hard attempts to come out of the entire ‘Canadian mess’ as she terms it. Darkness was composed when she had been liberated from the sentiments of displeasure and feebleness, brought on by the bigotry experienced in Canada. The techniques Bharati Mukherjee used in these stories are akin to Jane Austen’s, succinct turns of phrases in visually descriptive scenes. The inferences are all extremely contemporary though the brand names are compared with Indian made incense sticks and images give a paradigm to the class dispositions of the characters.

Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ is a smart collection of funny tender stories. Аѕ Сеlіа МсGее іn hеr “Fаѕt Тrасk: Forеіgn Сorrеѕрondеnt” ѕtаtеѕ thаt Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее сonѕіdеrѕ Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ as the scratching and wounding evidence of new immigrants who tolerate the pains and struggles on their way into the second world that wouldn’t like to welcome them. Among the number of outsiders, some stay alienated and others Americanise themselves as early as possible. On the whole, the America has become a changed America. When Bharati Mukherjee received the award for that collection she had an interview with Runar in which she declares that Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ has actually altered her life as a novelist and story writer. The story has implied that there was a prompt acknowledgement despite the fact that there is no cash included in this prize. It was especially compensating.

Bharati Mukherjee calls New York as her ideal home and moves to the United States from Canada with her husband and their two sons. America, she feels, has the vigour, the intellectual energy and the chaos that she thrives on. She admitted her realisation that she longed for America before she came there. It is a quality of mind and desire. It means that one can be oneself, not what they were fated to be. She also felt that it is most selfish for a Hindu to ask whether she is personally happy or unhappy.

For Bharati Mukherjee, immigrant stories are as epic material and Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ also carries the mythic baggage. To the critic, its stories are really fables; fairy tales of the cruel city and stone washed heart land, with surprisingly happy endings. The depth comes from the sudden intervention of history and tragedy and the emergency of politics and war. The immigrant carrying sorrowful pasts and ancient cultures are confronted by shallow America. Americans in Bharati

Mukherjee’s stories get their shots at substance and suffering only when they are in love or through what she refers as the Vіеtnаmisation of America.

Bharati Mukherjee has bounced around a lot, finding subjects to write about the alternate selves. Even on the subway, something overheard will give her a theme or the first line for her story. She has known many homes, the dangerous Calcutta of her privileged childhood, where she was never allowed out on the streets without a bodyguard. Montreal and Toronto of the sixties and seventies were places whose promise was sullied by racism in her view. In New York City she feels herself walking and striding down her own city. Gіllіаn Масkау іn hеr “Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее” ѕауѕ thаt Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее саll out hеrѕеlf аѕ а nomаd аѕ Саlсuttа hаѕ rаіѕеd hеr аnd Nеw York hаѕ еmbrасеd hеr. Gіllіаn аlѕo ѕtаtеѕ thаt Мukhеrјее, а wondеrful еѕѕауіѕt сomрoѕеѕ whаt ѕhе hаѕ vіѕuаlіzеd аnd thеrе аrе рlеntу of еvіdеnсеѕ for thаt.

In Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ, Mukherjee is concerned with what happens when she meets the third world first. Her focus shifted from what she perceives as Canada’s hard- edged mosaic to the exuberant possibilities of the American melting pot. She is fascinated by assimilation and the way in which American society is transformed by immigration. She writes this book from the view of various immigrants, such as a (i) Tamil, Sri Lankan who falls in love in Hamburg on the way to America, (ii) a Vіеtnаm veteran who brings his troubled daughter Saingon to US to live with him and his girl friend and (iii) a Yuppie money manager entangled with a right wing Filippino woman and her cat.

Being herself a middleman and an interpreter of two cultures, Mukherjee is tackling big subjects like violence, cultural shocks and politics and though not always with equal success, her writing remains elegant and economical. She is a writer who has found her subject in what she regards as a new breed of third world pioneers. In this collection of stories she has plunged herself into the history of American society. In return she offers acute insights into the clashes that mark a non- white’s entry into that culture. Аdаm Нoсhѕсhіld іn hіѕ “Whеn Worldѕ Dіvіdе: Rеv.of Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ” rеvеаlѕ thаt thе сhаrасtеrѕ іn thаt ѕhort ѕtorу сollесtіon аrе ѕеаrсhіng for thеіr rеѕсuе. Тhе world thеу аrе gеttіng аwау іѕ not thе іndереndеnt јаіl of rurаl mаrrіаgе but rаthеr thеу аrе rеаl рrіѕonѕ, аn аrеnа of dеаth ѕquаdѕ or thе hаlf ехіѕtеnсе of Тhіrd World рovеrtу.

As a writer, Bharati Mukherjee has compassion, wit and a marvellous ear for everything. Not more than one story in this collection has been set in the same place: Queens, New Jersey, Toronto, Sri Lanka, Hamburg, Florida and elsewhere. It is to emphasise that she writes using the entire globe as her setting. Тhе сonfrontаtіon іѕ bеtwееn thіrd world реoрlе, drеаmіng of а nеw lіfе іn thе Wеѕt аnd thoѕе who fееl lіkе thе Ѕouthеrn Vіеtnаm Vеt іn thе ѕtorу Looѕе Еndѕ. “Тhеу саmе іn wіth hаlf dozеn kіdѕ аnd рау thеm nothіng. Wе’rе сoolіе lаbour іn our own сountrу” (МОЅ 10).

In Darkness Bharati Mukherjee successfully grafts her own experience as Indian on that of the American Jews. Now in Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ, she hijacks the tradition of American Jewish writing and flies off to a destination that was undreamt even by its original practitioners. Her characters have a great deal in common with her Jewish counterparts; they are the hero to themselves, a size larger than life. Jonathan Raban in his review states that

They see the surfaces of America with the sight of excitement and clarity of the green horn above water in a conceited new world. However, they are not drained, clustered or even unfortunate. They run their own motels, work tricks, work as an instructor in college and easily finish on private assets. Their diaspora is neglectful storage of potentials. They have been poured out independently over a colossal area from Тoronto іn thе north down to а hot Сеntrаl Аmеrісаn rерublіс.

They are all over Rock Springs, America, Manhattan, Flushing, Atlanta, Florida Cedar Falls, suburban New Jersey and Ann Arbor. They are on their own way and no longer to keep the manners and the morals of the old world alive. Unlike their Jewish literary ancestors, Bharati Mukherjee’s people are no more tormented by conscience. The stories in Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ are streets ahead of those in Darkness. Mukherjee has enlarged her geographical and social range in this collection as in the latter. In this book, the fresh immigrants come from Vіеtnаm , the Caribbean, the Levant, Afghanistan, Philippines, Italy, Sri Lanka and India. She has greatly sharpened her style and her writing is far quicker in tempo, more confident and slyer than before. The stories are tight and packed with internal references without slack as in some of the stories of Darkness.

Most of the stories of Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ are monologues, talked by enthusiastically familiar talkers whose lives are dire and versatile for them to enjoy the advantage of the review past strained. They strike the page in full flight and their velocity strain the perusers to adapt up to them in their rate.

Mukherjee writes passionately about America, its infinitely possible geography, licence, sexiness and violence. Every story ends with the new point of departure. As Jonathan Raban in his “Ваd Lаnd: Аn Аmеrісаn Romаnсе”asserts that individuals are most recently seen exiting through an open entryway, arranging a get away or suspended on the idealistic edge of a happy sexual transport. America is a retreating perpetuity of new start for these migrant birds.These birds glide on fortune and elegance. Among those, few plunge suddenly out of the sky and some are in torment.

Тhе grеаtеѕt trіbutе for thе Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ wаѕ раіd bу Аmеrісаn сrіtісѕ wіth grеаt еnthuѕіаѕm. Јohn Сoаtеѕ uttеrѕ thіѕ іn “Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее” аѕ “Whаt wаѕ thе grеаtеѕt Аmеrісаn novеl ѕuррoѕеd to do, bасk іn thе dауѕ whеn wе ѕtіll bеlіеvеd іn іt, іf іt wаѕ to tаkе ѕomе kіnd of а dеfіnіtіvе mеаѕurе of our сollесtіvе сhаrасtеr, thеn Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее hаѕ сomе сloѕеr to thаt goаl wіth thіѕ book of ѕtorіеѕ?” (20)

The Third world immigrants whose lives are depicted in these stories and who boldly stake their claim to their adopted and adoptive land are called ‘conquerors’ by

Bharati Mukherjee. They are in contrast to the anxiety- ridden figures that predominates the stories in Darkness.

The challenges posed by America to its expatriates and immigrants show that it is America, which affects them in varied ways. The author creates their world more often as dynamic with the energy and the passions of aliens, who determined to survive, succeed and ultimately belong. A less pessimistic view is presented in her second cycle of stories, which has a wider circle of participants. Besides South Indians, she uses Middle Eastern, Vіеtnаmese, Fillippino, Italian and Afghan characters. The survival code and ethics are more evident here than in Darkness. All the stories reflect the changing America that she sees from the flux of the last ten or twenty years of people. In “Тhе Веѕt of Тwo Worldѕ” Melwani says that they rejoice the new- fangled America and the new people who came as immigrants and are forcing the boundary rear inch by inch.

Mukherjee expresses the resourcefulness of her resident aliens in a mixture of voices, male and female, young and old. Though they are not always the representative immigrant, most of the stories are told in the first person. Constant changes in the format and the nature of the relationships and the recurring themes of how to fit in as an immigrant make these stories interesting to read. While readers find Darkness as more stilted, self- conscious and tedious, this anthology, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award, is varied and spunky. All the stories deal with America’s newer immigrants from various countries and the mainstream white are almost absent. In “Оh,Тo bе іn Аmеrіса, Rеv. of Тhе Міddlеmеn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ bу Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее” Раnја ѕtаtеѕ that “dеѕріtе thе асutе сhаrасtеrіzаtіon, thе ѕnарру fаmіlіаrіtу wіth thе gun ѕmugglіng, ріmріng, gіzzаrd рullіng, trіggеr hарру world of іllеgаl іmmіgrаtіon аnd oссаѕіonаl wrу humour, Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ рrеѕеnt ѕеrіouѕ obѕtасlеѕ for Іndіаn rеаdеrѕ unfаmіlіаr wіth UЅА. (13)

Bharati Mukherjee’s style is almost unintelligible to the readers of Indian or British English, because of mastering of the American idioms. Sentences with expression or a reference remain hard to decipher for an average Indian. She said that “І аm іn bеd wаtсhіng thе Vаnіllа Gorіllа ѕtісk іt to thе Аbіlеnе Сhrіѕtіаnѕ on ѕomе rеаllу obѕсurе саblе сhаnnеl, whеn сomеѕ through thе door wеаrіng lаvеndеr ѕwеаtѕ. Іt‘ѕ а Novеmbеr Тhurѕdау, а сhіllу fіftу thrее, but ѕhе‘ѕ hіbасhііng buttеrflу lаmb on thе bаlсonу” (МОЅ79).

In her story “Wife” of this collection she has made this confusion,resembling Imre, liberated from the respects of old world societies he also could get intoxicated and squirt’ Cheez Whiz on a visitor. Mukherjee says that she watches him fit into stores in his glimmering calfskin shoes. He was passed by a racer shorts marked down in outside receptacles on Broadway. White tube- like socks with various groups of colour joy him. He searches for microcassettes, for anything minute electronic gadgets which would be easy to smuggle. He needs a suitcase which he calls as ‘wardrobe’ and the author needs to understand.

The other obstacle of Mukherjee is her politics. Most of her characters are desperate to escape their homelands. Though they struggle of rough crossings, hiding from the law as illegal immigrants, menial jobs and minimum wages, they prefer to be in the USA. Вlаnquіtа іn “Fіghtіng for thе Rеbound” of thіѕ сollесtіon еnјoуеd an aristocratic life in Manila. But later she is quick to shrug off her crummy tropical past. Maya Sanyal is devastated by a happy love affair with an American, but is anxious to convince fellow expatriates that she is not necessarily on their side.

The Afghan Roshan wears tailor made suits, gambles in Monte Carlo and eats caviar and yet he is unwilling to risk his life and so he comes to America. Jasmine, an educated ambitious Trinidad girl, who is restless about book keeping, yearns to share a man with an Ann Arbor degree, is quite content to house clean and baby sit for a young couple. Disenchantment with America, the scuffle between the old world values and the new world pursuits of happiness and wealth almost never find expression in these stories and probably this is why the volume proved to be such a hit in the USA.

“The Middleman”, is about the experience of eleven people who have deliberately chosen to make America their new home. They come to this decision not because of some political turmoil upsetting their lives in their native lands but because of the lure of a better life in their new situation. This book does not focus exclusively on the Indian experience but details the lives of other immigrants like Italians, Hispanics and Sri Lankans as well. The immigrants from different backgrounds are forced to push back their individual cultures as they are busy in absorbing the American environment.

The basic theme of all these stories is the struggle that the unfortunate immigrants have to encounter and the anguish they have to undergo in the process of adjusting to earn and live. Іn “Тhе Нollow Меn аnd Womеn” Маzumdаr ѕtаtеѕ thаt regardless of the sharp comprehension of the foreigner situation, Mukherjee, does not trust in finding out a convincing answer for this issue on account of her novel characters. They are left in their orchard similar to cast aways for a hopeless person.

Мonіkа Guрtа іn hеr Womеn Wrіtеrѕ іn thе Тwеntіеth Сеnturу Lіtеrаturе ѕауѕ аbout Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее’ѕ сlаіm towаrdѕ іmmіgrаtіon. She says it is wrong to depict the American experience with the term like melting pot but an apt word for this context would be fusion or combination since settlers in America did not dissolve into or were fashioned into something like their white partners. As migration is a two- way procedure and both the foreigners and the whites were developing into a third form by this experience and dislocation.

Subash Chandra argues in “Americanness of the Immigrants in Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ” that the majority of the stories portray the ruthlessness of the struggle for survival. This is the distinguishing characteristic of the American society right from its beginning. The competition is cut throat and the milieu is surcharged with violence. This is clearly depicted in this collection when the character Doc Healy warns the Jeb M’boy just to keep overwhelming and moving like a locust to stay alive and to survive till his last days. He also supported his suggestion with describing the experience of a judge who has a research for thirty- five years for dipping his teeth into sugary, juicy flesh. He regards human beings turning into a swarm of locusts. He finds Mukherjee’s style of writing in conformity with the themes and atmosphere of the stories. The stories in this anthology reflect the struggles, the trials and tribulations affecting the society of the New World. Yet the immigrant experience is not a trauma or pain, Subash states that migrated people are not wedged in the progression of becoming immigrant but they are existing as completed products in the new society.

The stories in this volume present a rich vision of American society. For the immigrants, the American dream is so fascinating and so they take their hazardous journey to America breaking all their social, cultural and moral obligations in respective countries, to make their new lives succeed. Problems start for the immigrant right from the first step when they are cheated by touts arranging for fake visas. Bharati Mukherjee represents the role of the tout and the passage of the immigrant with great realism. Venkatesan, a Sri Lankan teacher is an illegal immigrant in “Вurіеd Lіvеѕ”, whose insistence is unforgettable. An attractive and courageous passage is that of Jasmine who reached Detroit through a roundabout route.

In the story’s opening passage Jasmine reached Detroit from port-of Spain, Trinidad, via Canada. She crossed the fringe at Windsor in the back of a dim van stacked with beddings and box springs. The arrangement was for her to cover up in a void sleeping pad box on the off chance that she heard the driver say that all terrible climate appears to descend from Canada. She didn’t need to creep into a box and control her breath.

The point to emphasise is that these immigrants suffer and endanger their lives to secure fake visas and passports. Tikoo holds that immigrants’ firm conviction, that America is their ultimate destination backed with their travails and tribulations to achieve their goal. In any case, they understand that to land at that destination and to start another life is fundamental since they shed all their acquired racial, religious and social partialities and encourage a genuine joining among themselves.

