History

1. Indian English Literature: Literature written originally in English by authors Indian by Birth, ancestry or nationality. Anglo Indian Literature and translations are not its part.
2. Indo Anglican Literature
   1. V.k Gokak in his book English in India: Its Present and Future (1964) interprets the term Indo-Anglican literature as: The works of Indian Writers in English. and Indo-English literature as translations by Indians from Indian Literature into English.
   2. H.M Williams excludes translations of Tagore’s novels done by others from his Indo-Anglican Literature 1800 -1970: A Survey (1976), but K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar includes them in his Indian Writings in English.
   3. John B. Alphonso Karkala in his Indo-English Literature in the Nineteenth Century  1970 uses the term ‘Indo-English Literature’ to mean ‘Literature produced by Indians in English.
3. Indian Writings in English
4. Anglo-Indian Literature: Literature in the Indian languages translated into English and Originally composed in English by Indians.
   1. A Sketch of Anglo Indian Literature (1908) by E.F Oaten includes poetry of: Henry Derozio, E.f Oaten in The cambridge History of English Literature (Vol.XIv, ch.10) includes Toru Dutt, Sarajini Naidu, Rabindranath Tagore, Arabindo Ghosh, F.W Bain, F.A Steel.
   2. Bhupal Singh’s Survey of Anglo-Indian Fiction (1934) deals with both British and Indian Writers.
5. Professor K.R. Srinivasa wrote:
   1. Indo-Anglican Literature (1943)
   2. Indian Contribution to English Literature (1945)
   3. Indian Writing in English (1962, 1973)
6. 1809: the first composition in English of some length by an Indian, namely, C.V. Boriah’s ‘Account of the Jains’ – appeared in Asiatic Researches, Vol.IX, 1809.

British Arrival

1. 883 A.D: First Englishman ever to visit India when one Sigelm, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle notes, was sent by King Alfred on a Pilgrimage.
2. In 1498: the sea route was discovered by Vasco da Gama
3. 1511 a petition addressed to King Henry VIII reads: “The Indies are discovered and vast treasures brought from thence everyday”
4. 1599, December: The First Charter of Queen Elizabeth I
5. The Battle of Plassey 1757
6. White Men:
   1. Sir William Jones founded Bengal Asiatic Society in 1784
   2. H.T. Colebrooke, the author of Hindu Law on Contracts and Succession 1797 – 98
   3. James Prinsep discovered Ashoka Inscription.
7. Orientalism: There developed a pressing need for suitable pundits and maulavis to help judges in the administration of justice. It was therefore decided to revive the study of Sanskrit and Persian amomg the Indians. This led to the establishment of:
   1. Calcutta Madarasa for teaching Persian and Arabic by Hestings in 1781
   2. Sanskrit College at Benaras by Jonathan Duncun in 1792
   3. Orientalists: H.H Wilson
8. Evangelical Movement in Britain: To spread the words of Christ.
9. Theories:
   1. Downward Filteration Theory of Macaulay

Literature

Indian English Writers

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

1. Major Works:
   1. Poetry:
      1. The Crescent Moon (1913 poetry collection)
      2. Gitanjali (1912 poetry collection)
      3. The Gardener (1913 poertey collection)
      4. Fruit Gathering (1916 poetry collection)
      5. Stray Birds (1916 poetry collection)
      6. Crossing (1918)
      7. Lover’s Gift (1918 poetry collection)
      8. The Fugitive (1921 poetry collection)
      9. Lipika (1922)
      10. Fireflies (1928 poetry collection)
      11. Sheaves (1929 poetry collection)
   2. Novels:
      1. Nashtaneer – The Broken Nest (1901)
      2. Chokher Bali 1901
      3. The Wreck 1906
      4. Boat Accident / Nouka Dubi 1906
      5. Gora 1909
      6. Chaturanga 1916
      7. The Home and The World 1916
      8. farewell Song 1929
      9. Dui Bon – The Two Sisters 1933
      10. Malancha – The Arbour 1934
      11. Four Chapters 1934
      12. Nastanirh 1901
      13. Noukadubi 1906
      14. Gora 1909
      15. Ghare Baire 1916
      16. Chaturanga 1916
      17. Jogajog 1929
      18. Shesher Kabita 1929
   3. Drama
      1. Valmiki Pratibha 1888
      2. The King and the Queen 1889
      3. Sacrifice 1890
      4. Malini 1896
      5. Raja 1910
      6. The King of the Dark Chamber 1910
      7. The Post Office 1912
      8. Chitra 1913
      9. The Cycle of the Spring 1916
      10. Autumn Festival 1919
      11. The Waterfall 1922
      12. Sanyasi or the Ascetic 1923
      13. Red Oleanders 1924
   4. Essays
      1. Sadhana: The Realisation of Life 1913
      2. Personality 1917
      3. Nationalism 1918
      4. The Centre of Indian Culture 1919
      5. thought Relics 1921
      6. Cult of the Charkha 1925
      7. crisis in Civilisation 1941
   5. Lectures
      1. The Spirit of japan 1916
      2. Greater India 1917
      3. Creative Unity 1922
      4. The Religion of Man 1931
      5. Man the artist 1932
   6. Letters
      1. Glimpses of Bengal – letters 1885-1895
   7. Memoirs
      1. The Reminiscences 1912
   8. Translations
      1. Songs of kabir 1915
   9. Travelogue
      1. Letters from Russia 1931
   10. Adaptations
       1. Kabuliwala
       2. Dak Ghar
       3. Charulata
       4. Ghare Baire
       5. Teen Kanya
       6. Jogajog

Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902)

1. Born on 12th Feb, 1863 in Calcutta.
2. Went to USA in 1893 and took part in Parliament of Religions at Chicago.
3. He believed in the philosophy of Advaitvad.
4. He said, “If there is a sin in the world, it is weakness, avoid all weakness, weakness is sin, weakness is death.”
5. Literary works:
   1. Raja Yoga
   2. Karma Yoga
   3. Bhakti Yoga
   4. Kali, the Mother.

