Expatriate Tradition and Cross- Cultural Conflicts in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

Abstract

Indian English Literature has its valuables written by Expatriate writers. Expatriate writing occupies a significant position in Literature of any two countries. One sparkling sequin on the fabric of Diaspora writing is Pulitzer winner Jhumpa Lahiri. Lahiri was born in London, the daughter of Bengali Indian Immigrants. Her family moved to the United States when she was three. Lahiri considers herself as an American stating, “I wasn’t born here, but I might as well have been”. The Namesake, Lahiri’s first novel is autobiographical and frequently draws upon her own experiences as well as those of her parents, friends, acquaintances, and others in the Bengali communities with which she is familiar. Lahiri’s familiarity with the difficulties faced by immigrant Bengali issues related to identity, pain of assimilation, nostalgia, loneliness and isolation and cross-cultural issues are remarkably well.