Namesake is the brainchild of Jhumpa Lahiri. The story unfolds with Ashima’s grandmother coming to know that Ashima is pregnant. She was very excited when she came to know this and extremely happy as well on the fact that she would have the opportunity to name the family’s first Sahib. As the story unfolds, Ashima and her husband Ashok have yet not decided a name for their baby until a letter arrives from their grandmother.
Ashima’s father sends a letter to Baby Boy Ganguli, actually putting up the name as ‘baby boy’. But the American bureaucracy demands a name. In a hurry, they put the name ‘Gogol’ not realizing the harsh consequences that this name would have in the future. As time passes, Gogol is raised in suburban America. As he grows, he finds his name ridiculous and is reluctant to us it. His awkward name twitches him. He decides to leave behind the inherited values of Bengali lifestyle and starts on his path to find a good life and comes face to face with conflicting loyalties, love and loss along the way.