Sarojini Naidu (1879-1049) **

1. In England she was in touch two literary figures: Symons and Edmund Gosse.
2. During World War I she met Gandhi, and became a freedom fighter.
3. In 1925, she became the President of Indian National Congress.
4. In 1927, she helped founding All India Women’s Conference.
5. Went to Honolulu as a delegate of All India Women’s Conference and Pan pacific Women’s Conference in 1928
6. In March 1930, she became the president of All India Women’s Conference.
7. She took part in Gandi’s Dandi Maarch
8. After the arrest of gandi she led Gandhi’s Salt satyagraha and got arrested.
9. She went with gandi to The round Table conference in London, in September 1931
10. She became president of the Asian Relations Conference.
11. After Independence she was declared the governor of the United Provinces (now UP)
12. She was called The Nightingale of India
13. Works:
    1. The Lady of the Lake: 1300 lines poem in 1892
    2. Golden Threshold in 1905: a collectio of poem.
    3. To India
    4. To a Buddha Seated on a Lotus
    5. The Bird of Time in 1912, in London
    6. The Broken Wing in 1917
    7. The Sectored Flute in 1953
    8. The Feathers of Dawn in 1961
    9. The Temple
    10. Indian Weavers
    11. The Palanquin Bearers
    12. The Gift of India
    13. Bangle Seller
    14. The Anthem of Love
    15. Village Song

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838-1894)

1. His first novel in English: Rammohan’s Wife
2. Vande Mataram is a poem mentioned in his ‘Anandamath became national song of India.
3. In 1892 he started a Bengali literary magazine named Bangadarsan.
4. He is called the Father of Bengali fiction.
5. Works:
   1. Durgeshnandini: Novel, written in 1865. Historical novel.
   2. Kapal Kundala: Novel, Written about magic, ghost, and mystery. Written in 1866.
   3. Mrinalini: Patriotic novel written in 1869
   4. Anandamath:  Patriotic novel written in 1884 on Bengal Famine. Has the song Vande mataram, the novel is based on the sanyashi Revolt of North Bengal in 1773. Draws the fearful picture of Bengal Femine.
   5. The Poison Tree:Novel written in 1884. It is a story of Hindu Life in Bengal in the English Period
   6. Krishna Kanter’s Will in 1895
   7. The Two Rings in 1897

Henry Luis Vivan Derozio (1809-1831)

1. Born on 10th April, 1809 in Calcutta.
2. Teacher and poet.
3. Lecturer at Hindu College.
4. Widely read French Revolution and Robert Burns
5. As a lecturer strongly questioned irrational religious and cultural practices. Followers were called Derozians. This led to the creation of a club called Academic Association, which brought a megazine called ‘Parthenon’
6. Works:
   1. The Fakeer of Jungheera is his first lyrical poem which reflects native Indian stories. A cpmpetent narrative verse with byronic echoes”, in Victorian style and Romantic diction.

Kahiprasad Ghose 1809-1873

1. He is considered as the first Indian poet writting in English.
2. Kashiprasad Ghose alongwith Raja Ram Mohan Roy and michael Madhusudan Dutta is called the first Indo-Anglican writer of verse and prose.
3. He was the first Indian to publish a regular volume of English verse.
4. Contributed to Literary Gazette, Sambad Prabhakar, Viggan Sebadhi
5. He was a member of Bethune School’s management Board.
6. Found the English weekly “the Hindu Intelligence” in 1846.
7. Works:
   1. Criticism of Mill’s British india (an Essay): published in the govt. gazzette on 14th February, 1828

Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873)

1. Sri Aurobindo said about madhusudan, “The God himself took up thy pen and wrote’
2. Works:
   1. The Capital Lady
   2. Rizia, the Sultana of Inde
   3. Vision of the Past
   4. Sonnets and Other Poems.

Romesh Chander Dutt (1848-1909)

1. Born on 13th August, 1848 at Ramnagar Kolkata.
2. Historical novelist of Bengal.
3. His Economic History and Famine in India and England shows high revenue rates, and natural calamities, disindustrialization.**
4. Served as the first president of Bangia Sahitya Parishad in 1894**
5. Works:
   1. Translated Ramayana and Mahabharata in English.**
   2. Translated Rig Veda in Bengali language.
   3. The Economic History
   4. famines in India and England
   5. Rajur Jiban Sandhya Maharashtra
   6. Jiban Prabhat
   7. Madhabi Kankana
   8. Three Years in Europe 1868 to 1871
   9. The Lake of Palms
   10. A History of Civilization in Ancient India (Based on Sanskrit Literature)
   11. The Slave Girl of Agra.

