Echoes of Belonging: Navigating Diaspora and Identity in Indian Poetry

Abstract The study of the Indian diaspora in literature vividly reflects diverse experiences and cultural connections, particularly in the works of Indian poets. The poems of Keki N. Daruwalla, Jayanta Mahapatra, Nissim Ezekiel, Imtiaz Dharker, and Agha Shahid Ali capture essential aspects of migration, such as alienation, lack of belongingness, memory, and nostalgia. Additionally, the study includes an analysis of poems originally in Indian languages and translated into English, including works by Indian women writers and folk songs on marital migration. The primary goal of the study is to evaluate the significance of diaspora in Indian popular culture and highlight its integration as part of a cosmopolitan Indian identity through the analysis of poems by renowned poets.