Katie Whetzel LIS 662 Final Project November 30, 2011

Book Discussion on The Namesake

I chose to develop a library program for the Asian Indian immigrant population in the United States. I proceeded to research background demographics, and decided that my fictional public library would host a book discussion that brought together members of the Asian Indian population and Americans. I located a book, The Namesake, through browsing Greensboro Public Librarys online catalog and looking at book reviews. It was written by Jhumpa Lahiri and published in 2003. Jhumpa Lahiri is the child of Asian Indian immigrants to the U.S. and visited India often during her childhood years. In an article by Newsmakers, 2001, [a]lthough Lahiri grew up in the United States and considers herself an American writer, she said it is difficult to see herself as American sometimes[yet when she stayed in India on multiple extended visits] she did not feel at home there either. To me, this revealed an author with a desire to write about the complexities of the immigrant experience and which would be brought up at the library meeting. Reflecting on what we have discussed in class, I felt that it would be culturally sensitive to choose a book written by an Asian Indiannot an American. And though she is American, she herself is a bridge between India and America because of her family and cultural background. Jhumpa Lahiri won a Pulitzer Prize for her short-story collection titled, Interpreter of Maladies. There is

also a film that was based on the book that was released in 2006 and could be integrated into the book discussion meeting in various ways. A book review of The Namesake in Library Journal states: This first novel is an Indian American saga, covering several generations of the Ganguli family across three decades. Newlyweds Ashoke and Ashima leave India for the Boston area [Ashoke], is ready to be part of U.S. culture, but Ashima, disoriented and homesick, is less taken with late-Sixties America. She develops ties with other Bengali expatriatesWhen [they have a child], he is named Gogol...As Gogol matures, his unusual name proves to be a burden, though no more than the tensions and confusions of growing up as a firstgeneration American. There have been some relatively recent instances in American pop culture that have brought Indian culture into the spotlight. For instance, the hugely popular movie, Slumdog Millionaire led to a heightened visibility of conditions in India, as well as the existence of the entire movie industry of Bollywood. However, one of the difficulties of things like this is that a perception may grow into being that this one depiction of life in India is how it is for everyone and Asian Indian immigrants to the U.S. may be misinterpreted in this manner. This is why a program of this type is important. In an effort to alter and cultivate the perceptions of Asian Indians by Americans and an endeavor to support immigrants in their adjustment (or not) into U.S. culture, a book discussion group might address some of those issues. In Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2000 the population of Asian Indians born in India was 1,131 and the total population was 421,048. To give some context to this number, in Queens, New York, the numbers are 48,132 and 2,229,379 respectively. And for Forsyth County they are 427 and 306,067. This information is from the New York Times Immigration Explorer Map (2009).

Asian Indian immigrants are the third-largest immigrant group in the United States after Mexican and Filipino immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute, an independent organization that analyzes immigration movements across the world. India has 18 official languages and I chose two to use for my library book discussion flyer, and they are English and Hindi (CIA Factbook 2011). One of the facts that the Migration Policy Institute article states is that nearly three-quarters of Indian foreign-born adults ha[ve] a bachelor's degree or higher and this is the population group for which I am developing this public library program. The Migration Policy Institute states that [a]mong the 45,000 limited English proficient Indian immigrants age 5 and older, 23.3 percent indicated that they spoke Hindi[and] 1.2 percent Bengali with 8 other languages listed and a remaining 8.7 percent attributed to 29 other languages (2010). Bengali is the language of the characters in The Namesake. I am hoping a program like this would interest Asian Indians who already have a working knowledge of English (either formal or informal) and might want to engage in library services or to connect to a wider circle of community. A goal of the book discussion I am planning would attempt to capture this group and enhance their public library experience as well as that of Americans typical interactions with the library. If I were truly implementing this book discussion, I would approach local Asian Indian organizations, such as the Indian Association of the Triad. Their website, http://www.iatnc.org/, has many objectives listed but the one that stands out the most to me, is [the organization endeavors to] organize social, cultural and

educational activities and sponsor/ participate in other programs as may be of general interest to its members. There are multiple variations of this book discussion- such as having a recurring meeting covering multiple books/topics, or films could be used to begin dialogue and present visual representations of Asian Indian culture. Presentations on historical background, guest speakers, or guest panels could also be employed. Another possibility is to foster community and shared experiences by food. This information coupled with the idea of bridging communities and bringing them together in one place is how I developed my idea for a book discussion. The discussion would focus on the books themes and general perceptions of India. Some of the major themes in The Namesake are identity- cultural and self, A wonderful source of potential discussion questions is the readers guide by the books publisher, Houghton Mifflin Co. (http://www.hmhbooks.com/readers_guides/lahiri_namesake.shtml). The webpage has videos of the author, book discussion questions, and a short Q & A with the author. UNC Chapel Hill has also developed a great compilation of resources on India. (http://www.unc.edu/srp/srp2006/resources.html) It refers one to supplementary materials, films, and immigration statistics.

References: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html http://www.hmhbooks.com/readers_guides/lahiri_namesake.shtml http://www.iatnc.org/ (Retrieved on November 30, 2011). "Jhumpa Lahiri." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=785 (retrieved on November 20, 2011). The Namesake (Book). By: Smith, Starr E., Library Journal, 03630277, Vol. 128, Issue 12. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration explorer.html http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm http://www.unc.edu/srp/srp2006/resources.html References: (These were not used in the paper or presentation, but I browsed these for general research and comparison) http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/books/out-of-theovercoat.html?pagewanted=4&src=pm http://www.naminj.org/programs/samhaj/samhaj.html http://law.wustl.edu/organizations/SALSA/about.html http://wiki.vibha.org/Atlanta:Home http://www.indiafestival.org/ http://www.grbaonline.org/ http://www.thokalath.com/North-America/Indo-American-Community.php

http://people.bu.edu/prothero/ia_immigrants.htm