The Namesake, He Said

What is unusual about this coming of age tale is that it is the saga of three people coming of age. We are introduced to a young Ashoke Ganguli, who has a "road to Damascus" revelation on a annual train trip to visit his grandfather. A fellow passenger tries to tell the young man to see the world, when his inclination is to stay in India. The train has an accident and our young friend barely survives. The next time we see him, he has returned to India from his teaching position in the United States to meet the wife his parents have chosen for him.

Our second traveler on the road to life change is Ashoke's bride to be, Ashima. This young women takes a chance on a the young man she has meet only once, because, we are led to believe, because she liked the feeling of trying on his shoes. She took a walk in his shoes on the sly just before she met him. In addition to the obvious symbolism of this gesture, she likes the idea of going on an adventure in America.

Their successful transplantation into American society and marriage leads to the introduction of the third member of the story, their son Gogol. They name their son Gogol because his father had been reading the work of Nicoly Gogol when he was involved in the train accident.
The interwoven tale is full of the cliches of life. Ashima's difficulty in making the transition from Indian society to America, Ashoke's problems in dealing with his wife's insecurity, and Gogol's typical youth rebellion issues including the racial pressures. But aside from facing the typical challenges of life, this trio has to deal with being in a society that does not always understand nor does it want to understand the traditions and differences of Indian Americans

While the story tends to focus on Gogol, it shows the us changes taking place in all of their lives. This a wonderful saga of a family in American and it could be, with a change in the customs and mores, the story of almost any immigrant family that raises their children in a foreign country.

In one scene, Gogol is a guest at a party for his Anglo girl friend. A guest is asking him questions about India. While it is humorous because, as he points out, he was born in New Jersey, it's also interesting that he has no answers to her questions, because he doesn't know much about his father and mother's country.

I loved this film. It was thoughtfully and graciously filmed, yet didn't pull back from the pain that life can bring all of us. It exposed us to two cultures that most of us know nothing about, those being India and Indians living in America. The story takes soft twists and turns, but eventually leads us to the place where the lessons have been leaned and we see the future and it is good.