Chapter - 5

Redemption of Compassion

'A Change ofSkiw ' is a smooth and sparkling debut novel of Yasmine

Gooneratne. Clash of cultures and adaptation are the popular themes in this

novel. Herself being an immigrant to Australia, Gooneratne relates her own

ekperience to the characters in the novel. The novel adopts the theme of

migration. The expatriate experiences of the central characters, Bharath and

Navaranjini run through out the novel hilariously. The novel is totally devoid

of hatred and self-loathing.

Gooneratne holds a Personal Chair in English Literature at Macquarie

University, New South Wales. She has a soaring academic career to her

credit. She holds a Cambridge doctorate and also Macquarie's D.Litt. In 1990

she was created an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service

lo literature and education. Her 16 published books include critical studies of

Jane Austen, Alexander Pope, and the contelnporary novelist and screen

writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. She is also the author of volulnes of literary

essays and poems, short stories, a family memoir and two novels. A Chutzgf

?f Skips was awarded the Marjorie Barnard Literary Award for Fiction in

1991. Both her novels have been short listed for the Commonwealth Writers

Prize.

In her novel A Change of Skies Gooneratne fuses two stories

encompassing two centuries, two continents and two generations. The story

of Edward, the grand father and the story of Barry, the grandson run

simultaneously. Gooneratne adopts a complacent tone and links these two

stories of the grand father's and that of the grand son's till the end of the

novel. The expatriate experiences of these characters resemble the theme of

'acceptance' and 'willingness' which Gooneratne herself seems to have

practiced to get accustomed to an alien soil.

Bharat is a young Asian-Professor of English who reluctantly migrates

to Australia, with his wife Navaranjini, for a five-year visit. Bharat is fully

aware of the problems that the new country would welcome with. Edward the

grandfather of Bharat is the first adventurer in the family of Mudaliyars, who

chooses Australia instead of England for his voyage. Edward runs away from

his family home in Matara, Ceylon, and enlists himself with a cargo of

Sinhalese laborers being recruited to work in the Queensland cane fields. The

diaries of Edward provide a counterpart to the lives of Bharat and Navaranjini

in their new land, Australia. The volulne of his journals is edited by his

grandson Barry as an 'Asian Grandee.' Edward's travels are important to

Bharat and Navaranjini as precedent and counterpoint for their stay in

Australia. Navaranjini packs off all the manuscripts of Edward thinking that

they would definite1 y be of some use to them during their stay at Australia.

'A Clzangc. of'Skies' is a hilarious and mirthful expedition of Bharat

arid Navaranjini to the foreign land. Starting from page 1 to the ending there

isn't any trace of grotesque in the novel which symbolizes Gooneratne's

positive attitude towards life. Her own expatriate experiences in Australia

appear to have received the assurance in her novel that compassion,

forbearance and complacency would make the life of mankind peaceful and

meaninghl wherever they may live.

Gooneratne tries to show how the novel is an illustration of

forbearance and compassion as the protagonist and his wife take no time to

get rooted in an unfamiliar and alien landscape-Australia. Cultivating the

habit of acceptance, breaking away from one's ethnicity and absorbing the

new culture are the only way for survival. This successful acculturation and

assimilation of Barry and Jean into a new landscape is beautifully portrayed

by the author.

'A Change of Skies' is an elegant voyage through the expatriate

experiences of the protagonist. The immigrant experiences of Jean and Barry

amazingly promulgate the positive and pleasant waves in the minds of the

readers. Their experience provides the main substance of the book. Bharat is

an intellectual and he reflects on his experience. He recognizes his alienation,

and depends on his wife's clarity of understanding to cope with his daily

vicissitudes. Me recognizes ( 1 53) that he lacks the easy acceptance of another

culture that characterizes both Navaranjini and Edward. He changes his name

to Barry and that of his wife's to Jean Mundy. Jean is more adaptable. She

resists the acculturation most violently and effectively. Yet she accepts her

new name and asserts her native identity.

