In this award-winning novel, Tharoor has masterfully recast the two-thousand-year-old epic, The Mahabharata, with fictional but highly recognizable events and characters from twentieth-century Indian politics. Nothing is sacred in this deliciously irreverent, witty, and deeply intelligent retelling of modern Indian history and the ancient Indian epic The Mahabharata. Alternately outrageous and instructive, hilarious and moving, it is a dazzling tapestry of prose and verse that satirically, but also poignantly, chronicles the struggle for Indian freedom and independence.
A History of the Indian Novel in English traces the development of the Indian novel from its beginnings in the late nineteenth century up until the present day. Beginning with an extensive introduction that charts important theoretical contributions to the field, this History includes extensive essays that shed light on the legacy of English in Indian writing. Organized thematically, these essays examine how English was "made Indian" by writers who used the language to address specifically Indian concerns. Such concerns revolved around the question of what it means to be modern as well as how the novel could be used for anti-colonial activism. By the 1980s, the Indian novel in English was a global phenomenon, and India is now the third largest publisher of English-language books. Written by a host of leading scholars, this History invites readers to question conventional accounts of India's literary history.
This book considers the novels and short stories of Raja Rao in terms of the diasporic life of the author. Among the earliest of the 'second wave' Indian diaspora in the west, Raja Rao employs this unique perspective in most of his works. This is the hallmark of his writing. However, we also discuss the varied human and spiritual aspects of his work as reflecting his own life. His experiences as an Indian in a western world. But Raja Rao's writing also counts as postcolonial and postmodern far ahead of any others here or there.
It Was September 28, 2004 When The World Of Literature Was Stunned To Have Lost Its Versatile Genius, A Pioneer Of Indian English Fiction, Mulk Raj Anand. After Enjoying 99 Springs Of Life, He Passed Away Quietly, Leaving Behind A Prolific Literary Legacy. He Was Not Only A Writer But Also A Political And Philosophical Thinker And An Active Humanist Dedicated To The Cause Of World Peace And Universal Brotherhood. His Numerous Novels And Stories Form A Fictional Chronicle, A Record Of His Crusade Against The Social, Political, Ethical And Moral Practices Which Result In The Oppression Of The Poor And Down-Trodden And Also Injustice Against Women, The Weaker Segment Of Society. He Was A Progressive Proletariat And Also Stood For The Emancipation Of Women. He Was A Philanthropist, A Humanist And To Some Extent A Feminist. His Fiction Reveals His Faith In Art For Life S Sake And His Social Commitment To Expose The Exploitation Of The Poor, The Ignorant, The Illiterate By The Imperial Masters, The Village Money- Lenders, The Unscrupulous Traders, The Native Rulers, Priests, Tea-Planters And Above All By Traditional Patriarchs. Such A Committed Writer S Work Was Immensely Significant In Bringing A Change In Society.The Present Anthology A Critical Study Of The Socio-Economic Vision Of Anand, Is Just A Tribute To The Great Founder Of Indian English Fiction Who Has Left Us To Meditate And Ponder Over The Significant Social Issues Raised By Him Through His Fiction. The Best Tribute To Such An Artist Would Be To Comprehend His Vision Of Casteless And Classless Society Based On An Egalitarian Creed. It Is A Modest Attempt To Keep His Dream Alive In Today S World. Contributed By Eminent Writers, The Twenty-One Critical Essays, By And Large, Based Upon Extensive Research And Critical Examination Focus Upon His Social Vision And Humanitarian Approach And, Therefore, Would Be Of Tremendous Use To The Students Of English Literature, The Research Scholars In Particular, And The Academic Community In General. The Present Anthology Is Devoted To This Academic Endeavour.
The Oxford Studies in Postcolonial Literatures series offers stimulating and accessible introductions to definitive topics and key genres and regions within the rapidly diversifying field of postcolonial literary studies in English. It is often claimed that unlike the British novel or the novel in indigenous Indian languages, Anglophone fiction in India has no genealogy of its own. Interrogating this received idea, Priyamvada Gopal shows how the English-language or Anglophone Indian novel is a heterogeneous body of fiction in which certain dominant trends and recurrent themes are, nevertheless, discernible. It is a genre that has been distinguished from its inception by a preoccupation with both history and nation as these come together to shape what scholars have termed 'the idea of India'. Structured around themes such as 'Gandhi and Fiction', 'The Bombay Novel', and 'The Novel of Partition', this study traces lines of influence across significant literary works and situates individual writers and texts in their historical context. Its emergence out of the colonial encounter and nation-formation has impelled the Anglophone novel to return repeatedly to the question: 'What is India?' In the most significant works of Anglophone fiction, 'India' emerges not just as a theme but as a point of debate, reflection, and contestation. Writers whose works are considered in their context include Rabindranath Tagore, Mulk Raj Anand, RK Narayan, Salman Rushdie, Nayantara Sahgal, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, and Vikram Seth.