Toru Dutt  (1856-1877) **

1. Born in 1856 in Calcutta
2. Completed her French studies in England.
3. H.A.L Fisher said “This child of the green valley of the Ganges has by sheer force of native genius earned for herself the right to be enrolled in the great felloship of English poets.”
4. Toru Dutt was highly influenced by French Romanticism
5. Works:
   1. Le Journal De Melle Moiselle d’Arvers was her French Novel
   2. A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields was her French poetry (Published in 1876)
   3. Ancient Ballads  (Her Sanskrit poem published in 1882)
   4. Legends of Hindustan (Her Sanskrit poem published in 1882)
   5. Bianca or the Young Spanish Maiden (her first English Novel, published Posthumously)
   6. Our Casuarina Tree is a Keatsian poem.
   7. A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields (won the praise from famous critics.)
   8. Savitri
   9. Behramji malabari

Manmohan Ghose (1869-1924)

1. Aurobindo Ghosh’s Elder Brother
2. Educated from Oxford
3. Had friendship with Oscar Wilde, Laurence Binyon, Lionel Johnson and stephen Phillips.
4. Primavera was a collection of poems published in England having the poems from Ghose, Oscar Wilde and othes.
5. Oscar Wilde said: “The temper of Keats and moods of matthew Arnold have influenced Mr Ghose and what better influences could a beginner have?”
6. critic George Sampson says: “a reader of his poems would readily take them as the work of an English poet trained in the classical tradition.”
7. Works:
   1. Primavera (Poem Collection)
   2. Songs of Love and Death 1926

Sri Aurobindo / Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950)

1. Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, nationalist.
2. Joined freedom movement then became a spiritual reformer.
3. Studied for Indian Civil service at King’s College cambridge. Returning India took various administrative works under the maharaja of Baroda.
4. Arrested for nationalist politics.
5. Founded a community of spiritual seekers in Pondicherry, Aurobindo Ashram in 1926. Expressed these thought in The Life of Divinw (1939).
6. Works:
   1. Essays on the Gita (1922)
   2. The Life of Divine (1939)
   3. Collected poems and Plays (1942)
   4. The Synthesis of Yoga (1948)
   5. The Human Cycle (1949)
   6. The Ideal of Human Unity (1949)
   7. Savitri; A Legend and a Symbol (1950)
   8. On the Veda (1956)

TP kailasam (1884-1956)

1. Wrote Humour plays, satire plays.
2. Contributed in English and Kananda Literature.
3. Works:
   1. Poems:
      1. The dramatist
      2. Truth naked
      3. Mother Love
      4. A Monologue
      5. The Smilin Seven
      6. Kaikeyee
      7. Drona
      8. Subhadra
      9. Eternal Cain
      10. The Lake
      11. The Sixth Columnist 1943
      12. The Recipe
      13. The artist
      14. Commiseration (karna)
      15. krishna
   2. Plays:
      1. The Purpose 1944
      2. Fulfilment 1933
      3. The Burden 1933
      4. The Brahmin’s Curse 1946

Dr S Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)

1. Scholar, philosopher, statement.
2. Served as a Professor in Calcutta University, Indian religion and ethics professor at University of Oxford, Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University. Ambassador of USSR, President of India from 1962-67.
3. Works:
   1. Indian Philosophy
   2. The Hindu View of Life
   3. eastern Religion and Western Thought
   4. Philosophy of the Upanishads

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964)

1. Born in allahabad on 14th Nov, 1889.
2. Educated at Harrow school and Trinity school at Cambridge, studied Law.
3. Became a barrister at the High Court of Allahabad.
4. Under influence of gandhiji became a member of Indian national Congress in 1918.
5. Was elected the President of INC
6. He turned down The Cripps Offer in 1942.
7. After Independence became PM of India in 1947.
8. Gave India 5 years plan and policy of Industrialization.
9. Gave the slogan “Aram Haram Hai”
10. Works:
    1. Letters to His daughter
    2. Autobiography
    3. The Discovery of India
    4. The Glimpse of World History.

Nirad C Chaudhari (1897 – 1999)

1. Born in Kishorganj, West Bengal
2. Fond of Western culture and Shakespeare.
3. Nirad C Chaudhuri was famously called ‘Last British Imperialist’ and the last of ‘Brown Sahibs’ **
4. Was awarded Sahitya Academy for his work on Max Muller. **
5. Received Honorary Doctorate from University of Oxford and Commander of the order of the British Empire in 1992 from Queen Elizabeth  II.
6. Works:
   1. Autobiography of an Unknown India (1951)
      1. A controversial book dedicated to the memories of British Empire.
   2. Too Long in the West 1951
   3. The Continent of Circe 1965
   4. Scholar Extraordinary Max Muller 1974
   5. PC 1974
   6. Thy Hand, Great Anarch (1987)
      1. His last autobiographical work
   7. Three Horsemen of the New Apocalypse (1997)
      1. The essays of his last book

Harindranath Chattopadhyaya (1898-1990)

