DIASPORIC SENSIBILITIES AND CULTURAL CONFLICT IN CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI'S ARRANGED MARRIAGE

Abstract The research article critiques the short stories authored by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni about middle-class Bengali Indian women who migrate to America, imagining it as a place for perfect happiness and a land of promise. Exploring these short stories aims to focus on how Divakaruni creates ephemeral, terse images of women caught between the old and new world, how women deal with cross-cultural sexual interactions and relationships, and how women struggle to attain self-worth and independence denied to them by their own narrow-minded culture. Women in these stories are grappling to forge their own identities. The attempt is to find and fuse a viable identity within the mainstream U.S. culture. 'Arranged Marriage' is a stunningly beautiful and poignant collection that portrays the possibility of change and starting afresh. Independence is a mixed blessing and an opportunity for self-realisation for Indian-born women starting new lives in America. It is like striking an equilibrium between old, cherished beliefs and astonishing newly discovered desires and understanding the feelings and turmoil the conflict brings. Women's struggle in 'Arranged Marriage' is dual; firstly, they struggle for their own identity as an individual free from any patriarchal identity. Secondly, they grapple for an identity that is neither Indian nor American. The standard line of thought that runs through the collection is that every now and then, the native flavour peeps through the lives of immigrants, leaving them with sudden pangs of nostalgia. The pull of the motherland keeps these unfortunate immigrants divided between the two worlds and cultures