PREFACE
The lndian English novel, which is an imaginative genre of literature bringing
the live relationship between man and society, anived late in English when camparad
to the other languages, proved itself to be distinguished with its cumncy in the
themd. In the flourishing days of the development of the novel, the major themes arc
the historical romances, sdcial and political issues and nationalistic movements.
The year 1930 takes a considerable position in the history of lndian novel, the
trio, Mulkraj Anand, R.K Narayan, Rajarao started their c a w r from this year as
distinguished novelists. Mulkraj Anand, the oldest of the three proved himself with
the themes related to the realistic ambiguities of the dogmas. R.K Naraytmnn's body
of writing stands unique with simple irony and all his stories take place in an
imaginary place malgudi, a place in south India. Rajarao the youngest of the three
made limited contribution to the literary treasure makes his writings in the
nationalistic movement influenced by Gandhian ideology.
Today the contemporary lndian novel takes
t!
dominant factor with some
literary impulses ltke thc existing dwindling cthnicity in politics, conuption,
fluctuations in the cconany, human lives dcprivcd of peace duc lo the chain
exploitation, a handful of writtrs take these themes into their hands and attempt to
mould them through different approaches and methods. An important term that takes
bid1 during this period is diaspora. The d~asporaconstitute the writers who live out of
their motherland, in a new place and experience nostological moments towards their
motherland, they have identity crisis. I h e Indian English navel written by lndian
writers and the Diagporic writers deals with images reflecting India in family, power
politics, traditions ,culture, position of lndian women in dominant patriarchal society.
The first chapter titled as Introduction explains tha.Image of India in lndian
English Literature. An image is an epitomic or iconic mental repmentation of an
object. It is deeply concerned with the thought irnspective of the object. The very
name India blurs with a myriad number of images corrolating political, social,
historical and cultural disciplines.
The second chapter lays emphasis on the Poliricui Crhis. It is presented in
Rohinton Mistry's novel Such a Long Journey. In this novel, history and politics an
configured as images. The protagonist of the novel is Gustad Noble, a P m i . The
setting of the novel is Bombay which is a place to which the Parsis migrated fium
Iran. This novel revolves around Gus'tad Noble whose life gets entangled with the
corrupted Indian government. The novel is set during the month that leads to thc lndoPakistan war of 1971 over the 'liberation' of Bangladesh. It also derives its title from
the leitmotif of journeying; journey acts as a postcolonial metaphor in investigating
the exile, homelessness of the Parsis. Such a Long Journey details the 'long journey'
of Gustad Noble who undergoes a number of vicissitudes. The novel discusses the
issues like that pervaded in lndian politics in the 70s; the nationalist rhetoric that is a
result of the Indo- Pakistan conflict and tyrruinical rule of Indira Gandhi. The
cormptcd lndian govcrnmcnt during 1970s swmps into tlic story in regular intervals.
The Parsi family of.Gustad Noble forms a microcosm to the imagc of India.
The third chapter explores the Cultural Crisiv in Jhumpa Lahiri's 77te
Namesrrke. Lahiri as a women diasporic writer explorcv the lives of the lndian people
in U.S in her works. She belongs to the second generadon of the immigrant writers
and proves herself in depicting the lives of the young immigtants who are caught in
the tug of war with the parental aspirations and magnetic flux of the western culture.
This novel is exploration of cultural identity, of rootlessness, of traditions and familial
expectations. Lahiri induces her of immigrant experience.thmugh the character of
Ashoke and Ashima, a newly manied couple who settle in America. Their f0mti1I
adoption to the western culture runs parallel with the story. Their son Gogol grows up
to feel the absurdity of his name. Ashima on the other hand though unable to cope up
with the forcehl westem culture leads her life with the nostological moments, of her
mother land, but she wants her children to
bc both American cultured and Bengali
tradition. Gogol when he huns 18 changes his name officially to Nikhil, thus
oscillates between two names, two countries, and two cultures. Gogol's attcmpls to
have a life of his own also ends in misery. In the end Gogol realises the importance of
his name and leads his life reading the books presented by his father. Lahiri thus
portrays the lives of the first generation immigranls, their nostalgia and the forceful
adoption of the second generation immigrants to their parental aspirations in a holistic
pattern. Lahiri presents the character of Ashima as a prototype in her depiction of
cultural crisis.
