Indian English Literature

172 Pages·0.994 MB·English

by  Krishna Sharma

Indian English Literature

By

Krishna Sharma

Published by-
USHA BOOKS
Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India-203001
Copy right © 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used
by any manner without written permission of copyright owner except
for the quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents
either are the products of author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance of actual persons, living or dead, events or locales
is entirely coincidental.

This Book is dedicated to

My Beloved
Parents
About the Author:
Krishna Sharma is an educator, and writer from Bulandshahr Uttar
Pradesh, India. He did his Bachelor and Master Degree from
Chaudhary Charan Singh University Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He is
best known for his novella ‘Why Modi Became Saint (2019)’. After
passing several exams as net/jrf, set etc, he started his career as
Assistant Professor of English literature in a University in Uttar
Pradesh. He has published many research papers and articles in
various journals and magazines of national and international repute.
Apart from this, he has written several books including ‘Indian
English Literature (2019)’, ‘American Literature (2020)’, Sexual
Life: Secrets of Enjoyment, Worship of Trees: A Way to God.
Apart from this, he has written books in Hindi language. ‘Yon Jeewan
ke Anand ka Rahsyay’ and ‘Ped Podho ki Puja’ are his works in
Hindi language. He is actively involved in guiding students appearing
for various competitive examinations.
He can be reached via:
Twitter- https://www.twitter.com/Krishna39625645
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/krishnasharma987
Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/Krishna-Sharma-
106383487531759

Acknowledgement

Writing a book is harder than I thought and more rewarding than I
could have ever imagined. This book would not have been possible
without the support and encouragement of my parents. Their
blessings are always with me and inspire to do good works. While
writing this book, I had to take the help and guidance of some
respected persons who deserve my deepest gratitude. First of them
is Nikki, my true friend. She inspires me to write this book and
encourage me. Words cannot explain my gratitude towards my
friend. I would like to expand my thanks to Keshav Sharma, an
Engineer who is always supportive and inspirational. I cannot explain
my gratitude in words to Keshav Sharma. In addition I want to pay
the thanks to all those scholars who helped me in libraries where I
spent lot of time with those great personalities. I also want to pay the
thanks to all those people who helped me and inspired me to write
this book.

Preface
There are few books in Indian English literature which satisfy the
requirement of students of Indian English literature particularly for
those who are preparing for competitive examination as NET/JRF.
This book is designed to satisfy them and is presented in a
systematic manner to understand the literature of India in English
clearly and easily. The Book covers all the important writers of
literature especially in India.
Before the compilation of this book, author has consulted various
textbook, periodical and journals from which matters have been
drawn in this book and author heartily acknowledges his
indebtedness for the same. Author has tried his best to provide up-to
date and sincere knowledge although your suggestions for the
improvement of the book will be acknowledged.
My special and sincere regards are due to my parents, family
members and friends who share each and every achievement made
by me and to whom I am very much indebted.
Krishna Sharma

