CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION: WOMEN WRITERS IN INDIAN ENGLISH

LITERATURE: A BRIEF REVIEW

The novel, the genre of imaginative literature which gives an artistic form to the

relationship of man with his environment, is relatively a delayed manifestation of Indian

imagination and so far as, the Indian English novel is concerned, it emerged gradually in

the second half of the 19th century. Bankim Chandra Chatteijee who wrote the first

English novel, Rajmohan’s Wife in 1864 was the pioneer of Indian English novel. It is

interesting to note that the Indian novel emerged at different times and different regions

but almost everywhere the first to emerge has been the historical romance. In the very

early days no socially or politically important things were preferred by the novelists.

They were, on the other hand, happy with legendary, historical and plain domestic

stories. It is after 1920s, what is called Gandhian or Heroic age, themes of social and

national problems were dealt with. K.S. Venkatramani’s Kandan, the Patriot and

Murugan, the Tiller are based on Gandhian principles.

In the 1930s, the era of ‘Trimurthy’ begins. Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and

Raja Rao are major contributors of this era. William Walsh used the phrase ‘Big Three’

for these eminent writers. Mulk Raj Anand, the eldest of the three was the most prolific

writer. Anand’s fiction obtained popularity in its vast range, living characters, its ruthless

realism and its strong humanitarian compassion. He discussed contemporary social and

political problems in his novels. R. K. Narayan’s fiction is imbued with a strong ‘sense of

place’. Malgudi, an imaginary small town in South India was his setting which develops

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from novel to novel. Narayan relies on keen observation and steady accumulation of

small details than on evocative description. Raja Rao, the youngest of the trio, concerned

with spiritual values. He evokes the Gandhian age in his novels. His position in Indian

English fiction is as the finest painter of East- West confrontation, as symbolist, stylist

and philosophical novelist. The theme of social realism is continued by novelists like

Bhabani Bhattacharya, Manohar Malgonkar and Khushwant Singh.

The independence movement releases the traditional Indian woman’s self. The

freedom for Indian woman is freedom from male-dominated and male-ordained social

and cultural norms. Indian society is male-dominated society in which woman is

considered as an inferior object. Patriarchy had forced woman to be totally devoted to the

male in social, cultural, political and economical spheres. But now in post-independent

India woman has improved her sense of self - identity. Compared to other forms of

literature, it is in the novel that the women novelists have portrayed their feelings and

thoughts more realistically.

The place of women in Indian English Literature is significant one. In earlier

fiction, especially the fiction written by male novelists, woman is presented as a symbol

of virtues and not as a living human being. In their fiction women are portrayed in

various roles such as dutiful daughter, sacrificing mother, devotional wife and redundant

widow. Sometimes, woman’s role is portrayed by the novelists in a negative sense.

Society expects that woman’s role in literature should be an ideal one. Though we say

that literature is a reflection of society, woman’s picture is many a times imaginary one.

However, the women novelists portrayed the realistic picture of woman through literature

as they know the real problems of women and they also express their own experiences

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through their fiction. They focused on the reality of woman’s life such as her devotion,

sacrifice and alienation.

In the middle of the 19th century the fiction of women novelists in English

obtained a separate identity and many renowned women novelists like Jane Austen,

George Eliot, Bronte Sisters, and Virginia Woolf proved greater than men qualitatively.

They established their own great tradition. Through their novels they described their

powers, their inspirations, their weaknesses and their self-realization. Indian women

writers writing in English have raised their voice against gender bias and male

chauvinism in the patriarchal Indian society. In fiction there is a plentiful expression of

feminine sensibility.