1. born in 1898 at Hyderabad,  in a Bengali family. His father was the first DSc of India. They went to Hyderabad and founded NIZAM COLLEGE. He became professor and then the Principal and patron of the college.
2. Works:
   1. the Feast of youth (1918)
      1. first collection of poems
   2. Tukaram (1929)
      1. A play, based on a poet saint of Maharastra.
   3. The Magic Tree (1922)
   4. Poems and Plays (1927)
   5. Strange Journey (1936)
   6. The Dark Well (1939)
   7. Edgeways and the Saint (1946)
   8. Spring in Winter (1956)
   9. Masks and Farewells (1951)
   10. Virgins and Vineyards 91967)
   11. Life and Myself (1948)
   12. Abu Hussan (1918)
   13. Siddhartha: Man of Peace in (1956)
   14. The Saint: A Force (1946)
   15. Kamappan or the Hunter of Kalahasti (1950)
   16. The Window
   17. The Parrot
   18. The Sentry’s Lantern
   19. The Coffin
   20. The Evening Lamp
   21. The Sleeper Awakened

Mulk Raj Anand (1905 – 2004)

1. Born in 1905 in Peswar
2. Studied at Cambridge University
3. Influenced by premchand and Tagore
4. Became the Chairman of Lalit Kala Academy
5. Was the Secretary of Progressive Writers Association.
6. Won Sahitya Academy Award
7. Works:
   1. Untouchable (1935)
      1. His first novel
      2. Protagonist: Bakha
   2. Coolie (1936)
      1. Protagonist: Munoo.
      2. A realistic and picaresque novel. Pictures the Bombey slums. A social tragedyin which Munoo suffers.

RK Narayan (1906-2001) **

1. Born in Rashipuram, Madras in 1906. Settled in Mysore. Mother tongue was Tamil
2. His literary works began with short stories published in The Hindu newspaper.
3. Worked for Madras based newspaper ‘Justice’
4. Graham Green published ‘Swami and friends’ for the first time.
5. Won Sahitya Academy, Padma Bhusan in 1964, Padma Vibhusan in 2000
6. Works:
   1. The Bechelor of Arts 1937 (Novel)
   2. The Dark Room 1938 (novel)
   3. Malgudi Days 1941 (A collection of short stories)
   4. Dodu and Other Stories (1943)
   5. Cyclone and Other Stories (1944)
   6. The English Teacher 1945 (Novel)
   7. An Astrologer and Other Stories
   8. Mr Sampath 1949 (a Novel)
   9. The Financial Expert 1952 (A Novel)
   10. Waiting for the Mahatma 1955 (Novel)
   11. The Lawley Road 1956 (A Novel)
   12. The Guide ** 1958 (A Novel)
   13. Next Sunday 1960 (A Collection of Sketches and Essays)
   14. My Dateless Diary 1960 (An Autobiography)
   15. The Man Eater of Malgudi 1962
   16. God’s Demons and Other Stories 1965
   17. The Sweet Vendor 1967 (A Novel)
   18. A Horse and Two Goats (1970)
   19. My Days – autobiography in 1975 printed by London Chatto and Windus.
   20. The Painter of Sign (1976)
   21. The Eternal’d Route 1977
   22. Malgudi Days 1982
   23. A Tiger for Malgudi 1983
   24. Talkative Man 1986
   25. A writer’s Nightmare.

Bhabani Bhattacharya (1906-1988)

1. Educated in Patna and London
2. Influenced by the writings of Gandhiji and Rabindranath.
3. his novels deals poverty, hunger and exploitation of farmers during the Bengal famine.
4. Works:
   1. Some Memorable Yesterdays (1941)
   2. So Many Hungers! (1947)
      1. First published novel
   3. Indian Cavalcade (1948)
   4. He Who Rides a Tiger (1955)
      1. Second Published Novel
   5. The Golden Boat (1956)
   6. Towards Universal Man (1961)
   7. Music for Mohini (1964)
   8. Shadow from Ladakh (1966)
      1. His last novel, woned Sahitya Academy.
   9. A Goddess Named Gold (1967)
      1. Third Novel
   10. Steel Hawk and Other Stories (1968)
   11. Gandhi the Writer (1969)
   12. A Dream in Hawali (1978)
   13. Socio-Political Currents in Bengal: A Nineteenth Century Perspective 1980

Raja Rao (1908-2006)

1. Born in Hassana in Mysore in an Orthodox South Indian Brahmin Family.
2. educated in Aligarh University.
3. Went to France to learn French language
4. Raja Rao said: “America has great splendour once this nation finds itself, it will be truely magnificent.”
5. He was influenced by Ande Malraux’s novels and aesthetic essays, by Shakespeare’s tragedies, Romain Roland’s Jean Christopher and Mazzini’s Duties of Man.
6. He had great respect for women, he said, “Woman is the Earth, air, ether, sound, woman is the microcosm of the mind.”
7. Awarded Padma Bhusan
8. Taught Indian philosophy in University of Taxes
9. Works:
   1. Kanthapura 1938
      1. His first novel. This novel appeared in a collection of short stories.
   2. The Cow of Barricades (written in French) 1947
   3. The Serpant and Rope (written in French) 1960
      1. His Second Novel. based on Indian culture and philosophy.
      2. He won Sahitya Academy for this novel
   4. The Cat and Shakespeare 1965
   5. The Police Man and The Rose and Other Stories published in 1978

GV Desani (1909-2000)

1. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, on 8th July, 1909
2. Worked for BCC sponsored lectures in London
3. Major Works:
   1. All About H Halter 1948 (Novel)
      1. his first novel. on the social manner, structure, religious instruction, Indianised English.
      2. this book became a sensation which along with James Joyce’s Ulysses helped in shaping post modern novel.
      3. It made great influence on Salman Rushdie.
   2. Hali Prose Poem 1952
      1. Poetic play about spiritual knowledge.
   3. Dozens of Signed Columns, Illustrated weekly of India (1962-67)
   4. Mainly or concerning Kama and her Immortal Lord 1973
   5. hali and Collected Stories 1991.

