Volume III Special Issue I January 2023

Name of Author : Saloni Singh

Title of the paper : Memory Narrative: A Study of Siddhartha Gigoos The Garden of Solitude

Abstract: Memory is an essential component of human cognitive faculties that structures the narrative of life and helps in constructing identity. Memories are passed on by narration. Narration is the process of presenting stories or events in detail. The very act of narrating is the process of remembering, and remembering is the process of striving to save memory from oblivion. Memory is the base for writing or narrating, to create something we need a mental tool, and that is the intricate networks of our memories. Kashmiri writers have employed memory to construct and reconstruct identities in their works and also to combat forgetfulness. The Kashmiri Pandits faced an exodus in the 1990s due to communal tensions. They lost their home and lived in the memory of the past. The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of memory in Siddhartha Gigoo’s novel The Garden of Solitude. Through his novel, Gigoo has tried to preserve his memories of Kashmir. The novel is semi-autobiographical as the protagonist, Sridar’s, journey reflects Gigoo’s own experience as a Kashmiri Pandit migrant. It is a written memory, representing the past of Kashmiri Pandits and it generates the consciousness of the identity of Kashmiri Pandits and acknowledges their generations.

Keywords : Memory; Identity; Kashmir Pandits; Narrative; Exodus; Past.

DOI :

Page Number : 180-185