Indian Readers discussion

Populating a list of books by Indian Authors - ranging from popular common titles, to regional and contemporary - here's a recommended list for exploring Indian literature.

Hope you enjoy reading\exploring these.
Please avoid self promotional stuff and spamming.

P.S.: Its been only 3-4 years of exploring the gems of Indian literature, so pardon me if I have missed any prominent works - your comments are most welcome.

Common:
Train to Pakistan
Aavarana: The Veil
A Fine Balance
A Suitable Boy

Regional:
One Part Woman
आपका बंटी
ಮೂಕಜ್ಜಿಯ ಕನಸುಗಳು Mookajjiya Kanasugalu
दोज़ख़नामा : मंटो और ग़ालिब जब हुए रूबरू - (do not read the English translation - go for Hindi\Bengali)
Goat Days
Gunahon Ka Devta
GABAN or गोदान Godan

Contemporary:
Ghachar Ghochar
Musafir Cafe: An Unusual Love Story

Lesser known:
To The Elephant Graveyard
Seasons of the Palm
Jinnah Often Came to Our House
No God In Sight
Innerline Pass

Others:
Nine Lives
The Sari Shop

I have many books in common here

Gorab wrote: "Common:
Train to Pakistan
Aavarana: The Veil
A Fine Balance
A Suitable Boy

Regional:
One Part Woman
आपका बंटी..."

Much much thanks Gorab! This is just the thing I wished for since I am planning on reading more of Indian book this year! I'd surely be benefited by this

Also, I'd like to add:

Cobalt Blue
The White Tiger - Hated this
Love and Longing in Bombay

A Suitable Boy :D

thank you so much Gorab for jotting down many of the books.. I am sure it'll be an easy reference guide for many (including me)..

I have read ghachar ghochar and found it to be an okayish read..

Brilliant list! Would add Em and The Big Hoom :)

@Mak - Cobalt Blue has been on my radar... also havent tried anything by Vikram Chandra.

@Apoorva - I agree it might not give that feel good factor for everyone, but couldn't think of anything more apt in contemporary - due to my own handicap of not reading much Indian regional contemporary.

@Girish - Yes Em would be an apt addition. Now that I think of it, one of Manu Joseph's could also be considered.

Thanks everyone. As I pledge to experiment more on Indian authors this year, I'm sure your comments and relevant recos will be helpful in this journey.

Thankyou for some good recommndation added some of them to my tbr.
Here's some of the best I've read.

Three Thousand stitches- Sudha Murthy
Death a book for all those who shall die- Sadhguru
Dharmashri- SL Bhyrappa
Bottom Item- Ravi Belegere
Chanakya's Chant- Ashwin Sanghi
Immortal Talks- Shunya

I was searching on Google for a suitable boy by Vikram Seth & came across that there's the adaptation on netflix.. so now instead of reading the book, I am watching the series.. I hope to read the book after completing it

Anusha KV wrote: "Thankyou for some good recommndation added some of them to my tbr.
Here's some of the best I've read.

Three Thousand stitches- Sudha Murthy
Death a book for all those who shall die- Sadhguru
Dharm..."

Thanks for sharing your favorites Anusha. I have been reading one Bhyrappa book every year since the last 4-5 years. Most of them 5 star worthy but then I can only take that much :)

Apoorva wrote: "I was searching on Google for a suitable boy by Vikram Seth & came across that there's the adaptation on netflix.. so now instead of reading the book, I am watching the series.. I hope to read the ..."

I watched the first 2 episodes. Felt Lata was way too pretentious in the series. Ishan Khattar did a good job! Then left the series as I didn't want to take chance to spoil the image in my head for ASB the book.

I didn't even last a full episode of ASB. Book is just too good to spoil by watching the series.

Anusha KV wrote: "Thankyou for some good recommndation added some of them to my tbr.
Here's some of the best I've read.

Three Thousand stitches- Sudha Murthy
Death a book for all those who shall die- Sadhguru
Dharm..."

Apart from Kannada authors,

I suggest Keepers of the Kalachakra by Ashwin Sanghi[ If you have not read it yet, i absolutely loved this!!! ]

Would suggest The Krishna Key after this. The others works I did not enjoy...

Ive been searching for Indian authors and Scribd has a bountiful. These are a few Ive started as part of my many on-going challenges.

