POTRAYAL OF CULTURAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN INDIAN FICTION: WITH REFERENCE TO AMIT CHAUDHURI’S “Odysseus Abroad”

Abstract

Culture as an element is fixed to the development of a nation‘s identity. Indian culture reflects the lives of the Indian society, the distinctive customs, have all been accorded to the changes that have come across due to the socio-cultural effects of globalization. The local cultures, the family lives, the languages, customs and so many of the cultural elements have undergone various shifts and alterations. The Indian culture has always been discussed for the value it gives to the human relationships and customs. The study of cultural spaces in the novels of AmitChaudhuri’s subsumes both spaces inhabited by the characters and the ways in which they think, feel, respond and articulate. This study of AmitChaudhuri’s writing has a title which is likely to evoke and generate both curiosity and controversy. Thisarticle focuses on the representation and the significance of cultural spaces in “Odysseus Abroad”. It seeks to demonstrate, analyses and explore the meaning and value of cultural spaces which in turn enhance and expand the thematic foci of the novels. These spaces also serve as a key to understand the author’s thematic concerns, his vision of life, leading to comprehensive understanding of author’s work and its proper appreciation. In Chaudhuri’s writing, culture figures as a dominate trope informing the entire narrative in terms of both contexts and concerns.