The fourth chapter describes the Power Crlsis in the Shashi Tharoor's The
Great Indian Novel. It is a fictional work that takes the story of the Mahabharata, the
epic of Hindu mythology, and recasts and resets it in the context of the Indian
Independence Movement and first three dccadcs of post-ind~pmdrmcc,up through thc
1980s. The novel includes numerous puns and allusions to famous works about India,
such as those by Rudyard Kipling, Paul Scott, and E.M. Forster. The Mahabharata is
an epic tale describing the historical dynastic struggle over the throne of the kingdom
of Hastinapw between the Pandavas and Kauravas, two branches of the heirs of the
king Shantanu. In this novel, T h m r recasts the story of the nascent Indian
democracy as a struggle between groups and individuals, closely related by their
personal snd political histories. Through his cantankerous narrator, Tharoor taka an
irreverent tone towards figures such as Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Noh, who
are ordinarily treated with r e m c e by Indians. The phrase "Great Indian Novel" is
an allusion to the long standing idea of the "Great American Novel" and is also a pun,
roughly banslating "Mahabharata" (Maha "great"; Bhamta "India"). A significant
characteristic of T h m r ' s version of the story is the emphasis on the olda
generations ( e.& Bhisrna, Phritamstra, and Pandu) and the resulting de- emphasiq an
the actions of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The chapters of the novel minor the
themes and events of the epic. The novel has 18 "books," just as the Mahabharate has
18 books and the Battle of Kurukshetra lasted for 18 days. The interpretations of
reality through myth and history often result in thinly veiled caricatures of wellknown characters and situations from the epic and politics. Thmor's aim in this
novel is to affirm lndian cultural identity in highlighting its pluralism and openness.
The Great lndian Novel is a spiritcd acknowltxlgement, and a hold usertion, of 'the
multiplicity of truth that has given shape and substance to thc idea of India.
The fifth chapter cxplains the Identig Crisi.~in Githn Hariharan's The
Thousand Faces of N i ~ h t .The significant factor in her novels is thc presence of
embedded stories. Her initial novcl Thc Thousand Facts of Night d q i d s the lives of
thrce generations of India11 Hindu Worn~n-Dcvi,Sita and Mayammu. These womcn
like three Goddcss, their nnmcs allude to represent different voices- the rebellious,
submissive and marginal submissive. The lndian womcn are oppressed with an
institution of miuriagc. Hariharan's novel successfully juxtaposes and i n t m i n g l a
lives of three women characters to present a picture of multi-facefed lndian woman.
The social institution of marriage is the pivot of the evenu in The Thouwnd Face# 4
Night. The novel incorporates the married lives of Dcvi,
ha mother Sita and ha
Servant Mayamma There are stories of various other womcn fiaomDcvi'r childhood,
intertwined mythical stories told by Devi's grandmother and her Father-in-law Baba's
patriarchal stories of fmous musicians and Mayamma's story is from her nostalgia
Devi listens to all the stories and is caught k w e c n tradition and modernity. Devi
represents the present-Day intellectual woman, a modem faninist. She confronts
loneliness and alienation. H a r i h m rclata the relevance of epic stories in
contemporary society. Hariharan has put off the veil from these 'Thousand Fa='
through the description of different female characters (mythical also) with their
different sufferings.
The final chapter gives a conclusion in depicting the variations of the Indian
writers and the Diasporic writers. All the writers Rohinton Mistry, Jhurnpa Lahiri,
Shashi Tharoor, and Githa Hariharan, possess uniqueness in their depiction of Image
of India through the lense of Post Colonialism and Post-Modm~ism.Rohinton
Mistry, as a Diasporic writer givics a historical and political lmagc of India, which is
very much referred as a male discourse of writing. Rohinlon Mistry though an
immigrant writer covers a period of forty years where he brings all the wars and
cormptcd scams of government into reality through his work.
Jhumpa Iwhiri as women Diasporic writcr provcs hcrsclt'to he distinguished in
bringing the cultural and social lifc that serves as lmugc of India. H a subject, the
immigrant experience is given lions share in the work. Her magical talent in bringing
the lives of diasporans with the young lndian p p l c who get attracted with the
magnetic flux of western culture falls unda Postcolonial lubricam. Lahiri in hcr
works brings both her mother land and her place of temporary residence into wntac?,
thus giving the readers a balanced taste.
Shaslii Thatvor as iin Inilii~nwriter gains his pmminaicc in giving a triangular
rcpresentatic~nof colonial lndia. in mylti, history orid politics. All the tl~rcv
components myth. liistory and politics furni iis veniccs in sharing his uttanpt to bring
the modem Mahahharata into his work. 'l'hough the novel hus u shadow of
Mahabharata, many historical incidents arc shapcd .ufwitli a literary rrugrance. Githa
Hariharan as ;ln Indian womcn novelist hrilig tlic ancient myths and tradition us
Image ot' India. From the reality llrc lndiitn womcn writing ciunc out fin111IOXOs,whnl
Githa Hariharan takes a vantage point in writing the myths again in o fcnliaistic point
of view. All the pro~ninsitrnyths run pawllcl with her story litlc in the novel. thus
bringing the life of woliicn to light who arc hidden under a dark cuiluia. 'Thus all the
Indian English writers prcscnt their own way of rcprr.sentntion of Image of lndia
which givcs iconic representation of India.
Kohinton Mistry and Shashi 'Iharoor sharc n rcsc~llhlnncein their depiction of
history and politics. Rohinton Mistry presents them with a texture of past colonialism.
Shashi Tharoor gives his discourse a mythical fragrance. Jhunipa Lahiri wd Githa
Hariharan's representation of Image of lndia is concerned with culture and womcn
respectively. Jhunpa as a diasporic makes a coherence in bringing into light the
cultural identity, and the sense of loss of the motherland. Githa Warihm in hcr
works is deeply indulged in awakening of women from their ignorance and
suppression which is painted with ancient myths.
The word selected in the title denotes the four selected novels for the study.