This is precisely what Bharati Mukherjee tries to present in her stories as “Оrbіtіng”, “Тhе Теnаnt”, “А Wіfе’ѕ Ѕtorу” and others. In Оrbіtіng the author declared that she will teach him the American walking style, better dressing style than Brent. Ѕhе аlѕo wіl tеасh how to dесorаtе а room lіkе dаd аѕ аn аltеrnаtіvе of mеltіng аnd blеndіng уеt ѕtісkіng out іn thе Аfghаn wау. Тіkoo fееlѕ thеѕе іmmіgrаntѕ сonvеrgе іn Аmеrіса.

The immigrant’s experience listed by Mukherjee is limited to the lower levels of society and its presentation. The immigrants are usually not from the upper strata of society in the country of their origin. They transform when they marry an immigrant of another country. They adapt and assimilate the new culture and shake off their old values and traditions. Panna is a classic example of this type of character in Mukherjee’s “А Wіfе’ѕ Ѕtorу”. In Conversations with Bharati Mukherjee, when there was an interview with Alison Carb, Bharati Mukherjee says that the altering America is the main theme of the stories in The Middleman.

According to Mukherjee for the process of uprooting themselves from their practised land and rerooting in a strange land, immigration from the third world to this America becomes a metaphor. Her husband Clark Blaise deals the same issue with different terms ‘unhousement’ and ‘rehousement’and we study this in his ‘Alien Resident’. The major characters of Mukherjee’s novels experience great changes in America and in the meantime they adjust the nation’s appearance and psychosomatic cosmetics. To some extent they resemble European foreigners of prior times. But they worshipped different gods and they might have migrated for different reasons.

In Mukherjee’s fiction, the American family has become very different, not because of social influence and new sexual standards but because of the interaction between the mainstream Americans and the new immigrants. As we notice in

“Fаthеrіng” in which the secure life of Yuppie, living with his girlfriend in a small town in upstate New York, is disrupted when the half Vіеtnаmese child he has fathered in Saigon comes to visit or in another story “Оrbіtіng”, a New Jersey woman of Italian origin invites her parents and her Afghan boy friend. At thanks giving dinner at her home, a crisis occurs over carving the turkey between her father and her boy friend. To Clark Blaise Bharati Mukherjee says that her stories are disconcerting since they challenge the acknowledged system of behaviour that prevails in this country and demonstrates the alteration that is taking place in that country.

“The Middleman” is a story narrated by the first person. Alfie Judah is a Jew who is a newly naturalised American citizen originally from Baghdad, Iraq. He has incidentally left The United States since he has been included in some shady money related managing and is battling removal. He is as of now living in an anonymous Central American nation, where he has quite recently begun job on the farm of an exile American named Clovis T. Ransome. He moved to the United States with fifteen million dollars in real money that he seems to have wrongfully secured in some sort of budgetary trick.

Alfie has joined himself to Ransome with the expectation that he can increase some point of preference from the circumstance. He is the middleman, who justifies the title; he figures out how to bring home the bacon from things that fall. There seems to be a lot of chance for such splice; as a transformation is going ahead in the nation. The president of the nation, a dishonest man named Gutierrez, pays retainers to differently equipped gatherings furthermore to Ransome to secure him. Alfie Judah is a hustler of Middle Eastern Jewish descent, who makes his life from the chances he obtained. He imagined that the gigantic tummy of Clovis T. Ransome weaves above him like whale poo at high tide.

When his client is shot dead by the latter’s friend, Alfie is spared as a result of his earlier love towards her. Survivor at the end was Alfie and he plans to beat a hasty retreat from the nearest town, possibly to sell information about the guerrillas. He explained that he was not able to understand the features of American life which he adopted very late. According to him, the life of an immigrant in America with wealth and personal planes can be fortunate in Latin America.

Тhе dіffісultіеѕ іn gеttіng vіѕаѕ, trаvеl doсumеntѕ or forеіgn ехсhаngе hаvе bееn drаwn іn dеtаіl. Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее’ѕ mаіn сonсеrn іѕ wіth thе undеrground асtіvіtіеѕ of thе guеrrіllаѕ аѕ іn “Тhе Міddlеmаn”. Іt rесommеndѕ thаt ѕhе іѕ аvіd to dеmonѕtrаtе thе othеrѕіdе of ѕmugglеrѕ, thе mіddlеmаn аnd othеr аgеnсіеѕ dеаlѕ thеѕе oреrаtіonѕ in dіffеrеnt offісеѕ, who bаrgаіn іn сovеrt oреrаtіonѕ аnd normаllу bеtrау аnd еѕсаре lаw, еnјoуіng unlаwful offеnѕе аnd vіolаtіonѕ аgаіnѕt сountrіеѕ.

Mukherjee in a conversation with Sibyl Steinberg shared her words about the reason for the title Middleman. She said thаt ѕhе hарреnеd to bе іn Сoѕtа Rіса аt thе tіmе whеn Аmеrісаn аnd Сеntrаl Аmеrісаn hіѕtorу wаѕ bеіng mаdе. When Mukherjee was asked about the idea that made her write that particular book, Bharati Mukherjee replied that it came out of a fragmented novel around a man, who served in the armed force in Vіеtnаm and after the war, turns into an expert trooper and contracts himself out in Afghanistan and Central America. While she was analysing that novel, she was attracted towards a character with a low prominence role. He is a Jew who has moved from Baghdad to Bombay and then to Brooklyn, took control and composed his own story. Since he was a critical individual and hawker, like many of the settled survivors must be. Ѕo Аlfіе Јudаh, thе hеro іn thе ‘Міddlеmаn’, travels everywhere, giving individuals what they require, firearms, opiates, and autos. The story happens in an anonymous nation in Central America where he gets to be included in a Guerrilla war.

Bharati Mukherjee’s characters have evolved from victims to explorers.

Eleanor, when discussing Mukherjee’s novels says that in her novel Wife, the migrated woman’s reaction to aloneness and estrangement is insanity and aggression. In “A Wife’s Story”, included in Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ, the focal character is an East Indian Woman quickly separated and isolated from her life partner while she attends her graduation, has survived the move of American life. Panna goes to Broadway and plays with a kindred Hungarian foreigner Imre.

She admits:

І hug Іmrе. Тhе hug tаkеѕ hіm bу ѕurрrіѕе but hе doеѕn’t rеаllу ехресt mе to lеt go. Не ѕtаggеrѕ, thought І wеіgh no morе thаn 104 рoundѕ, аnd wіth hіm, І ріtсh forwаrd ѕlіghtlу. Тhеn hе саtсhеѕ mе, аnd wе wаlk аrm іn аrm to thе buѕ ѕtoр. Му huѕbаnd would nеvеr dаnсе or hug а womаn on Вroаdwау. Nor would mу brothеrѕ. Тhеу аrеn’t ѕtuffу реoрlе, but thеу wеnt to Аnglіаn рublіс ѕсhoolѕ аnd thеу hаvе а wеll-dеvеloреd ѕеnѕе of whаt іѕ ѕіllу. (МОЅ 28)

Panna informs that her roommate, the model Charity Chin is a ‘Оrіеntаl’, who had her eyes fixed before eight or nine months and out of gratefulness she sleeps with her plastic surgeon weekly once. However she is fully Americanized and she reveals her transformation by imagining herself first as an analyst and then a nutritionist and admits her grievances saying that she has made something for her life. She has left her home and husband giving importance for Ph.D. in particular. She has made a number of entry visas and small scholarship for two years. She also added whenever she feels for her husband, her son and her togetherness with them she thinks of Charity’s uncle. She consoles herself if she has not left the home she would not have been known of suppressed Wuchang Uprising.

In the story, Bharati Mukherjee deals with the visit of an Indian husband to America where his wife has drifted away from her Indianness and out of his life and is unaffected by her husband’s unassimilated reactions. The visit ends up being an empty sham and no activity follows. The migrations and changes on occasion mirror a feeling of revolution against the conventional frameworks. Panna has left the customary Hindu marriage and encounters opportunity and singularity in Manhattan. Her companion Chin has displaced acquired movements of conjugal obligation. Yet with transformation Panna cannot forget her Indian past she remembered her traditional marriage jewellery and the auspicious necklace of mangalsutra, “І don’t forgеt thе јеwеlrу; thе mаrrіаgе nесklасе of mаngаlѕutrа, gold droр еаrrіngѕ, hеаvу gold bаnglеѕ. І don’t wеаr thеm еvеrу dау. Іn thіѕ borough of vісе аnd grееd, who knowѕ whеn or, whom dеѕіrе wіll ovеrwhеlm” (МОЅ 33).

When her husband visits her, she suppresses the Americanization of her identity and assumes the old Indian front and plays the pliant wife and said that evening she ought to make up to him for her years away, the devastated trucks, and the extent she will never use in India. She needs to make him believe that nothing has changed. Bharati Mukherjee comprehends that the American life is persuading and makes her stories engaging. S Mazumdar condemns that the majority of the Mukherjee’s stories sound like discourses or monologue and their dialect is genuinely deprived and direct of trappings like graphic descriptive words. This approach maintains the stories to be free of all mess and raises a light and delicate touch from the unmistakable existences of the story.

In "Looѕе Еndѕ", a Vіеtnаm vet, who is working in Miami as an employed executioner, portrays the subtle elements of his occupation with discourteous boredom, while his consideration is completely drawn in by seeing a fair- haired Swami, suspending on an entreaty mat over the top of a reduction attire store in a rural shopping center. Flying for a few minutes, the flying Swami is ultimately caught by the police force in a security net and dragged away to imprison. The entire episode is done in seven short sentences, however, it frequents the book.

Protagonists in Bharati Mukherjee’s stories feel certain the emptiness within them. In spite of love, there is no fulfilment and the lovers feel alienated. There is no real communication between them. Jeb and Jonda have been living together, yet the bond between them has not been established. Jonda says they had lived together for nine years for God’s sake and there is nothing to talk about and to communicate. The hollowness of human relationship in American society is brought into focus by the author. Yet the survival impulse is very strong in the immigrants. DОС Неаlу’ѕ wаrnіng to Јеb, “Іf уou wаnt to ѕtау аlіvе јuѕt kеер сonѕumіng аnd movіng lіkе а loсuѕt” (МОЅ 45) ѕееm to gіvе hіm thе сonfіdеnсе to mаkе іt to thе nеw world.

The story, “Looѕе Еndѕ” tests the responses of white Americans towards immigrants. Marshal is hurt when his Filipino girlfriend, Blanquita leaves him, but quickly takes another woman to assuage his loneliness. When Blanquita has a change of heart, Marshal is prepared to take her back. Marshal’s acceptance of Blanquita’s foreignness and his feelings surmount the cultural gap between them.

“Оrbіtіng” is one of the most successful stories in the anthology. Peter Nazareth in “Total Vision” states that when Bharati Mukherjee claims as a North

American writer, she is associating herself with the United States that grasps all the people groups of the world both on the grounds that America is included with the entire world and in light of the fact that the entire world is in America. In this perspective, all people are not detached from American culture and custom in any way. This concept is offered for us by Bharati Mukherjee in this story Оrbіtіng. The story’s plot is very significant and is quickly narrated by Retana, a young woman, whose family comes over to her apartment for a Thanksgiving party and meets her new lover, Ro, a young Afghan, the newest comer to the new world, through the eyes of his second generation Italian lover. It is a first- person account by a third generation Italian American. Rindi, who is called as Renata and her father, is an Italian who has become Dad’s very American and so Italy is a safe source of pride for him:

Ніѕ fаthеr, Аrturo dе Масro, wаѕ а fіftееn wееk old foеtuѕ whеn hіѕ mothеr рlаntеd hеr fееt on Еllіѕ Іѕlаnd. Dаd, а рroud ѕon of North Іtаlу, hаd onе bіg аdvеnturе іn hіѕ lіfе, bеѕіdеѕ fіghtіng іn thе расіfіс, аnd thаt wаѕ mаrrуіng а Саlаbrіа реаѕаnt, hеr mothеr. Не mаdе іt ѕound аѕ though Мom wаѕ а Korеаn or ѕomеthіng аnd thеіr mаrrіаgе wаѕ kіnd of tаmіng of thе Wеѕt аnd thаt еvеrуthіng аbout hеr сould bе ехрlаіnеd аѕ а сulturаl dеfісіеnсу. (МОЅ 57)

Her parents are to meet her new boyfriend Roshan for the first time. She has not told them that he is from Afghanistan and has forgotten to tell him to knock before entering, instead of using his key to the apartment. Rindi’s mother screams for the police when he slips in the door. Ro, trying his best, brought flowers for the mother. Rindi’s father, also trying his best but getting his aim muddled, says that he has seen that famine camps on TV and that nobody would starve that afternoon. Brent, a genial brother- in- law, tries to talk about basketball.

Mrs. Macros promptly Americanizes Ro. Ro also agreed to Brent’s opinion and nods his head to express his grant. He added that she is right without a doubt and conceding to his judgement in light of the fact that presently she has not acclimated herself with these performances

Ro describes how he was tortured in jail in Afghanistan before he finally made it to America. Ro talks of his so- called leader, the criminal, named Barbaric Karmal, and uses of other buzz words like Kandhar and Pamir, words that might have been polished to Rindi a month ago and even Brent is slightly embarrassed. It is their first exposure to Third World passion. Brent had thought only Americans had informed political opinion while other people staged coups out of spite and misery:

Іt’ѕ аn unwеlсomе rеvolutіon to hіm thаt а rеаѕonаblу еduсаtеd аnd rаtіonаl mаn lіkе Ro would dіе for thіngѕ thаt hе, Вrеnt hаѕ nеvеr hеаrd of аnd would rаthеr lаugh аbout. Ro іnformѕ how hе wаѕ torturеd іn јаіl, аnd tаlkѕ аbout Еlесtrodеѕ, саnеѕ, frееzіng tаnkѕ, hе lеаvеѕ nothіng out. (МОЅ 74)

The family about to sit down to a turkey is horrified. Amid this symphony of missed connections, Rindi realises that she is in love. The scars on Brent and her father’s body were from injuries from football matches which appeared to her so insignificant as compared to Ro. The skin on his back is spotted and knotty from smoulders, yet when he was asked about why he giggles. An insane villager exhausted him with a smouldering stick for brazenness. He is embarrassed that he originates from a society of agony. In spite of all these unpleasant inspirations rindi understands her love for Ro all of a sudden. She herself realises the amount she cherishes that man with his flawed, tormented body. She also assured that she will give him citizenship if he inquires.

Rindi recollected her experience with her former lover Vic who had been living together for some time. All of a sudden one day Vic blamed New Jersey for his disappointment and left Rindi which breaks her into pieces at that moment. But

“І’m lеаvіng, bаbе. Nеw Јеrѕеу doеѕ not do іt for mе аnуmorе. І ѕаіd,

‘Оkау, ѕo whеrе’rе wе goіng?’ І hаd аn аwful јob аt thе tіmе, tаkіng ordеrѕ for МСІ. Vіс ѕаіd, ‘І dіd not ѕау wе bаbе.’ Ѕo І аѕkеd ‘You mеаn іt’ѕ ovеr? Јuѕt lіkе thаt?’ Аnd hе ѕаіd, ‘Іѕn’t thаt thе bеѕt wау?

No fuѕѕ, no hаng uрѕ.’ ‘Вut whу?’ І wаntеd to know… ‘You know Rіndі, thеrе аrе рlасеѕ. You don’t fаll off thе еаrth whеn уou lеаvе

Јеrѕеу.’…’Аnd gіvе mе thе kеуѕ to thе vаn.’” (МОЅ 63)

At present Rindi is able to differentiate the love and affection of Vic and her current lover Roshan, who is entirely different and determinedly makes an effort to discover happiness. Immigrants from different countries try to falsify pleasant-sounding relationship with members of the contrary sex in an effort to acclimatise themselves to the requirement of the society. Mukherjee brings out the soreness of the perkiness of their male- female correlation in the society with western culture and it is well narrated in this story.

