Top Ten Indian Authors for Reading
By M.A. Rathore
India
has been celebrated for its art, literature and philosophy since ancient times.
There are over twenty languages spoken in India and literature that includes
over twenty of these languages. However, not only do Indians take pride in the
diversity of their languages but have a great command over the English language
as well. As such, a wide variety of authors can be listed when it comes to
Indian literature. Here is an attempt to
compress the list down to a simple number of ten; the Indian authors that must
be acknowledged and their books that should be read.
1.
Rabindranath Tagore
Even
though Tagore received his education in law he took a great interest in
Shakespeare and Renaissance literature. Therefore following his works, he
became a poet and author. His first poem ‘Mansai’ was published in 1890 after
which he gained immense popularity amongst Bengali readers. His most
significant works include ‘Gitanjali’ which was a collection of poems and
‘Galpaguchchha’ which are eighty short stories. Gitanjali
won himNobel Prize in 2013.2.
Khushwant Singh
He
was a journalist, editor, and novelist born in Hadli during the time of British
India. He received his degree at St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi and King’s
College in London. He initially started his career as a lawyer after which he
got the opportunity to become the editor of important journals and magazines.
As an author, he wrote some outstanding novels like Train to Pakistan (1956),
Delhi: A Novel (1990), The Company of Women (1999), Truth, Love and a Little
Malice (2002), The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous (2013).3.
R. K. Narayan
He
was born in Chennai and due to his father’s transfers had to move around,
therefore changing many schools. His interest in reading was evident from a
very young age and his hobby soon became a habit. He later graduated and
decided to become a stay-at-home writer. His initial books were not that
popular until his third novel, ‘The Dark Room’. Narayan oublished many novels
soon became a well-renowned author during his time in India.4.
Amrita Pritam
Amrita
Pritam dabbled in poetry and literature at a very young age which inspired her
to become a poet and novelist later in her life. She was a courageous woman who
did not fear writing controversial texts during the pre-partition era. She
suffered through tough times during the partition of India which influenced her
to write the Punjabi novel ‘Pinjar’ (skeleton) which describes the helplessness
of the women during that era and the discrimination they had to go through. The
novel later was made into a Bollywood movie which was a hit throughout the nation.5.
Ruskin Bond
Bond
was born in Punjab, British India, and attained his education in Shimla. After
completing high school, he moved to the U.K to enhance his writing career. He
started his career as a freelance writer and eventually got jobs as an editor
in various magazines. It wasn’t until 1980 when his novel became widely admired
amongst readers. His best-known work is ‘The Blue Umbrella’, a heartwarming
story read worldwide.6:
Dr. Jernail Singh Anand
Dr.
Jernail Singh Anand, the only Indian author to become an Honorary Member of the
Association of Serbian Writers after Rabindranath Tagore, has authored more
than 155 books in English poetry, fiction, non-fiction, spirituality, and
philosophy. Anand is credited with the
theory of Biotext in Critical Theory, 9 modern classic epics including the
Mahakaal Trilogy and the creation of the Corporate Monster Lustus. Conferred
the Franz Kafka Laureateship 2022 and International Aco Karamanov Poetry Award
2022 (Mecedonia), Naji Naaman Literary Award 2020, Cross of Literature and
Cross of Peace from the World Union of Poets, Italy. Univ. of Neyshabur, Iran
published a Research Project Comparing the Poetry of J.S. Anand with Sohrab
Sepehri and Furogh Farrokhzad under Chief Coordinator, Dr. Roghayeh Farsi.7.
Chetan Bhagat
Cited
by The New York Times in 2008 as one of the biggest-selling English language
novelists in India’s history, Chetan Bhagat is an author, screenwriter,
columnist, and TV personality. He is known for Comedy-drama novels about young
urban middle-class Indians. Some of his famous work includes Five Point
Someone, 2 States, Half Girlfriend, and One Indian Girl.8.
Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa
Lahiri is well known for her novels, essays, and short stories. She was born in
London but relocated to the United States to get her education at Barnard
College. She went ahead for her masters and attained her degree from Boston
University. She was a struggling writer and her work was initially rejected by
the publishers until her biggest success, ‘The Interpreter of Maladies’. This
was a compilation of all her short stories about the life of immigrants in
post-partition India. After the runaway success, she wrote many other novels
which are famous throughout the Indian continent and the world. Some of the
most famous ones are; The namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, and The lowland.9.
Vikram Seth
Vikram
Seth was born in Calcutta, graduated from high school, studied Philosophy,
Politics, and Economics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and graduated with a
B. A. Degree in 1975. From 1975 to 1986, he pursued his Ph.D. at Stanford
University, California, U.S.A. He is best known for his epic novel ‘The
Suitable boy’.10.
Arundhati Roy
Writer, essayist, and political activist,
Arundhati Roy, is best known for her novel The God of Small Things which won
her the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997. Some of her other works include
The Algebra of Infinite Justice, Kashmir: The Case for Freedom, and Capitalism:
A Ghost Story.
