The Namesake Ch. 1-4

Disclaimer: This is a fairly long blog post. Hello readers! Welcome to my first blog post about The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. My first thoughts on the novel: The novel, so far, has been an easy read. The plot has been straightforward, and has been simple to follow along. The various events and the emotions felt by the book’s characters should be relatable for anyone who has immigrated to another country, and this held true for me as well. Right off the bat, I could tell that relating to the characters in the novel would be a breeze, when I was able to identify the unnamed snack that Ashima craves during her pregnancy. This should come as no surprise, as I lived in India for the vast majority of my life (about 15 years.)

Bhel, the snack Ashima craves in the beginning of the book

The beginning of this novel focuses on Ashima’s pregnancy and Gogol’s birth. Now I certainly can’t personally relate to Ashima’s experiences during her pregnancy, but the vivid description did give me a new insight on how my mom must’ve felt giving birth to my sister while living in a foreign land. We also learn of the backstory of Gogol’s name, Ashoke’s love for the Nikolai Gogol and how a page from the book saved his life from a train crash. Gogol’s conversation with the businessman Ghosh on the train was a vital event in inspiring him to leave India for the United States. An interesting detail I noticed was that the name Ghosh roughly translates to cattleman in Hindi. It was ironic that the businessman was named Ghosh, which would translate to a cattleman in English. This contrast between Ghosh’s sort of fate, and his occupation highlights the opportunities a life outside India could provide. This also raises the question of whether someone’s name has an effect on the person’s life, and how a name connects one to their background. (ghosh meaning http://www.shabdkosh.com/hi/translate?e=%E0%A4%98%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B7&l=hi) I did not find the section of the story about naming to be very relatable. The idea of good names and pet names was familiar, as I know people who do have good and pet names. But I never had a pet name myself. In addition, the idea of a pet name was given much more importance compared to my experience living in India. I believe that the idea of a pet name in India has developed in today’s world to be much more aligned with the idea of a nickname in the western part of the world. However, I can somewhat relate to the concept of being called by two names. In my day-to-day life, I am used to being called by an anglicised pronunciation of how my name would actually be pronounced in my native language.

In these chapters, we also see Ashoke and Ashima trying to adjust to their new lives in America. During this period, we often see Ashima’s longing to go back to Calcutta, often aggravated by the concept of having to raise her child alone in an unfamiliar land. After she is discharged from the hospital, it is stated that she misses “the hustle bustle of the hospital, and Patty, and the Jell-O and ice-cream brought to her at regular intervals” (Lahiri, 32.) These conditions remind her of Calcutta, where she would be surrounded by relatives and family who would help her raise her newborn child. However this soon changes after the arrival of Gogol. Before Gogol’s birth, Ashima would spend most of her days in the small dull apartment, described as having “thick glass windowpanes [that] are covered by dreary dark brown curtains.” These words are enough to portray a very depressing mental image of the place. The author’s choice of describing covered windows also signifies that she is disconnected from the outside world and the rest of the society. After Gogol is born, she soon finds more structure in her day-to-day life as she is occupied in taking care of her son by herself. She also feels more proud and accepted by society when she goes and and receives questions from passer-bys about her baby.

The chapters also touch on the idea of death of distant relatives. We witness the effect of the death of Ashima’s and Ashoke’s parents. Although this topic was not discussed in depth, it was close to home for me, as my paternal half-aunt (aka my dad’s cousin) had recently passed away due to cancer. This had a considerable effect on my father, who was saddened by the fact that it was not viable to travel all the way to India to attend the funeral. I could feel a sense of helplessness at being across the globe and not being able to be there with my family. I can only imagine how it would feel if it were my parents instead of my aunt.

The book only glosses over the birth of Sonali, the Ganguli’s second child. I was slightly disappointed at this, as I would have easily related to it as I have a younger sister as well. By the time Sonali was born, the Gangulis had become much more American-ised. This can be seen through their acceptance of American festivals. Their change in diet, including “sandwiches with bologna or roast beef” (Lahiri, 65) and “Shake ‘n Bake chicken or Hamburger Helper” (Lahiri, 65) also reflects their change in attitude towards American culture. Towards the end of the last chapter, we finally catch a glimpse of Nikhil, “an alternative identity, a B-side to the self.” We see that Nikhil is much more confident than Gogol’s regular self, in the way he acts with Kim. It will be interesting to see how Gogol’s new identity switches things up in the next few chapters. Works Cited:

Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. Mariner Books, 2004.

Pablostanley, Data. https://www.memecenter.com/fun/3332923/data. Accessed on 22nd February, 2018. Thomas-Patel, Puja. Dry Bhel. http://indiaphile.info/dry-bhel-sukhi-bhel/ Accessed on 22nd February, 2018.

Meher, Alok. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Paradise_Flycatcher_(Female)_near_nest.jpg Accessed on 22nd February, 2018.