INDIAN

LITERATURE
 INTRODUCTION:

Indian English literature (IEL) is the body of

work by writers in India who write in the
English language and whose native or co-native
language could be one of the numerous
languages of India. It is also associated with the
works of members of the Indian diaspora who
are of Indian descent.
 HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until
1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22
officially recognized languages. The earliest works of Indian literature were
orally transmitted. Sanskrit literature begins with the oral literature of the Rig
Veda a collection of sacred hymns dating to the period 1500–1200 BCE. The
Sanskrit epics Ramayana and Mahabharata appeared towards the end of the 2nd
millennium BCE. Classical Sanskrit literature developed rapidly during the first
few centuries of the first millennium BCE, as did the Tamil Sangam literature,
and the Pāli Canon . In the medieval period, literature in Kannada and Telugu
appeared in the 9th and 11th centuries respectively. Later, literature in Marathi,
Odia and Bengali appeared. Thereafter literature in various dialects of Hindi,
Persian and Urdu began to appear as well. Early in the 20th century, Bengali
poet Rabindranath Tagore became India's first Nobel laureate in literature. In
contemporary Indian literature, there are two major literary awards; these are the
Sahitya Akademi Fellowship and the Jnanpith Award. Eight Jnanpith Awards
each have been awarded in Hindi and Kannada, followed by five in Bengali and
Malayalam, four in Odia, four in Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu and Urdu, two each
in Assamese and Tamil, and one in Sanskrit.
 CHARACTERISTICS:

Characteristics of Indian Literature in English.

Based on the ancient history of India dominated
by Brahmins, the upper educated ruling priestly
class, Religion (Spirituality) was the primary
concern. Attaining heaven (Mukti) and
Reincarnation are the two main focus of
Hinduism.
AUTHORS YOU MUST READ INDIAN FLAG:
 CHETAN BHAGAT

- is 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.
- an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter and motivational speaker,
known for his Indian-English novels about young middle class Indians.
Bhagat writes columns on youth, career development and current affairs for
The Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar.
CHETAN BHAGAT
 AMRITA PRITAM

- Pritam indulged in poetry and literature at a very young age which

influenced 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.
- was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and
Hindi. She is considered the first prominent woman Punjabi poet, novelist,
essayist and the leading 20th-century poet of the Punjabi language, who is
equally loved on both sides of the India-Pakistan border.
AMRITA PRITAM
 JHUMPA LAHIRI

-
- Laihiri 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 from the
Barnard College. She went ahead for her masters and attained her degree from
the 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 being; The namesake, Unaccustomed Earth and
The lowland.
- Nilanjana Sudeshna "Jhumpa" Lahiri is an American author known for her
short stories, novels and essays in English, and, more recently, in Italian.
JHUMPA LAHIRI
 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).
- - Khushwant Singh was an Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist
and politician. His experience in the 1947 Partition of India inspired him
to write Train to Pakistan in 1956, which became his most well-known
novel.
KHUSHWANT SINGH
 R.K. NARAYAN

- He was born in Chennai and due to his father’s transfers had to move
around therefore changed many schools. His interest in reading was evident
since 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 wrote
many novels after this which were published and soon became a well
renowned author during his time in India.
- Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami, was an Indian writer
known for his works set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He
was a leading author of early Indian literature in English along with Mulk
Raj Anand and Raja Rao.
R. K. NARAYAN
 RABINDRANATH TAGORE

- Even though Tagore received his education in law he took great interest
in Shakespeare and his 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.
- - Rabindranath Tagore FRAS, and also known by his sobriquets
Gurudev, Kabiguru, and Biswakabi, was a polymath, poet, musician,
and artist from the Indian subcontinent. He reshaped Bengali literature
and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE
 RUSKIN BOND

- Bond was born in Punjab, British Indian and attained his education in
Shimla and after completion of 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 editor in various magazines. It wasn’t until
1980 his novel was published which became widely admired amongst
readers. His best known work is ‘The blue umbrella’, a heartwarming
story read worldwide.
- Ruskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. He lives with his
adopted family in Landour, Mussoorie, India. The Indian Council for Child
Education has recognised his role in the growth of children's literature in
India.
RUSKIN BOND
 VIKRAM SETH