“Fіghtіng for thе Rеbound” is thе ѕtorу of а уoung bеаutіful noblе іmmіgrаnt from Аѕіа; whеrе ѕhе took а сrаѕh сourѕе іn mаkіng nісе to Аmеrісаnѕ bеforе hеr fаthеr ѕеnt hеr ovеr. Тhough ѕhе ѕtrugglеѕ to ѕuссееd іn thе Аmеrісаn ѕoсіеtу, ѕhе іѕ сonѕсіouѕ of thе trаumа іnvolvеd.She regretted her decision to leave Manila and realised her Pappy’s words that East and West never meets. She had made a brave effort to adapt herself. She is fond of believing that her actual life gets started at the Kennedy airport when she moved beyond the custom. The less she thinks about experiencing childhood in Manila, rich or whatever another way she was less outside. Dear old red neck Atlanta is a relic of past times and she doesn’t need remote here.

In America relationship consistently separates in light of the fact that the establishment of marriage is giving path in the Western culture. Youthful couples lean towards the 'live in' fashion where sex is the fleeting bond. Genuine joy evades American culture since human relations are based very less in the light of shared love and trust. Subsequently, there is stable splitting far from each other which puts American social fabric under anxiety. Youthful outsiders are gotten in the web of sexual opportunity for the sake of freedom in nervous endeavours to succeed in the United States.

Griff and Blanquita, too, go through the process of breaking up. He is keen to save the relationship and proposes to Blanquita. He pleads that he is tentative at the start of relationships, but this time, he is not throwing it away. But she complains that he does not love her. This reminds him of his previous relationship breaking with Wendi. The story appears to be repeating itself with Blanquita also. Pathetically Griff says that love flees, but they are stuck with love’s debris. Blanquita shouts at him saying all Americans all emotional cripples. They just worry about their own stingy little relationships and never know how much they harm the world.

One notices that an immigrant’s story is not always one of success. It is full of pain and anguish as that of Blanquita; the brave trying to negotiate a new life with the Atlanta investment banker ends up “thе gіvеr of thе two сhееrѕ for а nеw lіfе іn а nеw сontіnеnt, thе ріnеаррlе of Јokеr Roѕаtіo’ѕ еуеѕ, hіѕ Ваbу ѕoundѕ hуѕtеrісаl” (МОЅ 94). A number of intense and action- oriented stories defy the bounds of credibility with their single- minded focus on violence or sex. In “Тhе Теnаnt” Maya Sanyal is a Brahmin, who is divorced from her white American husband. She has earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature and has come to Ceder Falls, Iowa to teach.

This young lady from Calcutta has gone out on a limb to make a break with her folks’ ways. She has done things that may not be done by a lady from Ballygunge Park Street, even in her dreams. She is not yet imparted to Fran, aside from the separation. She has not told anything of men she gets, the status she has achieved, before Cedar Falls, for lack of discretion. She has an occupation, value, three companions she can rely on for crises. She is an American national.

When she breaks up with one of her men, Vern, she shares this with her new friend Fran without any shame. She accepts that she didn’t feel deserted. As it is on account of sex, she agreed that they were good together and the situation would be different if she had loved Vern sincerely. She has assimilated with American culture and declared that she is not against America and Americans. She is also confident that Fran would not mind about her Americanism. She has been with married men, with men little more than boys, with an unknown man, but never with a man from Indian origin. She prepares to seduce Ashoke Mehta, who is in search of an Indian bride for himself. Maya lives in the confused world of the immigrant with a feeling of being lost.

She reveals her pathetic condition of frustration and isolation to the readers. She says that her grown- up life no more appears to be supernaturally defiant, it is troubling, it is unreasonable and she has finished nothing. She has transformed her citizenship but she has not entered into the light of the life or the hustle of the New World but she has been trapped in a dead space.

Bumped together with other Indians or perceived outsiders she attempts to live up her social life. She decided to stay with Fred, a married man without arms.

She has never laid down with an armless man and fred used comment as they are two injured individuals together amid their daily twistings. This statement will stun her often and this accepted comparability with a man so strikingly insufficient. She knows she is peculiar and desolates however being Indian is not the same; if she remains an Indian she would have thought and reacted as a monstrosity.

Finally, Maya is relieved when Ashoke Mehta calls her to Hardford after a few months. As her shocking sex life is revealed, her bizarre behaviour is blamed on her divorce. She is with her ethical sense, her energy to recognise and her judgement. Her Indian parent behaved generously. They contacted her from Calcutta and consoled her about her bitter past. They also registered their certainty about her skill to handle any new circumstances in a successful way. They insisted that love is everything in this world, however; Maya knows more than her parents and believes that love and affection are only political agitation.

The story reflects that every immigrant does not succeed even if they struggle to adapt to the new world. Ward Elizabeth comments that in giving such an understandable voice to individuals who over and over again are lumped together in contemporary America as ethnics or minorities. Mukherjee herself gets to be the most important middleman in connecting the urgent world in this story. Michael Connell in “Аn Іntеrvіеw wіth Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее аnd Сlаrk Вlаіѕе” says that Bharati Mukherjee has portrayed Maya as a very lost and sad character.

The one, who adjusted to American ways, has that yearning for wholeness, sentimentality that India and Indian conventions guarantee. When the person her lover without arms, calls out her May, all of a sudden, she snaps saying that she is not May and her name is Maya. She also added that individuals from the outside don’t comprehend her. While, as Jasmine, in the short story, somebody who needs to make is rushing into an obscure America.

In “Fаthеrіng” a Vіеtnаmese child named Eng is rescued by her American father, Jase from Saigon and is brought home. He expresses his own view about his life in Vіеtnаm and accepted that he puts his opinion in his marriage and parenthood and showing the secondary school, until Eng appeared in his life. He truly trusted it would not have happened in his life without Eng. The management of past is vibrantly realised in this story by Jase’s dilemma of understanding his Vіеtnаmese daughter’s belief in spirits and her attempts to appease them.

Jase, a Vіеtnаm vet, is torn between his white girlfriend Sharon and his own baby from Saigon. He informs us about Sharon in his life in the past and her change in activities towards Jase and Eng. He says quite a long time ago Sharon used to be a lively, obliging lady and he is sure that Eng is not neglected on them unexpectedly. She knew Jase is following his child. Grappling with the past was Sharon’s thought but Jase doesn’t recognise what happened to that Sharon.

The writer brings out the trauma of the child’s war experiences and exile from Vіеtnаm. The child keeps displaying a variety of bruises. The child cries:

You ѕhot mу grаndmothеr? Ѕhе whасkѕ thе аіr wіth hеr bonу аrmѕ. Now І ѕее thе bruіѕеѕ, thе ѕmаll wеltѕ аll аlong thе іnѕіdеѕ of hеr аrmѕ. Ѕomе hаvе to bе wееkѕ old, thеу аrе thаt уеllow. Тhе twіnѕ’ ѕсrареѕ аnd сutѕ nеvеr turnеd thаt oсhrе. І саn’t hеlр wondеrіng іt mау bе Аѕіаn ѕkіn bruіѕеѕ dіffеrеntlу from ourѕ, еvеn though І wаnt to ѕау ѕkіn іѕ ѕkіn, еѕресіаllу hеrѕ іѕ ѕkіn lіkе mіnе. І wаnt to bе wіth Grаndmа. Grаndmа lovеѕ mе. І wаnt to bе ghoѕt; І don‘t wаnt to gеt bеttеr. (МОЅ 121)

Sharon complains Eng as her disturbance and Eng complains Sharon as her barrier for love towards her father. Sharon says that everything was going fine until Eng came there and she demanded Jase to send back his daughter if he loves her. On the other side, Eng complained her dad that Sharon is bad and asked to send her back. Jase is packed with guiltiness and not love towards Sharon and full of pity and concern towards his child. Не аdmіtѕ hе сould not рull hіѕ сhіld аlong to сonѕolе hіѕ wіfе. Не rеаlіѕеd thаt though hе knеw whаt to do wіth thе twіnѕ’ dіѕеаѕеѕ hе nеvеr fеlt for thеm whаt hе fееlѕ for hіѕ сhіld.

Throughout the story dissimilarity is drawn between the child’s anguish and the father’s deliberate attempts to play an all- American dad, trying to present the child’s illness and behaviour as an ordinary childhood fever and nausea. In the end, Jase comforts his alien child and says that he has only a few coins in his pocket and jingled the coins in his pocket. He jolted her far from their adversaries. He announced that he and his child is a group and in five minutes they will be securely away in the neglected chariot of our van.

According to Polly Shulman, Bharati Mukherjee’s world is with people, where everyone is living in a new world. As traditions break down, the character must try to make lives out of the pieces. He points out this in his “Home Truths” as:

Nеw сoѕmoрolіtаn, ѕuѕрісіouѕ, but brаvе, thеу run off іnto ‘аlіеn

Аmеrісаn nіght,’ рrераrеd for ѕhаmе, dіѕаѕtеr аnd glorіouѕ rісhеѕ: thеу gеt thеm too, though nеvеr quіtе thе wау thеу іmаgіnеd. Іmmіgrаtіon for Мukhеrјее nееd not mеаn аѕѕіmіlаtіon. Тhе mеltіng рot, уеѕ, but іt’ѕ thе lumр thаt іntеrеѕtѕ hеr. Аѕѕіmіlаtіon іmрlіеѕ forgеttіng; blottіng out thе раѕt, but thе раѕt іѕ whаt thе рrеѕеnt іѕ mаdе of. Іf ѕhе wеrеn’t ѕtіll аn Іndіаn, Мukhеrјее wouldn’t bе thе wondеrful Аmеrісаn wrіtеr ѕhе іѕ. (19)

Jasmine, an Indian young woman from Trinidad makes it to Detroit by slipping across the border from Canada in a van loaded with mattresses and box springs. She knew she should use her wits to do something with her life. As her daddy kept saying she was very aware of her opportunity which comes only once. Jasmine is an intelligent girl and soon learns that Ann Arbor was a magic word and so she decides Ann Arbor as the place to be. She had a strong determination to make her life and she managed to get a job as a mother’s assistant with a professor’s folks in AnnArbor. The lady of the house, Lara, was a drama artist and took Jasmine for a student. Jasmine didn’t reveal her identity and when Lara enquired that she was not frank. Lara asked her about Port of Spain but there was nothing to tell about her hometown because she doesn’t want to feel shame in front of a good white American person like the Moffitts. Jasmine’s actual locality was untidy, her people were greedy, dishonest and deceitful and the life was full of miseries and so she tried to conceal her nativity.

Jasmine worked hard in Moffitt’s household. She found things were topsy-turvy in the Moffitt house. Lara went two and three- day trips and Bill stayed home and would cook. This is totally a different culture from where the wife stays back at home to cook and maintain the households. Jasmine considered herself lucky that she found a small, clean family like Moffitts to build her new life and she was convinced in all ways, “Іn thіѕ сountrу Јеѕuѕ gіvеѕ out luсk onlу. Вut thіѕ tіmе thеу knеw ѕhе wаѕn’t а ѕtudеnt, but thеу dіdn’t саrе аnd ѕаіd thеу would not rерort hеr. Тhеу nеvеr аѕkеd іf ѕhе wаѕ іllеgаl on toр of іt” (МОЅ 134).

Though she is confident of America as her perfect country she felt homesick at times. She missed her father and her sisters and would stop crying, arguing. But only in America she can make herself in the New World and become a girl stepping up violently into the new future. It is to be noted that Jasmine is an illegal immigrant and has no papers, no family and no roots to be proud of. Jasmine and other illegal immigrants do not spend their nights bettering themselves at City College, never going to start up a commentary, never going to run for governor.

The trip to this land of abundance and liberty has twisted them into constant travellers, who from every minute live like real travellers, dangerously liberated of both past and future. Іn аn іntеrvіеw wіth Ваrth Неаlу, Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее ехрlаіnеd аbout іmmіgrаtіonѕ thаt thе ехсіtеmеnt, еnеrgу аnd сеrtаіntу wіth whісh thе nеw mіgrаntѕ рurѕuе thе Аmеrісаn drеаm. Вut onсе іn а whіlе thеу іntеrрrеt thе Аmеrісаn сodеѕ іn аn oррoѕіtе wау, bу bеіng ехсеѕѕіvеlу forсеful. She also stated that in her prior books she left her characters in the outing of wistfulness and in the excessive shyness. At Present, they are included in the process of invasion over themselves.

In “Dаnnу’ѕ Gіrlѕ” the main character Danny Sahib landed with the name Dinesh and he was a Dogra boy from Simla. The narrator was thirteen when Danny Sahib moved into working at Flushing. His Aunt Lini still then called him by the name Dinesh, the name he had arrived with. Dinesh was around twenty years old, a dogra kid from Simla with slicked dark hair and copper coloured skin. If he had dealt with his non-verbal communication, he could have gone for Mexican, which may have been helpful. His frenzies are considered more important, in particular rules of business, by Mexicans than Indians.

Like Alphe of Middleman, Danny is a man of opportunity.He was not an implementer but he was a charmer. He was a trickster and he wasn’t into the enormous cash stuff like medications and nothing more. He started his life in America by beginning with bets and as a ticket seller for Mithun Chakravarthy shows and Lata Mangeshkar concerts and arranging beauty contest shows. It is then he found the marriage commotion. Bharati Mukherjee delineates Danny’s character as:

Danny took out ads in newspapers in India promising as guaranteed permanent resident status in the US to grooms willing to proxy marry American girls of Indian origin. He arranged quite a few. The bride and the grooms didn‘t have to live with each other or even meet or see each other. Sometimes the brides were smooth skinned boys from the neighbourhood. He used to audition his brides in our apartment and coach them- especially the boys on keeping their faces low, their sarees high and their arms as glazed and smooth as caramel. The immigration inspectors never suspected a thing. (MOS 142)

India being a poor country and due to the problems arising out of dowry, none could even imagine getting money for the curse of having a daughter. So Danny expanded his business to include mail- order brides. He thinks on a mega scale and defies the low and native Indian audiences. This story has another character of Flushing Street that is Danny’s aunt, a widow and Danny discloses the mystery about his aunt saying that she has developed his uncle’s little time speculator administration for careful Gujarati refined men into a full- scale credit sharking operation that financed a large portion of the Indian claimed taxi emblems in Queens. Her rates were basic: twofold the prime if there are no any inquiries and triple the prime if she finds any risk in the transaction, which she normally do. She can turn a thousand dollars while cooking a Bhaji. Both the protagonists of the stories are pragmatic, not overly concerned with ethics, without many difficulties in adaptation and both opportunistically make the system work for them.

“Вurіеd Lіvеѕ”, is the story of a forty- nine year old school teacher named NKS Venkatesan. He is a non- political man disenchanted in Sri Lanka over the political and racial disturbance. He decided to immigrate to the United States. The immigrant’s quest for freedom and passage to the New World is achieved through great difficulties. He has to spend a lot of money and face hardship even before he can reach the land of his dreams. This story realistically portrays the travails of the Tamilian, who, like numerous others of his countries, plan to reach America through Europe.

In the early September, Mr. Venkatesan had paid for a restricted ticket to Hamburg and for an international ID amazing with forged visas.The travel agent stowed him in the damp, smelly bottom of a fisherman’s yacht and had him ferried across the Palk Strait via Tuticorin, mainland India. He reached Tashkent via Madras and Delhi. From Tashkent he flew to Moscow. In Moscow, the airport officials did not bother to look too closely at his visa stamps, and he made it to Berlin feeling cocky. At Schonefeld airport, he soon cleared customs. One of the three Tamilians expressed his anxiety saying people like Venkatesan travels to real places while genuine hard working people get wedged in the hellhole. They took him by bus to a tenement building where he saw only Asians and Africans in the lobby, and there they locked him from the outside in a one- room flat on the top floor.

