Does True Love Exist?

I'm fianlly done reading The Namesake! and I have say one thing that I have taken away from this novel is that it takes time to find the perfect soul mate for yourself. Gogol had so many relationships from Ruth to Maxine, Moushumi and all the one night affairs in the middle, but in the end of the novel he was all alone. He never found his true love.

Anyways, moving on. It was hilarious when Ashima kept asking Gogol about marriage. In India, parents constantly annoy kids their if they are not married by the age of 20, especially females. Ashima states how “that by Gogol's age she had already celebrated her tenth wedding anniversary” (Lahiri 191). This defines every Indian girl. My mom herself got married by the age of 19. Once she finished grade 12, my grandparents started looking for future prospects. She had no option but to listen to them, because her elder sister (my aunt) got married by the age of 19, so they felt that even my mom would not have a problem either. Personally, my mom was not happy as she wanted to study ahead in engineering but because of family pressure, and not having the financial standing to study ahead my mom decided to get married. Alot of this has to do with the Indian culture and its traditions. The same dilemma occurs in Gogol's life, after his father passes away. Ashima found it important for him to get married and have children so the family name could carry on.

 ( Thank god my dad doesn't think like that! Source: Desimemes)

Furthermore, Gogol tried to avoid an arrange marriage as he despises them. He preferred to choose his own life partner, which is why he ignored meeting up with Moushumi. However, at their wedding ceremony, Gogol remembered how “his parents, strangers until that moment, two people who had not spoken until after they were actually wed" (Lahiri 222). My perspective on arranged marriages is the same as Gogol's. My parents had an arranged marriage. Growing up, I always wanted a love marriage, to meet my own partner and spend my life with someone on my own terms. Arrange marriages are very old fashioned and confined, females do not have much liberty. Growing up in a Western Society, I prefer the freedom to choose my own soul mate, and live life on my own terms. For instance, in my favorite T.V. show Friends Monica and Chandler are the cutest couple ever.Their relationship is literally goals. The fact that they both were friends before, but eventually the friendship rekindled in love afterwards always gets me teary eyed. Monica and Chandler both married late, but atleast they found their soul mates. They did not rush into marriage, they took their time, got to know each other's weaknesses and strengths, understood each other's perspectives in life and then decided to marry each other! Honestly, I was the happiest person when they both finally took their wedding vows.

(#relationshipgoals Source: GIPHY)

Nonetheless, looking at my grandparents relationship always amazes me. My grandmother was married of at 17, with a man she never met before marriage. At that time it was casual to marry off your daughter at such an tender age. Seeing their relationship know, I'm surprised how one can fall in love after marriage. My grandparents always support and care for each other, just like any partner would in a perfect relationship. Of course they have disagreements just like any other normal relationship, however they still remain with each other during their ups and down's in life. They've been married for over 60 years and their relationship is still rock solid. So, having the conversation with my grandmother, I began to appreciate arranged marriages but still not wanting one.

                                                            (how cute! Source: GIPHY)

All in all, this book is my all time favorite from all the books I've read so far over the course of my high school career. Gogol's attempt to find his true identity, and keep a balance between both cultures felt like an image of myself. 

Did you guys adore the book as much as I did? Let me know in the comments below!

Krisha, xoxo
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Works Cited

     "Indian Dad Memes | Quickmeme." Quickmeme. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

     "Television GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY." GIPHY. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

     "Dancing Couple GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY." GIPHY. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

 My Views on Chapter 5-7!

I have to admit part two of the novel was much more interesting than the first because it was much more scandalous and juicy! Honestly, Ashoke's death was the highlight of the novel, I've never cried this much while reading a book. Ashoke's death hit me like a tsunami, it was so upsetting, unnecessary, and unwanted.

(Accurately describes my feelings when Ashoke died. Source: GIPHY)

Before I start bawling my eyes out  again, let’s move on. One of the things I found hysterically  relatable was the fact that Nikhil knows that his parents don't appreciate, if he studies something in arts “like the rest of their Bengali friends, his parents expect him to be, if not an engineer, then a doctor, a lawyer, an economist at the very least” (Lahiri 105). This outlook still exists among many South Asian parents. Fortunately, my parents are very accepting of my decision, however, my mom still wants me to not pursue hospitality and tourism in the future. Since, I decided to pursue food and nutrition in grade 9, my mom was against it. She constantly tried to divert my mind towards science, or math, but I never had interest in science. By grade 11 I decided to pursue SHSM in Hospitality and Tourism, and took co-op at Cafe Deluxe, which gave my mom no option but to accept my decision.

