The Hindustan Times has published a list of the greatest Indian novels ever written. The paper says, “It might feel incomplete (only books written in English or translations of works in Hindi and other regional languages figure here). It might seem biased (they’re personal picks from the best literary minds of our time). It might even appear as though we’ve missed your personal favourite (lists tend to do that). But for anyone looking to jump into the rich world of Indian writing, it’s a beautiful and imperative start. ”
A jury of eight – writers, publishers, academics and book critics – nominated 10 books each. The jury comprised of Amitava Kumar, Chiki Sarkar, David Davidar, Harish Trivedi, Jeet Thayil, Jerry Pinto, Ravi Singh and Sunil Sethi.
The books are listed alphabetically by author’s name.
1. Cutting For Stone (2009) by Abraham Verghese
2. Twilight In Delhi (1940) by Ahmed Ali
3. An Obedient Father (2000) by Akhil Sharma
4. The Immortals (2009) by Amit Chaudhuri
5. The Hungry Tide (2005) by Amitav Ghosh
6. The Shadow Lines (1988) by Amitav Ghosh
7. Fire On The Mountain (1977) by Anita Desai
8. In Custody (1984) by Anita Desai
9. Baumgartner’s Bombay (1988) by Anita Desai
10. The White Tiger (2008) by Aravind Adiga
11. The God Of Small Things (1997) by Arundhati Roy
12. The Fig Tree (1959) by Aubrey Menen
13. Kadambari (in Sanskrit, 7th century CE) by Banabhatta, translated by Padmini Rajappa (2010)
14. Anandamath (in Bengali, 1882) by Bankim Chandra Chatterji, translated by Basanta Kumar Roy (1992)
15. Trying To Grow (1991) by Firdaus Kanga
16. All About H. Hatterr (1948) by GV Desani
17. The Trotter-Nama: A Chronicle (1988) by Irwin Allan Sealy
18. Em And The Big Hoom (2012) by Jerry Pinto
19. Nectar In A Sieve (1954) by Kamala Markandaya
20. Train To Pakistan (1956) by Khushwant Singh
21. Delhi (1990) by Khushwant Singh
22. The Inheritance Of Loss (2006) by Kiran Desai
23. Cuckold (1997) by Kiran Nagarkar
24. Ravan & Eddie (1994) by Kiran Nagarkar
25. The Death Of Vishnu (2001) by Manil Suri
