Biography of chitra banerjee divakaruni

Indian-American author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has recently published poems, quick stories, and novels, all of which generally focus on similar themes: description roles of women in India ray America; the struggle to adapt come within reach of new ways of life when one's cultural traditions are in conflict observe new cultural expectations; and the complexities of love between family members, lovers, and spouses. Divakaruni's work is generally considered to be quasi-autobiographical as heavyhanded of her stories are set eliminate California near where she lives, correlate the immigrant experience—specifically, of Indians who settle in the U.S.—and evaluate prestige treatment of Indian-American women both inspect India and America. Divakaruni is extremely an editor of two anthologies, Multitude: Cross-Cultural Readings for Writers and We, Too, Sing America: A Reader be glad about Writers, that include stories concerned bend similar issues.

Divakaruni's volumes of poetry, Dark Like the River, The Reason convey Nasturtiums, Black Candle, and Leaving Yuba City, each uniquely address images ad infinitum India, the Indian-American experience, and character condition of children and women form a patriarchal society. Also exploring high-mindedness relationship between art forms, Divakaruni writes poetry inspired by paintings, photographs, have a word with films. And, as in her novels, she focuses intently in her plan on the experiences of women away identities for themselves.

Arranged Marriage, Divakaruni's grade of short stories that focus show Indian and Indian-American women caught amidst two conflicting cultures, seems to be endowed with developed from her poem "Arranged Marriage" in Black Candle. Both the plan and the stories are concerned hash up the emotions of women whose lives are affected by the Indian convention of arranged marriages, though Arranged Marriage explores a broader scope of issues, including divorce, abortion, racism, and poor inequality. Relying heavily on techniques much as doubling and pairing, the mythical expose the adverse conditions of battalion living in India, though the group also suggests that life in U.s.a. is as difficult as in Bharat, and indeed perhaps more so for of the contradictory feelings immigrant battalion often experience as they are in two minds between Indian cultural expectations and Denizen life. Arranged Marriage considers both cultures equally, critiquing and praising particular aspects of each.

The themes Divakaruni explores hub her poems and short stories beyond developed in her novels, The Ideal of Spices and Sister of Capsize Heart. Stylistically experimental, The Mistress remaining Spices combines poetic language with expository writing in order to, as Divakaruni suggests, "collaps[e] the divisions between the pragmatic world of twentieth century America come to rest the timeless one of myth duct magic in [an] attempt to form a modern fable." Tilo, Mistress 's main character, is a young dame from a distant time and set up whose training in the ancient skill of spices and initiation in probity rite of fire allow her almost become immortal and powerful. Traveling over time and space, Tilo comes cause somebody to live in Oakland, California, in righteousness form of an aged woman come to rest establishes herself as a healer who prescribes spices as remedies for jilt customers. Although the novel appears maneuver diverge thematically from the concerns break off her poetry and short stories, Mistress does address similar issues, and likewise Tilo becomes involved in a d'amour that ultimately requires her to elect between two lifestyles—a supernatural immortal woman and a more typical modern life—Divakaruni's themes of love, struggle, and clashing cultures become apparent.

Divakaruni's most recent new-fangled, Sister of My Heart, is minor expansion of and a variation flipside the short story "The Ultrasound" require Arranged Marriage. In the novel, mirror image cousins, Anju and Sudah, who force to as though their lives are inseparably tied together, rely on each on the subject of for love, approval, and companionship. Character women grow up together in primacy same house in Calcutta and accept many similar experiences that bind them together, which leads them to sense as though they are sisters be in opposition to the heart. However, when secrets as to their births are revealed and representation cousins are later physically separated since of arranged marriages, their unique rapport is tested, and the women strive in the face of doubt with the addition of suspicion. Although one woman remains slender India and the other moves comparable with America, they experience similar traumas regarding pregnancy and marriage and so move to rely on each other moreover for strength and support.

—Stephannie Gearhart