BEST: International Journal of Humanities, Arts,

Medicine and Sciences (BEST: IJHAMS)

ISSN 2348-0521
Vol. 2, Issue 9, Sep 2014, 25-30
© BEST Journals

CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI’S ART AND TECHNIQUE IN OLEANDER GIRL

SEEMA PANJWANI
Research Scholar, V.Y.T. PG Autonomous, College Durg (C.G), Chhattisgarh, India

ABSTRACT

This paper intends to explore the various techniques and art of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s in Oleander Girl.
Divakaruni’s Oleander Girl (2013) deals with multiple premises and artistic techniques. She has employed various literary
devises as symbolic title, allegory and various imageries, and a mysterious plot for Oleander Girl. The author narrates the
tale of the Oleander girl with utmost finesse. Divakaruni has been widely praised for her art of storytelling. The author
narrates the tale of the Oleander girl with utmost finesse. The narrative has everything. A villain, a vamp, a mystery,
a well-kept dark secret, love, vengeance, an art gallery, an old, traditional house with a temple, food and foliage,
helplessness and resilience.

KEYWORDS: Postcolonial, Elegant and Highly Evocative

INTRODUCTION

Belonging to the group of young Indian writers that emerged on the literary scene with a postcolonial diasporic
identity after Salman Rushdie and Bharti Mukherjee, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s position as a South Asian writer in
English is distinct as well established. As someone who has spent more time outside India than in it, she has been accepted
as an Asian American writer, living with a hybrid identity and writing partially autobiographical work. Chitra Banerjee
Divakaruni’s Oleander Girl (2013) is an elegant and highly evocative new novel which deals with multiple premises and
artistic techniques. Divakaruni has been widely praised for her art of storytelling. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has widely
earned the reputation of a silver-tongued story teller. She is hailed as a “gifted storyteller” by Abraham Varghese while the
People magazine acclaimed her as a “skilled cartographer of the heart.” Junto Diaz acclaimed her as a: “A brilliant story
teller.”

Her writing revolves around the themes of women, immigration, and the South Asian experience in the United
States, history, myth, magical realism, and cultural diversity. She highlights diasporic women protagonists, living in two
cultures, their delineation, isolation, exile, mental trauma, dispersion, dislocation at the level of diasporic consciousness
particularly.

Oleander Girl is a novel suspenseful, coming of age tale about young women living in India but search for
Identity leads her to America which is transforming her life. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Korobi Roy who is
thrust out of a sheltered Kolkata life into a courageous and troubled search, in the company of an attractive stranger, across
post-9/11 America. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has employed various literary devises as symbolic title and various
imageries, and a mysterious plot for Oleander Girl. The author narrates the tale of the Oleander girl with utmost finesse.
The narrative has everything. A villain, a vamp, a mystery, a well-kept dark secret, love, vengeance, an art gallery, an old,
traditional house with a temple, food and foliage, helplessness and resilience.
26 Seema Panjwani

The setting of Oleander Girl, its title, characters and narration all have been exquisitely represented. The title of
oleander girl has a profound meaning and it is a prevalent image throughout the novel. Even the young girl Korobi is
named after the oleander flower in the Bengali language. Oleander flowers are beautiful, but considered by many to be the
most poisonous plant in the world. As interviewed by Debby DeRosa she was asked about using this particular flower and
its importance in the story, she replied as:

The oleander seemed to be the perfect symbol for the book on many levels. It
is ambiguous, positive and negative, beautiful and dangerous --and hardy,
capable of protecting itself. It is central to the mystery of the protagonist
Korobi’s mother Anu, because Anu (dying at childbirth) chooses to name her
daughter after this complicated flower. A question that drives the novel is
why Anu chooses to name her daughter Korobi after this flower. Why not
Rose or Jasmine or Lily, as is more common? It is also a flower that grows in
both India and America, connecting the two worlds through which the novel
and our protagonist travels.

Korobi, the heroine of Oleander Girl, is told by her grandparents that she was orphaned at birth. Korobi
(whose name means oleander) has always longed for her mother and father. The only souvenir she has from them is an
unfinished love letter her mother wrote to her father. Korobi found it when she was on vacation from boarding school and
took it back with her. This letter, she thought, was her mother mourning for her husband. Theirs had been a perfect love.
After that Korobi meets with Rajat, who seemed to her as the perfect match, just as her parents were.

The sudden death of Korobi’s dear grandfather on her engagement night, followed by the shocking revelation that
her father might still be alive, the 18-year-old girl goes from Kolkata to America, on the quest. When Korobi search got
completed then only she could able to know by her biological father that why she is named Korobi means oleander flower.
Korobi is confused why she has been named on poisonous flowers, which was unknown by all even grandmother could not
know why Anu had given her the name. Korobi asked her father “Did my mother ever tell you why she wanted to name me
Korobi?”Her father, Rob Lacey tells her the reason: “She did actually, because the oleander was beautiful----but also
tough. It knew how to protect itself from predators. Anu wanted that toughness for you because she didn’t have enough of
it herself.”(253) Divakaruni’s art of using the symbol and revealing its significance at almost the end of the novel is
worthwhile.

