Abstract

Memory Studies is an emerging academic sector which takes the help of memory to inquire into the labyrinth of human psyche by frequently remembering the past events. Our Life is nothing but collecting and recollecting memories. In the field of Diasporic Studies memory is an essential element and very much evident. The alienated diasporic people are always haunted by their past memories. The nostalgic happy memories, harrowing traumatic experiences, mind shattering incidents of bereavements, the socio-political, economical and cultural memories and shocks come and go like flashbulbs in the conscious and subconscious minds of people. The writers of the novels The Lonely Londoners and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, namely Sam Selvon and Mohsin Hamid are diasporic people who left their homeland for an alien one. The authors, carrying double consciousness tried to raise their voice to reassert the importance and dignity of the ostracised class by writing back to the empire. In The Lonely Londoners, though London with all its captivating charm attracts the migrant blacks who have the status of pseudo-Londoners but soon they become disillusioned and the equal status with the white population appears as a mirage and thus unattainable. The Reluctant Fundamentalist with all its forgotten repressed collective memories writes back to the empire. Thus, this work seeks to show how the texts map the intricate and entangled memories of the diasporic lives of the fictional characters as well as of the authors to some extent in an autobiographical manner.