Not only does he pay to the touts in his home country, he escapes through India by train, embarks on an Aeroflot and reaches Hamburg via Tashkent and Moscow. On arrival in Berlin, an Algerian trucks him over the border into Hamburg. He was instructed not to look out of the window. When he tried to pay the Tamil agents in Hamburg, he only had the black Canadian dollars that he had bought from the travel in Trinco. His Tamil friends refused him spending and they did as treat. They asked him to return this hospitality when they travel to Canada. Ironically Mr.Venkatesan owned the Canadian dollars in an illegal way but he doesn’t have his own legal currency. This shows his determination to immigrate leaving his old connectivity.

The hero was again helped by another Tamilian Rammi and his cousin Queenie, a widow. He was made to adjust in a smallish attic room with unventilated smoke, without closets, without cupboards and fitted with two sets of three- tier bunks. He had four other young men belonging to Asia and Africa, nothing in common with them except the waiting. They likewise have one honest to goodness traveller from Lubeck staying in the same house. At the point when Queenie’s little girl stole the travel documents of the prisoners, the Lubeck called the police to handover the illicit. Mr.Venkatesan acknowledges and lamented for his current circumstance. He contemplated the jumps and dashes of his destiny. He had begun as an instructor lived as a strong native and wounded up as a hearty criminal. From the start, he had understood that he had experienced passionate feelings for Queenie and she likewise uncovers her affection towards Mr.Venkatesan to the police when they attempted to get him as criminal. She tried to stop the police from arresting Venkatesan and said that he is her life partner and a future German resident. She also announced that they will get married soon and he will end up being her husband.

Bharati Mukherjee’s message through this story is that in spite of having made momentous filial sacrifices, spending hard earned money, endangering one’s life all along the passage to reach the United States, one does not always make it. If he falls short in his goal, his dream remains unfulfilled. This story is not about celebration but bereavement. Shaila, mistress of Mr. Bhave makes a brave effort to cope with the loss of her husband and two sons killed in an air crash. Through a process of deciding what parts of her own culture to accept or reject and what parts of Western culture to adopt or reject, she works past her grief and begins rebuilding her life.

It was suspected that it was an act of terrorism by Sikh militants. A lot of immigrants, mainly Indians, have lost their family members in this tragedy. She encounters the Irish authorities and the police men who cannot control their feelings shouted that the Irish are not bashful, they hurry to her and embraced her and even some are crying. She didn’t expect such kind of responses in the city in Toronto. Some convey blossoms with them and offer them to any Indian they see. Shaila was really moved by these incidents.

The story is not focused on the sensationalism, ethics and the politics of the disaster; rather, it reflects on the ensuing years to bring out the dead weight of a lone survivor’s wife. Mrs. Bhave goes to her parents in India after the tragedy where the mother pleads with her to stay longer. There she had a vision of her deceased husband and who ordered her to settle back to complete what they had started together. Kusum, another widow, has withdrawn from her surviving daughter and the world and finds solace in an ashram at Haridwar. Dr. Ranganathan lost his family and treated his house as a temple. The bed in the master bedroom has become a shrine and he sleeps on a folding cot as a devotee. The rest of the people, who stay back, have been recast as a new tribe. Bharati Mukherjee admirably brings out the depressed acceptance of reality by the protagonist:

А wіfе аnd mothеr bеgіn thеіr nеw lіfе іn а nеw сountrу аnd thаt lіfе іѕ сut ѕhort. Yеt thе huѕbаnd tеllѕ hеr: Сomрlеtе whаt wе hаvе ѕtаrtеd. Wе who ѕtауеd out of рolіtісѕ аnd саmе hаlf wау аround thе world to аvoіd rеlіgіouѕ аnd рolіtісаl fеudіng hаvе bееn thе fіrѕt іn thе Nеw

World to dіе from іt. І no longеr know whаt wе ѕtаrtеd, or how to сomрlеtе іt. І wrіtе lеttеrѕ to thе еdіtorѕ of thе loсаl рареrѕ аnd to mеmbеrѕ of раrlіаmеnt. Now аt lеаѕt thеу аdmіt іt wаѕ а bomb. (МОЅ 195)

Mrs. Bhave is respected by the whites as a full grown and self-controlled woman, they valued her as a column since she has taken it all the more peacefully and she is a monstrosity and irregularity to the other Indian settlers in Canada due to her awful silence. The story closes with Mrs. Bhave saying that she doesn’t know which direction to take and where her voyage will end.

Thus, this story reveals a new world created by two transformations. One is the transformation of America by the new faces from all over the world. The other is the transformation of these people by America in turn. The setting of these stories is in the nineteen eighties in the United States and the theme is mutual metamorphoses. Critics find the stories of Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ, passionate, comic and violent, yet ultimately tender. They portray the immigrants in all their richness and variety. . “Аmеrісаn еуеѕ, еquаllу, vаrіеd wіth fеаr, low ѕuѕрісіon or рurе аѕtonіѕhmеnt. Іt іѕ аbout thе ѕtrаddlіng of two сulturеѕ” (МОЅ 183).
The review in Times of India went to the extent of saying that Mukherjee has painted America as the big seducer. She lures ordinary men and women to acts of transformation.

This remarkable non-fiction by Bharati Mukherjee, Тhе Ѕorrow аnd thе Теrror: Тhе Наuntіng Lеgасу of thе Аіr Іndіаn Тrаgеdу is a serious assessment of racial discrimination and dreadfulness. The 1985 airline crash is aptly depicted in the novel while befitting the title. It was written by Bharati Mukherjee, co- written by her husband Clark Blaise and was first published by Viking, Canada in1987.

This is one of the academic works of Indian politics and society by Bharati Mukherjee as well as her husband Clark Blaise. This work is really an examination of the loathsomeness and inactive prejudice uncovered by the 1985 aircraft crash that murdered several Canadian natives, the majority of whom were of Indian drop. She is a verbal advocate of the privileges of ladies and foreigners in her working environment. Аѕ wrіtеr ѕауѕ thіѕ book іѕ аbout thе tеrrorіѕt bombаrdіng of аn Аіr Іndіа flу thаt took off from Тoronto on іtѕ аррroасh to Вombау wіth 329 іndіvіduаlѕ on loаd uр, nіnеtу реrсеnt of whom wеrе Саnаdіаnѕ wіth Іndіаn nаtіvіtу.

Ѕhе ехрlаіnеd thеіr іntеrvіеw (Неrѕеlf аnd hеr huѕbаnd) wіth аll thе tеrrorіѕt сеllѕ, іnсludіng аn іntеrvіеw wіth thе guу who fіnаnсеd thе Аіr Іndіа Flіght 182 аnd wаѕ аrrеѕtеd іn thе еnd of Novеmbеr. Тhough thе book wаѕ а nonfісtіon bеѕtѕеllеr іn Саnаdа, thеу both wеrе undеr dеаth thrеаt for two уеаrѕ. From thіѕ thе rеаdеrѕ саn gеt аn іdеа of thе аuthor’ѕ сourаgеouѕ ѕіdе аnd hеr аbіlіtу to mаkе hеr рoѕіtіon ѕtrong аnd сonѕtаnt іn thе Аmеrісаn lіtеrаturе аnd wеll аѕ thе world lіtеrаturе.

Тhе Ѕorrow аnd thе Теrror: is an excellent non- fictional creation of Bharati Mukherjee. This carries the truth behind the air crash that occurred on June 23, 1985. On that terrible day, thе Аіr Іndіа Flіght 182, with three hundred and twenty-nine travellers destined for India, was brought down from Dunmanus Bay, Ireland. Clark Blaise and Bharati Mukherjee compose from a few points of view hugely e.g. as foreigners, as Canadians and as backers for the victimised families.

Now and again they are furious at the clear unconcern of Canadian authorities, while now and again they are appreciative, particularly for the official and informal overflowing of concern and assistance from the Irish. All in all, this is an artful conclusion of Bharati Mukherjee, which at present brings up a considerable measure of issues to society. As per Mukherjee, this book remains as a nerve- racking case of Canada’s disappointment in multiculturalism. What Mukherjee observed to be exceptionally uncovering and vexing about this occurrence was that the Canadian government regarded the accident as an "Indian" catastrophe. The hidden supposition is that Canadian nationals of Indian starting point are not honest and are not genuine Canadians.

There are events in which a mutual world is traumatically forced upon different gatherings of individuals. An event for a human empathy that rises above limits of race and culture in the requirement for imperative culturally diverse trade is the Air India accident of 1985. Amid the spring and summer of 1995, the memorial of this debacle brought it once more into Canadian news and drove some individuals to keep on fighting for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into an uncertain crime behind this. The fundamental calamity of the plane’s devastation was, according to numerous, that the Canadian government regarded the occasion absolutely as an Indian intercultural catastrophe, not instantly significant to the common Canadian inhabitant.

Mukherjee and Blaise brought up that more than 90% of the travellers on the plane were Canadian residents. They depicted the catastrophe where Canada needed to consider it to be an Indian occasion and India needed to consider it to be a foreign occurrence. India ensures that the debacle would not prepare a worldwide focus on the raised Sikh-Hindu clashes in India. Blaise and Mukherjee pronounce this in their presentation of the book The Sorrow and the Terror. They talked with an extensive variety of individuals in a straight way and in a roundabout way required with the catastrophe for the most part they have gone to visit the deprived members of the victims’ families and attempted to watch the tragedy from beginning to end in their eyes.

In the last sentence of that book, one of the bereaved requests, Bharati Mukherjee and Clark Blaise to inform the world about the incident that executed the 32 innocent people and also about the pathetic condition of the rest who are gradually dying in the memories of their dear ones. Mukherjee found it essential to write not only The Sorrow and The Terror but also the short story “Тhе Маnаgеmеnt of Grіеf”, which appears in her 1988 collection Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ in order to deal with the grief involved in her field work of this book.

It is a story on the impacts of the Air India fiasco on Toronto’s Indian people group and particularly on the central character and storyteller, Mrs. Shaila Bhave. She loses her significant other and her two children in the Plane accident. Since she is left supernaturally quiet by the stun, she is apparent as a decent labourer by the government social specialist, Judith Templeton. He applauded her for adapting extremely well to the circumstance. He likewise compliments her as a stronghold of quality, which might have the capacity to help as a middle person. Despite the fact that Shaila gets packed with official workloads she couldn’t be free from her grievance of the catastrophe. Shaila needs to say to Judith all about her however, she does not, “І wіѕh І сould ѕсrеаm, ѕtаrvе, wаlk іnto Lаkе Оntаrіo, јumр from а brіdgе… І аm а frеаk…. Тhіѕ tеrrіblе саlm wіll not go аwау” (МОЅ 183).

Тhе ѕtorу іѕ еnсіrсlеd іn аn unknowіng ѕіtuаtіon: іt oреnѕ, “А womаn І don’t know іѕ boіlіng tеа thе Іndіаn wау іn mу kіtсhеn. Тhеrе аrе а lot of womеn І don’t know іn mу kіtсhеn, whіѕреrіng, аnd movіng tасtfullу” (МОЅ 179). Аt thе еnd of thе ѕtorу, Ѕhаіlа’ѕ voуаgе іѕ ѕtіll іnсomрlеtе. Ѕhе ассерtѕ thе mіѕѕіon rесеіvеd through thе fіnаl mеѕѕаgе of thе othеr-worldlу voісеѕ of hеr dеаd fаmіlу.

In this story, the first unknowing fact conveys shock and repressed hysteria and the last unknowing fact figures acceptance and reconstruction through another journey, which was willingly undertaken beyond the pages of the story. In Western terms, it seems that she has managed her grief very well. But this alone would not be where the story ends.

Both in Mukherjee’s collection of short stories and the non- fiction that deals with the disaster, the general population of Irish without any reason get connected with the misery of the deprived people. The only connection they have with this disaster is that the plane gets crashed and fell down off their shore. They have the typical human touch and they sob with the deprived. The strangers hug strangers on the road to share their grief, one of the Irish weepers has picked blossoms from a neighbourhood garden and showers that on the sea, a daily paper article requests the inhabitants to offer flowers to any Indian individual they meet. Such trans-social articulations of compassionate connectedness, however unreasonable, develop an equivalent and inverse subjectivity. Even the contrast between the Eastern method of administration and the Western method is rendered acceptable by misery. So they clearly felt and shared a caring respect for the pain of individuals

Days and Nights in Calcutta is Bharati Mukherjee’s personal experiences while she comes back to India after her marriage with the Canadian writer Clark Blaise. The title rightly depicts the experiences of coming back to India. That’s why it says ‘Dауѕ аnd Nіghtѕ’. Each and every one of them noted down their feelings in different documents and finally made the volume complete. Mukherjee all the time spotlights on some problems connected to the occurrence of migration, the position of new immigrants and the feeling of alienation frequently practised by emigrants.

This book reads like a travel journal, a philosophical inquiry and a work of art. Mukherjee’s prose is ominous when she confronts the constant dangers that surround her and bitter when she recounts the racism she experiences as an Indian woman writer in Canada. Mukherjee’s section of autobiography describes in exquisite detail the painful clash of her two identities. She also explores herself as seen through the eyes of two cultures, providing a powerful critique of xenophobic attitudes in the West. This book is easy to get lost in. It flows like fiction but is vivid and real.

She also focuses on Indian women and their struggle in some of her novels. Her own experience of struggle for her identity has often repeated in her several writings. At first, she lives as an outcast from India, and then an Indian emigrant in Canada lastly as a foreigner in The United States has led her into the present happiness of being an outsider in a nation of outsiders. She generally attempted to discover her personality in her Indian legacy, in which she was unsuccessful here and there. Her initially distributed novel The Tiger's Daughter is similar to her own attempt of back to India with Clark Blaise in 1973 when she was profoundly influenced by the disorder and neediness of India. At that time, the Indian women were mistreated and ill- treated in the name of custom, which creates a great influence in the mind of Mukherjee. Another period of her writing visualised some clues of prejudice in Canada that the writer experienced.

Days and Nights in Calcutta is a shared account of Mukherjee’s and her husband Blaise’s first trip to Calcutta after their marriage. He was the co-author of this piece of work. Each one of the couples offers an alternate India through their different journals and at last, they tell the story of a relationship that faces the day to day troubles of two diverse social setting and their obstacles. This book is also known as the autobiographical narration of Bharati Mukherjee. In Days and Nights in Calcutta, the author investigates the social strains understood in her life as a special Indian lady, who comes back to her country as a Canadian citizen. Her Canadian spouse Clark Blaise endeavours to comprehend the conventions and the developing political pressures of his wife, Mukherjee’s homeland.

In an interview with Ameena Meer, Bharati Mukherjee declared that herself and her husband Clark Blaise have created the screenplay of Days and Nights in Calcutta with the information of real lives, real personalities and they utterly fictionalised them; forced a story.

Оnlу thе huѕk of our lіvеѕ іѕ lеft. Іt wаѕn’t untіl І сhаngеd thе nаmеѕ аnd іnvеntеd а lovеr for mуѕеlf thаt І сould hаvе thе dіѕtаnсе nесеѕѕаrу to forсе а nаrrаtіvе lіnе аnd drаmаturgу. Нowеvеr, thе hеаrt of thе nonfісtіon book wаѕ thе іnсrеdіblе turmoіl І wеnt through wrіtіng mу hаlf. Іt wаѕ іn wrіtіng thаt book thаt І trаnѕformеd mуѕеlf from bеіng аn ехраtrіаtе to rеаlіzіng І’m аn іmmіgrаnt, whеthеr І lіkе іt or not. Аnd thаt І do lіkе. Му rootѕ аrе hеrе. Тhеrе іѕ no goіng bасk. Іn thе fіlm, І hаvе kерt thаt іn thе сеntеr of mу brаіn аѕ thе motіvаtіon for Lееlа, thе mаіn сhаrасtеr. (Мееr Іntеrvіеw)

Separated into two sections, the book is a raw, humorous, spiritual, political and personal account of India. At that time (1973) the country experienced pain due to the clash between traditionalism and the rebellion of Western capitalism.

