Negotiating Belonging: Internal Diaspora in Amit Chaudhuri’s A Strange and Sublime Address

Abstract

This paper explores the idea of internal diaspora in Amit Chaudhuri’s A Strange and Sublime Address, shifting the discussion away from conventional understandings of diaspora as migration across borders. Instead, it examines how emotional, cultural, and generational discontinuities within the same nation can also produce feelings of displacement. Through a close reading of the novel, the study argues that Chaudhuri constructs a subtle form of diasporic consciousness in the young protagonist, Sandeep, whose visit to his extended family in Calcutta becomes an encounter with a world that is both familiar and strangely distant. Using insights from diaspora theory and cultural memory studies, the paper shows how sensory detail, domestic routines, and temporal stillness contribute to Sandeep’s experience of quiet estrangement. Ultimately, the study highlights Chaudhuri’s contribution to a broader understanding of diaspora as a lived, psychological condition rather than merely a geographical event.