Language, Silence, And the Power of Expression in Kiran Desai's Neo-Diasporic Narratives

<p><span>In the neo-diasporic literature territory, language is frequently the adjacent and yet ominous factor of constructing identities, keeping secrets and emotions hidden, meditation of distancing cultures. The fiction of Kiran Desai is grounded in these complexities of the language. This paper discusses the importance of language, silence, and broken communication in formulating the experiences of the diasporic characters in the novel by Desai. In The Inheritance of Loss and Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, Desai explores the multilingualism and the problem of linguistic alienation the characters face and their ability to overcome the silent traumas of exile and migration. Silence does not just mean the lack of talking but an effective strategy of resistance, trauma, or loss of connection. The article also relies on the postcolonial and diaspora theory to contextualize the emotional, cultural and political aspects of the rules of speech and silence in the narrative landscapes afforded by Desai. Finally, the paper shows how, through the subtle choices of words, Desai manages to capture the contradictions of the dislocated existence and lends a voice to the other aspects of displacement.</span></p>