Study on the Culture in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Selected Novels

A few people erroneously imagine that supernatural realism as a type with dream, yet in certainty this type is unmistakably isolated from dream. The point of convergence of mystical realism isn't the illusory, incredible, or extraordinary components which show up, but instead the genuine world that fills in as the structure for the piece. Supernatural realism is by all accounts regularly very genuine, and it contains installed editorial about workmanship, culture, and human instinct. Individuals may profoundly appreciate works of supernatural realism, brought into an intriguing world and the entrancing characters, yet it is a long way from idealist, compelling individuals to go up against genuine issues and circumstances. Enchantment pragmatist books and stories have, regularly, a solid account drive, in which the unmistakably sensible converges with the sudden and the odd and in which components of dreams, pixie story, or folklore consolidate with the ordinary, frequently in a mosaic or multicolored example of refraction and repeat. (Oxford Companion to English Literature 19) Magic realism has the ability to advance our concept of what is 'genuine' by joining all components of the creative mind, especially as communicated in enchantment, fantasy and religion. Gabrielle Foreman in his article on ―Past on Stories: History and Magically Real‖ characterizes that the word legend gets from the Greek mythos, which has a scope of implications from ―word,‖ through ―saying‖ and ―story,‖ to ―fiction‖; the unchallenged legitimacy of mythos can be stood out from logos, the word whose legitimacy or truth can be contended and illustrated (42) Because fantasies describe phenomenal occasions with no endeavor at confirmation, it is at times accepted that they are just stories with no authentic premise, and the word has become an equivalent word for misrepresentation or, best case scenario, confusion. In thestudy of religion, in any case, it is essential to recognize fantasies and stories that are only false. Gabrielle, further clarifies that a legend is a notable story which was made up in the past to disclose regular occasions or to legitimize strict convictions or social traditions. It is a story from antiquated occasions particularly one that was advised to disclose normal occasions or to portray the early history of the individuals: this kind of story: old Greek fantasies (that clarifies how the world started), the saints of fantasy and legend. It is socially noteworthy story or clarification of how things came to be for instance, of how a divine being made a world or how a legend embraced a mission. All things considered, fantasy is against history, in that it is generally astonishing in content in any event, when approximately dependent on chronicled occasions. The term ‗mythology' alludes both to the investigation of legend and an arrangement of fantasies, for example, Greek folklore. It is an imaginary or questionable story, individual or thing; that is a legend; it never occurred. It is accepted that Myth is a conventional story of apparently authentic situations serves to develop some portion of the perspective of a people or clarify a training, conviction, or common wonder. Legends relate the occasions, conditions, and deeds of divine relation to verifiable time, frequently toward the start of creation or at a beginning time of ancient times. A culture's legends are normally firmly identified with its strict convictions and customs. The Illustrated Contemporary Dictionary Encyclopedia characterizes legend. A conventional story introduced as chronicled frequently implying to clarify some common wonder, as the making of life, and expressive of the character of the individuals, their divine beings, culture, saints, religeous convictions, and so on., Any genuine or nonexistent story, topic or character that energizes the intrigue and fanciful of a people. Fantasy is an emblematic story, as a rule of obscure starting point and in any event mostly customary, that apparently relates real occasions and that is particularly connected with strict conviction. It is recognized from emblematic conduct (religion, custom) and representative places or items (sanctuaries, symbols). Legends are explicit records of divine beings or superhuman creatures engaged with unprecedented occasions or conditions in a period that is undefined however which is comprehended as existing separated from customary human experience. The term folklore signifies both the investigation of fantasy and the group of fantasies having a place with a specific strict convention. (The Encyclopedia Britannica: 125) Clearly fantasy has existed in each society. In fact, it would appear to be an essential constituent of human culture. Since the assortment is so incredible, it is hard to make speculations regarding the idea of fantasies. However, obviously in their general qualities and in their subtleties a people's legends reflect, express, and investigate the individuals' mental self view. The investigation of fantasy is in this manner of focal significance in the examination both of individual social orders and of human culture in general. One of the most commended journalists about legend from a mental point of view was Sigmund Freud. In his Die Traumdeutung (1899; The Interpretation of Dreams) Sigmund Freud saw legend as a statement of curbed thoughts, a view later extended via Carl Gustav Jung in his hypothesis of the ―collective unconscious‖ and the legendary prime examples that emerge out of it. Bronisław Malinowski underlined how fantasy satisfies regular social capacities, giving a model or ―charter‖ to human conduct. Claude Lévi-Strauss perceived hidden structures in the conventional relations and examples of fantasies all through the world. Mircea Eliade and Rudolf Otto held that legend is to be seen exclusively as a strict marvel. Highlights of legend are shared by different sorts of writing. Beginning stories clarify the source or reasons for different parts of nature or human society and life. Fantasies manage uncommon creatures and The investigation of The Ramayana and The Mahabaratha uncovers the four Vedas, strikingly the songs of the Rigveda, contained references to numerous subjects. In the time of Classical Sanskrit, much material is protected in the Sanskrit legends, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Other than religious philosophy legitimate, the voluminous sagas additionally give a plenty of data about old Indian society, reasoning, culture, religion and ways oflife.The Puranas manage stories that are more seasoned than the legends (Purana is Sanskrit for "old"). The date of the Puranic messages as safeguarded anyway for the most part post-dates the stories, dating to the Early Middle Ages. The stories themselves are set in various Yugas (ages) or timeframes. The Ramayana, composed by the writer Valmiki, depicts the life and times of Lord Rama (the seventh symbol of Lord Vishnu) and happens in the tretayuga, while the Mahabharatha that portrays the life and times of the Pandavas, happens in the Dwaparayuga, a period related with Lord Krishna (the eighth symbol of Lord Vishnu). Altogether, there are four Yugas. These are the Satya Yuga (or Krita Yuga), the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga lastly the Kali Yuga. The Bhagavata Purana is presumably the most perused and mainstream of the puranas. It accounts the narrative of the god Vishnu and his manifestations (avataars) on earth. Hindu Epics: The two incredible Hindu Epics, The Ramayanaand The Mahabharata recount to the account of two explicit manifestations of Vishnu (Rama and Krishna). These two works are known as Itihasa. The legends Mahabharata and Ramayana fill in as both strict sacred texts and a rich wellspring of reasoning and ethical quality for a Hindu. The legends are partitioned into sections and contain different short stories and good circumstances, where the character goes in a specific direction as per Hindu laws and codes of uprightness. The most well known of them is The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit: The Lord's Song) in the Mahabharata, where Lord Krishna clarifies the ideas of obligation and exemplary nature to the saint Arjuna before the climactic fight. These accounts are profoundly inserted in Hindu way of thinking and fill in as anecdotes and wellsprings of dedication for Hindus. The Mahabharata is the world's longest epic in refrain, hurrying to in excess of 30,000 lines. There are numerous gods in Hinduism. At the top are the Trimurti: Shiva (the destroyer), Vishnu (the defender), and Brahma (the maker), and their spouses (goddesses in their own right): Shakti (otherwise called Paarvathi, Ambika) the goddess of mental fortitude and influence, Lakshmi the goddess of all types of riches, and Saraswati the goddess of learning. The offspring of the Trimurti are additionally devas, for example, Ganesha and Skanda or Kartikaya. Brahma is viewed as the leader of the in one sense, Brahma isn't past the fourteen universes as Shiva and Vishnuare.

