Diaspora poetry: probing through poetic idioms

Indian Diasporic Poetry has had its own history and its trajectory started sometime in the 1960’s when noted poets like A.K. Ramanujan, Vijay Seshadri, Suniti Namjoshi and others migrated to foreign lands and bean to come up with their creative expressions. A few like Vijay Seshadri completely merged with the culture of the host country and his poetry is submerged in the American ethos and culture. On the other hand, Ramanujan adhered himself to his Dravidian culture and Indian mythology. His poems have a typical aroma of his native place and are flavoured with everything which is Indian. The following paper attempts to explore the poetic sensibilities of a few reputed diasporic poets and tries to understand the themes and inspirations of their poetic oeuvres. A strong longing for the roots and the loss of language have been the common themes of poets like Meena Alexander, Sujata Bhatt and also Agha Shahid Ali. Suniti Namjoshi on the other hand, has created a niche of herself by intrepidly challenging the patriarchal setup and in this process rewriting several myths and legends in her own style, giving the rightful place to the woman in her texts; and also quite audaciously declaring her sexual preferences through her poetry and works of fiction.