April Meetup - The Namesake

This month we have a volunteer hosting our meetup - Srishti Seth.

The Book: "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

In The Namesake, Lahiri enriches the themes that made her collection an international bestseller: the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, the conflicts of assimilation, and, most poignantly, the tangled ties between generations. Here again Lahiri displays her deft touch for the perfect detail -- the fleeting moment, the turn of phrase -- that opens whole worlds of emotion. The Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into Americans. On the heels of their arranged wedding, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli settle together in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An engineer by training, Ashoke adapts far less warily than his wife, who resists all things American and pines for her family. When their son is born, the task of naming him betrays the vexed results of bringing old ways to the new world. Named for a Russian writer by his Indian parents in memory of a catastrophe years before, Gogol Ganguli knows only that he suffers the burden of his heritage as well as his odd, antic name. Lahiri brings great empathy to Gogol as he stumbles along the first-generation path, strewn with conflicting loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs. With penetrating insight, she reveals not only the defining power of the names and expectations bestowed upon us by our parents, but also the means by which we slowly, sometimes painfully, come to define ourselves. The New York Times has praised Lahiri as "a writer of uncommon elegance and poise." The Namesake is a fine-tuned, intimate, and deeply felt novel of identity

The Meetup Location: Azitra

Azitra awakens the inner soul through colorful ambiance, rich palate and complex tastes with a seductive dining room, fashionable bar, intimate private lounge and outdoor patio. Guests can sample the intriguing aromas and complex flavors of India through Azitra?s various dining options. Our menu features classic Indian cuisine reinvented for today?s more sophisticated discriminating palate. By incorporating traditional ingredients with those less common in Indian cuisine, Azitra?s menu is both intriguing and inviting to the newcomer while remaining authentic to the more experienced palate.

Review in Citysearch
"Azitra has a very warm and inviting upscale decor that is well complimented by the outstanding service. I've been eating Northern and Southern Indian food for about 2 decades (both home-cooked and restaurant-made): Azitra is in the top 80% of my experiences. Their spicing is excellent and the heat level is kept to a low perfect for most American palates- I get mine Indian hot and it's much better. I've been to Azitra several times, both for lunch and dinner, and everyone who was with me loved it."

Azitra Indian Restaurant