One thing which is very interesting and unusual about Oleander Girl is that about half of the book is told in first
person with Korobi as the narrator, but then the other half is told in third person. This mixing of narrators, perspective and
points of view makes the story interesting as the same event appears differently to different people. A lot of the characters
in Oleander Girl just do not see life in the same way and that causes a lot of conflict. In the novel Korobi’s point of view is
revealed most closely. The book has four major narrators. Korobi, the 18-year-old heiress of a distinguished if dilapidated
old Kolkata family, is engaged to Rajat, whose family is newly rich and very posh. He is actually quite the bad boy,
partying hard until he meets Korobi.

In an interview with Srirekha Pillai, Divakaruni shares the scars of 9/11, her work methodology, interest in
painting and much more. The same time she was asked, that Though it is essentially Korobi’s story, you have multiple
narrators: Korobi, Rajat, Sarojini and Asif. How challenging was it working around different points of view? She replies:
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Art and Technique in Oleander Girl 27

I am fascinated by multiple narrators. Many of my novels, such as Sister of My

Heart, Vine of Desire and One Amazing Thing, have multiple narrators. This allows
me to present the contradictions and ironies between how two or more characters
understand the same event in their lives. This is certainly the case in Oleander Girl.
For instance, Asif’s take on the world is very different from that of his employer,
Rajat. Yes, it is challenging to weave these different narratives into the text, but it’s
very satisfying too. (The magazine of silver citizen)

Korobi gets a first person narrative as this is largely her story. The author gives the reason for giving the first
person voice to Korobi. It is because she wants the readers to experience Korobi’s emotions and bewilderment and
conflicts close-up, particularly when she discovers a huge secret that her grandfather has kept from her all her life.

The other three characters, Rajat, her grandmother, and Rajat’s family chauffeur—all get a third person point of
view. The intention is to show some distance, some irony, in their understanding of their situations. This novel has four
very distinct characters, from different generations and social and religious backgrounds so that their vision and
understanding of what is happening, what is right, and what are their duties would rub against each other, creating irony
and tension. This technique of using multiple points of view edifies and helps the readers to draw out right inferences.
Divakaruni has been asked about Korobi’s travels—her quest for truth and the trials she faces along the way which closely
resemble that of the mythic hero. In an interview with Hudson cultural map community Chitra Banerjee was asked about
writing Oleander Girl, “To what extent were you thinking about Korobi’s journey as a hero’s journey? In many ways,
Korobi's story follows Joseph Campbell's hero's journey model.” She replies,

Yes, I love Campbell. I've read him over and over. It's really the hero's
journey. She gets a call to adventure. It turns her (Korobi) life upside down.
She has to make a decision. She had to leave the familiar world. I was
definitely thinking of the hero’s journey! I even re-read Joseph Campbell
before I started writing Oleander Girl. I have always been fascinated by
myth and the timeless pull it has on the human psyche. Of course, much of
the challenge and fun of dealing with mythic structures is trying to figure
out where to deviate from the myth into contemporary concerns and
questions, and that was an important part of writing Oleander Girl.

Another artful technique is using distinct places for the main situations in the plot. Place is an important facet in
the story. The action of the story happens in India, New York, San Francisco, and Boston, often at the same time. On top of
that Korobi speaks to people from Arizona and Georgia in her quest. Oleander Girl is based on a mythic structure, the
hero’s journey quite differently from a stereotyped male hero who bears all the trouble and the heroine remain bereft of the
adventures. Here Korobi is the one who embarks on a dangerous journey alone and Rajat is left in India to feel anxiety,
jealousy and some insecurity as he wonders if she will return to him or not. This is why so many places are necessary in
the novel. Locations are very important in this work, particularly as in half the fictional world of the book it is night while
in the other half it is daytime. Thus communication between the characters becomes increasingly difficult. It adds to the
conflicts in the work and builds up the tension of resolution.

Divakaruni is an amazing storyteller who leaves her readers in throes of surprises at unexpected turns. Till the end
of story, the narrative is tight, gripping and full of suspense. An exploration into human emotions, psyche, stigmas and
28 Seema Panjwani

changing social dogmas, the story also deals with life in America post-9/11. Like 9/11, there was another tragedy to unfold
far away in India that would scare people cutting across social strata: The Gujarat riots. It is a testimony to Divakaruni’s
craft that even minor characters that could have been reduced to being sideshows in the larger scheme of the narrative,
resonate with a life of their own. The author delves into the relationship between man and woman, between masters and
servants across generations. She tries to bring out the clash between the old and the new traditions, capture the pace of the
fast-changing Indian society, get a peek into some family secrets and divulge the meaning of love.

