The Umbilical Cord ‘Home’: From ‘Roots’ to ‘Routes’ between Diaspora and Transnationalism in Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices and Sunetra Gupta’s So Good in Black

Abstract

The emerging interest in diaspora studies has recently begun to permeate various
academic disciplines, thereby laying greater importance in recognizing and
understanding diasporic communities as transnational organizations reflecting the
theoretical shifts and current trends in migration. Although diaspora and
transnationalism were quite different phenomena but with the advancement in the
means of transport and communication, it has become easy for the diasporic community
to connect with the people in homeland. Consequently, the diasporic gaze has shifted
from identity crisis to identity formation to transnationalism and globalization due to
which the notions of epicenter and boundary, home and exile are falling apart thereby
giving a better understanding and importance of the word ‘diaspora’ in the current
context. Thus, in the postmodern conditions the responsibilities of the citizens go across
national borders and they are in touch with the homeland as well as the alien land. The
present paper delves into the greater meaning of this diasporic gaze with special
reference to the writings of two South Asian writers Divakaruni’s The Mistress of
Spices (1997) and Sunetra Gupta’s So Good in Black (2009) reflecting the gaps that
have been bridged so that the connections are maintained with the ‘roots’ as well as the
‘routes’.