A Different Outlook of Diaspora in Anita Desai's Novels

Abstract

The term Diaspora represents people’s displacement which results in isolation and alienation in cultural spheres in new lands. The exile or displacement is mainly based on the three types of phenomena: forced, half forced – half willed and willed consequences. The Jewish community was forced to exile, whereas during the colonial period people were uprooted to serve the British Empire in different parts of the world and they settled there half forced-half willingly because option was given to them after the war, but the third dimension of expatriation is the willed choice of migrants from the third world countries for greener pastures in the developed countries. Whatever the reasons may be but the reality is that the immigrants experience a sense of up rootedness and unbelonging in the foreign countries. When people try to define Diaspora in different angles, Diasporic characters in Anita Desai are a result of the inner psyche of the characters as also their external circumstances. Loneliness is a manifestation of both inner and outer conditions and hence, its sense can be evoked even in the middle of society. My article focuses on the novels of Anita Desai and her characters with a view to Diasporic touch in it. Desai has clearly brought about the conflicts faced by her characters both internally and externally. This new dimension would bring about a sea change in the Diasporic literature.