In India Torn Dutt, the well-known poetess wrote a novel in English and since

then many women writers like Krupabai Sathianathan, Shevanthi Bai Nikambe, Raj

Lakshmi Debi, Cornelia Sorabji, Swama Kumari Ghosal, and Iqbalunnisa Hussain too

have made their mark in Indian fiction in English. After the Second World War there has

been a galaxy of accomplished women novelists whose works are now an integral part of

literature. Novelists like Kamala Markandaya, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Nayantara Sahgal,

Anita Desai, Attia Hossain and many others articulate the content of their novels with

remarkable excellence. The key of the success of women novelists lies in the fact that

women are bom storytellers and they are endowed with the gift of delving into the human

mind and heart with sympathy, sensitivity and understanding.

Kamala Markandaya is a well-known novelist in Indian English Literature. She is

an expatriate and her fiction offers a greater variety of setting and character. Markandaya

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concentrates on contemporary Indian social, economic, political and cultural problems.

Her first novel Nectar In A Sieve (1954) deals with a realistic picture of the Indian

villagers, their customs, cultures and traditions. The theme of the novel is the identity

crisis resulting from a clash between western value systems and Indian value systems.

Her second novel Some Inner Fury (1955) focuses on the major thematic concern of East-

West encounter. Her third novel A Silence of Desire (1960) deals with the layers of

spiritual reality and mystic vision of India. Possession (1963), Markandaya's fourth novel

is in a sense, a sequel of A Silence of Desire. Her fifth novel A Handful of rice (1966)

deals with the theme of urban economics. The Coffer Dams (1969) presents Clinton, the

British engineer who sets out to build a dam across a South Indian River. Her next novel

The Nowhere Man (1972) relates to the same theme of East-West encounter.

In Two Virgins (1973), the theme of the adolescent’s loss of innocence is

developed. It is a story of the contrast between the two sisters, Lalitha and Saroja. The

Golden Honeycomb (1977), her most ambitious novel is considered as a historical fiction.

This is a series of three generations of the princely family of Devapur, covering a period

of about a century from 1850 to Independence. Markandaya's last novel Pleasure City

(1982) emphasizes the cultural confrontation. A multinational corporation comes to a

fishing village to build a holiday resort, Shalimar, the pleasure city, and the villagers

struggling at subsistence level.

After Kamala Markandaya, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala obtained a renowned place in

Indian English literature. She wrote twelve novels. Her first novel To Whom She Will

(1955) relates to the young man and woman, Hari and Amrita enjoy the illusion of

romantic love before accepting a separate arranged marriage. Her Second novel The

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Nature of Passion (1956) is a story of a successful

attached to his daughter, Nimmi that he is reluctant

though the match will further his own business interests. Jhabvala’s another novel

Esmond In India (1958) presents the character of Esmond, a colonial minded English

expatriate who comes from England to India to teach Indians about their own country.

In The Householder (1960), she describes the newly married couple, Prem and

Indu and the pains of becoming a householder. In Get Ready for Battle (1962), Jhabvala

presents the picture of a rich businessman Gulzarilal. Gulzarilal is living in a sin with a

widow, living with her brother and trying to find solace through social work. In her A

Backward Place (1965), she develops the theme of emptiness in marriage relationship. In

A New Dominion (1973), Jhabvala portrays a set of three European girls caught in the

toils of a fake Swami. Heat and Dust (1975) describes her strong emotional involvement

in the character of Olivia, a young English girl. Her novel In Search of Love and Beauty

(1983), focuses on a group of German and Austrian refugees in New York.

Jhabvala’s next novel Three Continents (1987) presents the world of Harriet, a

young American girl who inherits a fortune and goes to London. There, at London she

meets an Indian holy man and later marries his son Crishi. She is too much obedient to

Crishi and her degradation is complete when she allows Crishi to murder her twin,

Michael for his wealth. Poet and Dancer (1993) is her only novel which is set in New

York. The setting of Shards of Memory (1995) is America, England and Europe. In this

complicated story of avarice and love, the only lovable character who is spanning four

generations is Baby, bom of a Jewish American mother and a Parsi father. The most

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distinctive characteristic of Jhabvala's novels is the preciseness and skillfulness with

which she unravels the threads of intricate human relationships.

