Towards Excellence

(ISSN No. 0974-035X)
(An indexed refereed & peer-reviewed journal of higher education)
UGC-MALAVIYA MISSION TEACHER TRAINING CENTRE GUJARAT UNIVERSITY

THE ENIGMATIC JOURNEY OF STUDENT DIASPORA: A STUDY OF THE EXPERIENCES OF ASHOKE, SUBHASH AND GAURI

Authors:

Iqra Manzoor

Abstract:

In her two major novels The Namesake and The Lowland Jhumpa Lahiri, a seminal South Asian Diaspora writer, traces the journey of three students (Ashoke, Subhash and Gauri) in diaspora. Ashoke and Subhash migrate to America in order to accomplish their academic goals and to have a better life opportunity, and Gauri accompanies her second husband Subhash to America and decides to continue her education. The present research work will analyse both the novels The Namesake and The Lowland to assert this argument that the journey and struggle of Ashoke  and Subhash as students in diaspora is different from that of Gauri i.e. the  journey of a female student diaspora is far more complicated and arduous than that of a male student diaspora. Ashoke and Subhash migrate to America at their will and with the consent of their parents who somehow take pride in the fact that their children are studying in America while the migration of Gauri to America follows a different trajectory. She is able to migrate to America only after marrying Subhash and has to topple down many patriarchal structures to secure her academic career. 

Keywords:

Student Diaspora; Journey; migration; patriarchy; struggle

Vol & Issue:

VOL.14, ISSUE No.1, March 2022