A label which includes the literatures of numerous languages, principally Classical Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, and Bengali. The oldest works are in Sanskrit. These include the texts of the Veda (sacred love) in four collections which date back to the first millennium BC: Rigveda, Atharvarvedra, Yagurvedra, and Samavedra; and also the great Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Later Sanskrit literature featured ritual Tantras, philosophical poems, and scholarly lyrics. A vernacular literature in Prakrit also developed in modern times. The early Tamil anthologies, Ettutogaiad and Pattuppattu, contain romantic and heroic verse from the 1st4th-c AD; later Tamil literature was influenced by other Indian traditions, and then in the 19th20th-c by European forms. A similar underlying pattern may be observed in Bengali literature, documented from 1400, which contains translations of Sanskrit epics, and later shows successive Muslim, Christian, and English influences. Distinguished individual writers are the 19th-c novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and the poet and Nobel recipient Rabindranath Tagore.
By contrast with Classical Sanskrit writings, the literatures of both Hindi and Urdu are essentially populist and reformist. Hindi has a tradition of poetry going back to the Rajasthani bards of c.1400, and includes 16th-c devotional poetry and (later) erotic literature such as the Kesav Das; there is also a modern vernacular. But the vernacular initiative passed in the 17th-c to Urdu, enriched by Persian models and material, and favoured by the Muslim nobility. Poets such as the satirist Saudi (d.1781), and the ghazal love poets Mir (d.1810) and Ghalib (d.1869), were matched in the 20th-c by the mystical poet Mohammed Iqbal; and modern Urdu literature flourishes in all forms in Pakistan. With the spread of education in the 20th-c, the vernacular cultures of the Indian subcontinent were revitalized by adapting the Western with the Sanskrit traditions. Modern writers include novelists Anita Desai, R K Narayan, and Vikram Seth, and the poet K N Islam.
Indian literature is generally acknowledged, but not wholly established, as the oldest in the world. India has 22 officially recognized languages, and a huge variety of literature has been produced in these languages over the years. In Indian literature, oral and written forms are both important. In the medieval period, during which time India was mostly under Muslim rule, Indian Muslim literature flourished, most notably in the Persian and Urdu poetry of Ghalib and Amir Khusrau. Indian literature has also thrived in modern times; notable contributors to modern Indian literature include such writers as the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, India's first Nobel laureate, and the Persian and Urdu poet Allama Iqbal, both of whose philosophical poetry is renowned the world over.
Sanskrit literature
There are many famous works written in Sanskrit. Kālidāsa is often considered to be the greatest poet and playwright in Sanskrit literature, whose Recognition of Shakuntala and Meghaduuta are the most famous Sanskrit plays. He occupies the same position in Sanskrit literature that Shakespeare occupies in English literature.
Prakrit literature
The most notable Prakrit language was Pali. Pali literature includes Buddhist philosophical works, poetry and some grammatical works.
Pali literature
The Pali Canon is mostly of Indian origin. Later Pali literature however was mostly produced outside the Indian subcontinent, particularly in East Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.
Bengali literature
Further information: Bengali poetryThe most internationally famous Bengali writer is Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature; Other famous Indian Bengali writers were Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. As a result of the Bengali renaissance in the 19th and 20th centuries, many of India's most famous, and relatively recent, literature, poetry, and songs are in Bengali.
Bihari literature
Angika Literature Bhojpuri Literature Magahi Literature Maithili Literature Vajjika LiteratureMarathi literature
Marathi literature began with saint-poets like Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Ramdas, and Eknath. Modern Marathi literature was marked by a theme of social reform.
South Indian literature
Tamil literature
See also: Sangam literature and The Five Great Epics of Tamil LiteratureTamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than 2000 years. Contributors to the Tamil literature mainly were Tamil people from Tamil Nadu, however there have been notable contributions from European authors. The history of Tamil literature follows the history of Tamil Nadu, closely following the social and political trends of various periods. Jain and Buddhist authors during the medieval period and Muslim and European authors later also contributed to the growth of Tamil literature.
A revival of Tamil literature took place from the late nineteenth century when works of religious and philosophical nature were written in a style that made it easier for the common people to enjoy.
