NAVIGATING CULTURAL LANDSCAPES: AN ANALYSIS OF DIASPORIC IDENTITY IN UMA PARAMESWARAN'S MANGOES ON THE MAPLE TREE AND SUNETRA GUPTA'S MEMORIES OF RAIN

Abstract

The present research article is an attempt to analyze the pains and pleasures, hopes, and fears of immigrant life depicted in the two most relevant works, "Mangoes on the Maple Tree" by Uma Parameswaran (2015) and "Memories of Rain by Sunetra Gupta (1994), with a particular reference to Diasporic identity portrayal through cultural assimilation. The research paper explores the emotional dimensions of immigration and diasporic identity by analyzing how these two authors represent cultural assimilation. The chapters by various authors discuss different plotlines and characters: the experience of immigrant transformations observed from the perspective of challenges faced by the Bhave family (by Uma Parameswaran) or diasporic identity seen through Monideepa's eyes (Sunetra Gupta). Both pieces' plot revolves primarily around the Bhave family and Monideepa. Based on the aforementioned broader themes and questions, this research will offer detailed evidence that illustrates various concepts related to identity and belonging in the diaspora. These include nostalgia, intergenerational conflicts between first-generation migrants (FGMs) and their second-generation migrant children (SG1Is), cultural hybridity and blending during acculturation processes, and the lingering effects of colonial histories in nostalgic accounts from 1947 to the present. They explore this through themes of nostalgia, generational conflicts, and cultural fusions, all hidden within the residue dragged along by colonial pasts. This study focuses primarily on research related to the themes discussed above.