Recently I have been struck by the amazing amount and quality of Indian fiction for readers of all ages. I myself have always loved fiction including characters of Indian descent or stories set in India itself and around that region. I spent a few weeks in India in 2001 and feel in love with the culture and people, reading about it takes me back to my days spent there. While traveling around Rhajistan I read Raj by Gita Mehta. I still have the copy I picked up in a booth in Delhi. Since then I have actively made the genre part of my personal reading on all levels. Whether for adults, teens or children there are some really wonderful works on the shelves. I recently finished There is Room for You and Bitter Sweets both of which are wonderful examples of fictional titles with Indian influences that have arrived in the last year. Both are stellar titles by the way that you must try! I have also done a story time for my preschool group that focused on India and I used many of the picture books that I have listed below.
Adults
There is Room For You by Charlotte Bacon
Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Raj by Gita Mehta
Teens
Mango Dark, Koyal Sweet by Kashmira Sheth
Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth
Children
Bhindi Babes, Bhangra Babes and Bollywood Babes by Narinder Dhami
My Mother’s Sari by Sandhya Rao
Mama’s Sari by Pooja Makhijani
Baya, Baya Lulla-by-a by Megan McDonald
3 Comments
February 17, 2008 at 10:19 pm
It is nice to read that you have fallen in love with India an its literature.
I too have and as such have quit my job and will be living there for a year.
In literature I love the descriptive nature of the writing and in juxtaposition how it can be nonchalant when concerning extreme or horrific situations.
If you are heading back to India let me know and we can share some tea.
col
June 11, 2008 at 6:03 am
Nice thoughts. Let me thank you on behalf of all Indians.
malathi
August 11, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Lovely list…It’s always a surprise reading Indian writers. Being an Indian, I have started reading more Indian writing only a couple of years back. It’s amazing as to how much talent is there. There are some more new writers on the block. You could probably try Usha K R or Ravi Subramanian. They’re good and have been shortlisted for Indiaplaza Golden Quill Awards.