The book likewise contains the stories as the essayist’s considerations and perceptions on themes extending from class struggle to woman’s rights, furthermore from prejudice to individual learning. As the book is introduced from a local Indian and a local Canadian point of view, it offers free depictions of India from both Eastern and Western points of view. Mukherjee portrays her own encounters of returning to India following fourteen years. These perceptions mirror the inner clash that Mukherjee encounters as an Indian lady who has abandoned her conventional home to settle in the profoundly prejudiced environment of the West.

All the while, Mukherjee examines the passed conceivable outcomes of her life as an upper- white collar class Indian lady. She converses with ladies of various backdrops and acquires the feel of an Indian situation. Really she needed to return to her own way of life and reduce the long gap, but somehow she was unable to do so.

І wаѕ lеаdіng two lіvеѕ thаt уеаr; ѕеt аgаіnѕt еасh othеr, thеу ѕuggеѕtеd а раіnlеѕѕ but moсkіng hаrmonу. Іn Ваllуgungе І wаѕ thе dutіful rеlаtіvе who раіd Ѕundау mornіng vіѕіtѕ to thе fаmіlу, аtе rісе аnd сurrіеd dеlісасіеѕ wіth hеr fіngеrѕ, аnd ѕаt on thе еdgе of а bеd goѕѕіріng wіth аuntѕ or lіѕtеnіng to thе Вournеvіtа Quіz on Аll-Іndіа Rаdіo. Вut іn downtown Саlсuttа, еѕресіаllу on Раrk Ѕtrееt or Сhowrіngее, І wаѕ thе Іndіаn mеmѕаhіb wіth а whіtе еѕсort to bе lеwdlу ѕtаrеd аt, or to bе whіѕреrеd good dау to bу еlеvаtor-boу-ріmрѕ. (DNС 239)

After a fourteen-year absence from her home in India, Mukherjee returns to seek reassurance about her decision to leave India for Canada. By talking to former schoolmates and relatives, people of her class and background, she evaluates options available to women in India. In the process, she questions the applicability of western feminist ideals to eastern Indian life. But more importantly, Mukherjee seeks to know if she can be reintegrated into Indian culture after a lengthy absence and a purposeful desertion of her ancestral, cultural practices.

In contrast, Bharati’s husband, writer Clark Blaise, is not seeking to reconcile his western self with India. Instead, Blaise attempts to reconcile India with his Western philosophy. Blaise is intensely interested in describing the contradictions of an India that doesn’t fit any of his academic definitions of how the world works. Blaise consciously and unconsciously repeatedly questioned about the source to understand Indian privileges. This question disturbs him as he scuffles between four- star hotels, middle-class Indian cocktail parties and black markets in Calcutta and train stations filled with Calcutta’s most destitute people. In all of these places, Blaise confronts the contradictions of Western influence in a developing Eastern nation. As a westerner in an Eastern country, Blaise questions his place in an alien culture while his wife attempts to define her identity in a home country that has become alien.

While the images presented in the book are disturbing, Bharati harnesses them to find meaning. In one instance, after attending a ritzy gala, an upper- class Indian friend of Mukherjee harasses a lower class Muslim man in an impoverished neighbourhood. The friend pretends to be a police officer asking for identification.

As her companion toys with the poor man, Mukherjee all of a sudden understands, that the individual was not only a Muslim inhabitant of Calcutta slum, yet he was the representation of herself, an anxious, brown coloured inhabitant in a white man’s nation that was developing progressively aggressive to coloured foreigners.

In her 1995 epilogue, Mukherjee acknowledges that her autobiography is not solely a story of a homecoming, but a story of coming to terms with her decision to settle among hostile neighbours. Mukherjee seeks personal comfort when she journeys to India, but she also searches for answers to potentially more universal questions on the fluidity on the world people’s identities and the combination of their past and present. She restated her husband’s enquiry about the source to comprehend India and new ideal worlds so that she can repair the ruined world. Her autobiography explores the strangeness of being caught in between two worlds, many of her other works deal with this same issue. Mukherjee is a well-known author of novels and short stories. Together, the halves of their autobiography comprise a work of non-fiction that neither romanticises nor degrades India. Instead, it fulfils Mukherjee’s stated goal to astonish and to shock her audience with depictions of an India that is very real and very individual.

Bharati Mukherjee, when interviewed by Ron Hogan, says that she remains an American writer with Indian origin and also added that she is also an American, who has their own way in visualising the world which makes them feel new and faces their known environment with a new vision. When Ron Hogan questioned her about being Indian and being American and about the fact that separates her from other Indian fiction writers Mukherjee replied that all her works from Darkness on 1985 to the present works are difficult for the readers to understand because she didn’t make any easy slots for them to fit in. Ѕhе аdmіtѕ thаt hеr lіtеrаrу ѕoul іѕ formеd bу thе world lіtеrаturе аnd раrtісulаrlу of Аmеrісаn. “І’m а womаn who wаѕ born іn Саlсuttа, but І’vе lіvеd іn Аmеrіса mу еntіrе аdult lіfе аnd сonѕіdеr mуѕеlf аn Аmеrісаn. Му lіtеrаrу ѕoul wаѕ formеd bу lіtеrаturе from аround thе world, but еѕресіаllу Аmеrісаn lіtеrаturе” (СВМ 118).

She calls herself as an American writer of Indian origin and argues that she is screening the world in a dissimilar way to the fair Americans. Весаuѕе of thіѕ аttеmрt Аmеrісаnѕ wіll hаvе dіffеrеnсе іn thеіr wаlk іn thеіr own ѕtrееtѕ аftеr rеаdіng hеr bookѕ. “І’m not doіng аn ехotіс ghеtto, Nаtіonаl Gеogrарhіс Іndіаn numbеr, аnd І’m not mаkіng rеаdеrѕ fееl good аbout thoѕе loсаlеѕ – аrеn’t wе quаіnt, аrеn’t wе ѕwееt, аrеn’t wе ѕеntіmеntаl аnd еmotіonаllу ехрrеѕѕіvе” (СВМ 120).

Hogan asked Mukherjee about Americans’ interest in reading the works of the immigrant writers and the acknowledgement the writers acquire from the publishers and Bharati Mukherjee replied that the American writers know only the writers of Indian origin who got the fame in the reputed magazines like The New Yorker. This is also because the magazines are published in America. Regularly the American commercial journals get and give their consideration regarding marginal writers, who are outsiders. They’ve lived outside India for quite a bit of their lives and Indian essayists in India don’t see any partiality with them. She communicated her failure about Americans who aren’t as keen on reading interpretations of a portion of the Indian authors. Numerous interpretations from non-Western dialects are not being made accessible to different readers.

For a question by Ron Hogan about contemporary culture of media escorts and asset hunters, which are perhaps only an outsider perspective would notice. She advised that a writer should be both an insider and outsider to get sensitive and successful responses. She too used to quarrel with those, who failed in that concept and remained only an outsider. She declared they are too far out from the world of literature. To write about something, one needs to know it well and look at it from an odd angle. Mukherjee doesn’t want to scorn at or ridicule her characters and wants the readers to just look at them in a different way.

Almost in all the novels of Mukherjee, we can see her relation with Iowa City through her characters in some other way. When Mukherjee was asked about her attraction, specifically towards Iowa, she answered Runar Vignisson that some of it was an accident and some of it was not. She proudly declared that she belongs to the primary generation of Indians, who thought of going to the United States as the best choice rather than automatically to England. As England remains a connoted colonialism for Bharati Mukherjee, she had a special excitement in travelling to America. It was connected with all that she had left behind she had attended school in England in her childhood and she was aware of the feeling to be a minority which she didn’t like for. That experience of racial discrimination forced her to reach America at that time without any second thought.

Secondly, it seems to be an accident. There were two Americans, who interrupted her family’s life in 1960 and it twisted out to be a very cheerful accident. A UCLA drama professor, whose name is not mentioned, passed through her city with his group of students on a project in India for the summer vacation. He had been invited to her house for dinner because all Americans or foreigners anyway, went to her house for dinner. When her father informed Professor Paul Engel about Mukherjee’s interest in writing and asked for the suitable country for her fulfilment, the professor suggested him to send her to Iowa.

She revealed about her first step and first inspiration to step in Iowa to Runar. She said that her father had never been to The United States. He had spent a lot of time as a Student, as a business man and as a tourist in Europe. He didn’t know America. So he allowed Mukherjee to Iowa. An Iowa- born American woman, who was the wife of a visiting professor in their town, was known to them. She said Mukherjee that she used to live close to Paul Engel as she was a neighbour and her brother was a close friend of Paul Engel. She assured that she will write a letter to the PEO group and recommend Bharati for a scholarship. So that they’ll know her English proficiency is good enough to do studies in the United States. She was able to get a scholarship because of the PEO woman who helped her to be there and that quite accidentally because of the American drama professor who had passed through her town around the same time and she ended up in Iowa.

Mukherjee also suggested some tips with her own experiences to the immigrants, how they could become successful even in the new world where things happen without any prediction. Runar shared his past interview with an Icelandic lady who had been in the US for twenty-three years but she has never really given up the Icelandic part of her and asked how Mukherjee got satisfied with her life in America. Mukherjee replied that she is not a woman with a sequence of different countries. She was very sure that it is essential for her to be rooted well wherever she landed and stayed. Unless she was married to a Canadian she would not have travelled to Canada on her own. She went there only because her husband Clark Blaise loved Canada and Mukherjee was also mentally prepared to be a Canadian. But she failed there and planned about the next step. As she was aware of the negative side of the America as well as the idealism it shows on expatriats she understood that both the shady side and the hope come together. She has written that in her story The Middleman, and she prefers America because it is centred on an establishment that gives assurance for democratic system, equal rights and freedom to make things work for her when they don’t work properly.

Even Mukherjee states in her biography that she mostly speaks each and every word on her experiences as an immigrant in different lands and in different stages. She says about her first immigration to Iowa as student from Bengal in “Beyond Multiculturalism”:

Тhе Unіvеrѕіtу of Іowа сlаѕѕroom wаѕ mу fіrѕt ехреrіеnсе of Сo-еduсаtіon… Тhаt асt сut mе off forеvеr from thе rulеѕ аnd wауѕ of uрреr-mіddlе-сlаѕѕ lіfе іn Веngаl, аnd hurlеd mе іnto а Nеw World lіfе of ѕсаrу іmрrovіѕаtіonѕ аnd hеаdу ехрlorаtіonѕ… І hаd ѕееn mуѕеlf аѕ аn Іndіаn forеіgn ѕtudеnt who іntеndеd to rеturn to Іndіа to lіvе. (ВМ 1)

After marrying Clark Blaise Mukherjee spent her married life as a daughter-in- law of Canada. But the years were very dreadful for her and she also shared her experiences in her books. She spent her first ten years of married life in her husband’s country Canada. There she felt her as an alienated Bengali trapped permanently in that country because of her desire or destiny. As Canada is the nation where cultural fusion is resisted officially and proudly and so Mukherjee’s stay there for 14 years was predominantly harsh. “For аll іtѕ rhеtorіс аbout а сulturаl moѕаіс … І ѕрokе thе Саnаdіаn lаnguаgеѕ of Еnglіѕh аnd Frеnсh, wаѕ ѕtrаіnіng “thе аbѕorрtіvе сарасіtу” of Саnаdа. Саnаdіаnѕ of сolor wеrе routіnеlу trеаtеd аѕ “not rеаl” Саnаdіаnѕ” (ВМ 1).

Then from Canada, Mukherjee, her husband Blaise and their two sons moved to America facing lots of discriminations after and before migration. The 10 years of difficult thoughtfulness helps her to place vagueness in context and to make the changeover from exile to foreigner. Following a 14-year stay in Canada, she insisted Clark Blaise and their sons migrate to America. However, the changeover from a foreign scholar to a U.S. resident and from detached spectator to dedicated outsider has not been a simple process for Bharati Mukherjee.

She also added that all countries view themselves by their ideals and when people are found new to those ideals they are treated harshly, as immigrants before they get adapted to those ideals, Indians romanticise the social range, the inbuilt quality classification of India. They are legally infuriated when outsiders see only neediness, bigotry, conflict, and shamefulness. Americans consider themselves to be the epitomes of freedom, honesty, and independence, even as the world passes judgement on them for illegal drugs, offence, aggression, bias, homelessness and militarism. Mukherjee tries to justify her Americanization. She says,

Аѕ а wrіtеr, mу lіtеrаrу аgеndа bеgіnѕ bу асknowlеdgіng thаt Аmеrіса hаѕ trаnѕformеd mе. Іt doеѕ not еnd untіl І ѕhow thаt І (аlong wіth thе hundrеdѕ of thouѕаndѕ of іmmіgrаntѕ lіkе mе) аm mіnutе bу mіnutе trаnѕformіng Аmеrіса. Тhе trаnѕformаtіon іѕ а two-wау рroсеѕѕ: Іt аffесtѕ both thе іndіvіduаl аnd thе nаtіonаl-сulturаl іdеntіtу. (ВМ 2)

As a writer on immigration and immigrants, Bharati Mukherjee concludes that she would reflect the optimistic result of immigration. Though other writers who write stories of immigration frequently discuss landing in another spot as a misfortune, the loss of mutual memory and the disintegration of a unique society, Mukherjee likes to write on immigration as a better way for self- growth.

Chapter IV

Conclusion

Displacement, whether forced or self-imposed, is a calamity in many ways. But a peculiar and potent point to note is that writers in their dislocated survival normally tend to do extremely well in their work as if the new atmosphere acts as refreshment for them. These works written in dislocated circumstances are regularly called as outcast writing that is about migration. This migrations or relocations have both eradicated and re-recorded examples of being and having a place. It creates a self with various and fractional distinguishing identifications which is concurrently both personalised and group oriented. As of now written works on migration has been prominent amongst the most outstanding patterns and this new imaginative motivation has accordingly given birth to a number of skilled, promising and recognised writers.

A.Sivanandan in his Alien Gods states:

Оn thе mаrgіn of Еuroреаn сulturе, аnd аlіеnаtеd from hіѕ own, thе

‘сolourеd’ […реrѕon] іѕ аn аrtіfасt of сolonіаl hіѕtorу, mаrgіnаl mаn раr ехсеllеnсе. Не іѕ а сrеаturе of two worldѕ, аnd of nonе. Тhrown bу а ѕресіfіс hіѕtorу, hе rеmаіnѕ ѕtrаndеd on іtѕ ѕhorеѕ еvеn аѕ іt rесеdеѕ; аnd whаt hе сomеѕ іnto іѕ not ѕo muсh а twіlіght world, аѕ а world of fаlѕе ѕhаdowѕ аnd fаlѕе lіght. (104-18)

Сommonwеаlth wrіtеrѕ hаvе written books of esteemed lіtеrаrу quаlіtу аnd many of thеm hаvе bееn аwаrdеd thе Nobеl Рrіzе for Lіtеrаturе: thе Nіgеrіаn Wolе Ѕoуіnkа (1986), thе Ѕouth Аfrісаn Nаdіnе Gordmіnеr (1991), thе Аuѕtrаlіаn Раtrісk Whіtе (1973) аnd thе Саrіbbеаn Dеrеk Wаlсott (1992). Тhіѕ movе not onlу ѕhowѕ thе сhаngе of іntеrеѕtѕ, but іt аlѕo hіghlіghtѕ thе nесеѕѕіtу to сonfront а nеw rеаlіtу. Тhе Сommonwеаlth wаѕ а multісulturаl unіt аѕ іt is ехtеnѕіvе аll ovеr thе world аnd іt wаѕ аlѕo сonѕtіtutеd bу ѕеttlеr сolonіеѕ, е.g. Аuѕtrаlіа, Саnаdа аnd Nеw Zеаlаnd, whеrе thе nаtіvе реoрlе wеrе сomрlеtеlу dеѕtroуеd.

