Raja Rao's Kanthapura is one of the finest novels to come out of mid-twentieth century India.

Raja Rao Is One Of The Triumvirate Of The Pioneering Indian Novelists In English. His Contribution To The Growth Of The English Novel In India Is Enormous. Each One Of His Novels Is A Trendsetter. Kanthapura, For Instance, Demonstrates How The English Language Can Be Used To Tell A Typically Indian Story Without Violating The Native Speech Rhythms And His The Serpent And The Rope Gave A New Direction To The Indian Novel In English By Philosophising It. His Range And Vision Transcend All Barriers. He Used The Fictional Medium To Portray His Patriotic And Philosophical Concerns In A Masterly Way.In This Volume, An Attempt Has Been Made To Assess Raja Rao S Novels And Short Stories In Terms Of His, Philosophy, Vision, Style, Themes And Techniques. It Is Hoped That Raja Rao Scholars Across The Globe Will Find The Book Irresistible.

Raja Rao, b. 1909, Indo-English novelist.

The Book Presents Raja Rao S Fic¬Tional World From A Refreshingly New Perspective. It Offers A Compre¬Hensive Account Of The Philosophi¬Cal Content In His Novels And Traces The Patterns Of Interaction Between Indian Metaphysical Tradition And The Culture Of The West. Dr. Dayal Shows How Raja Rao Has Developed His Vedantic Tantric Weltenschauung Through Absorption Of Similar Motifs Propounded By Certain Prominent Western Writers. The Study Of This Twin Insemination, Dealt In Depth And Subtlety, Makes A Significant Contribution To Indo-English Scho¬Larship.

Indian Fiction In English Now Enjoys A Major Presence Across The World. From Its Humble Beginnings In The Thirties It Has Come A Long Way To Emerge As A Serious Contender To Some Of The Most Coveted Literary Prizes In The World. In Terms Of Popularity And Market Presence It Has Experienced Phenomenal Success In The Recent Years. While It Behoves Well To Celebrate Its Success And Revel In Its Glory, We Should Also Stop To Enquire Into Its Strengths And Weaknesses, Its Achievements And Failures And Its Present Status And Future Prospects Standing As We Do On The Threshold Of The Twenty First Century. The Underlying Purpose Of Indian Fiction In English, Therefore, Is To Attempt A Fairly Comprehensive Turn Of The Century Stocktaking Of Indian Fiction In English.The Anthology Puts Together Incisive And Highly Rated Articles On Almost All The Important Indian Novelists In English. Starting With The Three Pioneers, Namely Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan And Raja Rao, It Goes On To Include Perceptive And Analytical Articles On The Second Generation Novelists Such As Manohar Malgonkar, Bhabani Bhattacharya, Arun Joshi, Anita Desai, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Kamala Markandaya And Nayantara Sahgal And Finally, It Attempts An Assessment Of The Relatively Recent Entrants Into The Field Like Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Bharati Mukherjee, Rukun Advani And Boman Desai.Among The Contributors Are Some Of The Most Respected Scholars In The Field Of English Studies In India: K.K Sharma, Saros Cowasjee, Alastair Niven, H.H. Anniah Gowda, G.S. Amur, Ayyappa Paniker, M. Sivaramkrishana, Vasanth A. Shahane, Shiv K. Kumar And S. Krishna Sarma.

Contributed articles.

Raja Rao Is An Erudite Scholar And An Ennobling Indian Novelist In English. His Sensibility Is Verily Indian And Presents A Unified Vision Of Life.His Creditable Career As A Novelist, Beginning With His First Novel Kanthapura (1938), Spans Over Almost More Than Half A Century. The Novel Is A Repository Of The Eventful Phases Of Indian S Struggle For Independence On Gandhian Lines. The Novel Merits The Distinction Of Being A Paradigmatic Text With The Deft Handling Of Myth And History.The Serpent And The Rope (1960) Renowned For Its Metaphysical Moorings Is A Compendium Of The Indian Composite Cultural Complexities Interacting As They Do With The Cross Cultural And Transactional Influences. The Text Holds Out Infinite Possibilities For The Intending Readers Set Out To Undertake A Serious Study.The Cat And Shakespeare (1965), Comrade Kirillov (1976) Are Intact With The Solidity Of An Inbuilt Structural Irony And Put Up An Amazing Picture, In An Amusing Manner, Of The Piquant Situation Obtaining All Over India In The Post-Independence Period, Soon After The Euphoria Of Independence Struggle Ceased To Exercise Its Influence.The Study Being Selective, Is Confined To Socio-Cultural Aspects Of Life As Reflected In The Above Texts.