"Indian Authors" Tag

Since most of the comments on Uma Rao were of the kind “Where did you find this?”, and since I am taking a summer break from “Detectives” series, I think it is time to finish a tag pending for many a weeks.It’s about 3 weeks since Amrita at IndieQuill tagged me with the Indian Authors tag. Though the rules of the tag are pretty simple (just list Indian authors you have read/want to read), I am taking it up now after a long time.

Since the tag is (or seems) customizable, I will split the list into two categories:

English Writers:

• Ashok Banker: I have read many a rave reviews of his “Ramayana” series, and spent many more days searching for the books in libraries nearby. Since my book-buying policy (for now) consists of reading a book from Library before reading it, this series (and consequently the author) continue to remain at the top of my “To Be Read” list.
• Mahesh Dattani: I haven’t read “Uma Rao”, but have heard it through BBC series “Ladies of Mystery”. Even though I am unlikely to find any more content (given that the format is unchanged – drama), the content was more than enough to raise my interest.
• Shashi Tharoor: It is not a secret that I find “The Great Indian Novel” to be… well, Great. But unfortunately, lack of time and exams meant that I could not get around to reading “Showbiz” or “Riot” (and the thing that I rue more is that a mistaken day meant that I could not get my copy of Novel signed by him). In fact, I am impressed enough by Shashi Tharoor to give even “Bookless in Baghdad” a try.
• Anurag Mathur: The first time I came across Anurag Mathur was when I read “The Department of Denials”. Though the plotline seems in places far-fetched in search of humour, the description of workings of government and those in and around it does bring a smile to your faces. Surely his more famous “The Inscrutable Americans” and “Making Minister Smile” would be equally humorous, if not more.
• Jhumpa Lahiri: One of my “Monthly Projects” in recent future would be to read Jhumpa Lahiri, given what I have read about the books.

Now, to go “The Regional Route” as Amrita calls it. The list of Regional Writers (most of whose works are available in english, unless mentioned otherwise):

• Satyajit Ray: From detective stories, to sci-fi stories to ghost/horror stories, Ray has created a great list of literature. Worthy read for anybody.
• Shiwaji Sawant: Shiwaji Sawant won numerous awards for his semi-autobiographical (as narrated by Karna and others) novel, “Mrutyunjaya” (meaning “conqueror of death”), on the life of Karna. His other novels, including “Chhava” (meaning “lion cub”- based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji) and “Yugandhar” (on Krishna, in a format similar to Mrityunjaya) are not far behind in terms of writing genius either.
• Pu. La. Deshpande: Unfortunately I haven’t come across many of his books which are available in translated format, but this great Marathi writer continues to dominate the literature. (I have written about his book, “Vyakti ani Valli” earlier).
• Babasaheb Purandare: Known affectionately as “Shivshahir” (loosely translated, “Bard of Shivaji”), Babasaheb Purandare has dedicated his life to Chhatrapati Shivaji. The fruit of his ceaseless struggle to find and display the history of Maharashtra’s golden period is the biography written by him, “Raja Shivchhatrapati”. Of course, his fictional novels set in that period also show his love for history, and the firm grasp of historical facts as well as lyrical genius.

Well, I can continue the list for another two or three posts, but I think I should stop here to tag some people.

I tag Princess Stephania, Sid, Neihal, Cuckoo, and anybody else who wants to take up the tag. The task is pretty simple, just list Indian authors whose books you have read or want to read. Go for English authors or take a dip in memory sea by writing about regional ones, any way you like. So go for it…

Quote of The Day:

The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.
- Edwin Schlossberg

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