Nayantara Sahgal is also one of the well-known Indian women novelists. In most

of her novels she discusses political issues. Her fiction also relates to modem Indian

woman’s search for self-identity. Her first novel, A Time To Be Happy (1958) deals with

two north-Indian families. The protagonist, Sanad, the son of a Zamindar is considered as

‘Brown Englishman’ to the social and political realities of newly Independent India. This

Time ofMorning (1968) claims to be one of the best political novels by an Indian Writer.

Storm In Chandigarh (1969) reflects the political of the division of the Punjab.

Her next novel The Day In Shadow (1971) is a domestic novel dealing with the

theme of failure of marriage. A Situation In New Delhi (1977) deals with the aftermath of

Nehru’s death, the Naxalite movement and student unrest. Rich Like Us (1985) is

considered as her best political novel. In this novel she presents a picture of India in

1975-1976 in which Indira Gandhi declares the state of National Emergency. The novel

also reflects the theme of exploitation of women. In her novel Plans for Departure (1985)

she describes the Indo-British relationship. Her last novel Mistaken Identity (1988) is

related to the life of Bhushan Singh who is the only son of the Raja of Vijaygarh.

Anita Desai is one of the great Indian women novelists. Her novels offer a

satirical view of social change. In her first novel Cry, the Peacock (1963) she describes

the character of Maya and her relationship with her husband, Gautama. Maya is obsessed

with the prediction about her marriage that her marriage is going to end in its fourth year

with the death of either wife or husband. In that frustration she murders her husband. Her

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second novel Voices In the City (1965) develops the theme of alienation. The story

emphasizes the life of Nirode and his two sisters, Monisha and Amla. These two sisters

rebel against the conventions of society. At the end Monisha commits suicide. Amla is

frustrated because of her failure in love. Her next novel Bye-bye Blackbird (1971) depicts

the lives of Indian immigrants in England. The novel also develops the theme of East-

West encounter. In Where Shall We Go This Summer (1975), the protagonist, Sita is a

woman of aggressive nature. She is married to Raman. She does not like the family

members who dominate her. So her ill-behaviour and smoking alienates her from the

society. Her novel Fire on The Mountain (1977) again deals with the theme of alienation.

Clear Light of Day (1980) is a story of two sisters Vimla and Tara, living with

their neurotic younger brother in a mood of nostalgia. In Custody (1984) is her next novel

that presents the life of a lecturer, Deven Sharma who is the teacher of Hindi but loves

Urdu. Her eighth novel Baumgartner’s Bombay (1988) describes the world of a German

Jew. In Journey To Ithaca (1995), Anita Desai emphasizes the picture of the life of

Matteo and his bride Sophie who come to India from Italy. But Sophie is overcome by

the heat and dust and she goes back to Italy. She comes again to reclaim Matteo, who is

living in ashram. Matteo wants the definition of this world and his own self. Fasting,

Feasting (1999) develops the theme of East-West encounter. Fasting reflects Eastern

conditions and feasting reflects Western conditions. She reframes the subject- matter of

foreigners and displacement in The Zigzag Way (2004). In this novel she portrays the

character sketch of Betty Jennings. The novelist records the saga of Betty’s adjustment to

her new life in a strange land. The novel also describes the character of Eric, the

protagonist and his adventures in Mexico.

