Jasmine is a novel of immigration and assimilation , both on physical and psychological levels. In this novel , Bharati Mukherjee fictionalises the process of Americanisation by tracing a young Indian woman’s experiences of trauma and triumph in her attempt to a new identity for herself. In this novel Mukherjee tries to unravel the complicated layers of cross – cultural confrontations through a series of adventures which the protagonist undertakes during her odyssey from Punjab to California. The impact of diasporic experiences on immigrants’ psyche depends on their level of belonging in an alien land. Bharati Mukherjee’s odyssey from India to Canada to United States gives her a cutting edge over her contemporaries to be established as most revered author of Indian diaspora. Mukherjee, moulded and transformed by the cultures of her countries of origin, movement and settlement has earnestly engaged herself in re-conceptualising the idea of diaspora as a profitable affair as opposed to the popular belief that render immigration and displacement as conditions of loss. Her novels are bulging with women protagonists of staunch spirit and celebrating credence who win the tussle with cultural, conflict and in the process involve and emerge as winners.The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how Mukherjee’s heroine Jasmine in her novel of the same name involves her self with cultural changes, endeavour for self– realisation and finally takes control of her destiny.
Research Scholar, Dept. of English Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya
