The Dialectics of Diasporic Experience: A Reading of Stephen Gill

Dr. D. Parameswari

Diasporic writing, a post-colonial scenario elaborates issues such as marginalization, cultural insularity, social disparity, racism, ethnicity, etc. These writings address problems that arise from the transnational space created by a fluid community that is neither at home nor outside, that neither gets amalgamated with the new culture nor decides to move back to the origin. Oscillating between the attractions of home and those from the new, the migrants wage a constant psychic battle: the old world is replete with myth and tradition; the new world order is proliferate with thirst for freedom and independence. They are in a dilemma as to whether they should remain in a ghetto of old values with least interaction with the majority, or break the barriers and get assimilated with the overwhelming new culture.

The term ‘diaspora’ originally related itself to the Jews, their exile and alienation, but today it covers migrations, the transmission of one national tradition to another and globalization too, at large. The diasporic individual is no more a Jewish victim-type as his transmission is a self-choice and a voluntary option for opportunities of study, growth and employment. In the self-chosen new land, he has to either get integrated with the changed social and cultural set-up, and demarcate a new transnational identity, outwitting his motherland’s cultural pulls and value-allurements, or remain in an ivory tower, in absolute isolation.

The ‘Politics of Culture’ as addressed by Edward Said in his deliberations on ‘Orientalism’ introduces the theory of migrant sensibility. Cultural politics, as specified by Said, is a component of location/space. Cultural politics becomes the battle ground for arguments when the Orient moves towards the Occident, either for a merger, or to create a ghetto. In this stride towards the new land, there is a simultaneous nostalgia as the dear native land has its own rich tradition, attractive landscape and wonderful inhabitants which are to be almost forgotten; he is now obliged to develop a sensibility which can be phrased as compromise, negotiation and assimilation! An Indian migrated to Canada has to look upon himself as a Canadian; if he were in U.S. he is expected to conduct himself as an American. This kind of compromise that involves a necessary self-transformation presupposes pain and frustration to the immigrant. It is a moment of self effacement that brings him a lot of emotional strain. Though Canada has a very generous political policy when it comes to immigrants, there is no ‘melting pot’ syndrome everywhere. There are numerous belts of people with distinct ethnic features and identities. The picture is that of 'salad bowl' where the components exist with distinct identities.

The India born diasporic writer Stephen Gill, well known as the author of several novels, short-story collections, poems and prose writings, is concerned with the dialectics of the immigrants' experience in the Canadian soil. His novel, Immigrant, spins around the plight of the Asians, particularly an Indian who enters Canada, ‘the land of his dreams', to pursue higher studies. The protagonist Reghu Nath confronts several situations, pleasant and unpleasant throughout his journey from his motherland to Canada. He approaches the International League Office which allots him a quiet and comfortable room. Evading sleep, tossing in bed he recalls the posters he saw in the Canadian embassies in New Delhi and London, proclaiming Canada as a land of opportunities,; he remembers his compatriots who told him that the Indians who go abroad finally settle down only in Canada. He has been further told that people in the U.S. and Canada are honest and hard-working, compared to the Indians. He is confident that if he were nice to his Professors he would be well taken. He decides to be polite, meek and honest.

Reghu, subsequently, paints a dream picture of the university where he will be a student. He contends that it will be an ideal place, entirely different from such institutions in India where segregation on grounds of gender and caste is a norm. In India he was never able to express his feelings to any member of the opposite sex. Perhaps, it was his shyness, or male ego which stood in the way. He also feels that people in India do not practice or think of love as a serious matter. Now Reghu is happy that he is free to carry out whatever he has read or heard.

The diasporic individual Reghu is gradually surrounded by a number of problems related to communication. He is not conversant with telephone talks and telephone-talk manners. A woman who answers his call talks in unintelligible English. Dropping into a sofa in despair he visualizes his future as bleak and hopeless. He apprehends that he has to thus suffer a communication problem which he has already experienced with some American and English people. He is able to communicate easily with the French, Italians, Germans, Africans and people of other nations. His basic problem is only with certain types of British and the North Americans. Reghu blames the educational system in India which did not introduce him to the accent or the colloquial expressions of the English-Speaking countries.