1. To separate the techniques grasped by the maker for portraying the characters in the books. 2. To recognize the distinctive complex features that demonstrates the style of the writer.

Outsider experience makes them far off however the western world in the novels of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni offer an additional feeling of opportunity to break the shackles of convention. ―The printed techniques utilized here, especially comparable to representative demonstrations of imagination as a type of individual and social survival. (Flickerman 12-13) If the original is more into ‗looking back' with wistfulness, the more youthful age thinks back with tension. The novels are a fitting proof of the age hole and the manner in which they see the whole thing. ―New diasporas have migrated the self there and the other here, and subsequently fringes and limits have been frustrated. What's more, the progression of culture has been without a moment's delay homogenizing and hydrogenating.

1. Interview by Susan Comminos. Imagined Homelands. 4 Oct. 2004. the atlantic magazine. Web. 2. Interview by Tarra Gaines. Family secrets at the heart of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s new novel Oleander Girl. Houston.culturemap.com. 4 March 2013.Web. 5 Jan. 2014 3. Interview by Terry Hong. An interview with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Aug. 2013. 4. Interview by Uma Ganesh. Straddling Two Cultures. Calitreview.31 5. Interview by Morton Marcus. The Spice of Life. 5 Sept. 1997.Metroactivebooks 6. Interview with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Book chums .com.2013.Web.6 March 7. MyWork withMAITRI‖.Bold Type. 1997.Web. 10 March2013. 8. Re: Inquiry regarding biographic details‖. Messageto Ritu Agarwal. 6March 2014.E–mail. Patel. Jaipur: Mark, 2011.Print. Agarwal, Supriya and Urmil Talwar, ed. Gender, History and Culture. Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2009. Print. 10. Agarwal, Ritu R. (2013). Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni‗s Sister of My Heart: Looking back at Tradition and Society: Writing in a Diasporic Mode‖Journal of English Language Teaching and Literary Studies 2.2. Web.14 Feb.2014. 111. Agnew Vijay, ed. (2005). Diaspora, Memory and Identity: A Search for Home. Canada: U of Toronto P, 2005. Print. 12. Agnihotri, Neeraj (2014). Diasporic Consciousness in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni‗sSister of My Heart‖.Galaxy3.1: pp. 1-6.Web. 9 March 2014. 13. Aizaz, Ahmad (1993). In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures. New Delhi: OUP, 1992. Print. Alexander, Meena. Fault Lines. New York: Feminist P, 1993.Print. 14. Alexandru, Maria-Sabina Draga. ―Urban and Rural Narratives of Female Relocation in Chitra Banerjee‗s Novel Queen of Dreams and The Mistress of Spices‖. 15. Alfonso, Carolin, et. al. (2004). Diaspora, Identity and Religion: New Directions in Theory. New York: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Research Scholar, Sunrise University, Alwar, Rajasthan