The novel deals with the theme of cultural conflicts found in the first

and the latest waves of migration. The characters belonging to two different

centuries endure the cultural conflicts but they respond to them differently.

The earlier generation is represented by Edward Mangala-Davasinha, the

grand father of Bharat. The experiences of Edward Mangala-Davasinha are

projected in the extracts of his diaries. His diaries provide themes of hostility

and superiority. He finds the Australian settlers uncouth. He gives a

historical context to the difference he finds between the British governors of

Ceylon and those of the Australian colonies. The British governors of Ceylon

had been from the landed gentry and had viewed their dominion "much as

they would have viewed a well-stocked game reserve".

Edward had a staunch belief on the aristocratic qualities of the British

order. British governors considered themselves "the landowners who value

their stock". They could transplant their hierarchical British order in Srilanka

and could win the respect of the natives. They could achieve this through

their "wisdom".' British governors are wise in taking the native men into

their service "who knew the terrain and are already resident on the land".

(162) Edward observed that the Australian governors due to their lack of

'aristocratic qualities' were "misunderstood and even disliked by the settlers".

Edward shows a compassionate characteristic of adaptability, and

acceptance. He is prepared to disguise himself as a labourer to travel to

Australia. In the same way he is willing to accept any einployment available

in the new country. He goes as a stockman to Badagini in Western Australia,

a "dry and desolate place". Edward discovers the bleak side of the Australian

dream as he comes to know that many of his countrymen had died of heat and

thirst only a generation earlier. Those Sinhalese had taken pains in attempting

to impose a foreign culture on an alien land. In this process of adoption the

hopes of the settlers are constantly thwarted.

Edward finds the habits of his new associates distasteful: "The crude

cooking of raw, unseasoned meat over burning coals" is something that

Edward could not digest as the meat would often be "charred, and where it is

not so, it is generally raw, the blood still running from it". He further puts that

the smell of it would be 'vile' (1 66).

Edward's companion Davith, whq had profited by his earlier

experiences of travel, had made necessary arrangements so that their journey

to Australia wouldn't lack any 'reasonable comforts'(61). Davith brings with

him from Ceylon "a portion of curry leaves, spices, red onions, and pepper"

which makes their meat 'palatable'.

Despite his hardships Edward enjoys the companionship of the

stockmen. Joe, one of them is mentioned 'friend' in his diaries. Edward

writes in diaries that Joe would think of him as a 'customary good hearted

kindness'. Edward's travels and experiences form as the precedents and

counterpoints to Bharat and Jean. When Bharat becomes the author of the

book, "Guide for Asian Migrants to Australia", he incorporates the

experiences of his grandfather in it. Edward acquires the liberal breadth from

his colonial experience and that fonns the 'foundation of a family tradition

that enables him to explain and interpret one culture to another, the West to

the East' (145).

The experiences of Bharat and Navaranjini provide the main substance

of the novel. Bharat is an intellectual who reflects on his experience. He

recognizes his alienation and depends on his wife Jean for'clarity of

~nde r s t and in~ '~ to cope with his daily vicissitudes.

Like Edward, Jean also has the adaptability and acceptance to another

culture. To become an ' in~ider '~ Barry struggles a bit and his strenuous

endeavour to achieve this is in contrast to his wife's easy adaptability to

change her name from 'Navaranjini' to 'Jean'. Jean successfully retains her

native identity. In the beginning Bharat and Navaranjini have been involved

in the clash of cultures and are treated as newcomers in the strange land of

Australia. But in the course of their five year stay they began to feel that

Australians have Asian identity. They confront the consequences of their

choice. Already largely westernized, Bany finds an opportunity to make his

own choices and adopts the role of cultural communicator.

