Between Worlds and Languages: Reading the “Splintered” Self

Abstract

Diasporic writings in Hindi, specifically from the ‘new’ diaspora, have only recently been translated into English and are yet to be researched as widely as Indian diasporic writings in English. Susham Bedi deftly explores the dilemma of diasporic identity in her evocative short story titled “Splintered”. The protagonist Ananya seeks to reconnect with her Indian heritage and yet identifies herself as ‘American’. Originally written in Hindi, the short story examines the mundane realities and resilience of women wedged between two contrasting cultures, claims and codes of behaviour. Ananya’s attempts at grasping her own sense of self result in a psychological breakdown, signalling that the process of self-formation is unusually complex and strenuous. The story highlights the predicament of women in the diaspora, caught in circumstances of an unfamiliar culture and retaining the agency to carve out a self from what they perceive or recall from the culture of their homeland.