Indian English Fiction- An Assessment 1980-90 (An Old and Rare Book)

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About the Book The 1980s witnessed a tremendous spurt in the writing of Indian English fiction. More novels and collections of short stories were published in this decade than ever before in the history of Indian English writing. While the veterans R.K.Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao brought out significant new novels, a postcolonial generation of writers led by Salman Rushdie made their debut on the scene. Amitav Ghosh, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Rohinton Mistry, Firdaus Kanga, Gurcharan Das and Vikram Seth wrote their first novels in these magical years. It was an exciting time for Indian English fiction, a time when it finally shook off its Imperial baggage, nationalist guilt and linguistic complex-a time it came of age.

This volume of essays attempts an assessment of this period in the history of Indian English writing. The contribu tors have examined the theoretical and ideological issues raised by this body of literature. There are also essays on individual authors and books, as well as on thematically grouped novels. The book will provide a sense of direction to the critical appraisal of fiction produced in this period. It will be invaluable to teachers and students of postcolonial literatures in India and abroad.

About the Author Nilufer Bharucha teaches English at the University of Bombay. Her present inter ests range from Postmodernist Literary Theory, Indian English Fiction 'to Post colonial perspectives on the Literature of the Raj. She began her professional career as a Language teacher and this earlier .nterest surfaces in her involvement with Teacher Development Projects and preparation of innovative teaching materials for learners of English as a Second Language.

She has contributed to anthologies and journals in both language and literary studies. She has also done reviews and articles on literary topics for magazines and newspapers. In addition to her critical writing, she has published several short-stories and has done some transla tion from the Urdu into English.

Vilas Sarang the noted bi-lingual writer and critic has published extensively in Marathi and English. Notable among his publications are his collection of short stories, Fair Tree of the Void and the novel In the Land of Enki. His areas of interest range from Modernist writers to Literary and Translation theories.

Dr. Sarang is Professor of English at the University of Bombay and has taught at the University of Basra, Iraq and the University of Kuwait.

Preface The years between 1980 and 1990 have been very prolific ones for Indian English Fiction. More novels and collections of short stories have been published in this decade than ever before in the history of Indian English writing. In this decade, not only have new writers appeared-Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh but older writers like R.K. Narayan and Mulk Raj Anand have also produced significant new work. These new writings have been widely reviewed but little of serious critical work is available on them. To fill this lacuna, the Department of English, University of Bombay, held a three-day seminar, from 18-20 March 1991. This collection of essays is a product of that seminar.

The anthology reflects the confident, new-found individual voice of the Indian English Writer a voice which is no more imitative of British models or apologetic about writing in English. This aspect has been highlighted in Gurcharan Das' essay, which is based on the inaugural address he had given at the Seminar. In this essay Das has spoken of this new variety of Indian English, a vibrant language "born under the Indian Sun", a language used, like a native tongue, by the newly emergent Indian middle class.

English in India has been in the 1980s liberated from the colonial yoke and used imaginatively and confidently by the new set of post-colonial writers like Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Upamanyu Chatterjee and Firdaus Kanga. This Indian English is now an integral part of the Indian environment. With these new writings, Indian English Literature cannot be regarded as exotica anymore; it has firmly staked its claim to being considered as one of the Indian Literatures.

**Contents and Sample Pages**