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 Shashi Deshpande is a leading woman novelist in the horizon of Indian English

Literature with eight novels to her credit. She received the Sahitya Akademi Award for

her novel, That Long Silence in 1990. Her works have been translated into a number of

languages. She writes about simple, day-to-day life of the Indian middle class. Shashi

Deshpande’s novel The Dark Holds No Terrors (1980) emphasizes the world of the

successful doctor, Sarita. The Hindu tradition destroys the life of Sarita. Manu, Santa’s

husband feels embarrassed with the rising status of his wife. At the end Sarita

compromises with her husband. If I Die Today (1982) and Come Up and Be Dead (1983)

are Shashi Deshpande’s detective novels, set in a Medical college and girl’s school, the

stories develop with many mysterious deaths and suspense. Deshpande’s another novel

Roots and Shadows (1983) depicts the agony experienced by woman in a male-dominated

and tradition-bound society. In That Long Silence (1988) she portrays the character of

Jaya, as a subservient wife. The Indian tradition reflected in the story is that the husband

is like a ‘Sheltering Tree’ which must be kept alive at any cost and without it the family

becomes shelterless and insecure. The Binding Wine (1993) deals with the tragedy of

women as the victims of man’s lust and woman’s helplessness. The Matter of Time

(1996) depicts an extended family over three generations. Her novel Small Remedies

(2000) narrates the tragic tale of Savitribai Indorekar, doyenne of the Gwalior Gharana.

Savitribai and Madhu both of them are victims of the double standards of society.

Deshpande’s most recent novel Moving on (2004) is about Jiji Ahuja who is visualized

as a complex character juggling frantically between the conflicting demands and roles of

her life.

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 Bharati Mukherji is an expatriate writer. Her first novel The Tiger’s Daughter

(1972) deals with a rich industrialist’s daughter Tara, who returns Calcutta after seven

years in the U.S.A. only to experience that she is as much alien in Calcutta as abroad.

Wife (1975) is Bharati Mukherji’s another novel which depicts the pre and post-marital

experiences of protagonist Dimple Dasgupta, an ordinary-looking, middle-class girl.

Jasmine (1989),is a tragic story of an uneducated but courageous Punjabi peasant girl

Jasmine and her journey from Punjab to U.S.A. In The Holder of The World (1993) she

describes the story of Beigh Master’s visits to various museums for a wonderful diamond

called the ‘Emperor’s Tear’. In her search, she becomes fascinated by Hannah Easton. In

this novel Bharati Mukheiji attempts to integrate contemporary travelogue and ancient

history. Her fifth novel Leave It To Me (1997) is totally American. The story relates to

the world of the protagonist, Debby Dimartino. In Desirable Daughters (2003) she

describes the tradition of Hindu family and the restrictions under which the daughters are

pressed. In the story, the three sisters, Padma, Parvati and Tara are bent upon breaking

traditions and to live their own lives. Mukherji’s latest novel The Tree Bride (2004)

explores the life of Tara Lata Gangooly who according to a legend marries a tree at the

age of five after the tragic death of her bridegroom. Tara develops tree like

characteristics.

Githa Hariharan is also a well-known novelist in Indian English Literature. Her

first novel, The Thousand Faces of Night (1992) presents the picture of the life of three

women of different generations and the dullness in their lives. It deals with the world of

the protagonist Devi, her mother Sita and the old maidservant Mayamma. The Ghost of

Vasu Master (1994) portrays the character of a retired schoolteacher, Vasu. He has with

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father, his dead grandmother and Veera Naidu, the principal of the school. Mani is a

mentally handicapped character lives with him. Her third novel When Dreams Travel

(1999) is a thought provoking novel which describes the story of two sisters, Shahrazad

and Dunyazad, and their husbands.

Santha Rama Rau’s first novel Remember The House (1956) portrays the

character, Indira Goray, known as Baba and who is very much like the novelist. The

novel deals with a quest for the self and the East-West conflict. Rau’s next novel The

Adventuress (1970) deals with the story of a woman’s search for fulfilment. Nergis

Dalai’s experience of journalism has influenced her fiction. Her novel Minari (1967) is

an account of high class life at a hill station. Her second novel Two sisters (1973) deals

with twins at opposite poles both physically and mentally. The Inner Door (1976)

presents the guide motif of enforced sainthood. The Girls from Overseas (1979) deals

with the theme of East-West encounter. Venu Chitale’s In Transit (1950) is an evocative

picture of three generations of a Poona Brahmin joint family. Zeenuth Futehally’s Zohra

(1951) deals with the city Hyderabad in the Gandhian age. Attia Hossain’s famous novel

Sunlight on A Broken Column (1961) deals with the theme of the partition of India.

