Salman Rushdie recently made a controversial remark that India’s English authors are producing a far more significant body of work than the regional writers. While the Indian readers, especially those familiar with regional writing would be discerning enough to take his opinion with a pinch of salt, the controversy has sparked a discussion about regional writing. Such is the conspicuous absence of it in popular media that a young Indian who has grown up in the Google era would be forgiven for thinking that Indian writing means Chetan Bhagat, Amit Chaudhri, Arundhati Roy, and the likes. No disrespect to any of these authors, but it is time to pay attention to the best of Indian writing in regional languages. With this aim, a list of top 10 contemporary non-English Indian writers from across the country is given below:
M.T. Vasudevan Nair - Malayalam: One of the most respected and popular Malayalam writers today, M.T as he is known, has carved a space for himself even in the mind of younger generation with his well-crafted novels and short stories, many of which have been adapted into movies. ‘Nalukettu’, ‘Asuravithu’, and ‘Manju’ are but some of this master storyteller’s creations. M.T has received many awards and accolades including the Jnanpith award (1995), the most renowned Indian literature prize.
U.R. Ananthamurthy - Kannada: Ananthamurthy holds a place among the greatest contemporary writers of India for his works like Samskara, Bhava, Bharathi Pura, and Avasthe. An iimportant representative of the ‘Navya’ movement (the new movement) in Kannada literature, his literary works delve into the psychological conflicts faced by people in unusual and artificial circumstances. His works have been translated into several Indian and European languages and have been awarded with significant literary prizes, including the Jnanpith award and ‘Padma Bhushan’. Ananthamurthy’s works examine the caste system, religious rules and traditions as well as the ambivalent relationship between the handed down cultural value system and the new values of a changing world.
Ashokamitran - Tamil: One of the most influential figures in modern Tamil literature, Ashokamitran began his literary career with the prize winning play ‘Anbin Parisu’. He has written over 200 short stories, eight novels, and around 15 novellas besides other prose writings. His talent lies in providing insights to bigger social issues through seemingly simple and satirical portrayal of everyday life and its prosaic concerns.
Indira Goswami - Assamese: Hers is a celebrated name in the field of Asomiya literature for her achievements as an editor, poet, professor, scholar and writer. She is the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award (1982), the Jnanpith Award (2000) and is also India’s first Principal Prince Claus Laureate (2008). Her work has been performed on stage and in film. The film Adajya is based on her novel won international awards. She strives to blend scholarliness with creativity. And prefers to gain firsthand experience of her topics. Goswami’s writing have been characterised by the focus on women and the cultural and political construct of the Assamese society. ‘Datal Hantir Une Khowa Howdah’, ‘Mamare Dhara Tarwal’, ‘Nilakanthi Braja’, and ‘Tej aru Dhulire Dhusarita Prshtha’ are some of her widely read works.
Mahasweta Devi - Bengali: One of the most famous and outspoken author of Bengali literature, Mahasweta Devi has a prolific literary career behind her and a plenitude of awards including the Jnanpith and Magsaysay awards to show for it. Starting with her first book, ‘Jhansir Rani’ in 1956, Devi has published twenty collections of short stories and close to a hundred novels in the last forty years. She cleverly plays with black humour and local dialects to portray the plight of the marginalised sections of the society, especially the tribal communities and landless labourers. The result is a body of literature that shines with intellectual quality and freshness.
Sarojini Sahoo - Oriya: Her novel ‘Gambhiri Ghara’ proved to be a bestseller in Oriya literature. Her novels have gained a reputation for their feminist outlook and sexual frankness. Sarojini Sahoo is a key figure and trendsetter of feminism in contemporary Indian literature. Sahoo accepts feminism as an integral part of femaleness separate from the masculine world. She has won the Orissa Sahitya Akademi Award, Jhankar Award, Bhubaneswar Book Fair Award, Prajatantra Award, and Ladli Media Award.
Krishna Sobti - Hindi: Krishna Sobti is widely known as the ‘grande dame’ of Hindi literature and rightly so. With her uncanny ability to breath in an authentic touch to her themes and situations, she has won her place in the masculine world of Hindi literature. She has won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980 and Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1996 along with many other awards. While ‘Dara se bichuri’, ‘Surajmukhi andhere ke’, ‘Yaaron Ke Yaar’, ‘Zindaginama’ are some of her famous works, she is best known for her 1966 novel ‘Mitro Marajani’, an unapologetic portrayal of a married woman's sexuality.
Ashok Vajpayee - Hindi: Ashok Vajpeyee has enlivened India’s cultural space as a Hindi poet-critic, translator, editor and culture-activist. With more than 13 books of poetry, 7 of criticism in Hindi and 3 books on art in English to his credit, he is widely recognised as an outstanding promoter of culture and an innovative institution-builder. He has won several awards including the Dayawati Kavi Shekhar Samman, Kabir Samman, and the Sahitya Akademi Award. He has also been recognized by the governments of Poland and France for his numerous cultural contributions.
Bhalachandra Nemade - Marathi: Nemade, a leading Marathi novelist, poet and literary critic has held important positions in the nation’s key literary institutions like the Sahitya Akademi. Though his first novel, ‘Kosala’, considered a modern classic, Nemade succeeded in establishing the modernist trend in Marathi literature. This was followed by other novels and poetry, whose depth in portrayal of Marathi culture and its indigenous lifestyle, gave him eminence among contemporary Marathi writers. ‘Tikasvayavara’, a highly acclaimed body of literary criticism, won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1990.
Varsha Adalja - Gujarati: Varsha Adalja excels in donning multiple roles, as a fiction writer and essayist in both Gujarati and Hindi, as a dramatist, and as a playwright. Her writings have focused on the conflicts of women in contemporary Indian middle class society. She has won several awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award, Soviet Land Nehru Award, and Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Award.
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Nayana has a diverse academic background, with Bachelor's degree in Tourism Management followed by an MBA in rural management from a Tier 1 management school of India. She is passionate about creative writing and has published articles in several magazines. Her professional experience in public policy research and project management has prepared her for technical and analytical writing based on extensive research.
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