Indian Authors You Can't Miss
Let's look at some famous Indian authors from yesteryear

Our first brush with Indian authors is largely through short stories included in English textbooks at school. My first encounter - perhaps yours too - with the greatest of them all, Rabindranath Nath Tagore, was through this poem from his Nobel Prize-winning Gitananjali, Mind Without Fear.

Asia’s first Nobel Laureate, Tagore, was born during the 19th century Bengal Renaissance. Tagore wrote numerous novels, essays, short stories, travelogues, dramas, and thousands of songs. His stories are based on the lives of ordinary people. Tagore began his career in short stories - when he was only sixteen - with Bhikharini (The Beggar Woman). This was followed by Galpaguchchha, a collection of 84 stories. His tales were reflections on his environment, on contemporary ideas, and on stimulating conundrums. Stories like Cabuliwallah, The Hungry Stones, and Atithi characterised his reasoned emphasis on the oppressed.

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”- Rabindranath Tagore Another famous writer from Bengal is none other than the famous filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Although Ray was better known for his cinematic work, he was also responsible for creating two of the most renowned characters in Bengali literature:

Feluda the detective and Professor Shanku the scientist. Ray wrote numerous short novels and stories; his creative writing was targeted chiefly at younger readers; nevertheless it became popular with adults as well. Satyajit Ray wrote 35 Feluda stories in all, featuring the amateur detective Prodosh Chandra Mitra and his Watson - his young cousin Tapesh Ranjan Mitra, and Lalmohan Ganguli alias Jatayu, a droll, awkward author of cheap popular thrillers with amusing titles. Some famous Feluda stories are The Golden Fortress (Shonar Kella), The Anubis Mystery (Sheyal Debota Rohoshya'), The Curse of the Goddess (Chinnomostar Obhishap), The Emperor's Ring (Badshahi Angthi), Trouble in Gangtok (Gangtok-e Gondogol), and The Locked Chest ('Ghurghutiyar Ghatana').

One of the most popular contemporary writers for children is Ruskin Bond. An Indian author of British descent, he has been recognised by the Sahitya Academy for his short stories collection, Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. Bond has spent nearly all his life living in the foothills of Himalayas - which have had a very strong influence on his writings. His writings are thus tales and accounts of life in the hills. Ruskin wrote an award winning novel, The Room On the Roof, (at the age of 17!) which was also based on his experiences in the hills. He tries to make the reader appreciate the countryside and its ethos. His stories manifest a profound love for Mother Nature and individuals. A major accomplishment is the fact that several of his short stories have been integrated in the school curriculum. Stories such as The Night Train at Deoli, Time Stops at Shamli, and Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra are taught in schools across India. Ruskin Bond also has a number of story collections to his credit.

RK Narayan remains one of the most popular writers as well thanks to his series of books about individuals and their dealings set in the fictional town of Malgudi. He has been credited with taking Indian literature in English to the rest of the world, and is regarded as one of India's greatest English language novelists. His semi-autobiographical trilogy of Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of , and The English Teacher has been greatly appreciated. Narayan’s works also include The Financial Expert, regarded as one of the most innovative works of the year back in 1951. His most memorable novel, The Guide, was a Sahitya Akademi Award winner. The Guide also went on to become a very famous film in Hindi. Narayan’s writing style was simple and modest with a natural component of comedy; it focused on commonplace people, reminding the reader of next-door neighbours and cousins, helping one to relate easily to the topic. Malgudi Days is a collection of short stories by Narayan, and includes 19 stories set in the fictional town of Malgudi, South India. This portrays a simple, small-town life and went on to become a national favourite after its appearance as a TV show.