Home is Where the Feet Are: A Diasporic Study of Yasmine Gooneratne’s A Change of Skies

Abstract

Diasporic writing has garnered interest among literary audiences because it amplifies the voices of colonial individuals on a global stage. It advocates indigenous people’s identity within their ancestral territory. The key themes included displacement and exile, regret for the past, identity crisis, alienation, belonging, culture shock, assimilation, and acculturation. V.S. Naipaul, Uma Parameswaran, Meena Alexander, and Yasmine Gooneratne were the most notable diasporic writers. In this paper, Yasmine Gooneratne’s A Change of Skies has been taken up for study and it attempts to analyse the novel through the prism of diasporic studies. This paper begins with a succinct introduction to diaspora and diasporic literature, followed by an author introduction, a literature review, the research methodology employed, a synopsis of the novel, and a comprehensive discussion of the study. It concludes with an optimistic perspective on cultural adaptation and assimilation in the adopted land while also emphasising the potential for future research on this topic. Novel.
In this paper, three recurrent phases experienced by diasporic people, cultural shock, assimilation, and acculturation, have been used as research tools to elucidate the distinctions between traditionalists and assimilationists and conclude on an optimistic note regarding cultural hybridity, emphasising the significance of adaptation and assimilation in a new environment, as well as the role of multiculturalism in enabling diasporic individuals to lead fulfilling lives abroad, while also underscoring their emotional ties to their homeland.
This novel is a luminous debut that chronicles the adventures of the Sri Lankan couple, Bharat Mangala Devasinha, and his wife Navaranjini, as they settle in Australia. Bharat and Navaranjini had to accommodate the new culture at the initial stage of their arrival, but later started to embrace their new culture and lead a harmonious life in their adopted land. Acceptance serves as the superior remedy for expatriates seeking to alleviate their feelings of alienation, as illustrated by the author through her characters Barry and Jean. Thus, this study underscores the significance of assimilation and cultural hybridity while preserving their original identity. Future research may further investigate the diasporic literature through comparative analyses of South Asian diasporic experiences in various host nations, explore the identity formation of second-generation immigrants, and assess the transformative role of digital media in influencing diasporic consciousness and cultural preservation.