Exploring Food As a Narrative Device in Postcolonial Fiction with reference to Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss, and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things

Exploring Food as a Narrative Device in Postcolonial fiction with reference to Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss, and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. Nyaja Tesia, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Indira Gandhi Govt. College, Tezu Abstract Food plays a big role in The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, and The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. It helps us look at identity, feeling out of place, and family ties. In The Namesake, Gogol's mixed feelings about Bengali food show his challenges with fitting in and figuring out who he is. In The God of Small Things, food shows social status and hidden wishes, especially in the way Touchable and Untouchable characters interact. In The Inheritance of Loss, the different eating habits of Sai, the Judge, and the cook show the clash between old colonial ways and modern life. Each novel uses food not just as a setting but as something that brings back memories, shows feelings that aren't said, and highlights the main characters' struggles. This paper looks at how food is used in The Namesake to talk about cultural identity and fitting in. It also checks out how food shows social status and hidden desires in The God of Small Things. The findings show that in The Namesake, food is a strong reminder of cultural roots and the main character's mixed feelings about their identity in American society. In The God of Small Things, food shows the deep social divides and hidden power struggles between the characters. Food is a big part of who we are. It connects us to our culture and memories. Sometimes, when we move or change places, we can feel lost. Food can help tell our stories and remind us of where we come from. Keywords: food, narrative device, culture, identity, memories