Unveiling the Nexus of Time Space and Memory in Sudha Murty's Dollar Bahu

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the connection between time, space, memory, and identity construction in Dollar Bahu by Sudha Murty. Current research related to the novel mainly includes diasporic experiences, conflicts, material aspirations, and gender. Little work exists that discusses the role of memory in the formation of identity in changing spaces and times. This study uses a qualitative interpretative method that combines close textual analysis and memory, diaspora, and spatial identity theories. In this case, the role of memory in identity construction, among other elements, is analyzed via the experience of the characters, their narrations, and cultural transitions in the novel. It was found that memory is an active tool used by characters to interpret past experiences, negotiate current reality, and transform their identities. The study identified three main areas: identity transformation based on memory, negotiation of space to belong culturally, and reconstruction of self-perception based on time. Gouramma's story serves as an illustration of how these imaginations about America are reconstructed into experiences to gain deeper insight into this family values and relations. The paper contributes to the literary and information knowledge perspective as it reveals how narratives keep and communicate cultural memories from generation to generation. Future research may extend this framework through comparative analyses of diasporic literature and digital humanities approaches.