Indian literature with its resplendent narration, bucolic plot setting and rich characterization has its own acclamation and criticism around the world! From laudable debuts to awe-inspiring real stories, they have artistically rendered the world of literature their own share of quirky themes and recitals! Famous Indian authors, though few in number, have consistently labored to enrich the world of literature with their own stories and plots. There have been a number of vernacular, Hindi and English writers who have made it big in the world of literature but here I provide a list of some of the twentieth and twenty-first century’s most famous Indian authors of the English language and their most notable works!

1. Salman Rushdie

Combining magical realism with historical fiction, British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie catapulted into literary notability with his second novel, Midnight’s Children. He writes allegorical novels that examine philosophical issues in an engaging prose style! Rushdie’s treatment of sensitive political and religious issues (especially the views expressed in the ‘Satanic Verses’) has made him a controversial public figure! This famous Indian author has the following list of novels to his credit-

1. The Satanic verses
2. Midnight’s Children
3. Shalimar the clown
4. Shame
5. Two years, eight months and twenty eight nights
6. The Golden House
7. Luka and the Fire of Life
8. The Moor’s last sigh  

2. R. K. Narayan

R. K. Narayan was the trailbrazer who brought Indian literature on the international platform and gave those unversed in the diverse Indian tradition, a taste of it. His works are set in the fictitious town of Malgudi and explores ironies in the humdrum of an Indian life! The simplicity in his flair of writing has made him a leading figure in the list of famous Indian authors. Given below is the list of his most notable works!

1. Swami and Friends
2. The Bachelor of Arts
3. Waiting for the Mahatma 
4. The Guide 
5. The Man-Eater of Malgudi 
6. The Vendor of Sweets 
7. The Painter of Signs 
8. A Tiger for Malgudi

3. Khushwant Singh

A multi-talented Indian figure, Khushwant Singh wrote both fiction and non-fiction and entertained readers with his satirical mode of writing that brought up deep emotional messages and raked a vortex of sentiment inside everyone! After tasting life as a historian, lawyer, bureaucrat, journalist, political commentor and social critic, Khushwant took to writing novels and rose to fame with his historical novel, “Train to Pakistan”! A leading figure in the list of famous Indian authors, his most notable works include-

1. Train to Pakistan,
2. I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale
3. Karma
4. Delhi: A Novel
5. The Company of Women,
6. Truth, Love and a Little Malice 
7. With Malice towards One and All
8. The End of India,

4. Jhumpa Lahiri

American Indian author, Jhumpa Lahiri’s work illuminates the immigrant experience of East Indians! Famous for the poignancy of her prose and its finesse, her characters are said to build an emotional connection with the readers! Her most acclaimed work, The Interpreter of Maladies, is a collection of stories about the life of Indians and Indian-Americans strangled between the “new world” and their own cultural roots! This famous Indian author has the following list of books to her merit-

1. Interpreter of Maladies 
2. The Namesake
3. The Lowland

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5. Arundhati Roy

Reaching the pinnacles of success through her debut novel, ‘The God of Small Things’, Arundhati Roy is a much loved Indian author! She was an actress before she took up writing and is now one of the most active political commentor and social activist in the country. Her works after her debut fiction consisted largely on political subjects and contemporary issues! She has made it to the chart of famous Indian authors through the following works-

1. The God of Small Things.
2. The Ministry of Utmost Happines
3. The Algebra of Infinite Justice.
4. The Shape of the Beast: Conversations with Arundhati Roy.
5. Listening to Grasshoppers: Field Notes on Democracy. 
6. Kashmir: The Case for Freedom.

6. Anita Desai

A writer who confessed she ‘feels about India as an Indian,’ and thinks about it ‘as an outsider’, Anita Desai is a must mention name in the list of famous Indian authors. Her writings employ strong use of visual imagery and details with generational confrontation as the dominant theme in most of her works! Her characters are criticized for being passive and mute spectators of everything happening in their lives rather than being heroic examples who take control of unfavorable social and historical forces! Though most of her works have a tragic ending, they are popular in the reading community for their easy-to-read and introspective style of narration! Here is the list of Desai’s notable works-

1. The Zigzag Way 
2. Fasting, Feasting 
3. Journey to Ithaca 
4. In Custody 
5. The Village by the Sea 
6. Clear Light of Day 

7. Vikram Seth

Hogging the limelight with his humorous travelogue, ‘From Heaven Lake’, Vikram Seth made it to the famous Indian authors list with his first prose, ‘A Suitable Boy’. The book is one of the longest novels written by an Indian author with a gripping narrative of relations between four Indian families! Seth’s works have not just contributed to Indian novels but also to the Indian poetry canon! Given below is a list of the author’s noteworthy works-

1. The Golden Gate 
2. A Suitable Boy 
3. An Equal Music 
4. Mappings 
5. The Humble Administrator’s Garden 
6. All You Who Sleep Tonight 
7. Three Chinese Poets 
8. Two Lives 

