List of Famous Indian Authors and Their Books

India has boasted one of the most expansive literature since the dawn of time. Our land has seen centuries of great thinkers, philosophers, authors and poets who have penned down their art. Courtesy of these legendary people, we have various genres of remarkable books at our disposal.

These books can not only support your leisure but also enrich your lives by employing invaluable lessons. Grabbing an Indian author off the shelves of an old library, you can spend hours upon hours relishing their books.

For your ease, we have curated a list of famous authors and their most notable works. It would be impossible to draw up an all-inclusive list of famous books but we have tried our best.

The next time you find yourself in a library, just go through this list. And you will have the joy of reading some of the best books.

Rabindranath Tagore

Gitanjali: Probably Tagore’s best and most popular creation, this is a collection of poems which were originally written in Bengali. Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature for this very work. The subject of the poem revolves mainly around his devotion to God.
The Postmaster: If you are lost in the mundaneness of life, this is the book for you. It very elegantly captures the widely felt loneliness and man’s search for meaning in life. The story follows a young man brought up in a city who works as a postmaster to support his living.
Chokher Bali: The title translates to ‘A grain of sand’ in English. This is a novel depicting the intricacies of human relationships. It tells a story of an extramarital affair while enlightening the readers on topics like love, passion, desire, etc.

Amrita Pritam

Pinjar:Amrita, being a prominent writer and poet of her time has penned some of the most remarkable pieces, adding her mastery to the Indian literary collection. Her work, Pinjar rotates around a Hindu girl, Puro who faces rejection from society after she gets kidnapped by a Pakistani man, Rashid. It is set against the grave tragedy of the Partition through which Amrita suffered herself.
Raseedi Ticket:Translated to “Revenue Stamp” in English, this book is an autobiography capturing Amrita’s relationships and equations with SahirLudhianvi and Imroz. Raseedi Ticket is a collection of pages retrieved from her personal diary and some of her brilliant poems, as well as things that she dreamt of.
Shadow of Words:Another autobiography by Pritam, this book is a great read for people wandering off into spiritual dimensions. She shares invaluable insights in this book that readers can go through for some transforming life advice and gain some clarity and direction. She skillfully lays down her inner world at the reader’s disposal.

Khushwant Singh

Train to Pakistan:Claimed to be Singh’s best work, Train to Pakistan enlightens the readers on Partition and how it took a toll on human lives. He delves into human emotions and explores the anguish and pain widely felt at that time. Leaving aside the political facet of the Partition, he provides deep insights into how it affected the common man.
I Shall Never Hear a Nightingale: With this book set in British India, Singh attempts to explore and comment upon subjects like love, pride, religion, culture and patriotism. It tells a story of an Indian officer who is loyal to the Britishers. His son, on the other hand, hates them and wants to drive them out. The book cleverly weaves a story out of the domestic rife between the two while exploring various other themes.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Think on These Things: Krishnamurti has always urged people to broaden the horizons of their consciousness. He has given many lectures, a lot of which are now transcribed into books. This book is similarly a collection of his lectures, conversations and talks given back in the 20th century. With this book, Krishnamurti transforms the way we think every day. It’s a book to pick if you want to expand your awareness.
The First and Last Freedom:Krishnamurti will take you on a spiritual ride as you page through this book. By discussing a vast variety of topics ranging from sex, and gossip to fear and suffering, Krishnamurti imparts priceless lessons. He will help you dissociate from your current idea of truth. And he will assist you in forming a new foundation as well as carving a new belief system.

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan

Malgudi Days:This list would be deficient without R K Narayan’s most popular and widely known work, Malgudi Days. Narayan portrays the daily humdrum of people living in the place called Malgudi in this book. His exceptional writing, powerful imagination and visually vibrant prose pave way for a book to remember for ages.
The Guide:Also adapted into a film, book readers argue that the book is a million times better. It narrates the story of the most notorious and corrupt tourist guide, Raju. The guide falls in love with the wife of a tourist, Rosie. The book will follow Raju and Rosie as they negotiate the inevitabilities of love, dreams, career, power, etc.

Arundhati Roy

The God of Small Things: This is the book that won Roy the Booker Prize for fiction in 1997. It follows the story of two fraternal twins and touches upon themes like casteism, forbidden love, betrayal and misogyny.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: This story chases two protagonists in South Asia; Anjum and Tilo. It sheds light on various national movements and issues that modern India continues to face. Roy writes with passion on topics like gender and religious discrimination, grief, loss and various others. The depth and imagination with which she writes will grip you.

Jhumpa Lahiri

The Namesake:Arguably, Jhumpa’s masterpiece work is this one. The story adeptly captures an Indian man called Mr Ganguli, who relocates to the USA. This book deals with the troubles Ganguli and his family face as they are made to embrace a foreign land. It’ll provide new perspectives on matters like cultural conflicts, which is the theme of most of JhumpaLahiri’s books.
Interpreter by Maladies:This is the first piece by Lahiri that was published. This book made a huge impact on the literary world at the time, thus winning a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It was also votedThe New Yorker’sBest Debut of the Year Book. This book also focuses on the trials and tribulations faced by immigrants in both their newly chosen home and their native places. The characters brought to life by Jhumpa’s writing quickly become remarkably close to your heart.

Now that we have prepared a list for you, go out decisively and pull out these remarkable books from the shelves and add them to your reading list.

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