From Pastoral Vistas to Urban Realities: Exploring the Transformative Journey through the Primordial Village of Aathi in Sara Joseph’s Gift in Green and Pallikaranai

Abstract

Space in its purest form is a pristine canvas, a blank slate awaiting the brushstrokes of life. Space is a profound repository, a vessel into which the essence of actions, movements, emotions, and sensations can be infused. It invites the human experience to inscribe its tales, thereby creating a complex tapestry of moments, memories, and significance. Space's vastness invites exploration and self-expression; it is a stage awaiting the magnificent performance of existence. Nevertheless, space is not a single entity. It is similar to a chameleon in that its meaning varies depending on the observer. What a particular location signifies to one person may be vastly different from what it means to another. This paper intends to characterize the transformational journey of cityscapes, tracing their emergence from rural or pastoral settings and elucidating their profound impact on the physical and mental health of their denizens. This article seeks to utilize Henri Lefebvre's seminal concept of representational space, or lived space, as a potent analytical tool for a comprehensive investigation of Sarah Joseph's literary work Aathi translated into English by Valson Thampu as Gift in Green. Furthermore, this study engages in a comparative analysis, drawing parallels between Sara Joseph's evocative depiction of the asphyxiated fictional realm of Aathi and the tangible urban reality of Pallikaranai in Chennai, thus casting light on the intricate interplay between fiction and reality.