WRITERS OF THE INDIAN DIASPORA

Writers of the Indian diaspora have been fairly centrestage in the last decade primarily because of the theoretical formulations which are now being generated by the critiquing of their work and the growing interest in cultural studies. Language and cultures are transformed as they come into contact with other languages and cultures. Diasporic writing raises questions regarding the definitions of ‘home’ and ‘nation’. Schizophrenia and/or nostalgia are often the preoccupations of these writers as they seek to locate themselves in new cultures. It becomes important to question the nature of their relationship with the work of writers and literatures of the country of their origin and to examine the different strategies they adopt in order to negotiate the cultural space of the countries of their adoption. The essays in the present volume address these and many more questions—perceptively, critically, and with compassion. The contributors are both from India and abroad, both Indians and non-Indians and hence the work represents perspectives located in different cultures.

Creative writers like Ashis Gupta and Uma Parameswaran write from their own experience of migration and their own questioning of their relatedness. Gurbhagat Singh explores and critiques the theoretical formulations while David Stouck is concerned with reading and reception theories. Others like Shyam Asnani, P.A. Abraham, Rajul Bhargava, B.R. Nagpal and Jasbir Jain work through comparative contexts. Anisur Rahman, Sudha Rai, Ameena Kazi Ansari, Savita Goel, Veena Singh, Jancy James, Jameela Begum, B. Chandrika, Sonal Baxi write on single author works. Though a number of essays are on fiction, memoirs, poetry and drama are also represented. There is also an interview with Ashis Gupta. The works of Bharati Mukherjee, Kamala Markandaya, M.G. Vassanji, Uma Parameswaran, South Asian Women Poets, Ashis Gupta, Neil Bissoondath, Rohinton Mistry are discussed. Slightly stretching the Indian cultural situation to the subcontinent, two writers of Sri Lankan origin, Michael Ondaatje and Shyam Selvadurai, are also discussed.

The volume seeks to provide a new perspective to ‘postcolonial’ evaluations and critiquing of diasporic writing.