The sense of belonging and familiarity is so deeply engraved and fortified in our lives that it evokes lugubrious feelings bringing nostalgic memories back to life. A pallor of gloom slowly descends and governs the senses creating pallidity of sorts when one reads this book The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It’s a poignant tale of four lives enmeshed in a cornucopia of emotions, interspersed with a series of dilemmas that the characters are exposed to experience at different stages of their life.
Jhumpa Lahiri weaves a hauntingly painful tale intricately woven to bring out the challenges faced by Indians especially Bengalis who migrate to foreign lands in search for a better future. The exquisite prose is wonderfully crafted and deftly conceived to render the reader speechless. The fluidity of the narrative quickly absorbs one to participate in a journey of thousand miles traversed by the Gangulis all the way from India to America, to cultivate and harness their dreams in a land of opportunities with a hope for better tomorrow and to create a small world of their own.
This heart wrenching tale spanning generations acquaints us with the lives of two individuals born and raised in Calcutta, Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli. Ashoke, an avid reader is highly influenced by Russian literature, thanks to his grandfather who introduces him to a world of books at an early age. Nikolai Gogol’s books especially “The Overcoat” intrigues and captivates Ashoke’s young mind that he’s seldom found playing with his cousins. A near death accident changes his perspective towards life and Ashoke decides to explore uncharted territories and discover new facets of life by creating a home away from home.
He marries Ashima and together they nurture a family far away from their immediate families. They name their first born son Gogol after the famous Russian author.
Adapting to a different culture, lifestyle, attitudes and living a life far away from familial surroundings is never easy. All of this has a tendency to incapacitate, devitalize and render one’s craving for a sense of belonging, longing and an identity, thereby at times, making one question their self-worth and decisions. Ashima longed to see her family and it took years for her to come to terms with it, living in a foreign land, desperately trying to assimilate and acclimatize to the unaccustomed lifestyle came with a lot of suffering, heartache, loneliness and pain. She readily wallows it with a sense of pride for the sake of her family, eagerly waiting for those trips to Calcutta, to go back to her roots that remind her of what she’d left behind.
Gogol didn’t like his name and often begrudged it, always wanting to change it, he disparaged his father Ashoke thus creating a void between them. He believed that this name Gogol didn’t make him feel accepted in society which eventually results in an unwarranted constant struggle of a boy coming to terms with his identity. Overwhelmed by an onslaught of emotions, desperately seeking a new name for validation and acceptance leads him to venture into situations and circumstances that are not conducive.
Were the Gangulis successful in achieving what they set out for in a foreign land? Does Gogol come to terms with his name or does he seek out a new name that would give him the identity and acceptance that he’s craving for? Will Gogol manage to thaw the relationship with his father Ashoke?