All immigrants, during their stay in the new land, encounter culture- conflicts and shocks; some easily divulge while others require time. A few others do not/ refuse to yield. Reghu's incompatibility with the Western Culture surfaces when he reaches the University hall where he notices that everyone except himself is in casual dress; he has come in business suit. He feels uncomfortable as he seems to be the centre of attraction due to his clothes, obviously not tailored in a North American Style and also because he is wearing them in such suffocating weather. This embarrassment adds to his depression and desperation. On another occasion, Reghu is terribly shocked when he is told that holding another man's hand can be misunderstood as a gesture of homosexual companionship which is uncommon in his country.

The other culture shock Reghu receives involves the women he meets and their style of living. Queen of Sheba with whom Reghu becomes friendly is a talkative, intellectual, a native of Trinidad, in her thirties. She discusses anything on earth with ease and fluency. She suggests to Reghu to move to New York for money and recognition. She comments, Canadians are prejudiced and they suffer from the worst kind of inferiority complex. She relates this to her experience in the States:

I discovered that people in the States care for talent. They don’t see colour or race; they look for the people who can do the job. All the blacks who are holding high positions in Canada, and to some extent also in the States, are far superior in intelligence and talent than the whites with the same qualifications. Believe me, Canadians will never give responsible positions to blacks, easily. (44)

While leaving his room Sheba invites Reghu for supper. In her apartment, while preparing the supper she suggests to Reghu to make use of some of the old women like Mrs. Wallace for his benefit. Reghu’s culture shock consummates here, the shock unique to this immigrant.

A few other shocks are the order of the day for a diasporic man. As advised by the Black Queen, Reghu becomes friendly with Mrs. Wallace, his neighbour who is understood as a renowned writer. One day he invites Mrs. Wallace for a drink. Reghu is eager to collect information about Canada's and particularly Montreal's literary scene, about successful Canadian writers, to see if there is a possibility of making a living by writing. However, when he attempts to focus their talk on these areas, the Black Queen moves on to something else. Reghu slowly comes to know that she has never published any book; hers are only journalistic articles in local newspapers. Appearances are deceptive, he understands.

Yet another concern of Gill in The Immigrant is with the immigrants' difficulty in securing permanent job in the new soil. Day by day Reghu finds his stay in the university intolerable , an unbearable mental torture for him. Neither the courses nor the grades this foreigner finds suitable. After spending two years, Reghu leaves the university. Hoping to get a job he approaches Canada Man Power Office but feels disappointed. He runs down the memory lane with regard to his own country where he held a good position before coming to Canada. It would be hard to return to find another job in his country which is beset with problems of its own. Besides, he has lost contact with his friends and acquaintances. Reghu finds himself unable to get a suitable employment in Canada. Securing a satisfying position becomes a Herculean endeavour. He is offered temporary jobs for few weeks. He sends applications to various offices, universities and colleges but is advised to obtain his citizenship which would enhance his chances of securing a job. He renounces his Indian citizenship for a Canadian one. Yet the situation does not improve any way. Once he realizes that his stay in Ottawa for three years does not serve his purpose, he decides to move to Montreal in search of a new way of life.

Reghu has already lived in Montreal once before to take a seminar course at Sir George Williams University. He comes to Ottawa filled with memories of Montreal to gloat over. He has always longed to return to Montreal where nobody takes exception to any creed, class or colour. He finds a great change in these three years. He meets different types of people. One of his neighbours often complements Reghu on his handsomeness and youth. Reghu is not able to tolerate. Irritated, the man thunders, “You’d better keep out of my way .Why don’t you go back to your country?”(42) But Reghu has by now mellowed and with a lot of endurance, he replies, “Where? The whole world is my country. I’m a world citizen” (42). This is a typical attitude which a representative immigrant develops after a long stay.