Kamala Das, the renowned poetess, has written two novels: The Alphabet of Lust

(1980) and A Doll for the child Prostitute (1985). The Alphabet of Lust is about Manasi,

the protagonist, whose life is a long and persevering quest for identity. The urge for

identity and liberation overtakes her and she discards all barriers, inhibitions, moral and

social codes. She finally succeeds in becoming the Home Minister. By asserting her

individuality she thus succeeds in attaining the highest pinnacle of success, power and

10
glory. Her second novel, A Doll for The Child Prostitute also deals with the theme of

liberation of women and quest for identity.

Some minor novelists write historical fiction. Vimala Raina in her novel

Ambapali (1962) describes the India of Buddha’s time. Manorama Modak in her novel

Single In The Wheel (1978) deals with the fall of the last Peshwa in the early nineteenth

century. In psychological fiction Shakuntala Shrinagesh’s one novel The Little Black Box

(1955) depicts the thought processes of Sarala. Perin Bharucha’s The Fire Worshippers

(1968) deals with Parsi Life.

Nina Sibal in her novel Yatra (1987) depicts the Sikh history especially the

political unrest of the 1920s in Punjab. Dina Mehta’s And Some Take a Lover (1992)

deals with a young Parsi girl who loves Sudhir who is a dedicated follower of Mahatma

Gandhi. Anjana Appachana’s novel Listening Now (1998) deals with the themes such as

the discrimination against the daughter, the silence of women and the lack of

communication between the sexes. Mrinal Pande’s Daughter’s Daughter (1993)

emphasizes on gender bias. The novel is a series of episodes presented through the eyes

of Tinu, a little girl. Pande’s second novel My Own Witness (2000) is bound with the

experience of Pande in the field of journalism and television. Indu K. Mallah’s novel

Shadows In Dream-Time (1990) depicts the life of an Indian Widow. She is cut off from

all social and cultural customs.

Belinder Dhanoa’s Waiting for Winter (1991) portrays a character of Pratibha

who belongs to a rich family in Chandigarh. She is well educated and married to an

Indian settled in the U.S.A. At the end of the novel she finds that her husband is already

11
married to an American. Zai Whitaker in her novel Up The Ghat (1992) describes the

heroine, Azra who has studied abroad. She marries Hussain who is a dedicated officer in

the Indian Administrative Service, whose idealism gets him into trouble. Zai Whitaker

wants to show the comic side of the frustrations of the Indian woman. Shama Futehally,

Zai’s sister wrote an impressive novel Tara Lane (1993) based on the character of

Tahera. Another novelist K. R. Usha wrote Sojourn (1998) in which she portrays the

picture of small town life and cosmopolitan urban life from the protagonist, Neeija’s

point of view.

Suniti Namjoshi is also a prominent woman novelist. Her first novel The

Conversations of Cow (1985) deals with the protagonist, Suniti, who is a lecturer of

Indian origin. Her Guru appears in the form of a cow. In her second novel The Mothers of

Maya Diip (1989), Jyanvi and the Blue Donkey are invited to the Indian Kingdom of

Maya Diip. Maya Diip escapes many of the evils of male dominated society, but the other

evils arise from common human failings like jealousy and love of power. The novel is

based on matriarchy. St. Suniti and The Dragon (1994) is a novel about love and

sainthood. The narration of the novel is based on songs, dialogues, dramatic monologues,

postcards, prayers and diary entries. Anuradha Marwah - Roy’s first novel The Higher

Education of Geetika Mehendiratta (1993) sets in the provincial town of 1 Desert vadr.