- Seth born in Calcutta, graduated from high school, and 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’.
- Vikram Seth, CBE is an Indian novelist and poet. He has written several
novels and poetry books. He has received several awards such as Padma
Shri, Sahitya Academy Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith
Literary Award and Crossword Book Award.
VIKRAM SETH
 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.
- Suzanna Arundhati Roy is an Indian author best known for her novel
The God of Small Things, which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction
in 1997 and became the biggest-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian
author. She is also a political activist involved in human rights and
environmental causes.
ARUNDHATI ROY
 SARAT CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY

- He belonged to a poverty-stricken family as his father had irregular

jobs. However his father was a dreamer and a writer and it was his
exuberance that inspired Sarat to become a novelist himself. He wrote
his first famous essays only when he was in his teens. Later, he made
contributions to magazines from time to time. Since he was a feminist
Chattopadhyay seemed it was urgent to write about the bigotry and
patriarchal society. His most popular works are; ‘Devdas’ (1901,
published 1917), ‘Parineeta’ (1914), Biraj Bau (1914), and Palli Samaj
(1916).
- Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra
Chatterjee, was a Bengali novelist and short story writer. He is arguably
the most popular novelist in the Bengali language. His notable works
include Devdas, Srikanto, Choritrohin, Grihadaha, etc.
SARAT CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY
 22 LANGUAGE RECOGNIZED BY
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

• Assamese • Maithili
• Nepali • Dogri
• Oriya • Bengali
• Punjabi
• Sanskrit • Gujarati
• Sindhi
• Hindi
• Tamil
• Telugu
• Kannada
• Urdu
• Bodo • Kashmiri
• Santhali • Konkani

• Malayalam
 SANSKRIT IS A LANGUAGE OF ANCIENT INDIA WITH A 3,500-YEAR
HISTORY. IT IS THE PRIMARY LITURGICAL LANGUAGE OF HINDUISM
AND THE PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE OF MOST WORKS OF HINDU
PHILOSOPHY AS WELL AS SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL TEXTS OF
BUDDHISM AND JAINISM.
 THE RIG VEDA IS AN ANCIENT INDIAN
COLLECTION OF VEDIC SANSKRIT HYMNS
ALONG WITH ASSOCIATED COMMENTARIES
ON LITURGY, RITUAL AND MYSTICAL
EXEGESIS. IT IS ONE OF THE FOUR SACRED
CANONICAL TEXTS OF HINDUISM KNOWN AS
THE VEDAS.
RAMAYANA IS ONE OF THE TWO MAJOR SANSKRIT
EPICS OF ANCIENT INDIA, THE OTHER BEING THE
MAHĀBHĀRATA. ALONG WITH THE MAHĀBHĀRATA,
IT FORMS THE HINDU ITIHASA. THE EPIC,
TRADITIONALLY ASCRIBED TO THE RISHI VALMIKI,
NARRATES THE LIFE OF RAMA, THE LEGENDARY
PRINCE OF THE KOSALA KINGDOM.

AUTHOR: VALMIKI
 THE MAHĀBHĀRATA IS ONE OF THE TWO MAJOR
SANSKRIT EPICS OF ANCIENT INDIA, THE OTHER
BEING THE RĀMĀYAṆA. IT NARRATES THE
STRUGGLE BETWEEN TWO GROUPS OF COUSINS IN
THE KURUKSHETRA WAR AND THE FATES OF THE
KAURAVA AND THE PĀṆḌAVA PRINCES AND THEIR
SUCCESSION. ALONG WITH THE EPIC RĀMĀYAṆA, IT
FORMS THE HINDU ITIHASA.