Monohar Malgonkar (1913-2010)

1. Educated from Bombay University. Worked as a civil servant.
2. his novels have background of Indian Independence Movement and its resukts.
3. R.K. Narayan called him his ‘favourite Indian novelist in English’.
4. Contemporaries: Mulk Raj Anand, khushwant Singh, Kamala Markendaya.
5. Works:
   1. Combat of Shadows 1962
   2. the Princes 1963
   3. A bend in the Ganges 1964**
   4. Spy in Ambar 1971
   5. The Devil’s Wind 1974
   6. Distant drum 1974
   7. Krishna Shah’s Shalimar
   8. Shalimar: Krishna Shah ka Screenplay par Aadharit Upanyas
   9. The Men who Killed Gandhi 1978
   10. The Sea Hawk ** 1979
   11. Cue from the Inner Voice: The Choice Before Big Business 1980
   12. Bandicoot Run: Inside Goa 1982
   13. Princess: The Autobiography of the Dowager Maharaniof Gwalior 1985
   14. the Garland keeper 1986
   15. the Last maharani of Gwalior: An Autobiography 1987
   16. four Graves and Other Stories 1990
   17. Cactus Country 1992
   18. Dropping names 1996

Khushwant Singh (1915)

1. Born on 2nd February, 1915 at Hadali District, Khushab, Pakistan
2. Educated at Modern School, Govt. College, Delhi, King’s College, London, Studied Bar in Ineer Temple.
3. Edited Yojana journal, The Illustrated Weekly of India, a news weekly, The National Herald, The Hindustan Times
4. Achievements:
   1. Rockfeller Grant 1966
   2. Elected Member of Rajya Sabha 1980 to 1986
   3. Padma Bhushan in 1974
   4. Padma Vibhusan 2007
   5. Sahitya Academy 2010
5. Works:
   1. Train to Pakistan 1956
      1. Won Groove Press Award in 1954.
      2. Depicts the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947
      3. Plot: Setting: mano majra (Fictional Village. Juggut Singh loves Muslim Nooran, who was sent to the refugee camp.
      4. Characters:
         1. Iqbal Singh: political agitator
         2. Juggut /Jugga Singh: a bad man, ultimately becomes a hero
         3. Hukum Chand: Deputy commissioner in Mano Majra
      5. “Muslims said the Hindus had planned and started the killing. According to the Hindus, the Muslims were to blame. The fact is, both sides killed. Both shot and stabbed and speared and clubbed. Both tortured. Both raped.”
      6. “Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be the slaves of educated Indians or the Pakistanis.”
      7. “the bullet is neutral. It hits the good and the bad, the important and the insignificant, without distinction.”
   2. I Shall not Hear the Nightingale 1959
   3. A Sangam City
   4. The Company Woman
   5. A Portrait of A Lady: Collected Stories.
   6. Sex, Scotch and Scholarship
   7. In the Company of Women 1999
   8. Celebrating the Best of Urdu Poetry
   9. True, Love and A Little of Malice 2002
   10. A History of Sikhs 1469-1839
   11. A History of the Sikhs 1839-2004
   12. Why I Supported the Emergency 2004 (Essay)
   13. Khushwant Singh on Women Sex, Love and Lust
   14. The Sunset Club
   15. Sahibs who loved India
   16. Delhi: A Novel
   17. I Accuse …. The Anti Sikh Violence of 1984
   18. Agonistic Khuswant: There is No God
   19. The Free Thinker’s Prayer Book
   20. Maharaja Ranjit Singh
   21. Fall of Sikh Kingdom
   22. The Good, The Bad and the Ridiculous (co-authored with Humre Qureshi)

Amrita Pritam (1919-2005)

1. Born in Gujranwala, Punjab(Now Pakistan), father was a poet and a scholar of Briji Bhasa.
2. She joined Progressive Writer’s Movement. Worked in Lahore Radio Station for sometimes.
3. Came to India after partition.
4. Considered first woman Punjabi poet, writer novelist, essayist, autobiographer.
5. Edited Nagmani, a monthly in Punjab
6. She is the first to receive The Punjab Award given by Amarinder Singh, CM of Punjab.
7. First woman to receive Sahitya Academy Award in 1956
8. Received Bhartiya gyanpeeth Award in 1982 for her Kagaj te Canvas (Paper and Canvas)
9. Received Padma Shri in 1969, and Padma Vibhusan in 2004.
10. Works:
    1. Aj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu (Today I Invoke Waris Shah)
       1. A piercing poem expressing her worries about the Massacres during the partition of India
    2. Pinjar (The Skeleton) 1950
       1. Protagonist: Puro
       2. A short story of violence against women and massacres during partition.
    3. Amrit Lehran (Immortal Waves) 1936
       1. Her first collection of poetry
    4. Lok Peed (People’s Anguish) 1944
    5. Rasidi Ticket (Revenue Stamp)
       1. Describes her love story of Amrita and Imroz.
    6. Kala Gulab (black Rose) 1968
    7. Aksharon Ray Saaye (Shadow of Words)
    8. Ek Onkar Satnam

Nissim Exekiel (1924-2004)

1. Indian Jewish Poet and Critic, born in Bombay.
2. Considered the Father of Post-Independance Indian-English Verse.
3. Works:
   1. Poems:
      1. Time to Change1952
      2. Sixty Poems 1953
      3. The Discovery of India 1956
      4. The Third 1959
      5. the Unfinished Man 1960
      6. The Exact Name 1965
      7. Snakeskin and Other Poems(translation of the Marathi poet Indira Sant 1974)
      8. Hymns in Darkness 1976
      9. Letter day Psalms 1982
      10. Collected Poems 1952-88, 1889
   2. Plays:
      1. The Three Plays Kolkata: Writers Workshop, India 1969
      2. Do Not Call it Suicide Madras: Macmillan India 1993

Vijay Tendulkar (1928-2008)

1. Dramatist
2. Works:
   1. Mames Navache Bet (An Island Called Man) 1955
   2. Madhya Bhirti (The Walls Between) 1958
   3. Chimnicha Gahr Hota Menacha (Nest of Wax) 1958
   4. Mee Jinko Mee harlo (I Won I Lost) 1963
   5. Kavalanchi Shala (School for Crows)1963
   6. Sari Ga Sari (Rain o Rain) 1964
   7. Householder 1947
   8. The Vultures 1916
   9. Silence! The Court is in Session (1967)
   10. The Cyclist 1991
   11. His Fifth Woman 2004

Jayanta Mahapatra (1928-Present)

1. Born in 1928 at Cuttak in Orissa.
2. Awarded Sahitya Academy Award in 1981
3. Govt of India awared him with Padma Shri 2009
4. First Indian English Poet to receive Sahitya Academy
5. Works:
   1. Poems:
      1. A Rain of Rites
      2. Life Signs in 1983
      3. Relationship in 1930
      4. The False Start 1980
      5. Selected Poems 1987
      6. Temple 1989
      7. Random Descent 2005
      8. Samparka 2006
      9. Close the Sky Ten by Ten 1971
      10. Dispossessed Nests 1986
      11. Burden of Waves and fruit 1988
      12. Swaynmrara and other poems 1971
      13. The Lie of Dawns: Poems in 2008
   2. Prose:
      1. Essay and memories
      2. The Green Gardener: Short Stories

AK Ramanujan (1929-1993)

1. Wrote in Kannada and English.
2. Awarded Padma Shri, mac Arthur Prize Fellowship in 1993
3. Works:
   1. Prose:
      1. The Interior Landscape 1967
      2. Speaker of Siva 1973
      3. The Literature of India 1974
      4. Hymns for the Drowning 1981
      5. Poems of Love and War 1985
      6. Folktales from India 1991
      7. Is There an Indian Way of Thinking ? 1990
      8. When God Is a Customer 1994
      9. A Flowering Tree and Other Oral Tales fom India 1997
   2. Poetry
      1. The Striders 1966
      2. Relations 1971
      3. Selected Poems 1976
      4. The Collected Poems 1997

Arun Balkrishna Kolatkar (1932-2004)

1. Born in Kolhapur, Maharastra.
2. His poems left impact on Nizzim Ezekiel and Salman Rushdie.
3. Won Commonwealth Poetry Prize 1976
4. Works:
   1. Jejuri Collection of Poems 1976
      1. Jejuri is a temple in one town of Maharastra, the poems are based on a journey to the temple of Khandoba.
   2. A Low temple Collection of poems
   3. kala Geltha
   4. Sarpasatra
   5. Boatride

VS Naipaul (1932 – Present) **

1. Works:
   1. The Mystic Masseur in 1957 is a comic novel on colonial politics. He Received the Rhys Memorial prize for it.
   2. The Suffering of Elvira 1958
   3. Miguel Street 1960
   4. A House for Mr Biswas 1961. He became famous for this work.
   5. Mr Stone and the Knights Companion in 1963.
   6. The Middle Passage: Impressions of Five Societies – British, French, Dutch in the West Indies and South America in 1963
   7. An Area of Darkness in 1964
   8. A Flag on the Island in 1967
   9. The Mimic Men in 1967 is about an exiled Carribean Politician
   10. The Loss of El Dorado: A History 1970
   11. In a Free State 1971
   12. The Over Crowded barracoon and Other Articles 1972
   13. Guerrillas 1975
   14. India: A Wounded Civilization 1977
   15. the Perfect tenants and the Mourners 1977
   16. Land in 6 AB the River 1979
   17. The Return of Eve Paron 1980
   18. Acongo Diary 1980 A Congo
   19. Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey 1981
   20. Finding the Center in 1986
   21. A Turn in the South 1989
   22. India: A Million Mutinies Now in 1990
   23. Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted People 1998

Ruskin Bond (1934- Present)

1. An Indian author of British Descent.
2. Awarded Sahitya Academy in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra, padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhusan in 2004
3. Written over 500 short stories and essays.
4. Works:
   1. Untouchable 1951
   2. The Room on the Roof
      1. a semi autobiographical story of the orphaned Anglo-indian boy named RUSTY.
      2. This book won the John Liewelln Rhys Prize 1957
   3. Vagrants in the Valley 1956 (a sequel to the Room on the Roof)
   4. Ghost stories from the Raj
   5. A Season of ghosts
   6. A face in the dark and other Hauntings
   7. The Blue Umbrella
   8. Funny Side Up
   9. A Flight of Pigeons.
   10. Scenes from a Writer’s Life (autobiography)
   11. Lone Wolf Dancing
   12. The Lamp is Lit (collection of essays)
   13. Lone Fox dancing 2017 (autobiography)

Kamala Das/ Madhavi Kutty (1934-2009)**

1. Born on 31st march, 1934 at Pannayarkulam in the Coastal area of Malabar, Kerala.
2. Real name: Madhavi Kutty
3. Got married in 15 years of age. disturbed marriage life, multiple love affairs.
4. Received Kerala sahitya Academy award for her stories in malayalam. also received the Asian Pen Anthology for poetry in 1964
5. Works:
   1. Summer in Calcutta
   2. Annette
   3. A losing Battle
   4. In Love
   5. Relationship
   6. The Maggots
   7. The Suicide
   8. The Looking Glass **
   9. The Testing of the Sirens
   10. My Grand Mother’s House
   11. Alphabet of Lust (Novel0
   12. The Old Playhouse and Other Poems 1973
   13. Punishment in Kindergarten
   14. The dance of the Eunuchs
   15. The Descendants
   16. An Introduction
   17. Forest Fire
   18. Krishna
   19. The Freaks
   20. The Stone Age
   21. The Sunshine Cat
   22. the Winter.

Anita Desai (1937- Present)

1. Born on 24th June, 1937, in Mussoorie.
2. written 10 novels, many short stories.
3. None of her characters is happy, she deals with psychological state.
4. Received Sahitya academy 1978, listed for Booker Award
5. Short Stories
   1. Her first story Cat Alley Cat 1957
   2. How Gently’s The Mist 1958
   3. The Peacock Garden
   4. Cat on a House Boat
   5. Valley by the Sea.
6. Works:
   1. Cry the peacock:
      1. First novel published in 1963.
      2. Maya is the protagonist. She is a spoiled and stout daughter of a rich Brahmin. She is married to gautam. The novel deals with psychological dilemma of maya’s inner psyche.
   2. Voices in the Cry 1965
      1. Second novel. describes the miserable condition of Mirode, Monisha and Anita in Calcutta.
   3. Bye bye Black Bird 1975
      1. Third novel. Describes the condition of Indian. Describes the conditions of alienation of Adit and Dev, who settled in London.
   4. Where Shall We Go This Summer 1975
      1. 4th novel, describes the psychological conditions of Sita’s mind. The busy earn and burn culture.
   5. Fire on the Mountain 1977**
      1. 5th novel describes Nanda Kaul’s motherly feelings, insult and helplessness of alienatio.
   6. Baum gortner’s Bombay 1988
      1. Story of German Jew, who feels alienated and comes to India, where he remains feeling outsider being a firangi.
   7. In Custody 1984
      1. Deals with the decline of Urdu language, once it was the court language of the Mughals.
   8. Clear Light of Day 1980
   9. Journey to Ithaca 1985
   10. Feasting Fasting 1999

Girish Karnad (1938 – Present)**

1. native language is Kananda.
2. He said, “I wanted to be a poet, the greatest ambition of my life.”
3. Works:
   1. Yayati 1961:
      1. Based on Hindu myth, based on the theme of responsibility. Arnold King wants to exchange his old age with the youth of his son.
4. Hayavadana 1970:
   1. His second play based on Hindu myth.
   2. Got the natyashree Award for the play in 1971
   3. A wise poet becomes suspected of his friend loving his wife, they both sacrifice their heads to a goddess, wife prays life back, prayer granted, mistakenly wife misplaced heads, question was who is the husband?
5. Tughlaq 1964
   1. First written in Kannada. Story of Mahammad bin Tughlaq
   2. on suggestion of Alyque Padmasee, he translated in English
6. Nagamandal:
   1. Based on folk tales of Karnataka

Shashi Deshpande (1938- Present)

1. Works:
   1. Novels:
      1. The Dark Holds No Terror 1980
      2. If I Die Today 1982
      3. Come up and Be Dead 1983
      4. Roots and the Shadows 1983
      5. That Long Silence  1988
      6. The Bending Vine 1992
         1. Focuses on the question of rape.
      7. A Matter of Time 1996
   2. Children’s Books:
      1. A Sum Adventure
      2. The Only Witness
      3. The Hidden Treasure
      4. The Narainpur Incident.
         1. Based on Quit India Movement and role of children in it.

