Locating the Grotesque in Githa Hariharan's Fugitive Histories

The manifold depictions of the grotesque and the abject in Githa Hariharan’s novel Fugitive Histories are critically examined in this study. By traversing from Bakhtin’s conception of the carnivalesque grotesque to Kristeva’s theorisation of the abject, this analysis aspires to furnish an analytical framework for interpreting the characters, settings, and identities within the narrative as manifestations of a polyphonic imagination meticulously crafted by Hariharan. Recognising Hariharan as a non-diasporic author, this paper further seeks to underscore the pertinence of a postcolonial critique of the grotesque in engendering meaning within the increasingly fragmented milieu that such writers navigate.