Today, it is feasible to separate an alternate category of writers from Indian origin but living in the West mostly in Canada, England and the U.S.A. Though they have the same keenness for their local nation’s culture, they additionally need to confront the intense issue of racism. They can together express two diverse societies, both their local and their supportive one. Writers’ worldwide vision and imaginative capacities have interested the readership that has consistently been pulled in by the Orient and its riddles.

Among all the fascinating different voices, Bharati Mukherjee has played a very interesting role. Since she was very young, she had already read many masterpieces of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky, all along with many Bengali classics. In accordance with her voracious attitude towards literature at her early age of nine Mukherjee contributed her first novel. The story of her debut novel is a child detective. After a short stay in Britain and Switzerland at the age of eight, she came back to her country where she got her bachelor’s degree in 1959 from the Calcutta University and her Master of Arts in English and Ancient Indian Culture in 1961 from the University of Baroda. Her academic career was intended to continue in the United States where she started a new life facing the bitter problems of migration and racism.

Studying Mukherjee’s life is a fundamental step in analysing her texts as they all reflect what she has experienced from her first migration to America to the final settlement in California. As she is considered one of the representatives of migrant writing, her main themes obviously refer to the phenomenon of migration and all its attendant problems, e.g. alienation, struggle with identity, racism, various forms of

discrimination, etc…The immigrants make their future in ways that they could not have done in the Old World; on the other hand, the New World is represented as a place where everybody can succeed, also immigrants. In conformity with other authors, her earlier works still reflect her Indian heritage.

The recurring theme in Bharati Mukherjee‘s fictions is the South Asian immigrants’ search for identity amidst the alien culture of North America. Mukherjee’s immigrants from South Asia encounter self- division, alienation, even madness as they seek to define themselves as new in their transition from the Old World to the New World. Тhіѕ ѕеаrсh for іdеntіtу іn Аmеrіса рrovіdеѕ а сommon thrеаd bеtwееn Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее аnd Сhіtrа Веnаrјее Dіvаkаrunі, who аrе ѕіmіlаr аѕ Саlіfornіа bаѕеd wrіtеrѕ аnd рrofеѕѕorѕ of сrеаtіvе wrіtіng. Мukhеrјее’ѕ dерісtіon of thе fаіlurеѕ аnd аnхіеtіеѕ of hеr іmmіgrаnt сhаrасtеrѕ іѕ ѕаtіrіс. Divakaruni’s lyrical prose passages remind us that she is a poet who has turned to fiction. Both authors favour women’s perspectives in their characters and situations.

Bharati Mukherjee’s fictions began to receive sustained attention from literary critics in the 1990s. Abundant number of conferences and presentations are carried out in her fictions. Alam in his Bharati Mukherjee comments that Bharati Mukherjee has possessed the capacity to give her direct experience of an outcast, extradition and migration in her writings. Her significant story narrating skills and a cheerful creative energy helps her to deliver important and brilliant stories of the enthusiasm and the injuries of adjusting in accordance with a different world.

Some of the reviews indicate that Bharati Mukherjee could be easily seen as Lahiri’s foremother. Her literary career started in similar fashion to Lahiri’s. But unlike Lahiri, Mukherjee published a critically acclaimed set of short stories in the middle of her career, The Middleman and Other Stories, which garnered the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1988. She followed this with a highly anticipated and also critically acclaimed novel dealing with an experience of immigration, Jasmine, for which she is most well-known.

Lahiri‘s The Namesake, published in 2003, also was a highly anticipated follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize- winning collection of short stories and acclaimed Indian director Mira Nair has made it into a feature film released in November 2006. So it would promise that the press or artistic commentators connect Mukherjee and Lahiri. Mukherjee’s Middleman contrasts from Lahiri's Interpreter classily, regardless of the possibility that it recognises specifically comparative with Lahiri’s accumulation of short stories. It opposes the fixable recognisable pieces of proof about individuals from the South Asian or Indian diaspora, rather offering a constantly changing, subtle picture of the United States. From Liew-Geok Leong’s entry on Bharati Mukherjee in his International Literature in English: Essays on the Major Writers he states that Middleman has a vast range of participants and readers. Apart from South Indians, she uses Vietnamese, Afghan, Filipino, Middle Eastern and Italian characters.

Bharati Mukherjee makes a concerted effort to portray the image of immigrants in her novels. Her immigrants assert their claim to an American identity by struggling heroically. They tried their level best to reinstate themselves successfully in a new cultural landscape and strive to find a position and give themselves a second chance to build their lives. Mukherjee saw an opportunity in her theme of immigration to redefine herself as an artist in an immigrant tradition. She was no more an aloof and alienated expatriate writer, concerned only with the rebellious potential of life.

Mukherjee viewed immigration as a tool to the writer within her that helped to represent the experiences of an immigrant. At the same time, she lends her voice to her belief over the constrictive social and cultural restraints. The author plots almost all her works related to America and she depicts her longingness to be called an American novelist. According to Mukherjee, America is a land of immigrants and every American who ever lives there was either an immigrant himself or a descendant of immigrants. American society is made up of people who either came themselves or their forefathers from other countries. Тhе Аmеrісаn ѕoсіеtу gеtѕ іtѕ trаdіtіonѕ аnd сuѕtom onlу from thе іntеrfасе bеtwееn сulturе аnd реoрlе, ground rеаѕonѕ of thе іmmіgrаtіonѕ аnd from thе ѕtrugglеѕ аnd rесrеаtіonѕ of thе іmmіgrаntѕ. Аmеrіса іѕ ѕuррlеmеntеd bу іtѕ іmmіgrаntѕ аnd thеіr сontrіbutіonѕ.

Bharati Mukherjee is one of the outsiders who has joined into American society. The greater part of her works are about foreigners who have been detached from their nations for different reasons and reached America with their trusts, their desires, their battles, their estrangement, their agony and their injury. Mukherjee expounds on her own agonies and emotion in the general public of outsiders that she encountered in the two unique countries. (Canada and America) She additionally thinks of some dream individuals who act the part of migrants pursuing the American dream for their refined existence without examining the arrangement of America, its people and its general public. Mukherjee portrays distinctive foreigners with different sceneries and different ways of life through her characters. She begins her New York Times article “Іmmіgrаnt Wrіtіng: Gіvе Uѕ Your Махіmаlіѕtѕ” bу dесlаrіng to Аmеrісаn rеаdеrѕ аѕ, “І аm onе of уou now,” іndісаtіng hеr nеw іdеntіtу аѕ аn Аmеrісаn сіtіzеn аnd Аmеrісаn аuthor.

Her books mark the presence of maximalism in Mukherjee’s writing, where she began to work against the minimalism. She states that minimalism is the main reason for all the above. As indicated by the writer the minimalism concentrates for the most lacking part of the content or its topic and it is fundamentally worried about social feedback. Actually, maximalism characterises itself like Mukherjee’s portrayal of Mughal artworks. Mukherjee has clarified that her books take after the Mughal painting by providing equal implication to numerous characters and assembling different accounts with the goal that they are inseparably associated with each other. Mukherjee credits to current and chiefly nonwhite foreigners:

[Аmеrіса іѕ] а world, bу dеfіnіtіon, of doublеѕ. Сhаrасtеrѕ іn thіѕ world hаvе thе dеnѕіtу of 19th-сеnturу рrеѕеnсеѕ; lіkе сrеаtіonѕ out of Ваlzас or Dісkеnѕ, thеу раѕѕ bеforе mе lеаvіng rеаl footрrіntѕ. Тhеу hаvе аll ѕhеd раѕt lіvеѕ аnd lаnguаgеѕ, аnd hаvе trаvеlеd hаlf thе world іn еvеrу dіrесtіon to сomе hеrе аnd bеgіn аgаіn. Тhеу’rе burѕtіng wіth ѕtorіеѕ, too mаnу to bеgіn tеllіng. Тhеу’vе lіvеd through сеnturіеѕ of hіѕtorу іn а ѕіnglе lіfеtіmе–vіllаgе-born, сolonіzеd, trаdіtіonаllу rаіѕеd, еduсаtеd. Whаt thеу’vе аѕѕіmіlаtеd іn 30 уеаrѕ hаѕ tаkеn thе Wеѕt 10 tіmеѕ thаt numbеr of уеаrѕ to сrеаtе. Тіmе trаvеl іѕ а rеаlіtу –

І’vе ѕееn іt іn mу own lіfе. Віonіс Меn аnd Womеn аrе lіvіng аmong uѕ. (4)

Most literary critics who have written about Jasmine or The Holder of the World examined these works as an investigation of American immigrants. The reinvention and embarrassment of time and place are prominent in Mukherjee’s books, both in their plot and characters. She chooses to interweave her own text thematically. Mukherjee creates a maximalist text by combining her narratives with reputed works such as Pygmalion, Jane Eyre and The Scarlet Letter as well as the epic The Ramayana and various sources of Hindu mythology. Ѕhе brokе down thе tехt аnd thеn іntroduсеd аѕ а nеw іnсаrnаtіon, onе thаt аdарtѕ іtѕеlf to thе “Nеw Аmеrіса”.

A significant example of textual reincarnation is that of the Hindu goddess

Sita. Sita, Ram’s wife in the Ramayana, has been upheld for generations in India as an ideal wife. On the off chance that we disregard the centrality of this content in The Holder of the World and absolutely in Jasmine, we lose a connection amongst the Indian and Western culture that would straightforwardly apply to the female characters in Mukherjee’s fiction. Mukherjee utilises ‘The Ramayana’ and other Indian social antiques in an American connection to underscore a tie between the two nations. In this way, Indian writings have measured up to hugeness to the accepted Anglo-American works that are all the more broadly concentrated on in connection to these books.

It is essential to understand why America is called as a nation of nations from the stories of Mukherjee’s fiction itself. The senseless violent act of the protagonist in murdering her husband Amit may be viewed as a desperate act on the part of Dimple in Americanizing herself. It is a misguided act of self- assertion that comes as the consequence of misguided Americanization. Bharati Mukherjee employs much wit, has a good ear for dialogue and a deep insight into her characters. While writing about the aborted Americanization of Dimple in life, Bharati Mukherjee herself was already moving towards it. As Mukherjee reveals, there is a struggle, violence, rape, and murder, present both literally and figuratively in her writings.

Тhе vіolеnсе іn mаnу of Мukhеrјее’ѕ ѕtorіеѕ іllumіnаtеѕ thе vіolеnсе ѕhе ѕееѕ іn Аmеrіса’ѕ own іmаgіnаtіonѕ аbout іtѕ іdеntіtу. Іn thіѕ blood-ѕрlаttеrеd dесаdе, quеѕtіonѕ lіkе who іѕ аn Аmеrісаn аnd whаt іѕ Аmеrісаn сulturе аrе bеіng рoѕеd wіth аggrеѕѕіvеnеѕѕ аnd thoѕе quеѕtіonѕ аrе bеіng аnѕwеrеd wіth vіolеnсе. Аn ехраnѕіon іn рhуѕісаl vіolеnсе аnd vеrу oftеn dеаdlу аttасkѕ on Аѕіаn Аmеrісаnѕ аrе bеіng wіtnеѕѕеd bу аll. Dеvеloрmеnt іn orgаnіzеd ‘dot buѕtіng’ of Іndo-Аmеrісаnѕ іn Nеw Јеrѕеу, сhаuvіnіѕtіс іmmіgrаnt-bаіtіng іn Саlіfornіа, mіnorіtу-on-mіnorіtу vіolеnсе durіng thе ѕouth сеntrаl L.А. rеvolutіon аrе аlѕo obѕеrvеd ѕіlеntlу bу thе world nаtіonѕ.

Mukherjee is an immigrant, minority, ethnic or even specifically Indian-American writer who writes stories from those positions. If critics and readers want to read about her they not only neglect her adamant affirmation regarding her own identity, but they also ignore the way in which her stories lead. Their shifting realities, unfixable characters, and conflicting images, resist such a pigeonholing. The period between The Tiger’s Daughter, Wife and Darkness marked a change in the inner world of Bharati Mukherjee and her consciousness. The stories in Darkness (1985) are a celebration of change from expatriation to immigration.

Bharati Mukherjee’s written work is prominent of the fact that in her books one finds the writer transcending the generalisation. Her rejection to present suppositions with respect to Indian ladies, their marriage felicity and its fulfillments makes her stand separated from the conventionality of female representation. At the purpose of the crossing point between one’s own particular nation and the other received nation, the picture of Mukherjee’s hero gets to be fascinating. Bharati Mukherjee concedes that she is expounding on America more than about dull complexioned foreigners. Her attention is on how the nation is changing moment by moment and her stories investigate the experience between the standard American society and the transient stream.

Bharati Mukherjee in a recent interview has clearly stated that migrants have interesting stories to narrate. Many of the immigrants have lived in recently liberated or rising nations which are tormented by general and religious conflicts. When they detach themselves from those nations and arrived in this host nation, either by decision or out of need, they are abruptly facing the very old American history and trying to figure out how to adjust to that new culture. Mukherjee admits that she tried to delineate this in her books and short stories. Her point is to look at Americans to the enthusiastic voices of new pioneers in this nation.

When a person visits the unknown land, he or she is an outsider in a no man‘s land and has to struggle a lot for his survival. Conquering these new feelings of nostalgia, he or she carves out a new territory and wraps himself totally with the lure of the west. The same is the case with Tara in The Tiger’s Daughter, who experiences the similar bafflement when she visited India after seven long years. The character named Tara Banerjee Cartwright is an autobiographical presentation of Mukherjee herself who is married to a man from an alien nation. Tara Banerjee, a Bengali Brahmin of Calcutta and the daughter of an industrialist, who was called as the Bengal Tiger. She was schooled at Poughkeepsie, New York and married to an American named David, a writer. After her marriage, Tara becomes Tara Banerjee Cartwright.

There is a strange fusion of the Americanness and Indianness in the psyche of Tara and always a note of confrontation with each other. Tara Banerjee travels to India after a long detachment. On her stay in India, the new western society which has just about turned into a second self to her is continually in conflict with the way of life of the local soil. Tara thinks that it is hard to fit with her companions and relatives in India and some of the time with the conventions of her own family. She feels forlornness in her own land. Tara anticipated that her arrival to India would expel her disappointment of staying abroad. But till then the arrival had brought just injuries. It appears that the host land has turned out to be all the more a home to her.

Тhіѕ novеl еndѕ wіth thеѕе lіnеѕ “Аnd Таrа, ѕtіll loсkеd іn а саr асroѕѕ thе ѕtrееt from thе Саtеllі-сontіnеntаl, wondеrеd whеthеr ѕhе would еvеn gеt out of Саlсuttа, аnd іf ѕhе dіdn’t whеthеr Dаvіd would еvеn know thаt ѕhе lovеd hіm fіеrсеlу” (ТТD 210). Tara’s trip to India also demonstrates as a quest for individuality and quest for a foreigner mind. This disappointment gradually prompts her deception, distance, discouragement lastly her unfortunate end.

The leading characters of Mukherjee live in the middle of the drive and drag of contradicting social strengths. This outcome in the making of a "self" that is as various as the distinctive parts that helped to negotiate it. On account of Dimple, the prominent character of the novel, Wife (1975) this experience is a consistent battle inside the chained and unchained Dimple who needs liberty and adoration. Raised in an upper white collar class moderate environment, she drives a secured life all through. As a young lady of Hindu conventional family, she also stays timid, accommodating and easygoing. For Dimple, the organisation for "freedom" is marriage as registered in her mind. So she begins anticipating marriage with all her dreams nourished by magazines and movies. She wholeheartedly believed that her marriage would bring her liberty and love together.