Malathì Ramachandran's
1. Mandu: The romance of Roopmati and Baz Bahadur
2. The Legend of Kuldhara: A Historical Novel Set in Rajasthan

Deepa Agarwal
The Teenage Diary of Nur Jahan {Mehr-Un-Nissa}

3. Indu Sunderesan' s The Twentieth Wife.
The Twentieth Wife

Hi,
All of these suggestions are very good but most of them are not available on Kindle unlimited.
Can someone please recommend books (by Indian authors) available on Kindle Unlimited?
Thanks a mil

Hi Akshata,
The KU catalogue keeps changing over time, hence I can never be sure of which titles will stay in their catalgue.

Do keep looking out for the ones available.
This is a good one to start with (The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History) - https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07R...

Thanks Gorab. I'll check this out.

A pretty good list in Indian reads. I would like to add a few of my own here.

Sudha murthy -
Mahashweta
Gently falls the baluka
Dollar bahu

Ashwin sanghi-
The rozabel line
Krishnas key
Chanakyas chant
The vault of Vishnu

Amish-
The Shiva trilogy
Ramachandra series

The rise of shivagami

Premchand- Do kalakar

I guess even Shantaram would qualify as a Indian read, right?

@Akshata.. if you like to read historical fiction then there are lot of books by Kavita Kane in KU. I had read Karna’s wife. It was good. Gives you the perspective from the eyes of lesser known characters.

Thanks for sharing your list Bela. Yes Shantaram is Indian :)

The Palace of Illusions
Oleander girl both
by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni.

The Feast of Roses by Indu Sunderesan

Yes there are all good ones. Thanks Leena :)

So many beautiful books being recommended here! Is there a way to keep them in a link, like a spreadsheet that can be accessed easily? Who actually suggested it and other information?

This would be a great idea

Akshata wrote: "Hi,
All of these suggestions are very good but most of them are not available on Kindle unlimited.
Can someone please recommend books (by Indian authors) available on Kindle Unlimited?
Thanks a mil"

These are some of the books I have waiting on my kindle Unlimited
Poonachi by Perumal Murugan
https://www.amazon.in/Poonachi-Story-...

In Search of Heer - Manjul Bajaj
https://www.amazon.in/Search-Heer-Man...

Ships that pass - Shashi Deshpande
https://www.amazon.in/Ship-That-Pass-...

Dear Mr. Bachhan - Saurav Dutt
https://www.amazon.in/Dear-Mr-Bachcha...

Exquisite Cadavers - Meena Kandasamy
https://www.amazon.in/Exquisite-Cadav...

I would also recommed (not on Kindle Unlimited)
When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife
The Lives of Others
The Hungry Tide
Anything by Amit Chaudhuri

Yossarian wrote: "So many beautiful books being recommended here! Is there a way to keep them in a link, like a spreadsheet that can be accessed easily? Who actually suggested it and other information?"

Yes there is an easy way to quickly access them. Here's the list:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/menti...

this list will keep updating as and when people reco anything on this thread. You can access books mentioned in a thread on GR - there is a link on the right side when accessed via desktop browser (not sure about mobile)

Sree wrote: "These are some of the books I have waiting on my kindle Unlimited."

Thanks a lot Sree. Very good recos. Except Hungry Tide, haven't read anything from your recos. Though I have read other works of the authors - PMurugan, SDeshpande, AChaudhuri.
Loads to look forward to :)

thanks Sree, I was looking for a HeerRanjha tell, and unfortunately not available for my country ! not available on Scribd either hmm

In Search of Heer is a retelling.
Are you looking for a book of the original Heer Ranjha story?

im.ok with either. is there one with the original story? The only story I know is the Bollywood version

Sujata Massey : The Widows of Malabar Hill

Recently I read Penumbra by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay. The book is simple but intriguing. I posted the review of this beautiful thriller on Goodreads

Penumbra by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A straightforward and intriguing thriller by a Bengali writer. A murder mystery involving twin murders. The truth is out there and it won't change over time. All that the protagonist going to require is to discover the truth.

When we hear of a murder mystery set in a country house, we instantly think of Agatha Christie. Yes, Ms. Christie is an expert at such plot creation, establishment, and inditing. I'm not saying that Mr. Chattopadhyay is an Indian Agatha Christie or something, but the author did draw inspiration from the Queen of Mysteries. The author himself quoted Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Byomkesh Bhakshi in his work.

