Indian Authors and Books

interesting list - I see none of the IIT/IIM grad books are listed, and where are the Rushdies?

You missed few others, guess which ones ?

Aaman, to my knowledge Raj Kamal Jha is an IIT'an from KGP.

Kishore, I missed to mention this, why is Vikram Chandra not there :( ( I liked his 'Love and Longing in Bombay' and 'Red Earth and Pouring Rain' )

Here is a brief background of these authors:

Raj Kamal Jha - After graduating from IIT, he went to the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of Southern California, where he received his M.A. in 1990.

Kiran Desai: Left India at the age of 14; completed her schooling in Massachusetts before attending Bennington College; Hollins University and Columbia University, where she studied creative writing.

Jhumpa Lahiri - born in London, brought up in America; received her B.A. in English literature from Barnard College in 1989. She then received multiple degrees from Boston University: an M.A. in English, an M.A. in Creative Writing, an M.A. in Comparative Literature and a Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies

Ashok Banker: unknown figure

Salman Rushdie: educated at Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai and Rugby School and King's College, Cambridge, where he read history.

Kamala Das: converted to Islam in 1999 and explains it thus: "Two plain reasons lured me to Islam One is the Purdah. Second is the security that Islam provides to women. In fact, both these reasons are complementary. Purdah is the most wonderful dress for women in the world. And I have always loved to wear the Purdah. It gives women a sense of security. Only Islam gives protection to women. I have been lonely all through my life. At nights, I used to sleep by embracing a pillow. But I am no longer a loner. Islam is my company. Islam is the only religion in the world that gives love and protection to women. Therefore, I have converted"

Vikram Seth: completed his A-levels at Tonbridge School in Kent, England, and read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He undertook doctoral studies at Stanford University where he has stated that he spent "11 years (from 1975 to 1986) not getting an economics Ph.D." While formally engaged in postgraduate economics courses at Stanford he also undertook poetics studies -- he was Wallace Stegner Fellow in Creative Writing in 1977-1978

The very first thing that strikes me is that virtually none of these writers have formal training or knowledge in Indian epistemology, categories of thought, philosophies etc. Quite the opposite, these folks all appear to be well trained experts in western philosophy, history etc. Not sure how they can ever think about, write about or understand India in any depth.

#4 Sanjay Garg:

Interesting observations.

The authors you have listed don't write about Indian culture, history or lifestyle. They are mostly fiction writers whose cultural variegation actually adds to the richness and credibility of their stories.

Just as an example: Jhumpa Lahiri in The Namesake explores the life of an immigrant couple and the self-actualization journey of their son. This immigrant experience could've been detailed best by somebody who has lived through it.

Personally, I don't believe story-telling requires formal training: it may require one to have had an interesting life or plenty journeys which favorably enrich one's perspectives and add to the realism of their stories.

The formal training may help people get the technical drift of a literary occupation but I have always felt that the creativity itself probably stems from experience and observations. I dunno, those among us who are in creative writing/ journalism programs may be able to shed more light on this area.

On that note: Shobha De has lived most of her life in India and received her formal education there. But have you ever read some of her socialite narrations? Hardly Indian in context or depiction I would say, no?