The novel deals with the narrator, Geetika’s experiences in Jana University. Her second

novel Idol Love (1999) presents a chilling picture of an Indian dystopia in the twenty-first

century.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices (1997) depicts the heroine,

Tilottama who is the mistress of spices. Her second novel Sister of my Heart (1999)

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describes the complicated relationships in a family in Bengal. Prema Nandkumar’s Atom

and The Serpent (1982) portrays the picture of Indian University. Ranga Rao’s The

Drunk Tantra (1994) states that promotion depends on contacts and not on merit. Rita

Joshi’s The Awakening: A Novella in Rhyme (1992) deals with the experiences of a

lecturer in Delhi. Meena Alexander’s Nampally House (1991) based on a real life

incident of police repression in the town of Hyderabad. Her second novel Manhattan

Music (1997) deals with the lives and problems of Indian immigrants living in America,

Rani Dharker’s The Virgin Syndrome (1997) contains satire on college life and the

seminar circuit.

Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997) received the Booker prize in

1997. Her novel depicts the world of the protagonist, Ammu. It gives an open access to

the agony of Ammu, Margaret, Baby Kochamma, Rahel, Estha and Velutha. The novel is

set in a small place Ayemenem near Kottyam in Kerala. It is a story of a Syrian orthodox

Christian family. The action of the novel moves as a flashback of Rahel’s memory.

Ammu is attracted to Velutha, a young Paravan. The character of Velutha is considered

as ‘A God of small Things’ in the novel.

Anita Nair’s The Better Man (1999) reflects the East-West encounter theme.

Another novelist Kaveri Bhatt-Nambisan’s first novel The Truth About Bharat (1991)

deals with the young medical student, Bharat. The novel describes the picaresque

adventures of the narrator, Bharat. Her second novel The Scent of Pepper (1996) is the

most substantial of her three novels. In the novel she describes the life in Kodagu, the

changing relationship with the British, the life in Post-independence India. In Mango-

coloured Fish (1998) the central character is a young urban girl, Shari. In the novel she

13
portrays a remarkable picture of India. Manorama Mathai’s Mulligatawny Soup (1993)

deals with Elsie-Nora, a Eurasian, who belongs neither to India nor to England when the

Raj ends. Sohaila Abdulali’s The Madwoman of Jogare (1998) form the setting of

Maharashtra. The focus is on ecology. The novel deals with the protagonist, twenty-five

year old Ifrat, who is privileged to lead a free life.

Manju Kapur won the ‘Commonwealth Award’ for her first novel Difficult

Daughters (1998) in 1999. The novel deals with the life in the Punjab in the decades

before partition. It portrays three generations of the protagonist’s family. The third

generation daughter, Ida is shown going on a journey to understand her mother Virmati

and her grandmother. A Married Woman (2002), her second novel is considered as a

sequel to her first novel. The novel focuses its attention on the relationship between

Astha, the protagonist and her husband Hemant. It also focuses the physical attraction

between members of the same sex. It is the story of love set against the background of the

aftermath of demolition of Babri Masjid. Her recently published novel, Home (2006)

deals with the actions and counteractions of the family members of merchant class during

the days of the partition of the Indian subcontinent.

Indira Mahindra’s The Club (1984) moves around the character of Lucy and her

stepsister Mabel who have stayed on in India even after the other English people left. Her

second novel The End Play (1994) deals with a young woman narrator revealing the

power struggle in an Indian joint family.

Namita Gokhale’s first novel Paro: Dreams ofPassion (1984) deals with the crust

of contemporary Indian society in metropolitan towns and the characters change their

14
sexual partners like clothes. Her second novel, Gods, Graves and Grandmothers (1994)

is notable for its social realism. A Himalayan Love Story (1996) deals with the lives of

two star-crossed lovers who grew up in Nainital. Gokhale’s fourth novel The Book of

Shadows (1999) deals with the life of the protagonist, Rachita, who is a supercilious

teacher of English at a Delhi college. Achala Moulik wrote historical novels. In The

Conquerors (1996) she chronicles three generations of Ruthvens, from 1857 to 1867,

describing the expansion of British rule in India. Her second novel, Earth is But A Star

(1997) deals with the Spanish empire.