(Every south Asian parent. Source: Quickmeme)

Furthermore, another one of South Asian parents problems is with dinners. When Nikhil visits Maxine’s house for the first time, he notices how few dishes are served on the dinner table. “[h]is own mother would never have served so few dishes to a guest. She would have kept her eyes trained on Maxine’s plate, insisting she have seconds and then thirds” (Lahiri 133). Usually, when a guest is about to arrive Indian moms make 10 different types of dishes, with 2 or 3 desserts. They would keep their eyes on the guest's plate, and as they are about to finish their dinner, Indian parents would start forcing them to eat more food. I’m not kidding, after every party I attend, I have to skip my next meal because you are so stuffed from the food at the party. I don't understand what it is, but Indian people gain a sense of satisfaction by feeding their guests full. About 2 years ago, when my family and I visited Toronto, we stayed over at our family friends house. During dinner time, I was about to finish the food in my plate, but then the mom decided to add some more rice in my dish. Even though I said no a couple of times, she didn't listen so I (regretfully) yelled at her for forcing me. I'm still embarrassed, to this day, but I personally dislike wasting food so it was a big deal for me. Oh well, it's not like I see her everyday. Personally, I would never force feed someone, but I feel it's just in the values my parents have been brought up with. In India, guests are treated like God, which explains why they make so many dishes.

(My exact reaction when I yelled at the lady. Source: GIPHY)

Although, many people do not enjoy The Namesake, I personally am in love with the book. I can relate to this book on many levels, and can feel for the Ganguli's struggle. Good job Mrs. Lahiri, you definitely have  gained one fan for your novel.

Sincerely

Krisha

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Works Cited

"Indian Dad Memes | Quickmeme." Quickmeme. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

"No GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY." GIPHY. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

"Sad GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY." GIPHY. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. New York: Mariner, 2004. Print.

A New Journey

Hi Friends! Today I will be talking about the novel The Namesake written by Jhumpa Lahiri, specifically the first four chapters. The beginning chapters portray the life of a newly married Bengali couple, who immigrated to America. Lahiri targets upon Ashoke and Ashima’s immigrant life, raising their child in a foreign land, and how the culture is affected throughout the journey. Ashoke was already settled in America for a couple of years, studying at MIT, and accomplishing his goals to become a professor. Whereas, Ashima is a typical housewife, struggling to assimilate herself  into the American Society. This specific section of the novel is very relatable to my parents life experience. They came from India alone in 2000 without me and my brother, not having any money, no job security for either, and minimal connections. They had to live on rent, work day and night, and were paid $7/hr in cash because they did not have their work permit. Also, my mom had a hard time adapting at first because she came here not knowing anyone, leaving her luxurious lifestyle in India to support my dad.

Another connection between my parents and the Ganguli’s is their struggle to keep their heritage and culture alive within the children. Ashima is constantly compromising her values for Gogol and Sonia. An example, would be when Ashima would buy american food from the supermarket to make Gogol and Sonia lunch “they stand at the deli to buy cold cuts, and in the mornings Ashima makes sandwiches with bologna or roast beef”’ (Lahiri, 65). Ashima and Ashoke were failed to be impressed with it, so to keep the culture alive in their children they sent them to Bengali school every saturday “they send him to Bengali language and cultural lesson every other Saturday” (Lahiri, 65). My parents are very similar to the Gangulis, they would always send me and my brother to Hindi school, and we go to this day! Also, my mom constantly gets upset when she makes home cooked food, but I and my brother go outside to eat Shawarma, Go for Greek, Subway, you name it.

Lastly, another major connection between the my parents and Gangulis is their excitement to host brown parties every now and then. In the novel, when it was Gogol’s 14th birthday Ashima and Ashoke found an excuse to throw a lavish Bengali party for Gogol. “like most events in his life, it is another excuse for his parents to throw a party for their Bengali friends” (Lahiri, 72). This relates to my parents because recently on my birthday, they threw a lavish brown party to celebrate my 17th. They believe that hosting brown parties allows me to connect with people from the Indian culture, and I will learn to adapt to the culture slowly by hanging out with other Indian kids.

When one decides to immigrate to a new country, they should accept that children will not always be accepting to their own culture because they want to fit in with the rest of the kids. Ashoke and Ashima tried very hard to adapt to the american culture, and still keep the Bengali culture alive within their children, but the children were slowly drifting away from it.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! Tell me how you like it in the comments down below!