Gooneratne portrays the natives in bright colours. Mr. Bruce Trivally,

the neighbor, was very courteous and helpful to the new emigrants. The clash

of cultures begin with the observation of Bruce that the new 'Asian feller'

(98) belongs to the 'carpet culture of Srilanka' (99) and not to the chair

culture of Australia. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Trivally offer every minute help

they could extend to Bharat and Navaranjini. On the day the hail storm stroke

its way, Mr. Bruce volunteers to patch the gaping of the window panes. Soon

Bharat observes that Bruce is a passionate gardener. He learns from Bruce

that to fix up some shelves or hang a picture in Australia there are no master \

Baas he can call. He picks up the do-it-yourself expertise from Bruce. Bruce

offers his own kit of tools for the new immigrants to make use of, instead of

buying it for themselves. He also volunteers to prune their roses and to weed

their ragged garden.

Both Bruce and Maureen think kindly of Bharat and Navaranjini as

'exotics that are having difficulty sending roots into alien ground. Maureen

says that it would take five years for them to feel at home in Australia.

Bharat learns many things and starts making note of them from the

moment he lands on the foreign soil. As they drove from Sydney Airport to

the suburbs on their first morning in Australia, Bharat sits beside the taxi

driver. In democratic Australia, a person who engages a taxi must seat himself

beside the driver, and not in the back seat. The misguided idea of 'self-

importance' among the inen and 'modesty' among the women of Asia having

its long roots, make them cliinb into the back seat of the taxi they hire. In

Australia where people follow the dignity of labour Bharat makes a note on

his menlo pad:

" m e n in a taxi, always sit ill ,fj.ont, next to the driver, and

talk pleasantly to him as i f ' to an equal, no mutter how

diificult this might be jor ,you to do. "(59)

This is one of the first things he learned in Australia. Navaranjini

observes 'everyone, including the taxi driver who was driving as fast as

everybody else, knew exactly where they were going.' (65) She feels that

probably she would not be very good at living, or driving, in Australia.

Navaranjini has a kind of easily moldable characteristic. She understands the

need for such an easy bend as she feels that it obviously is a social need. She

learns swimming as it would be important for them to be in Australia.

She further observes that in Australia though people avoided looking at

one another, a sort of communication was taking place by way of the stickers

on the rear windows of the vehicles.

Both Bharat and Navaranjini understand the need to be on their own

guard against hostile attacks from the society in which they find themselves.

Mr. Koyako guides them to a great extent. Mr. Koyako is regarded as

something of a leader of the Srilankan community in Australia. As an

engineer working for a government department he is much respected. Despite

his stay in Australia for ten years he could retain the moral values and

traditions of his homeland. He is very strong minded in protecting and

preserving the values which support civilization. He feels that the children of

Srilankan families in Australia are put in situations of cultural danger. Many

have become infected with Australian values.

Mrs. Koyako is a very good cook. She never serves anything to her

guests other than Silankan savories and sweets. Mr. and Mrs. Koyako are very

religious, devoted supporters of three temples and wholehearted participators

on alms-givings and other ceremonies. They are kind enough to involve both

Bharat and Navaranjini in these ceremonies.

Gooneratne mirrors the 'identity threat' and the 'cultural threat' to

wh~ch the Srilankans in Australia are exposed. Mr. and ~ r s . ~ o ~ a k o live by

their principles. Mr. K's deep interest in educational matters is part of his

conviction that the only way Asians can preserve their national identity from

destruction due to their stay in Australia is to conscientiously keep up all their

national customs. He considers it his duty to do everything he can to

encourage the young people of the community to achieve their potential and

to this end he keeps his records of the achievements of the Srilankan children

up to date with minute care.

Bharat and Navaranjini get depressed about the image the Asians have

in Australia. Australians find it difficult to pronounce the names of the

Asians. So it became customary to the Asians to change their names and keep

it short and simple. In this process Bharat becomes Barry, and Navaranjini

becomes Jean. But they succeed in retaining at least the sound of the original.