The diasporic man maps his vision of life in order to transform his attitudes. Reghu slowly develops a tendency to give in though he is angry at being cheated on several occasions. He is sorry that things aren't working out. He is a peace loving and law abiding citizen, yet he hates to think there is no freedom to do what he likes as long as he does not disturb others. He is all in a mood to drink, in order to shed his tears and inhibitions. He also wishes to dance and dance, till every limb of his body becomes exhausted, and he does so. Feeling sick he vomits on the floor, for he thinks he need not be concerned about others when no one is bothered about him. Perhaps, this is his revenge against the strange new land which oppresses and horrifies him. However, this gloomy stage is only temporary in the immigrant's life, as he soon envisages a bright future in the new, alien soil. Next morning Reghu moves to Montreal, dreaming of 'fresh woods and pastures anew'.

Reghu is always aware that he is from a land of culture and rich heritage. He is from a land where family ties are held sacred, and special regard for parents as a virtue of utmost importance. He is from the country of Rama, a person who willed to spend fourteen years of his youth in a jungle, in exile to please his father. Also Reghu is from the nation of Saravana, a man who carried his old, blind parents on two baskets hung on his shoulders and walked across India to satisfy their wishes to visit the holy shrines. Now Reghu can declare to every Canadian that he is a product of that sacred cultural environment. He wants to stay in the mainstream-values of the country in which he was born and where he has left a part of himself. Both Gill and his protagonist glorify their own land which is a land of culture and heritage. He alludes to Ramayana, one of the Indian epics, to highlight the fact that parents are worshiped in India, through heroes like Rama and Saravana..

His friend, Mrs. Wallace introduces Reghu to a woman whose brother’s wife is from Ceylon. Mrs. Wallace tells Reghu that her family expects the girl to be obedient, faithful and patient like other girls from the east and that after the marriage they have discovered that she has none of these qualities. Mrs. Wallace continues that she compels her husband to work harder and harder to make money in order to buy her more material comforts. Reghu argues,

“Mind you, all women from the east are not like her.”

“I believe you can still find many women in India who respect their husbands more than most western women do.”

The immigrant Reghu thus holds that his own people and their culture are adorable, as they cherish emotions like love, affection, and filial ties sacred. He soon meets Maple, a divorcee in her thirties. One day, after the dance when Reghu asks Maple something very personal, she replies that they have to know each other first. Reghu does not agree, but Maple persists:

“A woman has to be emotionally involved with a man before she gives herself to him”.

“For me, friendship is one thing, but marriage is another. Marriage is more than a mere friendship between souls”.

“Don't you think a common background, outlook and dates are important for a successful marriage?” (24)

At this point Reghu becomes furious and retorts:

Not at all. I can give you examples of many couples who have nothing to share. Yet their married life is happy. There are still many more who settle down after going together for years under the pretext of knowing each other and whose marriage is on the rocks. I mean intellect is deceptive. (24-25)

The author delineates two different worlds, two cultures, Eastern and Western. Maple represents modern civilization which appears to have robbed man's emotions and natural impulses while Reghu Nath epitomizes the oriental culture of his country. There prevails a tendency towards compromise, adaptability and compromise in the east, whereas the west seems to subsist on incompatibility, separation and divorce. Recalling an incident he came across while traveling back to Cornwall by train, Reghu comments that though Canada is a democratic country, its citizens are living in a police state. Mrs. Wallace and Reghu are often critical of Canadian police and its system of law and order.

Dialectics of Reghu's diasporic experience is apparent. He is not a fanatic as he does not passionately cling to his native tradition and culture. He evinces a generous tendency to appreciate the global culture, at significant moments. At Montreal he is beset by several situations where his mind draws comparisons between the culture of his origin with that of the new. In one such, his Indian friend Mohan asserts, “a girl in India would accept an invitation [from a male] only after a good amount of thinking. That is why such meetings in India often end in a marriage. In Canada, the situation is different. If a girl accepts tea or any other kind of drink, it does not mean that she concedes to be your girl friend” (65). Mohan adds that Indian girls still respect their husbands. Reghu reacts that men and women all over the world are the same basically and these so called cultures are man-made and meant to cause only confusion and anarchy. He reasons out:

Look, the world is changing fast everywhere A university- bred girl from India can be a worse wife that a Canadian – educated girl. Women are seeking liberation even in India. (66)

This is one instance of Reghu's tendency to adjust himself to the new land, his ability to comprehend the cultural oasis which is the essential requirement for a diasporic individual.