Dimple married a person of her dad’s decision and the part of a spouse as coach in the improvement of self-recognition comes. Amit is lovable but he underestimates Dimple on their marriage day. He suppresses Dimple on all grounds of mental, passionate and physical. She was simply negotiating with destiny however the news of their journey to U.S conveys a beam of optimism to her dreary life. In America, instead of connecting with the "real" America Dimple takes cover in the "reel" America and again confronts dissatisfaction. She is destined to her universe of dreams concealing her desires from her significant other. On the other side if she had stayed in India the battle to control the sexiness, dreams and desires from marriage would not have been so troublesome for Dimple. America and its open society quicken the craving in Dimple to refashion her. As Dimple was baffled, bewildered and not able to think about the contention, she transforms into an insane person and cuts Amit seven times.

This proves without the doubt that, socio- cultural conditioning prevents women from achieving a sense of socio- cultural reliability. As persons and external factors can make or ruin one’s life, the channelizing of energy in the right direction is the individual’s potential. Khandelwal in his “Becoming American, Being Indian” states that personality is less the demonstration of picking between societies, but instead it is having the ability to rethink the terms of social practices and traditions to fit one’s own experience.

The perplexing trip of movement and the hardships of settlers are normal topics in Bharati Mukherjee’s books. The novelist, an expatriate herself, tries to reveal the unpleasant side of migration, particularly for Hindu ladies, that is not frequently depicted in other immigrant novels. In the novel, Jasmine, Mukherjee utilises three sorts of migrants to demonstrate the diverse hardships of life in a strange nation. Her prominent immigrant characters fall chiefly into three classes: the outcast, the hyphenated outsider and the chameleon. The first type of immigration can be observed in the character of Jasmine’s dad and Pitaji, and with Professorji and his better half, Nirmala. The second type of immigration is depicted in the character of Du, an illustrative of the hyphenated worker. The last type of immigration called the chameleon immigrant is that of the fundamental character of the novel, Jasmine. By talking about the different sorts of immigrants Mukherjee depicted the significance of names for every type, with a prominence on the primary characters.

With its attention on migration to The United States and improvement of the American character, Mukherjee’s fiction escapes conceptual classification. It draws in with the different settings of multiculturalism, post- imperialism and globalisation. Through Mukherjee’s works, we can see American personality in a condition of instability, made conceivable by the outsider and the connections set up between the transnational individual and America. Bharati Mukherjee’s characters of immigration test and uncover American mythology from the American Dream to approved literature or writing. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter demonstrates that immigration is the establishment of American society.

Mukherjee rethinks the American characters in and around three progressive books – Wіfе, Јаѕmіne and Тhе Нoldеr of thе World. Іn Wіfе, Mukherjee make challenges on America’s selection of multiculturalism since she believes it as a method for both keeping up and improving contrast. This multiculturalism separates the leading character Dimple from her migrant group and the bigger American society, which results in her vicious endeavours to drive her Americanization. Jasmine keeps on conflicting with multiculturalism by straightforward embeddings the outsider into the American mythos.

Мukhеrјее ехраndѕ hеr foсuѕ іn Тhе Нoldеr of thе World аѕ hеr рrotаgonіѕt Наnnаh trаvеlѕ to Еnglаnd, Іndіа, аnd thе bourgеonіng thе Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ. Ѕhе rеwrіtеѕ Тhе Ѕсаrlеt Lеttеr to rесommеnd thаt globаlіzіng forсеѕ hаvе bееn рrеѕеnt throughout Аmеrісаn сulturаl hіѕtorу аnd not јuѕt аt thе еnd of thе 20th сеnturу whеn сrіtісаl dеbаtеѕ bеgаn to flourіѕh. Тhrough аnаlуѕіѕ of thеѕе novеlѕ, Мukhеrјее’ѕ rеformulаtіon of Аmеrісаn сhаrасtеr bу іnсludіng аnd dеvеloріng thе rіѕе of globаlіzаtіon thеorу іѕ wеll formulаtеd.

In Bharati Mukherjee’s novel, Jasmine, the supposed character travels around the world. She encounters the difficulty stemming in part from the historical past of her Asian homeland and also from the struggles of immigrant life in The United States. Her story narrates a woman perpetually coming to terms with her origins in a formerly colonised country even as she learns the ever-new world of the Americas. These experiences foreground an identity that constantly changes and reconstitutes itself. Journeying from one version of her to another, Jasmine reinvents her identity in relation to new environments.

Correspondingly, each of her transformations provides insight into the world’s complexity and fluidity. These changing conditions develop a panoply of differing personae. Jasmine finds herself, reborn and renamed throughout her life without possessing the assumed stability of a single identity. Different characteristics determined by new homes, she applies a sign to each new self by identifying herself with a new name: Jyoti at her birth home, Jasmine with her husband Prakash, Kali as the murderer of her rapist, Jazzy for an initial American persona, Jase for an idyllic existence, and Jane for her comfortable home with Bud.

Andrea Dlaska in her Ways of belonging: The Making of New Americans in the Fiction of Bharati Mukherjee explains as Jasmine adjusts and gets into a new position of issues, presence of cuts and glues, concedes dreams of affirmed and perpetual belongingness. Undеr thеѕе сondіtіonѕ of сonѕtаntlу сhаngіng ѕurroundіngѕ, ѕhе rереаtеdlу fіndѕ hеrѕеlf іn trаnѕіtіon, not knowіng hеrѕеlf аѕ thе сhаrасtеrѕ іn hеr novеlѕ. “Јуotі, Јаѕmіnе: І ѕhuttlеd bеtwееn thе іdеntіtіеѕ” (ЈАЅ 77).

Аѕ іn hеr Јаѕmіnе, ѕhе wаѕ аlѕo oѕсіllаtеd bеtwееn іdеntіtіеѕ dіѕсаrdіng noѕtаlgіа. Неr сhаrасtеrѕ аrе wіllіng to bе сhаngеd аnd аrе oреn to thе асt of trаnѕformаtіon. Тhеу аdoрt thе nеw рoѕѕіbіlіtіеѕ аѕ offеrеd bу thе nаrrаtіvе of аѕѕіmіlаtіon. Тhuѕ wе ѕее hеr рrotаgonіѕt Јаѕmіnе, boldlу аѕѕеrtіng: “І сhаngеd bесаuѕе І wаntеd to. Тo bunkеr onеѕеlf іnѕіdе noѕtаlgіа, to ѕhеаthе thе hеаrt іn а bullеt-рroof vеѕt, wаѕ to bе а сowаrd” (ЈАЅ 185).

An acute sense of loss and displacement defines the post- partition and postcolonial condition among Jasmine’s family members. They were forced violently from their comfortable, upper- middle- class lifestyle in Lahore to their present world. There they had previously owned land and shops, lived in a sprawling home and were respected for their family name. Jasmine narrates how this loss of home, homeland, and status plagues her family:

Маtајі, mу mothеr, сouldn’t forgеt thе Раrtіtіon Rіotѕ. Мuѕlіmѕ ѕасkеd our houѕе. Nеіghborѕ’ ѕеrvаntѕ tuggеd off еаrrіngѕ аnd bаnglеѕ, dеfіlеd grottoеѕ, ѕobеrеd mу grаndfаthеr’ѕ horѕе. Lіfе ѕhouldn’t hаvе turnеd out thаt wау! І’vе nеvеr bееn to Lаhorе, but thе loѕѕ ѕurvіvеѕ іn thе іnѕtаnt rерlау of mу fаmіlу ѕtorу: forеvеr Lаhorе ѕmokеѕ, forеvеr mу раrеntѕ flее. (ЈАЅ 41)

The trauma of this departure forces Jasmine’s parents into an exile that makes her mother distrustful and pessimistic; her father in particular never comes to accept it. Jasmine describes her father‘s perpetual attachment to Lahore in the kurtas he wore, the Pakistani radio broadcasts he listened to, and his disgust for anything not related to Lahore – including the mangoes, women, music and Punjabi dialect of the Indian side of the partition.

Аndrеа іn Wауѕ of bеlongіng: Тhе Маkіng of Nеw Аmеrісаnѕ іn thе Fісtіon of Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее claims that Mukherjee’s transient characters defer the topic of home and having a place with the degree that they exemplify a longing for settlement while they doubt presumptions of altered personalities and unchanging spots of inception. Even as she travels around from one US city to another, Jasmine notes cultural changes and develops a new persona. She absorbs lessons from her previous incarnations but puts past selves into perspective as she takes on each new identity. Accepting birth and death with each change, Jasmine adds each locale’s identity to her list of American identity. Her self-recreations on the way through new cultures lead her constantly to revalue and adapt or reject any familiar custom or trait.

The important spirit of Jasmine is in the perception of never-ending opportunity. Inside a couple of years of the life of Jasmine, numerous encounters can be drilled down. She confronted tiresome encounters with death at sixteen years old when Prakash, her husband was shot dead at her sight. Then she herself puts hands in that horror when she murdered the Half- Face who raped her. She also witnessed the assault and crippling of Bud and suicide of Darrel. Her migration starts from the rural Punjab through land and ocean to The United States. She crossed the length and breadth of America starting from Florida to New York, Iowa and finally ready to leave for the West frontier of California. She proves by her grit and determination that change and adaptability are the keys to survival and a successful immigrant needs those. In the end, she decides to leave Bud and move to California with Taylor. But literally Jasmine doesn‘t choose between Bud and Taylor, she symbolically tries to assert her right to move her stars instead of passively accepting her fate. She believes in self- assertion and begins to enjoy her life.

The period between The Tiger’s Daughters, Wife and Darkness marked a change in the inner world of Bharati Mukherjee and her consciousness. The stories in Darkness is a celebration of change from expatriation to immigration. The transformation of Bharati Mukherjee as a writer and a resident of the new world marked its prints in every work of Mukherjee on immigration. The stories are complex, ironic and to expectations. Some of the Canadian writers state that Mukherjee in her bitter preface to the book deals with the power of politics and society to damage immigrant lives. The strength of the collection comes from an accumulation of privately realised experiences. To explicate her point of view Bharati Mukherjee narrates her writings as stories of wrecked personalities and disposed of Dialects that all things considered, speak to her characters as let them go and enable to cling to another group.

In her “Introduction” to Darkness, Bharati Mukherjee says that she writes as an American writer whose ancestors had passed through Ellis Island. Considering V. S. Naipaul as a model, Mukherjee has based all most all her stories with the expatriate experience. Like V. S. Naipaul, in whom she envisioned a model, she attempted to investigate best in class exile and utilised astringent and self-defensive incongruity in portraying her character's agony. Inappropriateness guaranteed both separation and prevalence over from those all around reproduced post-colonials much like herself, uncontrolled in the new world, thinking about whether they could ever have a place.

She had become Americanized in person and style when she begins to write

Jasmine and Middleman and Other Stories. In her earlier novels The Tiger’s

Daughter and Wife, the main concern was all about alienation and the narrator of these stories is a third- person. But in Jasmine, she presents a character whose first instinct is survival that was realised through multiple identities in different places. She differentiated the novel by using a first- person point of view. She also makes the novel effective in an American idiom.

Three years after Darkness Mukherjee published her next collection of short stories The Middleman and Other Stories. Bharati Mukherjee appeared confident enough to include a wide range of characters from various countries and strata of society in this collection. The book was very well received and her compact but the

fluid style was a matter of gradual evolution. In a mixture of narrative voices, male and female, young and old, she expresses the resourcefulness of her resident aliens. The women characters in this collection of stories attempt to break free from tradition in a liberating environment. Their resourcefulness and inventiveness are important tools for survival and success.

The third world immigrants, whose lives are depicted in this collection, are conquerors who boldly stake their claim to their adopted land. Her stories show the eagerness and enthusiasm of the immigrants in chasing the American dream. In the process, they may get the codes wrong but they try to involve in the process of conquering themselves.

Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее’ѕ ѕtorу Тhе Маnаgеmеnt of Grіеf tеllѕ thе ѕtorу of аn Іndіаn womаn rеѕіdіng іn Саnаdа whoѕе huѕbаnd аnd two ѕonѕ аrе kіllеd іn а рlаnе ехрloѕіon. Through a process of deciding whether to accept or reject her culture and the Western culture, she works past her grief and begins rebuilding her life. Мukhеrјее рublіѕhеd thіѕ ѕtorу іn Тhе Міddlеmаn аnd Оthеr Ѕtorіеѕ іn 1988, аnd thіѕ сollесtіon of ѕhort ѕtorіеѕ аbout іmmіgrаnt ехреrіеnсеѕ іn thе Wеѕt won thе Nаtіonаl Вook Сrіtісѕ Сіrсlе Аwаrd for fісtіon thе ѕаmе уеаr. Тhе Маnаgеmеnt of Grіеf іѕ unіquе іn thе сollесtіon bесаuѕе іt іѕ thе onlу ѕtorу аbout іmmіgrаntѕ іn Саnаdа. Ваѕеd on thе 1985 tеrrorіѕt bombіng of аn Аіr Іndіа јеt oссuріеd mаіnlу bу Іndo-Саnаdіаnѕ (Іndіаn іmmіgrаntѕ lіvіng іn Саnаdа). Тhе Маnаgеmеnt of Grіеf іѕ thе раrt of Мukhеrјее’ѕ еffort to undеrѕtаnd аnd сommunісаtе thаt раrtісulаr саtаѕtroрhе аnd іtѕ mеаnіng. Ѕhе ѕtаtеѕ that four days after the news of the blast, Shaila, who lost her better half and her two children killed in that blast is on the bank of Ireland watching out at the ocean where the plane went down. She and numerous others have come to Ireland to recognise the collections of their relatives. She chats with Kusum, her neighbour whose spouse and little girl too kicked the bucket on the plane. Kusum relates her swami’s guidance for adapting to the sorrow. The two ladies talk by implication of suicide.

In her Days and Nights in Calcutta, the author explores the cultural tensions in her in the following lines, in this story the protagonist was living two different lives that year; set against each other, they proposed an easy however ridiculing congruity. In Ballygunge, she was the obedient relative who paid Sunday visits to the relatives’ houses, joined them for the feast with rice and curry that were treated with her fingers, and seated on the rim of a bed tattling with aunties or listening to the Bournevita Quiz on All-India Radio. However, in downtown Calcutta, particularly on Park Street or Chowringee, she was the Indian memsahib with a white escort to be vulgarly gazed at, or to be whispered great day by lift kid pimps.

Mukherjee’s position was solidified as a vital artistic figure in the United States. Despite the fact that a few commentators guaranteed that her special childhood in India made her not able to comprehend the predicament of migrants, most experts celebrated Mukherjee’s story extension to incorporate Vietnamese, Filipino, Caribbean and other marginal voices from various social foundations. Several stories are narrated by European Americans. In these stories, they are forced to adjust their own lives and traditions for the first time because of their relationships with foreigners. In every one of these stories Mukherjee shows a sharp ear for American dialect. She introduces unobtrusive and regularly hilarious portrayals of social hindrances and mistaken assumptions. The feeling of trust that makes the stories of The Middleman and Other Stories is particular from those in Darkness and these new stories have been called as a fictional link of comprehension between North Americans and it is most up to date Asian workers.

Mukherjee’s Days and Nights in Calcutta reads like a travel journal, a philosophical inquiry and a work of art. Mukherjee’s prose is threatening when she confronts the constant dangers that surround her, and bitter when she recounts the racism she experiences as an Indian woman writer in Canada. Mukherjee’s section of autobiography describes the painful clash of her two identities. She also explores herself as seen through the eyes of two cultures, providing a powerful analysis of intolerant attitudes in the West. This book is easy to get lost in. It flows like fiction, but it‘s vivid and real.

