Tension between East and West in Anita Desai's Diamond Dust

Abstract

Diamond Dustnarrates the stories of people who have been away from their homes and family into an alien places and culture. In the course, there are events and incidents taking place which are uncommon in their parts of the world. As such, it is obvious that they are engulfed in tension of local and global culture. They go through turmoil and overcome it, but, in most cases just to realize that their native culture cannot be sold or put in stake to that of the borrowed culture.The anthology is further characterized by its gentleness and empathy of its characters towards the changing place in which they have been living. With its often poignant and amusing characters, struggling to achieve their personal dreams in a complicated and unsympathetic world; often crossing the traditional lines determined in the nameof culture, Desai voice the upcominggeneration. However, this is the accent of the new generation, and its offspring, who do not want to remain within any sorts of dogmas, thereby bridging the gap between east and west. In the process, there arises a diasporic culture and conflict amongst the people of the east and the west.