AUTHOR: VYASA
 TAMIL SANGAM THE SANGAM LITERATURE
IS THE ANCIENT TAMIL LITERATURE OF THE
PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF SOUTH INDIA
SPANNING FROM C. 300 BCE TO 300 CE. THIS
COLLECTION CONTAINS 2381 POEMS IN
TAMIL COMPOSED BY 473 POETS, SOME 102
OF WHOM REMAIN ANONYMOUS.
 THE PĀLI CANON IS THE STANDARD
COLLECTION OF SCRIPTURES IN THE
THERAVADA BUDDHIST TRADITION, AS
PRESERVED IN THE PĀLI LANGUAGE. IT IS
THE MOST COMPLETE EXTANT EARLY
BUDDHIST CANON. IT DERIVES MAINLY
FROM THE TAMRASHATIYA SCHOOL.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE FRAS, AND ALSO
KNOWN BY HIS SOBRIQUETS GURUDEV,
KABIGURU, AND BISWAKABI, WAS A
POLYMATH, POET, MUSICIAN, AND ARTIST
FROM THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. HE
RESHAPED BENGALI LITERATURE AND
MUSIC, AS WELL AS INDIAN ART WITH
CONTEXTUAL MODERNISM IN THE LATE
19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES.
* Assamese, is an Eastern Indo-
Aryan language spoken mainly
in the Indian state of Assam,
w h e r e i t i s a n o ff i c i a l l a n g u a g e .
It is the easternmost Indo-
European language, spoken by
over 15 million speakers, and
serves as a lingua franca in the
region.
* Bengali, also known by its
endonym Bangla, is an Indo-Aryan
language primarily spoken by the
Bengalis in South Asia. It is the
official and most widely spoken
language of Bangladesh and second
most widely spoken of the 22
scheduled languages of India,
behind Hindi.
* Gujarati (/ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːti/;
ગુ જ રા તી g u j a r ā t ī [ ɡ u d ʒ ə ˈ ɾ ɑ t i ː ] )
is an Indo-Aryan language
native to the Indian state of
Gujarat and spoken
predominantly by the Gujarati
people. Gujarati is part of the
greater Indo-European language
f a m i l y.
* Hindi, or Modern Standard Hindi
is a standardised and Sanskritised
register of the Hindustani language.
In India, the official standardized
variety of the language is based
primarily on the Khariboli dialect of
Delhi and other nearby areas of
northern India.
 * Kannada is a Dravidian * Konkani is an Indo-Aryan
language spoken predominantly
language spoken by Konkani
by people of Karnataka in
people along the western coast
southwestern India, and by
of India. It is one of the 22
significant linguistic minorities
scheduled languages mentioned
in the states of Maharashtra,
in the 8th schedule of the Indian
A n d h r a P r a d e s h , Ta m i l N a d u ,
C o n s t i t u t i o n a n d t h e o ff i c i a l
Te l a n g a n a , K e r a l a a n d a b r o a d .
language of the Indian state of
The language has roughly 45
million native speakers, who are
Goa. The first Konkani
called Kannadigas. i n s c r i p t i o n i s d a t e d 11 8 7 A . D .

* Kashmiri or Koshur is a language

from the Dardic subgroup of Indo-
Aryan languages, spoken by around
7 million Kashmiris, primarily in
the Indian state of Jammu and
Kashmir. There are also speakers in
parts of the neighbouring Pakistani
territory of Azad Kashmir.
* Malayalam is a Dravidian
language spoken in the Indian state
of Kerala and the union territories
of Lakshadweep and Puducherry by
the Malayali people, and it is one of
22 scheduled languages of India.
 * Manipuri language is the
o ff i c i a l l a n g u a g e i n g o v e r n m e n t
o ff i c e s . M e i t e i l o n i s a l s o s p o k e n
in the Northeast Indian states of
A s s a m a n d Tr i p u r a , a n d i n
Bangladesh and Burma.
* Marathi language is the official
language and co-official language
in the Maharashtra and Goa states
of Western India, respectively, and
is one of the 22 scheduled
languages of India.
* N e p a l i l a n g u a g e i s t h e o ff i c i a l
language of Nepal and one of
the 22 scheduled languages of
India.
* Oriya language is the official
language in Odisha where native
speakers make up 82% of the
population, also spoken in parts of
West Bengal, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh.
 * S in d h i ( /ˈ s ɪn d i/ ; ‫س]]ڌ]ي‬
]‫ن‬ , सि न् ध ी ,
* Panjabi, one of the most , ਸਿ ੰ ਧ ੀ ) i s a n I n d o - A r y an
widely spoken Indo-Aryan l a n gu a g e of t h e h is t o r ic a l
l a n g u a g e s . . . . I t i s t h e o ff i c i a l Si n d h r e g i on in th e n o r th e r n
language of the Indian state of p a r t o f th e I n d ia n
Punjab and is one of the s u b c o n ti n en t , s p o k e n b y th e
languages recognized by the Sin d hi p e o p le . I t i s t h e
Indian constitution. o ff ic ia l la n g u a g e o f t he
P a k is ta n i p r o v in c e o f Si n dh .