Suma Josson’s Circumferences (1994) portrays Sarala, a painter. Sarla’s parents

arrange her marriage at nineteen, and do not approve of her artistic inclinations. Kamalini

Sengupta’s A Seasoned Couple (1994) is an account from marriage to death, of the life of

Aditi and her husband Ashok Prasad, a civil servant. Nirmala Arvind’s A Video, a Fridge

and a Bride (1995) presents a clear picture of the middle-class life in Kerala. It relates to

Elizabeth Cherian and her parent’s efforts to find a husband for her, but they do not

succeed because they cannot pay the high dowry. Neelum Sharan Gour’s novel Speaking

of 62 (1995) recounts the fantasies of children whose outlook was changed by the Indo-

Chinese war of 1962. Deepa Shah’s first novel The solitude of Surabhi (1997) focuses on

Surabhi, a young girl exploited by all with whom she comes into contact. Bulbul

Sharma’s Banana Flower Dreams (1999) concentrates on the victimization of woman.

Shakuntala Bharvani’s Lost directions (1996) uses a variety of narrative techniques

including letters, folk tales and short stories to present the difficult situations of her

narrator.

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 Esther David in her The Walled City (1997) presents the usual pressures and

anxieties of the protagonist, a young girl’s growing up in India are compounded by her

Jewishness. Nirmala Moorthy’s Maya (1997) deals with the life of a South Indian

Brahmin family. It focuses on traditional concepts of marriage. Her second novel, The

Coiled Serpent (2000) investigates the psyche of the protagonist. Radhika Jha’s Smell

(1999) is an account of a young girl who is uprooted from her comfortable life in Kenya.

Jaishree Misra’s Ancient Promises (2000) deals with a young mother trying to cope with

a mentally handicapped baby. Her second novel Rani (2007) is a historical novel that

deals with the Rani of Jhashi and her adventures in 1857 Freedom Struggle. Lakshmi

Kannan’s Going Home (1999) is concerned with the tradition which denies women a fair

share of ancestral property.

Sagarika Ghose’s The Gin Drinkers (2000) portrays the heroine, Uma Chatteijee

who is just back from oxford. Ghose presents a vivid picture of life in contemporary

Delhi. Sunny Singh’s novel Nani’s Book of Suicides (2000) deals with Mini, the

protagonist and her Nani who has the magical power of entering other people’s minds

and reading their dreams. Shona Ramaya’s novel Flute (1989) deals with the psyche of

the hero, Julian. Indira Ganesan’s novel The Journey (1990) sets in an amalgam of Tamil

Nadu and Pondicherry. Her second novel Inheritance (1997) deals with the young

protagonist who is the youngest of three sisters, and all with different fathers.

Another novelist, Sunetra Gupta wrote four novels. Her first novel, Memories of

Rain (1992) won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996. It deals with the theme of East-

West encounter. Her second novel, The Glassblower’s Breath (1993) is set in the cities of

London, New York and Calcutta. The protagonist is a young Indian woman in search of

16
ideal love and companionship. Her third novel Moonlight into Marzipan (1995) deals

with the protagonist Promothesh’s scientific discovery in Calcutta. Het fourth novel A Sin

of Colour (1999) describes the character of the hero, Debendranath Roy who falls in love

with the wife of his elder brother.