An immigrant runs into a good lot of fellow immigrants who are victims of discrimination in one way or the other. He finds them lifeless, dead bodies. At Ottawa later, Reghu is given to know the tragic predicament of several misplaced Indians in Canada. He understands that a student was permitted to pursue his doctorate in English Literature though he had his masters degree only in Hindi. Reghu is next pained to hear that Prabha, his Indian friend, committed suicide by jumping from a tower of the parliament building. The following day Reghu reads an account of Prabha's death in a local newspaper which says it is a calculated step; he is not able to sleep the night he learns about this death and the report. He feels lonely, a foreigner in a foreign land. He realizes that nothing brings men lasting happiness. He thinks of Tolstoy who continuously sought peace of mind, and often thought of killing himself though he had wealth, good health, and obedient children. He regrets that Prabha's knowledge, her education, her parents' sacrifice, her life and everything ended in nothing. Reghu feels there are some more moving dead bodies in Canada, without any hope; their ambition killed by the tall, cold towers of indifference or discrimination.

Before him there emerges the picture of a moving dead body, Dr. Hafeez, a scientist from Bangladesh. Dr. Hafeez proposes to serve as Visiting Professor in Canada and applies for the same with the department of Chemical Engineering, which offers him very little opportunity to do research in combustion. Meanwhile, he is constrained to give up his job and go to Bangladesh to attend his brother's funeral. When he returns after six months, he tries hard to find a position in the area of his interest but is not successful. He begins to face problems of food and rent; he contacts industries and even technical colleges, but receives negative answers. In despair, Dr. Hafeez leaves Canada for Bangladesh in spite of the fact that he hates and fears the unsettled political climate of his native country.

Reghu's mind then drifts to another dead body who is a Ph. D. in Political Science from India. He accepts a waiter’s work in a Toronto restaurant. He likes the work as he is free from preparation for classroom lectures, examinations and evaluation of answer scripts. Money and carefree existence make him contented. The atmosphere, however, deadens his soul. The next person in Reghu's list is from Pakistan, a Ph. D. in Computer Science from a university in France; though he is a bilingual he has no job. He is agonized at the thought that all these Ph.D.s and many others have given almost half of their lives to learning. Their parents have spent money and sacrificed their own comforts in order to give them the best possible education and sent them to Canada with high hopes. But they are rusting and stinking. He is sure that white Canadians take him for a starved Asian, a gold digger, an opportunist, a mystic, a meek, non-pacifist, sex-maniac, symbol of eastern wisdom and what not. But none attempt to unlock his innermost recesses to unearth his dormant desires.

R. T. Robertson, a Canadian scholar remarks in an unpublished paper, as cited by C. D. Narasimhaiah, that all New Literatures including the diasporic originate from two historical experiences: from leaving one's own home; and being in a new, sometimes invading culture. The physical and psychic disturbance of wandering between two worlds, physically here and mentally there, creates exceptional situations. In the novel under discussion the immigrant prepares himself psychologically to become the son of this strange, new land. One morning when Reghu is sipping his tea, Mac, a business man from India comes with his white girl-friend Grace to meet him. He is a cheat; he fools Grace saying that he is from a Maharaja’s family. Mac plants in the minds of Grace and Sanjay the idea of running a garment store on a partnership basis. Telling a number of lies he manages to get money and open a shop in Ottawa. Sanjay and Grace leave the shop once they understand that they are deceived by Mac,. Mac now tells Reghu that it is possible for him to run a business without money as he did. But Reghu denies and advises:

But I believe in honesty and hard work. The business which is based on dishonesty cannot go very far. There is a limit beyond which it cannot flourish-it’ll either collapse or remain static. To run such a business is like building a house on sand. (146)

Mac continues to insist on the comforts that Reghu would enjoy if he follows his directions. He encourages him to be the manager of the cinema house he is going to purchase soon. In stead of answering, Reghu looks out at the snow flakes falling outside. He notices the table set with chicken curry and chapattis which he has been missing so long. Ultimately, he smiles, the smile implying his willingness yield to the pull of the new land; he now has assimilated himself to new cultural and spatial environment; this new identity has ironed out his conflicts about values and standards and has helped him to adapt himself to the new living space.