8. Aravind Adiga

Indo-Australian writer, Aravind Adiga gained popularity through his debut novel, ‘The White Elephant’. The book got him the Booker prize and explores Indian rural poverty in the context of its rise as a cosmopolitan economy. His other books, took off equally as much as his debut novel and his book ‘selection day’ has been adopted into an Indian web series. Other noted works from the author include,

1. The White Tiger
2. Between the Assassinations
3. Last Man in Tower.
4. Selection Day.

9. Kiran Desai

Inheriting her mother, Anita Desai’s talents, Kiran Desai was a born story-teller! Her stories are inventive, fast-paced, riveting with endearing comical characters but carry deep messages of familial misunderstandings, contingent modern-day commercialism and incompetent officialdom! Against rich sensual descriptions and emotional depths, junior Desai’s works always leaves you in stitches and are fun to read! Following are the works that have put her in the list of famous Indian authors,

1. Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard.
2. The Inheritance of Loss.

10. Amitav Ghosh

The most versatile Indian author in the genre of historical fiction, Amitav Ghosh and his works rake the theme of identity crisis in the South Asian population! His works are recognized internationally and have been translated into more than thirty languages! He has written books that straddle several genres (travel writing, autobiography, memoir, historical writing, philosophical fiction), with some even blurring the line between fiction and non-fiction. Ghosh has won several literary awards and has spearheaded the literary revolution in the country, remaining at the top of the famous Indian authors list for many years! Check out the list of his works given below-

1. The Circle of Reason 
2. The Shadow Lines 
3. The Glass Palace
4. The Hungry Tide
5. Sea of Poppies 
6. River of Smoke 
7. Flood of Fire 
8. Gun Island 

11. Ruskin Bond

The plot-setting of serene and scenic hill stations of Dehradun, where Bond spent most of his childhood, will make you enjoy reading this Indian author of British descent. The most loved author by Indian children, Ruskin Bond has authored several children’s books and short-stories from the time he was nineteen! He had a lonely childhood which, Bond says, has helped him understand a child better! Ruskin hit the charts of famous Indian authors with his debut novel, ‘The room on the roof’ itself! Given below is a list of his most acclaimed works-

1. With Love From The Hills
2. The Room on the Roof
3. Rusty Runs Away
4. A Flight of Pigeons
5. The Sensualist
6. Angry River
7. Grandfather’s Private Zoo
8. The Blue Umbrella

12. Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor is a highly eulogized Indian writer, who has authored over 20 best selling works on fiction, centered on Indian culture, diversity, traditions, politics, foreign policies and much more. Each of his books have hit the bestseller list and his views have been the point of much debate and discussion. Not just that, Tharoor is known to have a strong command of the English language and is believed to introduce his twitter followers to new vocabulary every now and then! I personally believe that his ‘The great Indian novel’ is one of the best novels ever written by an Indian! Here is the list of some of his other works-

1. The Great Indian Novel
2. Show Business
3. Bookless in Baghdad
4. India: From Midnight to the Millennium
5. The Paradoxical Prime Minister
6. Why I Am a Hindu

13. Ashwin Sanghi

It is not just writers like Shashi Tharoor or Amish Tripathi that are retelling Indian history or mythology in quirky ways! Ashwini Sanghi was one of the first in the line who reinterpreted theological and mythological themes in his stories and hit the famous Indian authors list! Hailed as the Indian Dan Brown, he is India’s most well-known conspiracy fiction writer who retells mythology and history in contemporary context! Given below is the list of his most notable works-

1. The Rozabal Line
2. Chanakya’s Chant
3. The Krishna Key
4. Sialkot Saga
5. Keepers Of The Kalachakra.

14. Nikita Singh

Receiving the ‘Live India Young Acheiver’s Award’ in 2013, Nikita started writing at the age of nineteen and debuted through her novel ‘Love@facebook’! She writes romance books and the Hindu has aptly called her “The Goddess of Racy novels!” She has published over 12 books by now and hit the famous Indian authors list with her 2016 novel, ‘Like a love song!’ Given below is a list of her most acclaimed works!

1. Accidentally in Love 
2. If It’s Not Forever… It’s Not Love 
3. The Promise 
4. The Unreasonable Fellows 
5. Right Here Right Now 
6. After All This Time 
7. Like A Love Song 
8. The Reason is You 

On Chetan Bhagat!

On Durjoy Dutta!

15. Amish Tripathi

Turned from a banker to the most popular Indian author, Amish writes philosophical fiction by re-interpreting characters from Indian mythology in his stories! Tripathi hit the ranks of famous Indian authors through his debut novel, Immortals of Meluha, which made a record-breaking sale within a few weeks of its launch! Amish explores the question of ‘what is evil’ and his works are a triumph of imagination in the world of Indian literature! Given below is a list of his works-

1. The Immortals of Meluha,
2. The Secret of the Nagas
3. The Oath of the Vayuputras
4. Scion of Ikshvaku
5. Sita: Warrior of Mithila.
6. Immortal India