Barry and Jean understand that they have to confront with the problem of

maintaining their cultural identity in the face of displacement and

expatriation, the temptations being 'great to give way and to give in'. As a

linguist Barry observes that 'he average Australian is lazy in his speaking

habits, and finds our long names almost impossible to pronounce.'(96)

Gooneratne encompasses various themes in her writing. One theme

that continually appears in her works is a reflection upon how the past affects

the future. She relays many of her own experiences to make her points more

personal and more real to the reader. An example of this is Relative Merits,

which is a personal memoir that is based on interviews with her family

members and on her own memories of her family's life. She takes her

family's past and ties in how her well-known family has affected Sri Lanka's

history. Another theme includes aspects of immigration and adjustment to

new lands. This theme is exemplified in ' A Change of Skies '. Living in the

new environment of Australia, Gooneratne highlights the changes in the

history also as themes of her works. The novel being totally devoid of hatred

and self-loathing; is filled with love and hope.

A Change of Skies has the ~neticulousness of a researched social history

and also the charm and intimacy of personal reminiscences. Her gift for

comedy is evident here in the delightful anecdotes that bring vividly to life an

array of eccentric characters remembered with humor and affection. At a

conscious level Gooneratne does not seem to regret the change because the

new land would be more equitable, but an unspoken 'sense of loss' pervades

the characters as she conveys, 'Change is impossible, denied by our

education, our interests, and the currents of social setting except, through

literature, and the power of the written worr4. This novel as well as some of

Yasmine Gooneratne's poem is thus an attempt to salvage fragments of the

past through the preservative magic of the written word.

In addition to a number of critical works on individual authors like

Jane Austen, Alexander Pope, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, studies of the literature

and culture of Sri Lanka and essays on other Commonwealth and Postcolonial

writing, which testify to her wide range of interests her latest novel 'The

Sweet and the Simple Kind' is also short listed for the 2007 Commonwealth

Writers' Prize Best Book Award.

One of Yasmine Gooneratne's early books titled hiverse hheritance

(1980) deals with literary texts from different regions of the world - but the

title also happens to describe the rich plurality of traditions that have gone

into her own making as a writer. A poet, a novelist, a literary critic and a

social historian, Gooneratne cornhines in her work the intellectual and

creative energies of a number of cultures that have shaped her, directly and

indirectly. There is continuity in everything Yasmine Gooneratne has written

so far, whatever be the genre. Fiction and history get woven together, poetry

permeates her prose. As a literary critic her attempts to explore histories of

exile and expatriation, the effects of imperial domination, and its aftermath

encapsulate the concerns of postcolonial experience. Born in Asia, partly

educated in England, having settled in Australia, she can rightly claim "The

raw material for what writers of our time are presenting as fiction is, in fact,

our life-experience, and the 'colonial' past they evoke is our family his tor^."^

Gooneratne's novel is a comedy in which the displaced characters, by

entering into the lives of others, produce a community which is located

within their new state but represents a nation that goes beyond any

boundaries. This conception of a nation as a place of meeting rather than an

enclosure provides the basis for a new conception of nationhood appropriate

to contemporary interdependent internati~nalism.~

Gooneratne efforts to thwart the narrowness of those who have never

changed skies and who, consequently, have no souls to alter.7 Jean is

projected as a symbol of colonial generosity. She is very generous in her

approach and very practical in her outlook. She observes that everyone in

Australia have a spirit of marked independence. She also realizes that

Australians, deep down, are really Asians. Their appearance of insensitivity

merely conceals their true nature. She breaks through the superficial

conviviality of her husband's colleagues to reveal their deeper prejudices,

and in doing so discloses her ownX. At the university open day Jean exhibits

the rare books and manuscripts. By doing so she not only earns profit for the

English department but confirms her opinion that a common humanity unites

Asians and Australians. An old version of detailed illustrated edition of the

Kama Sutra also takes its place in the exhibition. She observes a common

curiosity shown by all the people who attended the exhibition as many of

them rush in queue to own copies of the book.