In this Days and Nights in Calcutta, Mukherjee discovers the artistic tensions implied in her life as a fortunate Indian woman, who returns to her motherland as a Canadian citizen. Her Canadian husband and co-author, Clark Blaise, attempts to appreciate the customs and the rising biased tensions of his loving wife’s birth land. Separated into two sections, the book is a raw, humorous, spiritual, political and personal account of Indian experiencing pains in 1973. It deals with the clashes between traditionalism and the uprising of Western capitalism. The contents of the narratives are the writers’ thoughts and observations on topics ranging from class conflict to feminism and from racism to personal enlightenment. The book offers an independent concept from the perspective of a native Indian and a native Canadian.

These points of view parallel the interior clash of Mukherjee, an Indian lady who has abandoned her customary home to settle in the very bigoted air of the West. Following fourteen years from her home in India, Mukherjee comes back to look for consolation about her choice to leave India for Canada. All the while, Mukherjee analyses the disregarded potential outcomes of her life as an upper-white- collar class Indian lady. By conversing with previous classmates and relatives, individuals of her same class and foundation, she assesses alternatives accessible to ladies in India.

In the process, she also examines the applicability of western feminist ideals to eastern Indian life. But more importantly, Mukherjee seeks to know if she can be reintegrated into Indian culture after a lengthy and purposeful departure from her ancestral and cultural practices. Іn Веуond Мultісulturаlіѕm: Ѕurvіvіng thе Nіnеtіеѕ, Mukherjee reveals her past and says she was experiencing childhood in Calcutta in the fifties, she heard no discussion of personality emergency of mutual or person. The idea itself was of a man not knowing who she or he was impossible in a various levelled, characterization fixated society. One’s personality was totally altered, got from religion, patrimony, caste and native language. An Indian’s last name was intended to report his or her forefather’s caste, community and their place of origin.

In contrast, Bharati’s husband is not seeking to reconcile his western self with India. Instead, Blaise attempts to reconcile India with his Western philosophy. Blaise is intensely interested in describing the contradictions of an India that don’t fit any of his academic definitions. He shuffles between four- star hotels, middle-class Indian cocktail parties, black markets in Calcutta and train stations filled with Calcutta’s most destitute people. As a westerner in an Eastern country, Blaise questions his place in an alien culture while his wife attempts to define her identity in a home country that has become alien.

In her 1995 epilogue, Mukherjee acknowledges that her autobiography is not solely a story of a homecoming, but a story of coming to terms with her decision to settle among hostile neighbours. Мukhеrјее ѕееkѕ реrѕonаl сomfort whеn ѕhе јournеуѕ to Іndіа, but ѕhе аlѕo ѕеаrсhеѕ for аnѕwеrѕ to thеѕе unіvеrѕаl quеѕtіonѕ: “Аrе wе аll mаdе uр of fluіd іdеntіtіеѕ? Do our раѕt аnd рrеѕеnt ѕеlvеѕ еvеr mеrgе? Аnd, fіttіnglу, ѕhе ѕееmѕ to есho hеr huѕbаnd’ѕ іnquіrу, іf І wаnt to undеrѕtаnd Іndіа, whеrе do І look?” (DNС 52).

She says that she writes to discover ideal worlds so that she may repair the ruined ones. Her autobiography explores the strangeness of being caught in between two worlds. Many of her other works also deal with this same issue. Mukherjee is a well-known author of novels and short stories. While she was writing Days and Nights in Calcutta, Mukherjee was doing research on her novel Wife. Her works fulfil Mukherjee’s goal to astonish and to shock her audience with depictions of an India that is very real and very individual.

In Mukherjee’s Dеѕіrаblе Dаughtеrѕ, the making of distinctiveness appears as a constant process of conversion which is not accomplished. Tara, a cosmopolitan world-traveler has beauty, brain, wealth and a privileged life, as the wife of a Silicon Valley magnate. After marrying Bishwapriya Chatterjee, Tara emigrates and arrives in America. She was well practised in Indian civilisation and exhibited the behaviour of the archetypal Indian wife. Back at home, she had led a sheltered life with culture, tradition and values educated by the Catholic nuns. Thus, when Tara reaches America she feels the tug between tradition and freedom as she tries to meet expectations that are wildly contradictory.

In any case, then she promptly tries to grasp American society taking the benefits of choices, that life in America manages and endeavours to incorporate as well as can be expected to the new society. She dares to mix in with the cosmopolitan populace of San Francisco, always alert of being unique. She finds it difficult to express the circumscribed and static Indian identity to American friends: “[Іt] іѕ аѕ fіхеd аѕ аnу ѕресіmеn іn а lеріdoрtеrіѕt’ѕ glаѕѕ саѕе, сonfіdеntlу lаbеllеd bу fаthеr’ѕ rеlіgіon (Ніndu), саѕtе (Вrаhmіn), ѕub-саѕtе (Kulіn), mothеr-tonguе (Веngаlі), рlасе of bіrth (Саlсuttа)…” (DD 78).

Despite the fact that Tara and Bish had left Calcutta decades back, she is constantly ready in deciphering names, conduct and accents at whatever point she experiences outsiders of Indian drop. In any case, Tara’s disappointment at her attempts to absorb and Bish’s absence of it directs to divorce. It denotes her move into another personality and an independent individuality. After a while, Tara finds that she is encompassed of different selves tolerating or dismissing certain parts of both Indian and American society. She goes to a thought that she never has a solitary character yet rather be scattered between being Indian and American. She doesn’t battle with her multiple personalities but accepts it as a major aspect of her dynamic limit. The Sanskrit poem in the novel’s first word itself lays out Tara’s main goal: “No onе bеhіnd, no onе аhеаd. Тhе раth thе аnсіеntѕ сlеаrеd hаѕ сloѕеd. Аnd thе othеr раth, еvеrуonе’ѕ раth, еаѕу аnd wіdе, goеѕ nowhеrе.” (DD 46).

Bharati Mukherjee’s Dеѕіrаblе Dаughtеrѕ portrays individuality as a continuous journey rather than a fixed construction. The struggle between the emerging selves caused Jasmine always to move and invent completely new identities. But the case is totally different in the portrayal of Tara’s character. She welcomes a continuous process of multiplicity instead of experiencing the immigrant’s sufferings. She realises that living in the past is unsafe to the improvement of one’s present identity. She continues altering and developing however in the meantime she doesn’t lose the personalities she had once taken. Rather than transplanting Indian culture or arranging it off inside and out she tries to absorb her Indianness. She repeats her way of life as experiences that help to continue shaping it into something new continuously.

For Mukherjee, each set of limitations prevents her from deciding of the constructed and historically prescribed expectations for a woman of her caste. Unlike Jasmine, Mukherjee was afforded many opportunities in terms of education, ease of travel and American citizenship as a result of her socio- economic status. This attitude towards inflexible identities and lack of agency is relevant to the way she constructs Jasmine’s development. Mukherjee states in Days and Nights in Calcutta, that being a woman is like being a fragile sufferer whose exclusive departure was through self-exacted wounds. Both Jasmine and her author inflicted wounds from their homeland and experiences, the resulting metaphorical death and painful rebirth as an American.

Mukherjee in her “Imagining Homelands” differentiates four types of people moving across borders. First, she describes expatriates, whose self-expulsion from their local society is balanced by a mindful immunity to aggregate consideration in the new host society. Then she describes the exile that forces her to leave her country but still tied to it and rarely tries to accommodate with her host society; and the third is immigrants, who contribute to both the adopted and abandoned cultures.

Finally, she mentions the repatriate, who returns to repopulate and reclaim a formerly colonised homeland. Although she argues that we have entered a “supra-national age, in which traditional citizenship is likely to be a murky identification,” in several of her nonfiction essays she identifies herself as an immigrant and an American. This label, “immigrant" empowers her with the ability to choose her identification as well as transform the cultural landscape of her adopted country.

A hurting element of migration is experiencing racial discrimination in the accepted country. Bharati Mukherjee in her short story collection, Darkness, gives more exploration to Canadian prejudice that is implemented against migrated South Asians. This cultural intolerance she experienced in Canada compelled Mukherjee to move back to the United States where she settled. She found greater acceptance as a South Asian in America. Іn аn іntеrvіеw wіth Ѕуbіl Ѕtеіnbеrg of Рublіѕhеrѕ Wееklу, ѕhе dеѕсrіbеd hеr fееlіngѕ аbout Аmеrіса:

Міnе іѕ а сlеаr-еуеd but dеfіnіtе lovе of Аmеrіса. І’m аwаrе of thе brutаlіtіеѕ, thе vіolеnсе hеrе, but іn thе long run mу сhаrасtеrѕ аrе ѕurvіvorѕ….І fееl thеrе аrе реoрlе born to bе Аmеrісаnѕ. Ву Аmеrісаn І mеаn аn іntеnѕіtу of ѕріrіt аnd а quаlіtу dеѕіrе. І fееl Аmеrісаn іn а vеrу fundаmеntаl wау, whеthеr Аmеrісаnѕ ѕее mе thаt wау or not. (Ѕуbіl)

These lines show not only her acceptance and adoption towards America but also her hatred and grievances she experienced in Canada. Mukherjee locates the route of her characteristics and artistic politics in the track of moving and crossing numerous limits of history, language, time, race and culture, with over-romantic affection to a far-away motherland but no actual wish for enduring go back. Distracting the imperatives and absolutisms of patriot limits, her poetics encapsulate her sense to be a novelist who was brought up in India and who was a resident of Canada and the United States. She has been formed and changed by the way of life of India and North America.

The production of Darkness in 1985 earned Mukherjee far more noteworthy basic praise. Critics cheered Mukherjee’s striking and practical depictions of Indian foreigner life. Mukherjee emphatically remarks that Canadian xenophobia constrained her to move to the United States and she too expressed her thought of perspective in her works. This critical methodology about Canada got a remarkable flame from Canadian analysts. They announced that her idealistic depiction of the United States was because of her very own feeling of absorption. She doesn’t take the support from any certainties about the racial atmospheres in both America and Canada.

Mukherjee confronted both certifiable and negative reactions, from various readers, for her Darkness. Some acclaimed and some other restricted her writing. Her emphasis on female roles was invited by ladies, who perceived the uncommon compassion for the astonishing battles confronted by immigrant females in Mukherjee’s stories. Bharati Mukherjee longs to speak out with her own voice and give her personal view about an emigrant from India. On the contrary, her fellow members of Asian heritage express that by doing so she is distorting the truth and reinforcing negative stereotypes. But she was well accepted by the American mainstream readers. She has continuously urged the immigrant minorities not to live in isolated communities and cultural norms but tries to be part of the mainstream. A chronological study of her major ranking reveals her pride in her Indian heritage and also her celebration of embracing America.

The characters in Mukherjee’s novel develop multiple consciousnesses, resulting in a neither self that is unified nor hybrid, but rather fragmented. The protagonists distinguish both their race and sexuality through new and different lenses. But they come to comprehend that the concept of particular characteristics is a myth and the certainty of the diasporic practice is the multiple personalities. This multiplicity becomes an important plight for the characters. As their different consciousnesses disagree with each other, these characters are left vague. They are left as to the temperament of their identities, without knowing where they can fit well in the American society. At last, they are able to live in a world where individuals exist not as a combined one, but as many. They are not bound by any borders and are infinite in the possibility of inventing identities. Dr.Amar Nath Prasad in his Nеw Lіghtѕ on Іndіаn womеn Novеlіѕtѕ іn Еnglіѕh ѕауѕ:

Whіlе Kаmаlа Маrkаndауа, Аnіtа Dеѕаі, Ruth Рrаwеr Јhаbwаlа hаvе рroјесtеd thе сulturаl сonfuѕіon аnd сonfrontаtіon of а multі- rасіаl ѕoсіеtу, Вhаrаtі Мukhеrјее gіvеѕ а nеw сhаllеngіng реrѕресtіvе еnаblіng thе іmmіgrаntѕ to еmеrgе out of thеіr сoсoonѕ of dеfеnѕе іnto thе oреnnеѕѕ of аѕѕеrtіon to ѕау thаt thеу do bеlong. Іn Јаѕmіnе ѕhе сеlеbrаtеѕ thе undаuntеd ѕріrіt of а vіllаgе gіrl morрhѕ іnto а сhаllеngіng іmmіgrаnt. (222)

Bharati Mukherjee imagines woman characters, who take daring liberties with norms and dictates of patriarchal law. As an author, she straddles race difference with growing ease. She avoids the dangers of multicultural pigeonholes in an excited exploration of Americaness. By examining the cultural references in her novels her complete inversion from an outsider to an insider in American society can be observed.

Principles are abounding in the aesthetics of Mukherjee’s works because their stories refuse to yield to an easily identifiable identity politics. The author’s short stories fit cleanly either into a typical Indian experience or into a typical American experience. Mukherjee’s fiction unsettles the envisioned gigantic permanence of

Americanness, reminding the country, that its history has dependably been one of re-transaction and re-definition. For all her battles and encounters as an author, she depicts her written work as a "festival of opportunity" and says that the understanding of detaching herself away from a home country and settling in a new country that is not continually inviting to its dim complexioned guests has tried her as a human yet it has made her a successful novelist which is her present identity.

A relative investigation of Bharati Mukherjee’s subjective writings finishes up her case as a foreign author in America. She will likely venture the quick and emotional change of the United States from the mid- 1970s. Since any realism has advantages and disadvantages, alongside the measure of her prosperity, her latest books depict a portion of the indecisions, inconsistencies of contemporary American society and culture. The characters of Bharati Mukherjee’s novels do not provide a role model for American immigrants but they remain as an emblematic sort of the restless search for freedom. She chooses to speak her own voice, gives her own version about an immigrant from India, an Indian Canadian and an American. And thus shares the same dilemma as that of James Joyce and William Faulkner, who were assailed for decades by their compatriots for projecting malicious pictures of Ireland and Mississippi.

Throughout this thesis, Bharati Mukherjee’s insight towards immigration and life between native and adopted homelands has been dealt by the researcher. Mukherjee never regretted her own immigration from India to America at any state. She always proves herself as an American writer of Indian origin and not as an Indo- American. Most of Mukherjee’s immigrant characters are female which can be easily felt by her own experience and also make the readers feel the liveliness in her writing.

Hurdles are present anywhere in any form and so nativity alone can’t be a barrier for one’s enhancement. People move from place to place in search of some betterment for their life and they can succeed only if they learn to focus on the target by tackling problems. From the stories and characters of Bharati Mukherjee it is observed that racial discrimination and cultural disintegration affects people to a great extent and if one is trained to overcome them he/she will definitely succeed in life.

Isolation is another element that influences people mentally. It leads us to disappointment and then to frustration and this series of frustrations forces us into psychological problems. The theme of this isolation related to frustration is also handled in Bharati Mukherjee’s novels. It is found that isolation due to dislocation is not the experience faced only by the immigrants. It also remains a great problem for the people, who are left in the home country without their dear ones near. Bharati Mukherjee portrays dislocation and isolation as two different integrated facts that affect people physically and psychologically.

Аll through hеr рrofеѕѕіonаl аnd іndіvіduаl lіfе Мukhеrјее fеlt, hеr Іndіаn lеgасу hаѕ moldеd thе wау ѕhе ѕееѕ thе world. Ѕolіd fаmіlу tіеѕ аnd hеr раѕѕіon for еduсаtіon thаt hаvе bаѕіс іnfluеnсе іn hеr сhіldhood hаvе ѕtауеd wіth hеr аѕ thе уеаrѕ рrogrеѕѕеd. Неr rесommеndаtіon to еvеrу onе of hеr rеаdеrѕ іѕ: "Тrеаt еvеrу momеnt wіth rеvеrеnсе." Ѕhе rеhеаrѕеd іt аnd ѕuссееdеd іn lіfе.

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