Information about "Jhumpa Lahiri"

Inroductuon:-

  'Nilanjana sudeshna Lahiri'called"Jhumpa Lahiri"is an American author of Indian origin,known for her short stories,novels and essay in English and more recently in Italian.she got "Pulitzer prize for fiction."

     Now let us discuss her life and work in detail:

Her Life:-

       Lahiri was born in London, the daughter of Bengali Indian emigrants from the state of West Bengal.Her family moved to the United states when she was two;Lahiri considered herself an American and has said,

                       "I   wasn't born here,but I might as well have been"

               Lahiri grew up in Kingston Rhode Island.

Her Father:-

            Where her father Amar Lahiri works as a librarian at the university of Rhode Island.He is the basis for the protagonist in"The Third and Final Continent."

Her mother:-

                        Lahiri's mother wanted her children to grew up knowing their Bengali heritage and her family often visited relatives in calcutta.

                       When she began kindergarten in kingston,Rhode Island.Lahiri's teacher decided to call by her pet name"Jhumpa"because it was easier to pronounce than her proper name.Lahiri recalled,

              "I always felt so embarrased by my name...you feel like you're causing someone pain just by being who you are."

                      Lahiri's ambivalence over her identity was the inspiration for the ambivalence of  Gogol, the protagonist of her novel "The Namesake" 

    

  Her education:-

                               Lahiri  graduated from South Kingstown High school and received her B.A in English literature from Barnad college of Columbia University in 1989.

                      Lahiri then received multiple degrees from Boston University an M.A in English,an M.F.A in Creative writing,an M.A in comparative literature and a Ph.D in Renaissance studies.

Her Married Life:-

                           In 2001 Lahiri married Alberto Vourvoulias Bush a journalist who was then deputy editor of TIME Latin America.

             Lahiri lives in Rome with her husband and their two children Octavio and Noor.Lahiri joined the  Princeton University faculty on July 1,2015 as a professor of creative writing in the Lewis center for the Arts.

Her Literary Career:-

                                Lahiri's early short stories faced rejection from publishers"for years".Her debut short story collection,

                         "Interpreter of Maladies"

                Was finally released in 1999.The stories adress sensitive dilemmas in the lives ofIndians or Indian immigrants,with theme such as marital difficulties,the bereavement over a stillborn child and the disconnection between first and second generation United states immigrants.

             The collection was praised by American critics,but received mixed review in India,where reviewers were alternately anthusiastic and upset Lahiri had 'not painted Indians in a more positive light'.

                     "Interpreter of Maladies" sold 600,000 copies and received,

                      "Pulitzer Prize for fiction"(2000)

        In 2003 Lahiri published her first novel,

                       "  The Namesake"

        The theme and plot of this novel was influenced in part by a family story she heard growing up.Her father's cousin was involved in a train wreck and was only saved when the workers saw a beam of light reflected off of a watch he was wearing.

               Similarly, the protagonist's father in "The Namesake"was rescued due to his peers recognizing the books that he read by Russian author "Nikolai Gogol".The father and his wife immigrated to the United States as young adults.After this life -changing experience , he named his son Gogol and his daughter Sonia.

                Together the two children grow up in aculture with different mannerisms and customs that clash with what their parents have taught them.

                 A film adaption of "The Namesake" was released  in March 2007 directed by Mira Nair and starting Kal Penn as Gogol and Bollywood stars Tabu and Irrfan Khan as his parents.Lahiri herself made a cameo as "Aunt Jhumpa".

Her short stories and novels:-

     ● "Unaccustomed Earth"(2008)

     ●"The Long Way Home;cooking lessons":-

                            A story about the importance of food in Lahiri's relationship with her mother.

      ●"The Lowland":-

                             In septenber 2013 ,this novel was placed on the shortlist for the "Man booker prize".which ultimately went to  The Luminaries by Eleanor catton.

        ●"Teach Yourself Italian"(2015)

                      Since 2005 ,Lahiri has been a vice president of the "PEN American center",an organization designed to promote friendship and intellectual cooperation among writers.

Her Awards:-

     ●1993~ TransAtlentic Award from the Henfield Foundation.

      ●1999~ O'Henry Award for short story"Interpreter of Maladies".

       ●1999~ PEN/Hemingway Award

       ●2000~Gggenheim Fellowship

       ●2014~National Humanities Medal

       ●2017~PEN /Malamud Award

Conclusion:-

                     Thus,above all information about Jhumpa Lahiri  we can say that she consider as a Indian author only because of she wrote about Indian culture and it's root.she is famous for her first and best known novel "The Namesake".she got many Awards and also Man Booker Prize for literature.