The Australian friends of Barry and Jean wonder how both the

husband and wife could be considerate and compassionate to each other. In

their exploration to find the cause they observe the interesting thing in their

bed room. One of their beds is three inches higher than the other. The four-

posters are a gift from Jean's parents and intentionally Jean's parents

designed them to be uneven in height. Jean claims to the lower bed as she is

comfortable to look up to her husband. .lean's mother says 'a wife must look

up to her husband, since he embodies the principle of creative energy in

marriage' ( 1 83)

Margot and Mike, the neighbors of Barry, invite the Asian couple to

their twentieth marriage anniversary. Barry gets surprised to see Mike have

his new beds specially ordered and designed the way he has his own beds.

Mike takes him to his bedrooin to show the two magnificent four-poster beds

made of Australian cedar, one of the beds standing three inches higher than

the other. Mike says 'thanks to you. It's made me feel ten years younger, and

Margot's frisky as a minnow.' and nudges 'you Orientals, don't like to give

away your secrets, do you?' (1 96- 197) Gooneratne makes a point that human

beings, irrespective of their nation, have many things to share, through which

they can make their life comfortable. The only thing required is they should

think beyond their boundaries.

Jean tries to learn the Australian way of exposition in the society. She

keeps listening to the talks of Professor Blackstone. She even keeps a note

pad open while listening to the extempore of the professor. Jean gets

depressed on the comments of the professor over the Asians. She thinks that

Blackstone is a jingoist. The intolerance and bigotry he propels towards the

Asians makes Jean angry. When she happens to meet Blackstone at the

university, a hot discussion runs between her and the professor.

Ronald Blackstone's past remarks on the radio earned the ire. He said

on the radio

"Asiuns, polltite the oir with the,fi~nrc c?fro~z.stirzg meat. A t ~ i

we Australians rnust be trlert to i l~c cicrngrrs inllolved in our

sociep iJ' we ullow Asians irl who cannot assimilate arid

accept our customs" (1 21).

Jean retards to this remarks in disgust and anger:

"You have the impudence to offir me a suusuge roll, you

ignorant, non-vegetarian mcist. I am a Tamil, Professor

Blackstone, and a Hindu. Pure vcg and proud of it. What do

you take me for:' A pork eating Ching-Chong.? "128

Jean uses the derogatory expression, 'ching-chong' for distinguishing

herself from other Asians. Her outburst had a tinge of sorrow caused by loss

of identity. She promulgates the awkward connotation of her husband's

newly coined name Barry.

"In Sinhala, the 'bari' means 'incapable : It means

'impotentlAnd it was you who made my husband trade

in Bharatjor a name like Barry" (128)

Jean is daring enough "t claim that Professor Blackstone was passing

all the comments in ignorance that most of the Asians are pure-vegetarians.

And his tendency to generalize the things is something dogmatic related to

provinciality. Professor Ronald Blackstone acts with decency and decorum

when he became aware of his lapse. Jean realizes that in spite of her hostility

towards him Prof. Blackstone behaved befitting a gentleman:

"You mustn 't judge people too hastily ... this experience

showed that Aztstralians can be civilized, Ifyou go about it

tactfully."(128- 129)

Gooneratne's approach to the expatriate experience is more serious

and also positive. Everyone who was there in that gathering heard Jean's loud

and clear protest, and they considered it to be a way of 'deconstruction' of

Blackstone. Jean is recruited to the campus branch of the women's

movement. She accepts to the proposal as her family has long-established

connections with women's right in SriLanka. She propels to be a typical

Asian woman, a source of the loving, and nurturing care that stands between

Asian women and brutal male exploitation. Jean had ~ o t a diploma in

librarianship. She set to work organizing display cabinets, collecting staff

publication, writing labels, and designing posters and notices.

Encouraged by the successes, Jean accepts the role of supporting her

husband and recognizes that she is the one who brings into the new land the

old stories that can make sense of common experience of peopie of different

origins9. Jean provides the true meeting point of cultures by establishing a

restaurant and school of cuisine.