Atima Srivastava’s first novel, Transmission (1992) relates to the protagonist

Ungellie, who is a television researcher working about an HIV positive couple. The

theme is continued in her second novel Looking for Maya (1999). In this novel a young,

brilliant student is shown falling in love with an older man, an Indian Professor. Meera

Syal’s first novel Anita and Me (1996) is a clear picture of nine year old Meena’s

interaction with her British neighbours. Her second novel Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee

(1999) deals with the youth and middle age of three school friends. Kirin Narayan’s Love,

Stars and All that (1994) describes the protagonist Gita Das who believes an astrologer in

India. Anita Rau Badami’s Tamarind Mem (1996) presents the life of Saroja who is

referred to as Tamarind Mem by her servants because of her sharp tongue. Ameena

Meer’s Bombay Talkie (1995) describes the Indian Sojourn heroine bom in the U.S.A.

Kiran Desai’s Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard (1998) is a superficial treatment

of a common theme of Indian fiction: the holy man and the gullibility of the public. Her

novel The Inheritance of Loss (2006) is the winner of Booker Prize. In this novel Kiran

Desai talks about the problem of migrant people. The novel also focuses on India’s

current political problems such as War of Gurkha land. Shauna Singh Baldwin’s What

The Body Remembers (1999) sets in the village in the Punjab. It is the story of sixteen

year old Roop, the beautiful daughter of a poor man, whom the forty-plus Sardaiji

marries so that she can give him a son. Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake is the first full-

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length novel released in 2003. The protagonist is Nikhil ‘Gogol’ Ganguli, a young man

about the same age as the author, bom like her to immigrant parents from West Bengal.

The novel locates the issue of identity-crisis in a host culture. Uma Vasudev’s Shreya of

Sonagarh (1993) includes political events. Another novel, The Song of Anasuya (1978)

attracts an attention for its frank treatment of sex. Jai Nimbkar published her first novel,

Temporary Answers in 1974. Her second novel, Come Rain (1993) presents the East-

West encounter.

Shobha De is known as one of the prominent feminist writers. Like other women

novelists, she also concentrates on women’s problems. Her first novel Socialite Evenings

(1989) is about the journey of a prominent Bombay socialite Karuna, from an ordinary

middle class girl to a socialite. Her novel Starry Nights (1991) deals with Asha Rani, a

film star who leaves no stone unturned to achieve her goal. Her third novel Sisters (1992)

deals with the fast emerging urban culture and its evils. It is a story of suspense and

conspiracy, crime and punishment. The novel portrays the world of Mikki Hira Lai and

her step sister Alisha. Strange Obsession (1992), another novel of hers depicts lesbian

relationship. Sultry Days (1994) deals with the protagonist Nisha who has love affair with

Deb, known as God. Her next novel Second Thoughts (1996) deals with a young middle

class Bengali boy Ranjan and his wife Maya. It also describes her disillusionment. The

novel offers a slice of urban life and it is an explosive tale of love and betrayal that

exposes the hollowness of Indian marriage system. Her novel Speed Post (1999) is an

account of pains and pleasures of parenting. She writes letters to all her six children

expressing her love for them and giving them advice. Snapshot (1995) tells about the

explosive reunion of a group of school friends, now forced to confront the dark secrets

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they thought they had buried deep in the past. Spouse: The Truth About Marriage (2005)

deals with her views about marriage, ‘marriage is all about trust, companionship,

affection and sharing’. Marriage also means the art of balancing between parents,

children, friends and a career.

After taking a brief review of the works of all these Indian women novelists we

can say that the Indian women novelists occupy a unique place in Indian Writing in

English. Indian women novelists have obtained a remarkable place in English literature.

Through their novels they introduced the culture of India to the world. Even though in

India women are considered as an inferior object they have proved themselves that they

are not less intellectual than their male counterpart.

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Works Cited:
1. Iyengar, K.R.S., Indian Writing in English, New Delhi, Sterling Publishers, 1962.

2. Naik, M.K., A History ofIndian English Literature, New Delhi, Sahitya Akademi.
1982.

3. --------- , Indian English Literature 1980-2000: A Critical Survey, New Delhi,

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