Underappreciated South Asian Classics

What makes a classic? When you search the web for South Asian or Indian classics, we’ve seen various names from RK Narayan to Salman Rushdie to Mulk Raj Anand to Khushwant Singh to Manto. But we decided to try and pick a few others that may be a bit further from the radar. That is not to say these books were not appreciated in their time, but rather that they provide an alternative view of India a few decades ago, and truly were ahead of their time. While the canon has its own merits, we decided to look for titles that aren’t in syllabuses and reading lists, but have been rediscovered or become cult favourites, books that shed new light on our collective past. 

G.V. Desani - All About H. Hatterr (1948)

A chronicle of an Anglo-Malay man in search of wisdom, Desani’s novel has been lauded by Anthony Burgess and Salman Rushdie, among others, as a forgotten classic that integrates ‘impure’ language with philosophical terms, mixing the colloquial slang of Calcutta, London, bazaars and quacks with the jargon of Indian babus and litigation. 

Upendranath Ashk - In the City A Mirror Wandering (1963)

Unfolding over the course of a single day, Ashk’s exploration of a young man wandering through Jalandhar was far ahead of its time. Translated expertly by Daisy Rockwell, it showcases the city and was compared to Proust’s work.  

Attia Hossain - Sunlight on a Broken Column (1961)

Set primarily in Lucknow, Attia Hossain’s book gets its title from a T.S. Eliot poem and tells the tale of an orphaned Muslim girl in a rich family after partition. 

Sankar - The Middleman (1964)

Though he is better known for Chowringhee, Sankar (or Mani Shankar Mukherjee) has gained traction after his works were translated in recent decades. The Middleman is a stunning tale of city life, cynicism and trying to make a place in the world, which was adapted by Satyajit Ray in 1975. 

Bhisham Sahni - Tamas (1974)

Set in the backdrop of riot-stricken Pakistan at the time of partition, Tamas is about Sikh and Hindu emigres during this fraught time, and was turned into a film by Govind Nihalani in the 1980s. 

Anita Desai - In Custody (1984)

Shortlisted for the Booker prize when it came out, Desai’s book is about an impoverished Urdu lecturer in small town India who seeks opportunity in Delhi. It evokes a world that seems drastically different from our current one, despite being less than 40 years ago. 

Upamanyu Chatterjee - English, August (1989)

A hilarious, philosophical exploration of a young, anglicised civil servant discovering small town India for himself, English, August is wry, funny and arguably one of India’s only stoner novels