She starts her project of writing 'A COOKERY BOOK'. She requests

the help of her mother and her sister-in-law. She starts collecting recipes

which cotnbine Oriental and Western ingredients and methods of preparation.

She follows her mother's principle of 'self help' (208) a way she adopts in

her social service projects.

As Jean gets along with her project, she enjoys full freedom in giving

her tips in her own way, 'When you don't find an egg beater to beat the egg,

don't hesitate to use your hands'. The Australians, who otherwise would bark

at the suggestion, receive it casually. Jean leads the busy, busy life of a

restauranteuse and TV presenter. Her husband Barry works with non-English

speaking migrants. He is already the author of several academic tomes and

books.

An identity change1" that began in the lives of Barry and Jean

continues till their death. Barry and Jean die in a plane crash while going to

see Bruce and Maureen as usual at Christmas. This makes Bruce and

Maureen feel that they are responsible for Edwina. They continue to take care

of her. Gooneratne presents a perspective understanding of cultural clash.

Barry takes it a pride to become a father. Jean believes that though their

marriage was an arranged one there relationship is bound on love and faith.

It is this love and faith that helps Jean push away the infatuation of Francesca

Sweet lips, the colleague of Barry. Jean thinks that Barry is her property, and

she has every right to protect it and to keep it for herself.

Barry has always believed in the power of individuality. With new

careers in hand, and a daughter, Edwina growing up? Barry and Jean develop

the habit of discussing the things to be carried out in an open and

unemotional way. 'To judge anythmg properly, a problem or a painting, you

need to step back from it, to distance yourself,' (298) as Barry says they try

to keep their thought of their horneland in the course of discussions.

Gooneratne projects the novel 'neither to be a fanatic outburst nor an

escapist's sentimentalism. It is an objective analysis'" that promotes better

hutnan relationships.

Yasmine now in her seventies, is a woman of many parts. She is an

internationally known university professor, literary critic, editor,

bibliographer, novelist, essayist and poet, and combines these roles with those

of loving mother and wife with characteristic charm. Cooking, not writing

was her first love says Gooneratne in an interview with Ayesha R. Rafiq.

Yasmine considers her 'fortunate to have been born a Sri Lankan'. She

somehow manages to effortlessly merge her ideas about life and love, which

she admits she derives from one of her favorite authors Jane Austen, on

whose work she is an eminent expert, with those of today's generation.

We can see the autobiographical note in her novel 'A Change ofSkies '

as the east and west confront and face one another in a meaninghi way and as

the narrative moves backward and forward in time it tends to bridge

geographical and emotional space between the two cultures and to flatten time

as one continuous flow of duration.

In 'A Change qf Skies* Gooneratne suggests, that it is no longer

possible to locate,the origin of a particular idea since all ides circulate rather

uncannily through time and space. The novel is a playful exploration of the

mysterious ways in which human mind tries to connect itself to various ideas

originated differently hut intersecting with one another. The theme of

uncanny dissemination of ideas and their mutual imbrications is further

explored in the novel.

Spanning over two centuries and two continents, this novel tries to

build a bridge between reminiscences and experiences, private lives and

historical events and establishes a complex web of relationships between

disparate ideas and events. Gooneratne uses the post modernist technique of

chronological disorder. The episodes of Edward's experiences in the form of

his diaries continue to appear through out the novel. Though Gooneratne

narrates the novel in first person narrative, the '1' in the chapters refers to

different characters. Sometimes it represents Edward, sometimes Barry and

sometimes Jean. In the last chapters it even represents Edwina. Thus

Gooneratne could successfully transform this first person to four consecutive

generations.

Like Roy and Nasrin, Gooneratne also believes in the technique of

reiteration to shove the thrust on the idea she wanted to express. She repeats

the experiences of Edward with Jean and Barry to bring to the fore the theme

of compassion to the reader. Though it is not an easy task for the expatriates

to mix with the alien set up, Gooneratne shows that traditional cultures have

the hidden innate strength to stand shocks from outside. The characters

derive the confidence, to with stand the temptations of the foreign land, from

frequent remind and references to their native tradition. Mr. and Mrs. Koyako 0

is the best example for this.

