Vehicles of Nostalgia in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

Abstract

[Abstract: Jhumpa Lahiri, though born in England and brought up in America, has a commendable bond with and an appreciation for the land of her origin and the country of her parents-India. In almost all her writings, various aspects of the Indian culture are found to be strikingly conspicuous. The emotions of her Indian characters (living in America) for their native land and its people and their tendency to adhere to their native culture along with their nostalgic sentiment find wonderful expressions in many ways in her works. This article shows how Jhumpa Lahiri has used, in her novel, The Namesake, different traditionally Indian social and religious rituals and behavioral and culinary practices of the Indian diaspora to show their nostalgic preoccupation.]