Penumbra is a true gem because the convolution is unpredictable and you won't lose your reading rhythm. Even though I hate certain protagonist thoughts and tedious explications, inscribing is perfect. A journey on a roller coaster?! Rather, it's a well-crafted cozy mystery.
Penumbra has all of the basic elements of a thriller. A large building, a large number of people, and all of them seem suspicious in the plot. Many writers struggled to express a thriller beautifully despite getting everything they needed to do so. Mr. Chattopadhyay, on the other side, hit the nail on the head. So we should reinforce authors like Bhaskar Chattopadhyay, who can create more thrillers like Penumbra.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Sharing this list of free Indian regional translations over the next few weeks. Thanks to Broke Bibiliophile for compiling and sharing this wonderful list:

Till 13th May, each Day, NIYOGI BOOKS has been offering Kindle version of one book selected from a compelling mélange of Indian language literature in translation completely FREE.

Following is the schedule. Visit the link on respective days and download the books for free

29 April

Giriraj Kishore - Kasturba Gandhi
https://amzn.to/3e1NDRg

30 April

Bani Basu - A Plate of White Marble
https://amzn.to/2R8vTuE

1 May

Anita Agnihotri - A Day in the Life of Mangal Taram
https://amzn.to/3aJMBaI

2 May

E Santosh Kumar - Island of Lost Shadows
https://amzn.to/3aPaP3k

3 May

Chitra Mudgal - Giligadu: The Lost Days
https://amzn.to/3dZZVtx

4 May

Imayam - Beasts of Burden
https://amzn.to/2SftyyF

5 May

E. Santosh Kumar - A Fistful of Mustard Seeds
https://amzn.to/2PAi1sG

6 May

Joginder Paul - Land Lust
https://amzn.to/2PvhhF4

7 May

Qazi Abdul Ghaffar - Laila Ke Khutoot
https://amzn.to/3u3gGcG

8 May

Govind Mishra - In the Glow of Your Being
https://amzn.to/3eAOveU

9 May

Lakshmi Nandan Bora - Kayakalpa
https://amzn.to/2QxwSoi

10 May

S. K. Pottekkat - The Story of a Timepiece
https://amzn.to/2R4dzmg

11 May

Arupa Patangia Kalita - The Musk and Other Stories
https://amzn.to/3t0huOq

12 May

Rakhshanda Jalil - Jallianwala Bagh: Literary Responses in Prose & Poetry
https://amzn.to/3vnK6Th

13 May

Neela Padmanabhan - Generations
https://amzn.to/3gKVMva

thanks Gorab..Wbat a fabulously diverse collection.

yeah its a good list. Not sure though whether it is free for non Indian Amazon. Were you able to get?

Nope. But i refused to cry. Putting on a happy 😊

Gorab wrote: "Sharing this list of free Indian regional translations over the next few weeks. Thanks to Broke Bibiliophile for compiling and sharing this wonderful list:

Till 13th May, each Day, NIYOGI BOOKS ha..."

Wow! I've seen it only now! I just tried on Amazon Italy and Chitra Mudgal - Giligadu: The Lost Days (the book for today, May 3th) could be downloaded for free!

I will check again tomorrow, yay!

That's the spirit Leena :) :) :)

Hurray dely. Let me know which one piques your interest the most. I'd be more than willing to join for reading and discussions.

Gorab wrote: "Populating a list of books by Indian Authors - ranging from popular common titles, to regional and contemporary - here's a recommended list for exploring Indian literature.

Hope you enjoy reading..."

Can I suggest some books I have read and liked:
The Henna Artist
The Pink Mutiny
Low Land

thanks Shri. Yes keep your personal recos coming in. That helps everyone :)

the one which I would recommend...fresh from hangover is
the small town sea by Anees Salim. Wil add the link once at desktop .. the app is useless in many ways :/

The Small-Town Sea

Reco by Em ^

Gorab wrote: "

Hurray dely. Let me know which one piques your interest the most. I'd be more than willing to join for reading and discussions."

All of them! Today I could download for free also Beasts of Burden. Can't wait to start them hoping also to learn always something new about India and that they can cover some states I'm still missing in my challenge.

It's wonderful that I have access to so many Indian books for free!

year I got it on Scribd

Thanks for the list!

I am not sure if this the correct thread to ask but I am looking for some Non-fiction book recommendations written either by or about India. I would love to read it more if the setting is historical.

Example - India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy