Daughter of the Ganges The Story of One Girl's Adoption and her Return Journey to India

Readers' Group GuideDaughter of the Ganges By Asha MiroTwenty-one years after being adopted from India by Spanish parents, Asha Miro takes a heart-wrenching trip back to uncover her past, an unknown sister, and the details behind her cross-cultural adoption. Along the way, Asha struggles with her personal as well as her cultural identity. Her memoir is both a fascinating introduction to Indian culture and a record of a profound inward journey.From her home in Barcelona to the chaotic streets of Mumbai and finally to the small village where she was born, Asha pieces together the story of her childhood, eventually coming face to face with members of her biological family.Questions for Discussion:1. In Book One ofDaughter of the Ganges, Asha juxtaposes her own story with her mother's journal entries from twenty years before. What is the effect of Asha's decision to include these entries? How is her story altered by the inclusion of her mother's story?2. Throughout the book, Asha describes the ways in which she feels herself to be both Indian and European. How does her self-perception change over the course of her two journeys? Does discovering the truth about her biological family alter Asha's sense of identity? If so, how?3. While Asha tells the reader about her experiences returning to India, her mother's journal entries describe her arrival in Spain. What are the parallels between these two periods in Asha's life?4. As Asha struggles to put together the missing pieces of her childhood, she receives help and guidance from a number of people, many of them women. Who are these women? What kinds of roles have they played in Asha's life?5. In the second part of the book, Asha learns that the narrative she had pieced together on her first journey to India was incomplete, and in some places inaccurate. What effect does this discovery have on her? Have you ever discovered something about your childhood that made you revise your own story?6. The spiral staircase in the orphanage is a powerful symbol for Asha. How does this image connect to the themes ofDaughter of the Ganges? What do you think the staircase represents?7. Before she is reunited with her biological sister, also named Asha, the author wonders, "What should I say to my sister? What do you say to a sister whom you haven't seen for so many years? What do you say to a sister from whom you have been separated by seas and deserts, beliefs and languages, cultures and experiences?" (190). Discuss the author's relationship to her newly discovered sister. How does the story of their names reflect the two sisters' differences and similarities?8. Describing her feeling of uneasiness about why she was chosen to be adopted by her Spanish parents, Asha writes, "Fate took a hand in the game and I felt like a tiny piece on the board marked for special treatment. Unless you have decided to ignore the world around you, this is not an easy label to bear" (10). What do you think she is saying? Is there evidence that Asha's two journeys -- first to Spain as a small child, then back to India as an adult -- are governed by fate?9. What does Asha learn from her encounter with Hari and Sakubai? How does meeting Sakubai affect Asha's feelings about her birth mother, Sitabai?10. Chapter 19 of "The Two Faces of the Moon" is entitled "My Sister Asha's Story." Why do you think the author choose to include her sister's story? How does this chapter affect your understanding of the author's experience?11. Early in the book, Asha writes, "I am often shaken by the excessive importance many people place on being related by blood. Obviously, it has a certain importance. But so does everything that comes afterward, all that my parents have given me, a legacy that goes beyond blood" (13). What is the "legacy" that Asha's parents have given her?Enhance Your Readers' Group:1. Look into your familyMahjoub, Jamal is the author of 'Daughter of the Ganges The Story of One Girl's Adoption and her Return Journey to India' with ISBN 9780743286725 and ISBN 0743286723.