Novelists of Indian Writing in English are generally regarded as the pillars of Indian writings in English the post colonial Indian literature that with time and again witnessed a revolution against the idiom which the colonial writers followed. Indian English novelists started employing the techniques of mixed language, magic realism garnished with native themes. Hence from a post colonial era Indian English literature ushered into the contemporary and then the post-modern era. The saga of the Indian English novel therefore stands as the tale of changing tradition, the story of a changing India.
Raja Rao, a scholar of profound knowledge in his innovative fiction has induced the spiritual depth of Indian culture. All his writings are infested with the search of fundamental reality of life. Always contemplating writing as a "sadhana", the novels of Raja Rao always radiate a spiritual discipline, whose principle is the realization of Truth itself. Since the reader of his fiction generally comprises the general or the commoners, Raja Rao`s novels are mainly about the individual from the common run of people who are Indians. The novels of Raja Rao are the voice of an ancient, insightful culture that speaks to the modern world. Shifted from the European tradition, he emphasized collecting materials from Indian literary tradition. Rao`s novels on the obvious level depict the human condition than delineating any particular nation or ethnic group. The fictional house of raja Rao is fabricated on the Metaphysical and linguistic speculation of the Indians, hence his novels are highly acclaimed in all the generations for ages. Kanthapura, The Serpent and the Rope, Comrade Kirrilov, The Cat and Shakespeare, The Chessmaster and his moves are some of his novels.
R. K. Narayan with the outlook of a blas‚ life infested with simplicity and gentle humour. His novels verbalize the down to earth life of the common ordinary individuals thriving to intermix tradition with modernization, thereby resulting in a tragicomic situation. A sensitive and prolific writer R. K Narayan has made a thorough psychological probing of the individuals in the society and thus his novels are psycho anatomy on the obvious level. Not only the human condition, have his novels rather depicted certain truths of human life, which makes his novels more acclaimed among the common people. Swami and Friends, The Guide, The English Teacher, The Dark Room, Mr. Sampath, The Financial Expert, Waiting For The Mahatma, The Bachelor of Arts, are some of his famous novels.
Khushwant Singh a proper emblem of the transition age had minutely observed the effects of partition of India. The novels probe deep into the human condition ultimately depicting the facts that everyone is equally at fault and that placing blame was irrelevant. Train to Pakistan, A history of the Sikhs and Delhi are some of the famous novels of Khushwant Singh.
Amitav Ghosh is another worshipped novelist whose novels have earned him a prestigious position amidst India. Calcutta Chromosomes, The Shadow Lines, Sea of Poppies, The Circle of Reason are some of his outstanding works. The title "the shadow lines" philosophically unfolds the inner struggle of mankind in choosing the light and darkness, which is again symbolically presented in the novel. Enlaced with post colonialism, the fictional writings of Amitava Ghosh are enthused with strong themes. One of the significant attribute as is noted in his fictions is that, though his novels are silhouetted with strong themes, the novels do not exude any formulaic ideas.
Arriving amidst the Indian literary scenario when the socio-cultural ethos of India was swamped with contracted walls of casteism, Mulk Raj Anand with a masterful artistry etched out the cultural and social tribulations and the predicament of the deprived belonging to the lower caste according to the social niche. His novels Coolie, The Untouchable, Two leaves and a bud are all examples of his probing penetration into the nooks and corners of the contemporary Indian society and portraying the ills of the same.
Even Chetan Bhagat with his The Three mistakes of my life, One Night @ The Call centre, and Five Point someone- what not to do at IIT have placed Chetan Bhagat in a stature from which popular culture has gained a lot of momentum.
The list of Indian women novelists comprises Anita Desai, Shobha De, Nergis Dalal, Krishna Sobti, Dina Mehta, Indira Goswami, Malati Chendur, Gauri Deshpande, Bharati Mukherjee, Namita Gokhale, Ruth Jhabvala, Nayantara Sahgal, Kamala Das and many more popular names. It is believed that the desi version of the foreign varieties is comparatively more deadly and this fact is proved by the novels of these authors. The novels of authors like Namita Gokhale or Shobha De are really out-spoken. Most of these female novelists are known for their bold views that are reflected in their novels. Basically, these are the novels of protest and an outburst of reservations and contaminations. Unlike the past, where the works of women novelists were given less priority and were actually undervalued, classification of feministic or male writings hardly makes any sense today. Arun Joshi, Manju Kapur, Anurag Mathur, Kamala Markandya, Ruskin Bond, Nirmal Verma, Gautam Bhatia, Gurcharan Das, Amit Chaudhuri and Sunetra Gupta are the other notable novelists of Indian English.