* Sanskrit is a language of ancient

India with a 3,500-year history. It is
the primary liturgical language of
* Tamil is a Dravidian language
Hinduism and the predominant
predominantly spoken by the Tamil
language of most works of Hindu
people of India
philosophy as well as some of the
principal texts of Buddhism and
Jainism.
* Te l u g u i s a D r a v i d i a n l a n g u a g e
spoken in the Indian states of
A n d h r a P r a d e s h , Te l a n g a n a a n d
the union territories of
P u d u c h e r r y b y t h e Te l u g u
people. It stands alongside
Hindi, English and Bengali as
one of the few languages with
p r i m a r y o ff i c i a l l a n g u a g e s t a t u s
in more than one Indian state.
* Urdu language is the official
national language and lingua franca
of Pakistan
* Bodo language, a language of
t h e Ti b e t o - B u r m a n b r a n c h o f S i n o -
Ti b e t a n l a n g u a g e s h a v i n g s e v e r a l
dialects. Bodo is spoken in the
northeastern Indian states of Assam
and Meghalaya and in Bangladesh.
I t i s r e l a t e d t o D i m a s a , Tr i p u r a ,
and Lalunga languages, and it is
written in Latin, Devanagari, and
Bengali scripts.
* Santali, also known as Santhali, is
the most widely-spoken language of
the Munda subfamily of the
Austroasiatic languages, related to
Ho and Mundari, spoken mainly in
the Indian states of Assam, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha,
Tripura and West Bengal.
 * Maithili is an Indo-Aryan
language native to the Indian
subcontinent, mainly spoken in
India and Nepal. In India, it is
spoken in the states of Bihar and
Jharkhand and is one of the 22
recognised Indian languages. In
Nepal, it is spoken in the eastern
Terai and is the second most
prevalent language of Nepal.
* Dogri (डोगरी or‫) ڈوگری‬, is an
Indo-Aryan language spoken by
about five million people in India
and Pakistan, chiefly in the Jammu
region of Jammu and Kashmir and
Himachal Pradesh, but also in
northern Punjab, other parts of
Jammu and Kashmir, and
elsewhere.
VEDIC SANSKRIT HYMNS ALONG WITH ASSOCIATED COMMENTARIES
ON LITURGY, RITUAL AND MYSTICAL EXEGESIS. IT IS ONE OF THE
FOUR SACRED CANONICAL TEXTS (ŚRUTI) OF HINDUISM KNOWN AS
THE VEDAS.
 BRAHMIN IS A VARNA IN HINDUISM SPECIALISING AS PRIESTS,
TEACHERS AND PROTECTORS OF SACRED LEARNING ACROSS
GENERATIONS. THE TRADITIONAL OCCUPATION OF BRAHMINS WAS
THAT OF PRIESTHOOD AT THE HINDU TEMPLES OR AT SOCIO-
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND RITE OF PASSAGE RITUALS SUCH AS
SOLEMNISING A WEDDING WITH HYMNS AND PRAYERS.
 TRIVIAS

The most famous works in Sanskrit are the

Hindu holy texts like the Vedas, Upanishads,
and Manusmriti. Another popular literature,
Tamil literature has a richliterary tradition
spanning over 2000 years, and is particularly
known for its poetic nature in the form of epics,
and philosophical and secular works.
 TRIVIAS

Bhartendu Harishchandra is known as

the father of Hindi literature. He is
considered one of the
greatest Hindi writers of modern India.