The Best books by Indian Authors

By far the funniest book that I have ever read, and will probably ever read. After reading the book 26 times I can still find something new to appreciate every time I read it.

The story is based on a character called Gopal, who comes from a small town called Jajau (which is locally reputed to be 'the Paris of Madhya Pradesh') in India. He travels to USA to study about advanced Chemical Engineering techniques that he will implement in the Hair Oil factory that has been owned by his family for many generations.

His English is comically Indian and his notion of the USA are totally inadequate and stereotyped, based on whatever books he has read and videos he has seen, many of them being pornographic in nature. The book takes us through his discovery of America and his own growth, especially in the field of romance and girls. His ultimate aim in the USA is to get laid, and his best friend/wingman Randy brings in all his experience to try and help Gopal achieve that aim.

From falling in love and getting his heart broken, to deciphering what I like to the call 'The Great American Basket mystery', from dancing like John Travolta to nearly getting castrated, from inadvertently eating beef to losing his virginity in an Airplane toilet - Gopal does it all in this book. A must read for any book-lover!

Five Point Someone was Chetan Bhagat's debut novel and has been on the bestseller's list since it was released back in 2004. The book immediately shot to fame among the youth of India and as of today it has become a 'classic'.

The story takes us into the lives of Hari, Ryan and Alok, 3 average 5-pointers at IIT-Delhi who find it very difficult to cope with the grading system at IIT. Hari is the narrator of the story with a couple of small passages where Alok and Ryan narrate. Hari and Alok are rather soft whereas Ryan is bold and outspoken. The story is filled with hilarious twists and turns apart from a serious look into the Indian grading system and how it taxes students to the hilt. The story also becomes dark when their families are involved in the fray.

Most of the book deals with the numerous attempts by the trio to cope with and/or beat the system as well as Hari's fling with Neha who just happens to be the daughter of Prof. Cherian, the domineering head of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Their most important attempt was "C2D"(Cooperate to Dominate). One mission involves stealing question papers from the professor's office and another drunken mission involves Hari sleeping with Neha, wearing Prof. Cherian's shirt and taking his car out to buy cigarettes!

This book takes the cake when it comes to mixing humor with real life situations, and it is a must read for anyone who's ever dreamt of or been to college :D The worldwide hit movie '3 IDIOTS' starring Aamir Khan is also based on this book!

The White Tiger was Aravind Adiga's debut novel. Released in 2008, it won the Man Booker prize in the same year.

The White Tiger provides a dark comical view of modern day life in India through the narration of Balram Halwai, the main character. The overall main theme of the novel is the contrast between India's rise as a modern global economy and the working class people who live in crushing rural poverty. The protagonist chooses to rise up against this oppression in his own way and creates his own destiny in the end.

The novel takes the form of a series of letters written by Balram to Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, on the eve of his visit to India. Balram describes his rise from lowly origins to his current position as an entrepreneur in Bangalore, as well as his views on India's caste system and its political corruption.

The protagonist Balram lived in the village of Laxmangarh, a fictional village in Bihar (not the village of Laxmangarh in Rajasthan), a community deep in the wilderness of rural India. The son of a rickshaw-puller; his family is too poor for him to be able to finish school, despite being brilliant and being promised a scholarship he ends up as a driver who serves a rich man from his village, known simply as "The Stork", who live sin the big city of New Delhi.

The city serves as an eye-opener for Balram who, through these experiences, learns much about the world and later states that the streets of India provided him with all the education he needed. A stark novel that exposes the reality of the corruption and oppression that is commonplace in many small villages of India.

Some excerpts taken from: Wikipedia

Midnight's Children is about India's transition from British colonialism to independence. The story is expressed through various characters and is contexted by actual historical events as with historical fiction.

Midnight's Children won both the 1981 Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the same year, followed by the "Booker of Bookers" Prize and the best all-time prize winners in 1993 and 2008 to celebrate the Booker Prize 25th and 40th anniversary. It is also the only Indian-authored novel on Time's list of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.

The technique of magical realism finds liberal expression throughout the novel and is crucial to constructing the parallel to the country's history. Saleem Sinai is the protagonist and narrator. He is born at the exact moment that India becomes independent and is thus born with telepathic powers, as well as an enormous and constantly dripping nose. Shiva of the Knees, Saleem's evil nemesis, and Parvati, called "Parvati-the-witch," are two other children with notable gifts and roles in Saleem's story.

Saleem must also make his way through the world enduring the numerous wars that took ravaged the sub-continent post-independence. Saleem later becomes involved with the Indira Gandhi - proclaimed Emergency and her son Sanjay's "cleansing" of the Jama Masjid slum.Salim finds himself a political prisoner at one time, and finally is left to pick up the pieces of his life and move on.

Significant portions sourced from: Wikipedia

Known as the Indian Wordsworth, Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, in 1934. An Indian author is British descent, his father was a tutor to Royal kids in Dehradun. He has received numerous awards for his works, including warded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children's literature. He now lives with his adopted family in Landour near Mussoorie.

His numerous short stories are woven beautifully with the Indian culture and fabric, and his prominent works include his debut novel Room on the Roof, Night Train at Deoli, Binya's Blue Umbrella, The India I love, The Cherry Tree, Time stops at Shamli, Ghost Stories from the Raj and many more. His simple way of writing combined with his entrancing descriptions of places in the Himalayan mountains make for wonderful bedtime reading to children.