All journeys we undertake are
journeys of the heart. This statement can sum up the theme of Divakaruni’s
latest work Oleander Girl. Mapping the journey of protagonist Karobi (Oleander
in English-from which the novel gets its name), the book takes us through her
life and the lives of its myriad characters. The journey is both literal as
well as internal, a metaphysical journey towards personal growth.
Her cocooned existence shattered
by an unexpected revelation, Karobi launches on a search for her mysterious
father. This takes her away from her closest people, and pushes her into an unfriendly,
hostile America. She discovers the wells of strength and resolve within her
after battling the injustices and scars that life deals out to her. Her very
foundations of trust are shattered, yet she retains a child-like innocence and
basic faith in life. Karobi’s innate goodness shines through and touches all
characters positively. She is the touchstone against which each character is
transformed.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an
amazing writer with critically acclaimed works like One Amazing Thing, Mistress
of Spices and Queen of Dreams. She has an incredible insight into human nature,
which reflects in her portrayal of diverse characters and settings. Her people
come from remote villages of Bengal, crowded Indian cities, or sparsely
populated American towns. She is as perfectly at ease portraying the diaspora
experience of second generation immigrant Indians in USA, as she is depicting the
travails of a small-town housewife grappling with her husband’s dominance. A
common thread running through her recent novels has been the search for
identity.
Though a personal tale of love,
loss and self-discovery, Oleander Girl has in its background the dark shadows
of the 9/11 catastrophe in USA, and the Godhra riots in India. The casualties on
the other side of the globe are the very values on which America was built – liberty,
individuality and equality. Permanently scarred by its losses, America wakes up
to distrust and illogical discrimination, targeting all non-whites in its witch
hunt. In India, the riots tear open the tremulous relationship of Hindus and Muslims,
leaving in their wake deep-rooted suspicion and hostility. It is like a volcano
which was waiting to explode, and when it does, the fragile bonds of trust and reliance
are flooded away.
All in all, Divakaruni ends the
tale in hope, with the merging of the traditional and the modern, the secular
with the religious; the triumph of the human spirit over frailty and weakness.
This legacy of hope is what the reader takes away from the novel.
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