As one commentator observed, many South Asian writers began their careers in the eighties and nineties as “Rushdie’s children”, and there was a glut of forgettable novels written in the magic realist style, replete with separated twins, talking animals, filmi references, and miraculous talents. Yet the best of this (slightly) younger generation of writers - Vikram Seth, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Chandra, Arundhati Roy, and Rohinton Mistry - either avoided magic realism altogether, or worked with it before moving on to experiment with other forms," wrote Claire Chambers in an article titled-'South Asian writers making waves'.
Like Chambers rightly said, these authors spoke about the 'Real India' we live in which is replete with poverty (portrayed widely in the western movies), Bollywood, hero worship, corruption, Red tapism, politics, the great Indian middle class, chaos, madness-all these elements served with oodles of humour.
Indian writing in English has been acclaimed around the world for its innovation, radical new approaches to the art of story telling and reworking of language.
While the older generation continues to produce literary masterworks, a newer generation of writing talent has emerged, ensuring that the fountain of imagination in the country does not run dry.
Here is a list of some of the Indian authors who took the literary world by storm:
Salman Rushdie: He may no longer dominate the best seller lists as he once used to, but he still wields enormous influence and remains much admired among Indian writers in English. His second book, Midnight’s Children, won the Booker of Bookers prize in 1993 and 2008 - an award that honoured the best book to ever win the Booker prize.
Arundhati Roy: If Rushdie’s work liberated Indian writing from the colonial straitjacket, Arundhati’s Roy’s book, The God of Small Things, radically changed perceptions about Indian authors with her commercial success. She won the Booker prize and remained on the top of the New York Times bestseller list for a long time. With her also started the trend of large advances, hitherto unheard of among Indian writers.
Vikram Seth: He made headlines when he received an enormous advance for his novel, A Suitable Boy (1993).
The 1,474 page novel of post-independence India became and overnight bestseller and garnered Seth worldwide fame.
His last book was the memoir, Two Lives, published in 2005. A Suitable Girl, his eagerly awaited sequel to A Suitable Boy, is due to be published in 2013.
Amit Chaudhuri: He is probably the only Indian writer to be as renowned for his literary works as his musical career. An accomplished classical singer, he has performed in India, the UK and the US and has also released an album titled This is Not Fusion.
Chaudhuri’s books have won his numerous awards around the globe, including the Los Angeles Times book prize in 2003 for Freedom Song. His latest novel, The Immortals (2009) combines his love for music and literature and has won critical acclaim for its depiction of the pleasures of music.
Kiran Desai: In 2006, Kiran Desai became the second Indian woman to win the Man Booker prize for her second novel, The Inheritance of Loss.
The daughter of eminent Indian novelist Anita Desai, Kiran Desai is at the vanguard of a new generation of Indian writers in English exploring themes of globalisation and exploitation in 21st century India.
Aravind Adiga: A former journalist with Time magazine, Adiga’s first novel, The White Tiger (2008) won the Man Booker prize, making him the fourth Indian novelist do so.
The White Tiger explored the dark underbelly of the new, modern India and was a fixture on best seller lists across the country.