Gooneratne presents the calm appreciation of the need for security and

commonsense as something natural as well as commendable. The novel may

be read as 'a negotiation of Sri Lankan migrant identity in Australia and as a

negotiation of gender relations within the migrant community""

Gooneratne successfully accomplishes the family context of 'an

unlikely, ~ulturall~-mixed"~ marriage of Navaranjini, a Tamilian and Barry, a

Sinhalese Christian. The easy-adaptation and unyielding adherence to the

familial bond is the core thread that unites Barry and Jean through out their

life despite little confusions and misunderstandings. The successful thrive

and nourishment that they extend to one another is its own reflection of

Gooneratne's personal life. Having collaborated with Brendon, himself a

highly acclaimed medical academic and ardent historian, on several projects,

Yasmine fondly says of the man she has been married to for over 40 years and

attributes her success to, "1 never once thought of divorce, but have frequently

contemplated murder". I

In her novel 'A Change of Skies' Gooneratne connects the third

generation character 'Edwina'. She is the daughter of Jean and Barry.

Edwina who eventually turns to be Vina is also connected to the line of cross-

cultural iconoclasm. Barry and Jean die in a plane crash, while they were on

their way to join Maureen and Bruce's Christmas celebrations. The sudden

death of Barry and Jean does not prevent the progress of the novel.

Gooneratne links the setting to Edwina in the epilogue. We come to know

that Edwina becomes the responsibility of Maureen and Bruce. They continue P

their kindliness and spontaneous friendship towards Edwina.

Edwina is seen visiting Maureen and Bruce's Christmas celebration as

was practiced by her parents. She feels more at home in the company of

Maureen and Bruce. Though she appears only in the epilogue we see her

'expanding the cultural horizons'15 started by her great grand father, Edward.

The sparkling fabrication of the theme of liberation with the theme of

cultural assimilation I h can be related to the successful understanding of one's

own self in relation to the others. Despite its effervescent comedy and a

hilarious description of human existence the novel turns out to be a serious

reflection on the deeper levels of change, identity and belonging at the end.

REFERENCES

1. Mc Laren, John. "Nations without States: The Search for Home in

H.H.Richardson's Fortunes of Richard Mahony and Yasmine

Gooneratne's A Change of Skies". The Comlnonwealth Review. Vol. 7,

NO. 1, 1995-96. pp.79-86. p84.

2. Ibid p85

3. Ibid p85

4. http:llwww.Wikipedia.comi Commonwealth writerslGoonertne, 17/07/08

6. Mc Laren, John. "Nations without States: The Search for Home in

H.H.Richardson's Fortunes of Richard Mahony and Yasmine

Gooneratne's A Change of Skies". The Commonwealth Review. Vol. 7,

NO. 1, 1995-96. pp.79-86. p80.

10. Nityanandamhdira. "Yasmine Gooneratne's A Change of Skies and

Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine: The Immigrant Experience in Australia and

the U.S.A." The Commonwealth Review, Vol. 4. No.2, 1992-93. Pp. 50-

54.

11. Khan, A.G., "Bushes in Two Hemispheres: A Comparative Study of

Susanna Moodie's 'Roughing it in the Bush' and Yasmine Gooneratne's

'A Change of Skies"'. The Commonwealth Review, Vol. 7, No. I , 1995-

96. pp.87-96.

12. Ayesha R. Rafiq. Interview

13. Bramston, Dorothy. "A Srilankan Writer in Australia: Yasmine

Gooneratne's 'A Change of Skies". New Literature Review. No.31,

14. Ibid. p.20

15. Ibid. p.30

16.Khan, A.G. 'From Arjun to Barry: Cultural Assimilation in 'A Change of

Skies', Com~nonwealth English Literature.