India as seen by the eyes of Writers and Indian Writings

-    R K Narayan,  “Aspettando il Mahatma” (Waiting for Mahatma) Ed. Guanda Milano (2001)
The writer, who passed away in 2001, is one of the most known Indian writers in English.  The book highlights the revolutionary ideas and behaviour of M Gandhi in his opposition to conservative ideas that were tied to tradition. The unusual characteristic of this book is the presence of Gandhi as one of the characters in the novel.

-    Arundhati Roy, “Il Dio delle Piccol;e Cose”  ( The God of Small Things) Ed. Tea Milano (2001)
The celebrated writer, originally from the south of the country, won the Booker Prize with this novel in 1997. It narrates the lives of 7-year-old twins using an engaging and seductive language.


-    Salman Rushdie “I Figli della Mezzanotte” ( Midnights Children) Ed. Garsanti Milano (1993)
It was the winner of the Booker Prize in 1981.  It is about children born at the chiming of midnight on that famous night of August 1947, the year of India’s independence.   

-    Alka Saraogi “Bypass al Cuore di Calcutta” (A Bypass of Calcutta’s Heart) Ed.     Neri Pozza (2002)
The book presents the characters, places, spices, noises, and different odours between them. Among the characters are those who incarnate the spirit of business; those who represent the community who supported Gandhi and his non-violent methods to fight against British dominion. Lastly there are those, moved by an excessively nationalistic spirit,  who with their passionate natures, are  associated with an absolute lack of reality.