Arun Joshi (1939-1993)

1. Works:
   1. The Foreigner
   2. The Apprentice
   3. The Strange Case of Billy Biswas
      1. An American educated young boy of India ends up in exploring the tribal life, transcendental.
   4. Shri Ram
      1. A biography written with Khuswant Singh
   5. The Last Labyrinth
      1. Won him Sahitya Academy

Anees Jung (1944 – Present)

1. Born in Hyderabad
2. Served as a musahib to the last Nizam of Hyderabad
3. Works:
   1. When a Place Becomes a Person 1977
   2. Flashpoint: Poems in Prose 1981
   3. Unveiling India 1987
      1. Her first work, talks about the problems of women and youth.
      2. She said, “My book is not a pretty book, but it addresses the crucial issues like female foeticide, dowry, rape and adolescent problems.”
   4. The Song of India 1990
   5. Night of the New Moon: Encounters with Muslim Women in India 1993
   6. Seven Sister Among the Women of South Asia 1994
   7. Breaking the Silence 1997
   8. Olives from Jericho 1999
   9. Beyond the Courtyard
      1. Dealt with female foeticide in Punjab
   10. Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood 2005

Salman Rushdie (1947 – Present)

1. Born in Mumbai.
2. Got Austran State Prize for European Literature in 1993
3. Works:
   1. Novels:
      1. Grimus 1975
         1. First sience fiction novel inspired by 12th century Sufi poem ‘The Conference of the Birds’.
      2. Midnight’s Children 1981 **
         1. Second novel, comic allegory of Indian history, tells of the 1001 children born after India’s Declaration of Independence.
         2. Won him Booker Prize for Fiction, the English Speaking Union Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
         3. In 2008, it was named Booker of the Bookers
      3. Shame 1983
         1. Third novel, a political allegory of Pakistani politics
      4. The Satanic Verses 1988
      5. The Moor’s Last Sigh 1995
      6. The Ground Beneath Her Feet 1999
      7. Fury 2001
      8. Shalimar the Clown 2005
      9. The Enchantress of Florence 2008
      10. Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights  2015
      11. The Golden House 2017
   2. Collections
      1. East, West 1994
      2. Mirrorwork: 50 years of Indian Writing 1947-1997
      3. The Best American Short Stories 2008
   3. Children’s Books
      1. Haroun and the Sea of Stories 1990
      2. Luka and the Fire of Life 2010
   4. Essays and Non-Fiction
      1. The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey 1987
      2. In Good Faith, Granta 1990
      3. Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism, 1981-1991-1992
      4. The Wizard of OZ: BFI Film Classics: BFI 1992
      5. Mohandas Gandhi 1998
      6. Step Across The Line: Collected Non-Fiction 1992-2002
      7. The East is Blue 2004
      8. A Fine Pickle 2009
      9. In the South 2012

Shobhaa De (1948-Present)

1. Feminist writer
2. Her autobiography SPOUSE
3. Works:
   1. Shetji 2012
   2. Shobhaa at Sixty 2010
   3. Sandhya’s Secret 2009
   4. Spouse, Second Thought 1996
   5. Starry Nights 1989

Pritish nandy Borh (1951- present)

1. editor of The Times of India
2. published the comictitled Indrajil
3. he was the first to open the cyber cafe in India
4. Works:
   1. Gods and Olives

Rohinton Mistry (1952-Present)

1. Born in Mumbai in a parsi family
2. B.A in philosophy from University of Toronto.
3. received Encore Prize in 1993
4. First two stories published in Hart House Review and Canadian Fiction Magazine and won Hart House literary prize for both.
5. His works are often regarded as INDO-NOSTALGIC **
6. Works:
   1. Coming Attraction 2 (1984)
   2. Tales from Firozsha Baag 1987
      1. Collection of stories
   3. Such a Long Journey 1991
      1. First novel
   4. A Fine Balance 1995
   5. Mistry Pack 1998
   6. Family Matters 2001
   7. Threebies: Rohinton Mistry 2003 **
   8. Bookclub in a Box Discusses the Novel Family Matters 2005
   9. The Scream 2008

Vikram Seth (1952- Present) **

1. born in Culcutta
2. A polyglot has learnt Welsh, German, French, Mandarin, english, Hindi, Urdu
3. Went to China to learn Chinese poetry
4. Works:
   1. The Travel Book from Heaven Lake 1983
   2. Novels:
      1. The Golden Gate 1986
      2. An Equal Music 1999
      3. A Suitable Boy 1993
      4. An Equal Music 1999
      5. A Suitable Girl 2013
   3. Poetry:
      1. Mapping 1980
      2. The Humble Administrator’s Garden 1985
      3. All You Who Sleep Tonight 1990
      4. Beastly Tales 1991
      5. three Chinese Poets 1992
      6. the frog and the Nightingale 1994
      7. The Traveller 2008

Amitav Ghosh (1956-Present)

1. born in Kolkata
2. educated from DU, and Doctorate from Oxford University
3. Works:
   1. The Circle of Reason 1986
      1. both post colonial in theme and post modern in structure
   2. The Shadow Lines 1988
      1. Second novel, post colonoial novel
   3. The Calcutta Chromosome 1995
   4. the Glass Palace 2000
   5. The Hungry Tide 2004
   6. Sea of Pappies 2009
   7. River of Smoke 2011
   8. In an Antique Land 1992
      1. Went to Egypt as an academic researcher where he wrote In an Antique Land, an account of his travel to Egyptian village.
   9. Dancing in Cambodia 1998
   10. The Iman and the Indian 2002
   11. The Incendiary Circumstances 2005

Shashi Tharoor (1956-Present)

Arundhati Roy (1961 – Present)

Kiran Desai (1971-Present)

Chetan Bhagat 91974- Present)

Practice:

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