|
The two major epics in
Sanskrit , the Mahabharatha of Vyasa and the
Ramayana of Valmiki are outstanding creations of
Indian literature.
 The
finest in Indian literature published in the 19th century
include Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Anand
Math, the first novel on India's early struggle for independence. His later work,
Krishna Kanter will, is about the intricate politics of feudal families and the division of landed assets in the family under the permanent Settlement Act of Lord Cornwallis.
Tagore's Gora, on the other hand, reflects the nationalist
concerns of the twentieth century; while his Ghare Baire is one of the first
novels written in the stream-of -consciousness technique, where characters are produced by the situations and no by the
narrator.
Tagore's contemporaries and immediate successors were equally committed to a
humanitarian vision of society. Sharat Chandra Chatterjee wrote about lower middleclass babus, and also about
terrorists; Tara Shanker Bandhpadhyay wrote about
tribals, fisher folk and village belles; while Bibhuti Bhuhan Bandyopadhyay's
all-time classic Pather Panchali, is about the village life of Bengal.
The torch then passes on to
Prem Chand, whose themes are set in a village
milieu; Mulk Raj Anand on untouchables, Shivarama Karanth about outcasts,
Yashpal about political workers, Amrit Lal Nagar about the mutiny,
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai created everlasting
story staged in a fishing community, Phaneshwar Nath Renu about the oppressed
peasantry of Bihar, Ismat Chungti about the women of
Uttar Pradesh, Krishan Chander about the lower middle-class life in Punjab,
Rajinder singh Bedi on village life in Punjab, and
Quratulain Haider about the middle-class women of North India.
Thematically, the writings of all these authors represent the predominant concerns of the
1930s and '40s and indirectly the upsurge against the imperialists. After Independence, there is a departure to novels by women writers who forcefully urge emancipation.
We have
Kamala Markandeya (Nectar in The Sieve), Kamala Das (My
Story), Anitha Desai (Where Shall We go This Summer),
Nayantara Sehgal (Storm In Chandigarh) and Uma Vasudev (Shreya of
sonagath).
India
has a vibrant literary tradition spanning many
languages. The vernacular literature is more specific
and the emotions stronger. India has 22 well developed
languages with a substantial common denominator
justifying the expression of Indian Literature in its
true intrinsic variety. Bengali
literature reached its summit of glory through the
dedicated service of Rabindranath Tagore. The post
Tagore period of Bankim Chadra Chatterji was also
equally rich. Kannada has a long history of literature
next only to Tamil and Sanskrit. In
Malayalam, the missionaries especially people like
German Herman Gundert, tried to popularize the
language. Poetry and prose developed with indigenous
flavor, but later came under the influence of western
literature.  Among
the Indian writers in English the novelists of repute are
Kamala Markandaya, Anita Desai, Khushwant
Singh, Nayantara Sahgal and Salman
Rushdie. Most of these novelists have written good short stories also. Among the critics and historians of literature are
K.R.  Sreenivasa Iyengar, C.D. Narasimhaiah
and M.K. Naik. Among the latest generations are Allan Sealy (The
Trotter Nama), Sashi Tharoor (Show Business, The Great Indian Novel),
Amitav Ghosh (Circle of Reason, shadow Lines), Upamanyu
Chatterjee (English August) and Booker prize winner,
Arundhati Roy (God of Small Things).
|