Oleander Girl is replete with various literary devices as imagery and allegory, irony and proverbs. Imagery,
in a literary text, is an author's use of vivid and descriptive language to add depth to their work. It appeals to human senses
to deepen the reader's understanding of the work. Here Divakaruni has used visual imagery, food imagery and nature
imagery. Some examples of food imageries are when Korobi’s engagement ceremony is about to be held and food is being
prepared for their guests: “ Luncheon smells rise from the kitchen--- khichuri made with golden mung and gopal bhog rice
from their ancestral village, sautéed brinjals, and cabbage curry cooked with pure ghee and cardamoms. Sarojni will have
to supervise the fish fry.” (7) Another illustration of food imagery is:

Mughlai parathas from the corner shop. Kesto fries them so crisp. The bread
fluffs up like this, and he puts eggs inside, and green chillies and onions, extra if
you ask. He’ll even give spicy tomato sauce to eat it with. If you want, I can run
and get you one. (125)

Food imagery along with Indian dishes with their Hindi names has been used extensively in the work. This novel
is full of Indian touches not only in food, but also with Indian culture, tradition and rituals and the Indian psyche.
Hindi words are used repeatedly for instance karhai, dal, chapatti, khichuri, pau bhaji, chutney, chai, khadi, khandaani,
goonda types, ma, chappals and a number of others.

There is extensive use of nature imagery in the novel. The work is enhanced by lyrical words as “A breeze blows
through the neem tree, bringing me its clean, therapeutic odour. A dragonfly made of shimmery gauze alights on bramble.
Two crows are building a nest in the crook of a branch, their movements an intricate, precise dance” (5) “It is a beautiful
afternoon, with crisp, cool breeze unusual for Kolkata in April.” (98) “The breeze from the open window has tousled her
hair just the right amount.”(99). While Korobi was on the way with Vic to search her father takes a look of surrounding:

The road narrows; the ocean sends intermittent sapphire sparkles over the
distance; the fog is draped across the tops of trees like fairy lace. When Vic
turns off the engine, the silence, punctuated only by birdcalls, is like nothing
I’ve experienced before. (215)

Another fine and artistic use is that of allegory which is magically employed by the author. Allegory is a literary
device which is the representation of abstract ideas or principles through characters, figures, or events in narrative,
dramatic, or pictorial form. When Rajat is in India, far away from Korobi who is in America, he tries to compare his love
and emotions with a tale in allegorical manner:

He reminded of an eerie tale out of his childhood, a prince and a princes who were
kept captive in an enchanted palace. The curse laid on them was that whenever one
was awake, the other would be asleep. Although they fell in love gazing at each
other, they could never convey how they felt, nor understand what the other was
going through. That story had a happy ending, thanks to a pair of matchmaking
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Art and Technique in Oleander Girl 29

genies. But where are the genies that will travel the dusty distance that stretches
between Rajat and Cara? (121)

There is an apparent authentication of the author’s art of storytelling which makes her distinct in the literary
world. Political and class conflicts are the foremost grounds of the story through which sarcasm has been made on society
and on people. Sarcasm means the use of irony to mock or convey contempt. When the Muslim workers of the Bose family
go on strike, they want Asif too in their agenda. They satire on high profile people:

“And why are you on their side?

Don’t you realize they think of you the same way as they do us ---cockroaches
to be crushed under their chappal when the time is right?” (211)

The political background is prominent as the story has been set in 2002. The year saw the occurrence of two
tragedies: in America, the 9/11 tragedy and in India, the Godhra riots. The Godhra riots in India sparked by Muslims
allegedly attacking a train full of Hindu pilgrims and the subsequent state-sponsored program against Muslims.
In a post-Godhra India, it would have been easy for Divakaruni to make Hindu-Muslim tension the centrepiece of this
book. Bimal Roy discusses with Mr. Bose a political irony:

It’s more important to deal with the unrest in the city --- there’s certainly been
a lot of it lately. Remember last month when militants attacked the American
Center?..Ah, yes those Muslims----A violent lot. Did you hear today about the
incident on the train today in Gujarat? All those Hindu pilgrims they burned
to death? (21)

Beside these the story has a touch of magical realism as the ghost of Korobi’s mother appears once and shows her
that there is something beyond the ocean. This dream though was initially tough for Korobi to perceive but finally she
understood the meaning and set out on the search for her father in post- 9/11 America.

Divakaruni has used lucid and lyrical language throughout the novel. It is fluid in spite of abundant imagery and
allegory The chief artistic technique used in the Oleander girl is lyrical prose. Indeed the very beginning lines of the novel
uttered out by Korobi are lyrical:

I’m swimming through a long, underwater carven flecked with blue light, the
carven of love, with Rajat close behind me. We’re in race, and so far I’m
winning because this is my dream. Sometimes when I’m dreaming, I don’t
know it, but tonight I do. Sometimes when I’m awake, I wonder if I’m
dreaming. That, however, is another story. (1)

CONCLUSIONS

Divakaruni’s fame builds on her art of storytelling which she maintains continuously and again and again praised
by many authors. This study has thrown light on the various art and techniques used in Oleander Girl. Once again the
author has created an artistic work of art, and she has amazingly narrated this novel. She has art of painting by words
which captivate reader’s attention. Oleander Girl is page turner and suspenseful story; she knows well how to reveal
incidents artistically.
30 Seema Panjwani

REFERENCES

1. Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee. Oleander Girl. Penguin books India. 2013. Print.

2. ----“Interview with the author of Oleander Girl” DeRosa, Debby. March 28, 2013. Web. 25th Jan 2014.