(Author)
Unit – I

In this section we have those writers who are considered Legends of
Indian English literature. Their contribution to Indian English
literature is unforgettable. These writers were among those people
who fought with struggles and made sure that their country man may
live pleasant life
English is a foreign language but since the British came to India
the language has had an impact on several fields—in education,
literary effort and as a medium of communication. Indian who writes
in the English language and whose native language could be one of
the several regional and indigenous languages of India. English
literature in India is linked with the works of writers of the Indian
diaspora born in India but living abroad. In the beginning, however
political writing in the novel or essay format was dominant as can be
seen in Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s works. An outstanding Indo-
Anglican was Aurobindo Ghose whose magnificent work is Savitri,
an epic. In prose his most popular work is ‘The Life Divine’ outlining
his metaphysics in a rich language.
Ravindra Nath Tagore was other prominent figure of this age. He
was the first person from Asia to win the Noble Prize. He is
considered among greatest writers of all ages. Some of Tagore’s
works were originally written in English and others in Bangla. He
attracted the Intellectuals of literature all around the world toward
Indian literature and religion. Another writer of this era was Sarojini
Naidu,the Nightingale of India, who rendered familiar things with an
essence of color and romance. The Golden Threshold, The Bird of
Time and The Broken Wings are her important works.
In the genre of novel, three early writers made a mark. Mulk Raj
Anand’s Coolie, Untouchable, The Big Heart and other novels are
about the under privileged in India. R K Narayana has become
famous for creating the imaginary town ‘Malgudi’ as the locale for his
novels. He has a humorous manner and an eye for the comic in the
world around him. His works include Swami and Friends, The Dark
Room, The Guide, Waiting for Mahatama and The Man Eater of
Malgudi. Raja Rao is also a prominent writer of this age. He has
written several good works. He is a good short story writer also.
Among his famous works are ‘Kanthapura’, The Serpent and the
Rope’ and ‘The Cat and the Shakespeare’. Khushwant Singh (Train
to Pakistan), Bhabani Bhattacharya ( So Many Hungers, He Who
Rides Tiger, Music for Mohini) are other Indian novelists famous for
their writing in English.
In the recent past, we have had fresh talent. Salman Rushdie is one
of them. He has written lot of good works. His work Midnight’s
Children had become a rage around the world, winning the Booker
Prize. He got ‘Fatwa’ for his work ‘Satanic Verses’ from fanatics of
muslim community but Rushdie keep continue writing.
The mid-20th century Indian literature in English had witnessed the
emergence of poets such as Nissim Ezekiel (The Unfurnished Man),
AK Ramanujan (The Striders, Relations, Second Sight and Selected
Poems) etc.
If we talk about female figure of this age then the name of Kamla
Das, Toru Dutt, Amrita Pritam are considered with respect. Toru Dutt
is an immortal figure. Her style was Keatsian. ‘Our Casuarina Tree’ is
her famous poems. She left a unforgettable memories with her
works. Her name is taken with respect in the field of literature.
Another figure of this age is confessional poet Kamla Das. She is
well known for her confessional poetry. My Grandmother’s House,
Alphabet of Lust and My Story are her best works. Her open and
honest treatment of female sexuality, free from any sense of guilt,
infused her writing with power and she got hope after freedom, but
also marked her as an iconoclast in her generation. Amrita Pritam is
another big figure of this age. She is considered first prominent poet
of Punjabi language of this century. She has written several works
and many of her works have been translated into English and other
languages. The Pinjar is among her best works.
Thus we can say that this when it was tough for women to cross
the house wall, these women wrote in English and touch the crucial
topics in their writings. These women writers paved way for other
women to fight for their rights. Works of these women writers are
also considered path breaking creations in the field of literature.
These writers make use of Indian phrases alongside English words
and have tried to reproduced a blend of the Indian and the Western
cultures. While Indian poets, novelists, essayists, dramatists have
been making momentous and considerable contributions to world
literature since the pre independence era, the last few years have
witnessed a thriving of Indian English writing in the global market.
The works of Indian writers in English are often to be found on the
best seller list. They are also incurring and earning an immense
amount of critical fame.
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NISSIM EZEKIEL: (1924-2004)- Nissim Ezekiel was an Indian
Jewish poet play wright and critic .He was Born in Bombay
Maharashtra . His father was a professor and his mother was
principal of her own school .He belongs to Mumbai’s Marathi
speaking Jewish community known as the Bene Israel.
He is acclaimed as the father of post- independence Indian English
verse. He is a trend-setter, who started modernity in Indian English
poetry. A group of contemporary IndianEnglish poets follow the
simple, conversational style of Ezekiel. Not only in the style but also
in the selection of themes one finds the influence of Ezekiel in the
contemporary Indian English poets. He showed a much greater tilt
towards literature.
As a Man of letters Nissim Ezekiel is a ‘Protean Figure’. His
achievements as a poet and playwright are considerable. His
versatile genius can be found in his poetry, plays, criticism,
Journalism and translation. He is a widely travelled man and
delivered lecture in U.S.A, Australia and England as well as given
poetry reading in those countries. He worked as a professor and
Head of the Department of English at the Mumbai University.
Nissim Ezekiel is also known as the Psychologist and poet of the
mind. He shows a marked tendency to probe the human mind, and
his poems reveal not only the conscious but also the sub–conscious
thoughts and conflicts of human beings, and more particularly, his
own thoughts and conflicts. Indeed, his primary concern is with man
and man’s mind. The poem entitled ‘Case, Study’ is one of his
several attempts at an exploration of his own mind. Here he portrays
his own personality and his mind, though he appears here in
disguise, making it seems that he is portraying somebody else. Self-
exploration is also very much in evidence in the poem entitled
‘London’. Here the protagonist is searching and probing and the