Modern Indian Writers
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages. The earliest works of Indian literature were orally transmitted. Indian literature, writings of the Indian subcontinent, produced there in a variety of vernacular languages, including Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, Bengali, Bihari, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Lahnda, Siraiki, and Sindhi,
Rita Chowdhury(Born in 1960)
- Rita came into limelight in the Assamese literature with the publication of her very first novel,namely Abirata Jatra(Incessant Journey).
- She is a poetess and a perfect academician as well. She has been involved in thorough research work on the indigenous communities of Assam.
- The findings of her research work depict in her poems and novels.
- Rita Chowdhary's famous novels are:
- Maha Jibanar Adharshila(Foundation Stone of a Great Life)
- Popiya Torarxandhu(Tale of a Meteor)
- Thirthabhumi(The Shrine).
- She was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for her work are:
- Deo Langkhui(The Divine Sword).
- Makam(The Golden Horse)
- Her magnum opus,reveals the deportation of the Chinese-origin people in Assam during the Indo- China warin 1962.
- She is the current director of the National Book Trust.
Valkom Muhammad Basheer （1908-1994)
- Basheer is loving called'Beypore Sultan' （the king of Beypore).
- He is a big name in Malayalam literature.
- He is also known forhis use of the language of the common man,instead of the use of standardized Malayalam.
- He is a short-story writer and a novelist
- . Many of hisworks,like
- Mathilukal(The Walls),
- Balyakalasakhi(The Childhood Friend)
- Neelavelicham(The Blue Light)
- Have been adapted into Malyalam films.
- His works largely talk about satire and humour.Basheer is a humanist and mystic at heart,explored the depths of human relationship in writing.
- He travelled a lot and the experience he came across made into his stories.
- Basheer is also a freedom fighter.
- The Government of India,awarded him Padma Shri in 1982 in recognition of his works.
Mahasweta Devi(Born in 1926)
- Mahashweta is a famous Bengali writer and 22 2activist.
- She has championed the cause of the downtrodden section of the Indian society.Mahasweta's many of early novels are set during the British Raj.
- In her work,whichinclude the Sahitya Akademi winner novelAranyer Adhikar(The occupation of the forest).
- She has written about the ruthless exploitation of the tribal and indigenous people.
- Mahasweta was given due credit for her lifetime contribution in literature and social service with the following awards:
- Sahitya Akademi Award in 1979,
- The Padma Shri Award in 1986,
- The Jnanpith Award in 1996,
- Raman Magaysaya Award in 1997
- The Padma Vibushan in 2006.
Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy(1932-2014)
- Anananthamurthy is a prominent writeramong those who rammed against the rigidity of conventional beliefs.
- His novel Samskara,which got published in 1965, aroused a great curiosity in the literary world.
- The novel shows a Brahmin agrahara-an exclusive settlement-like the one in which Ananthamurthy was himself born and brought up.
- Later,this novel's film adaptions"started the'parellel cinema' movement in Kannada, Bara, Avaste Mount and Diksh are the films which revolve around his novels
- He also considered as one of the key proponents of the Navya (new) movement in Kannada literature. Indian Government honored win Padma Bhushan in 1998 in recognition of his works.
Ismat Chugtai(1915-1991)
- She was a born rebel writer of Urdu.
- Shewas Urdu's courageous and controversialwriter in 20th century.
- Her parents were traditional,so initially she kept her writingasecret for a long time.
- In her works,at the outset,she raises the topics that were considered taboo in conventional Muslim society.
- Her notablestory Lihaaf(The Quilt)rocked the roots of the orthodox societyof that era.
- The British government charged her with obscenity,as a result she had to face trial for four years before she was acquitted.
- This did not deter Chughtai from venting outvehemently against the restrictions that society imposed on women.
- She also wrote an explicitly feminist novel Ziddi(TheStubbon One)alongwith many other short-story collections. For example: Kaliyan(Buds)and Chotan(The Wounds).
Laxman Gaikwad(Born in 1956)
- Gaikwad is a famous social worker and Marathi writer.
- His works are influenced by his nomadic life in a great way
- He came into limelight with The Branded,a translation of his autobiographical novel Uchalya.
- For this novel,he was awarded with Sahitya Akademi Award and Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar.
- Uchalya brings to light the trials and tribulations of the Uchalya community.
- Since, 1990, Gaikwad has been the President of the Denotified and Nomadic Tribes Organization,an organization which takes care of the tribes.
- Among his other notable works are:
- Chini Mathachi Divas,
- Wadar Vedna, Dubang,
- Samaj, Sahitya Ani Swathantra
- A Swathantra Konasat
Fakir Mohan Senapati(1843-1918)
- Senapati was a short-story writer,novelist,translate and author of special text books.
- This multi-faceted personality juggled multiple roles in is entire career.
- He felt that the people of Odissa had always been oppressed y different colonizers-be it the Bengalis,the Marathas ndthe British.
- Senapati initiated a relentless pursuit to assert a unique Odiya identity.
- The cltural history of Odisha would be incomplete without the contribution of Senapati.
- His novels are:
- Chha manaAtha Gunth
- Mamu and Prayaschita deal with the realities of sociallife
- While Lachhama is a historical romance,showcasing the disturbance in the wake of Maratha attack during the 18th century.
- Senapati has the credit to erite the first biography in Odiya, Atma Jeevan Charita.