In a migratory encounter when a diasporic individual is capable of networking with the people of the new country his new found sense of solidarity boozes his morale and guides him to anchor himself in the new home. As nothing hinders the onward march of this migrant who good-humouredly loses sight of the protruding edges, he is in the cultural construct of 'melting pot' where the stranger becomes the native son of the new but comfortable land. The fact that the Ireland born Joyce lived in Zurich, the Poland born Conrad lived in England, the Guyana born Indian-Canadian Cyril Dabydeen settled in Canada and the German translator-cum-author Felix Paul Greve became Frederick Philip Grove in Canada speaks for the immigrant's need to adapt. Reghu's merger with the Canadian culture is symptomatic of his new-found knowledge that “Home is where the feet are, and we had better place our heart where the feet are”. His home now has moved from India to Canada, the wheat-granary of the world which generously embraces its prodigal son.

In stead of viewing the diasporic text as the same or other in the new land, it would be relevant to read them as hybrids of the similar and the dissimilar. A reader need not be inquisitive to locate them in one of these binaries, but learn to reread/reinterpret them as rich and meaningful documents on which is superimposed the entire gamut of a diaporic individual's social and psychological conflicts. Despite the long suffering, a gradual acceptance and a final assimilation manifest themselves in this individual who evinces traces of perseverance, fortitude and spiritual stamina. Bharati Mukherjee once said, “…in the U.S. I am allowed to see myself as an American. It is a self-transformation” (Qtd. in Ketu H. Katrak, 213). It is this kind of change/acceptance/negotiation the diasporic individual develops ultimately. His is a journey that involves the dialectics of revolt and acceptance.

The multiple and diverse order we live amidst today has put us in great problems in this multicultural and globalized world. “The process of globalization has not only unsettled people and cultures but has created new identities and affiliations in terms of both conflicts and collaborations (Baral & Kar 2003 11). Great art is a unified product; A writer is a unifier. A diasporic writer is a greater unifier; more the diversity he delineates, greater are the possibilities for merger. The dialectics he portrays are paradoxically persistent and resolved too.

Works Cited

Katrak, Ketu H. “South Asian American Literature” An Inter Ethnic Companion to Asian American Literature.

Ed. King- Kok Cheung. New York: CUP, 1997.

Baral, K. C. & Kar Prafula, ed. Identity: Local and Global. New Delhi: Pencraft international, 2003.

Amirthanayakam, Gay. Asian and Western Writers in Dialogue: New Cultural Identities. London: Macmillan, 1982.

Dabydeen, Cyril. “India in Me: Reflections” Writers of the Indian Diaspora: Cyril Dabydeen. Ed. Jameela Begum.

New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2000.

Parameswaran, Uma. “Home is Where Your Feet are, and May Your Heart be There too,” Writers of Indian

Diaspora: Theory and Practice. Ed. Jasbir Jain. New Delhi: Rawat, 1998.

Singh, R. K. “Cross Cultural Communication,” Language Forum, Vol. XXIV, No. 1-2, Jan.-Dec. 1998.

Gill, Stephen. Immigrant. Ontario: Vesta, 1982.

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Dr. D. Parameswari, Senior Professor and Head, Department of English and Comparative Literature at

Madurai Kamaraj University, India, has contributed research papers extensively to prominent journals of India

and abroad..This paper is to be included in Dr.Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal’s forthcoming book Discovering

Stephen Gill: A Collection of Articles and Papers.