India in Canadian Imagination: A Literary Response

It is well known that the imprint of Indian thought or the image of India in the west covers a wide range of subjects. Writers in Europe and America, as is evident in their literary works, have presented a diverse and highly complex picture of India. Many scholars and writers have endeavoured to explore the inexhaustible heritage of Indian thought, life and society. It must however be noted that it is mainly the writers of Indian diaspora who in their literary works have portrayed authentically the country of their origin or that of their forefathers. Entering the much sought-after life in the west, what does the immigrant writer find? How does India figure in his/her imagination? For immigrants like Bharati Mukherjee, Uma Parameswaran, Rohinton Mistry, Anita Rau Badami and Shauna Singh Baldwin, confrontation with another society starts the process of deconstructing and restructuring the self. The present book, we hope, will be of immense value to all those, including students and scholars, who are fascinated by the literature of diaspora and cross-cultural studies.