DETAILED STUDY OF THE NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN THE SELECTED WORKS OF CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI - THE MISTRESS OF SPICES.

Chitra Banerjee, one of the greatest story tellers in the present scenario of the English novelist. She has used different narratives techniques like imagery, irony, allegory, symbolism sensory imagery and proverbs. Divakarini has been praised for her art of storytelling. She has widely earned the reputation of a silver-tongued story teller. She is hailed as a gifted story teller said by Abraham Verghese while the people acclaimed her as a skilled cartographer of the heart. Junto Diaz acclaimed her as a brilliant story teller. Her writings revolve around themes of women. The present research paper focuses on the narrative techniques in the book called The Mistress of Spices. The present research intends to analyse Chitra Benerjee Divakaruni's selected novel in the context of narrative techniques. The Mistress of spices circles around the conflict, clash between what one must and what one wants duty and desire. The novel moves in the direction of adventures of Tilo a mysterious figure who runs a grocery store in inner-city Oakland and uses her knowledge as spices to help her customers. Tilo-women is described as confident, brave and intelligent having knowledge of spices." Change will happen only when we feel a strong sense of responsibility toward addressing the issue. In the present novel Divakaruni describes Tilo as women of strong sense with responsibility who cures and heals the immigrants suffering from homesick who visit her store. Tilo was rejected girl and latter she was called Bhagyavathi because she started to predict forth coming dangers. She reaches a magical island of spices and learns about the spices and becomes the mistress if spices and serves many with the knowledge of spices and at last finds new life to give meaning to her existence. In this novel Divakaruni successfully depicts the conflict of cross culture confrontation of the Indian immigrant women who leave behind their home land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]