Kannada literature
Kannada literature is the third oldest in Indian literature next to Sanskrit literature and Tamil literature. The earliest reported work in Kannada literature dates back to 5th century. Kannada
literature can broadly studied in three phases: Hale Kannada (Old Kannada), Nadu Kannada (Middle Kannada) and Adhunika Kannada (Modern Kannada). As of today Kannada authors have distinction of
winning Jnanpeeth award, the highest literary award in India, most times, seven.
Malayalam literature
Telugu literature
Telugu, the second largest language spoken in India, is rich in literary traditions.
The earliest written literature dates back to the seventh century.
Kalapurnodayam by Pingali Suranna, a sixteenth-century poet, is the worlds first literary work in the Stream of consciousness style.
Vemana who lived in the fourteenth century wrote in the language of the common man. He is the first rebel in literature.
Gurajada Apparao, the father of Telugu Modern poetry, created a literary marvel with his play Kanyasulkam. Kanyasulkam stands one of the best plays that have ever been written in the world literature.
Romantic Moment: Krishna Sastri, the wizard of Telugu Romantic poetry is said to be another Shelly.
The New Era: Sri Sri who is the only poet deserving of the title 'Mahakavi' (the greatest of the poets) in the modern era produced Mahaprasthanm. Mahaprasthanam did to Telugu people what the literature from Milton to Eliot/Frost had done to the English.
Viswanadha Satyanarayana, a doyen of conventional yet creative literature, was the first to receive the Jnanpith, the highest literary award in India, followed by C.
The Digambara poets (Nagnamuni, Cherabanda Raju, Jwalamukhi, Nikhileshwr, Bhiravayya, and Mahaswapna) shook the stagnant literary world between 1960–1970 and their verses were translated not only into many other Indian languages but also into many European Languages. It is Telugu Literature that led whole Indian literary world in Revolutionary Literary Movement.
short story in telugu: in the field of short story,there are so many great writers in telugu.Gurujada AppaRao,Palagummi padma raju, rachakonda viswanadha sastry, kalipatnam ramarao ,chaganti somayajulu, sripada subramanyam sastry,chintha deekshitulu, maa gokhale,sreepathi,rachamallu ramachandra reddy, k.sabha,madhurantakam rajaram,kethu viswanadha reddy,singamaneni narayana,sodum jayaram,y.c.v.reddy,kuppi reddy padmanabha reddyare the eminent short story writers in telugu.
Thus, between Nannayya and 'Nandanodaya' of today, there stood literary giants who enriched world literature.
Hindustani lterature
Hindi literature
Hindi literature started as religious and philosophical poetry in medieval periods in dialects like Avadhi and Brij. In modern times, the Khadi dialect became more prominent and a variety of literature was produced in Sanskrit.
Chandrakanta, written by Devaki Nandan Khatri, is considered to be the first work of prose in Hindi.
Urdu literature
Further information: Urdu poetryAmong other traditions, Urdu poetry is a fine example of linguistic and cultural synthesis. Arab and Persian vocabulary based on the Hindi language resulted in a vast and extremely beloved class of ghazal literature, usually written by Muslims in contexts ranging from romance and society to philosophy and devotion to Allah. Urdu soon became the court language of the Mughals and in its higher forms was once called the "Kohinoor" of Indian languages.
Indian literature in foreign languages
Indian Persian literature
During the early Muslim period, Persian became the lingua franca of the subcontinent, used by most of the educated and the government. Although Persian literature from Persia itself was popular, several Indians became major Persian poets, the most notable being Amir Khusro and in more modern times Allama Iqbal. Much of the older Sanskrit literature was also translated into Persian. Many modern Indian languages still show signs of heavy Persian influence, most notably Urdu and Hindi.
Indian English literature
In the last century, several Indian writers have distinguished themselves not only in traditional Indian languages but also in English. India's only Nobel laureate in literature was the Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore. Other major writers in English who are either Indian or of Indian origin and derive much inspiration from Indian themes are R.
In the 1950s, the Writers Workshop collective in Calcutta was founded by the poet and essayist P.
In recent years, English-language writers of Indian origin are being published in the West at an increasing rate.
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