The Namesake

Already having watched the movie, there was little room left for my imagination of characters of the book 'The Namesake' by Jhumpa Lahiri. The two characters- Ashima and Ashoke were represented (for me) by Tabu and Irfan Khan. Nevertheless I wanted to read the book. As with the movie, I liked the book too. Lahiri's narration is impressive and it maintains reader's atttention throughout.
The story which revolves around the name of a Russian writer 'Gogol' carried me to the many books by Russian writers- Dostoesky's Crime and Punishment, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina', Chekov's The Cherry Orchard and of course The Overcoat by Gogol himself.
Almost all the protagonists of these Russian authors wear a gloomy appearance, their stories are tragic, they speak of hardships of Russian citizens which is either forced upon them by the governmental policies or by themselves.
Talking of Nikolai Gogol, I studied The overcoat as a literature student but then I seldom ejoyed either the story or the person who taught the story. Or may be beacuse of the way the story was told made it all uninteresting.
Though I disliked reading The Overcoat, there are few scenes which still linger in my memory. The story of Akaky Akakyevich who earns a meager salary as a clerk loses his only overcoat which protects him against all the hard climatic conditions. His struggle to save few pennys to buy a new overcoat is touching. His walking on tip- toes to save his shoes from wearing out, his struggle through the dark hours to save his candle- all speak of his sacrifices in order to save money for the new coat.
Keeping this name- Gogol in the background, the story of The Namesake progresses well to expalin the yearning and nostalgia which both Ashima and Ashoke have for their motherland. But in the end, how Ashima finds it disheartening to leave a foreign nation also a truth. That was the land whre she formed new memories, where she saw her children grow. But most importantly, that's where she lived with her Ashoke for so many years.
Some of the excerpts from the book goes somewhat like these:
"...pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will never regret it. One day it will be too late.
My grandfather always says that's what books are for,... to travel without moving an inch."
"Finally, they stood by the lighthouse, exhausted...He heard his father cry out- they had left the camera with his mother. 'All this way and no picture', he'd said. we will have to remember it then."
"The man who gave you his name, from the man who gave you your name."