Indian Women Writers and Its Feminism in English

I. INTRODUCTION

In world of English novel, Indian women authors made significant contribution. In bulk variety and maturity, Indian novel has grown considerably. Indian novel's development follows certain clear trends, and its incremental progression from imitative phase to rational to the psychological stage to investigational phase is not difficult to track. The 1980s occupy a unique position in growth & development of the Indian English novel. Some very talented female novelists have published their 1st works during this time. Also some old masters with works showing that their imaginative powers were intact all the time. In the 1980s, Indian women novelists received unparalleled awards & distinctions not only in India, but also abroad. These Indian women novelists works, like female novelists of the third generation, speak eloquently of their originality & unprecedented inventiveness. Literature in Indian English is now a fact that cannot be ignored. It has attracted widespread interest in both India and abroad over the past few decades. What started as a "hot-house plant" has now reached a luxurious development, branching off in a number of directions. An idea of true potential of this type of literature in India can be obtained by contrasting Indians ' early novels with recent arrivals in same literary field. In Contemporary Literary Scenario, however, Indian writing throughout English enjoys equal status with other countries ' literatures. Indian women authors in particular have made their voice heard in the Indian way around the world, expressing it too artistically. In addition, Indian women writers have also been able to excel in all areas of literature in English in recent times and have achieved global recognition. The Indian women authors, through their writings in English, articulated the role and status of the woman, illuminated literature with its value and vividness. Yes, it reflected culture, history, & overall variants needed to enrich the literature around the world. Yes, after the USA and UK, India is 3rd largest producer of novels. Although the writings deal deeply with regionalism, universal themes crossed the natural boundaries. India, with so many languages, religions, races and cultures, is land of diversity. That multiplicity offered authors a great opportunity to deal with different topics. Indian women authors ' voice also discussed historical, social, philosophical and much more focused their themes around humanity. It based their themes on sociological, Diasporic aspects,

Indian women have contributed significantly as equivalent to men authors to the global literature. India's contribution was primarily through the Indian writing in English, with novelists at the forefront in this regard. A number of contemporary scene novelists have expressed their creative urge in no other language than English & credited Indian English fiction as a distinguishing force in world fiction. It assimilates the newly confronted circumstances and the nuanced dilemmas of the modern world. The new English novel shows confidence in dealing with new themes and deals with new techniques and approaches to dealing with these themes. With regard to Indian literature, it may have been easier for these female novelists to reflect the new challenges and changes due to the simple fact that their own vehicle is a globalized language. Once, the new fiction writers are primarily part of the Indian diaspora. Living in the west, they were extensively exposed to major modern Western literary trends such as Post-Modernism and various storytelling techniques such as magic realism. It made it possible for them to give fiction a fresh orientation. At the same time, India's best continues to have strong roots, so they remain true to India's and western parentage points. It is critical that the spirit of the era is expressed in the fiction of the Indian woman more pervasively and effectively than in other forms such as poetry and drama. The novel is better equipped by its very existence to deal with social reality, whatever it may take to project it. Therefore, it is hardly shocking that the most significant contribution of the time comes from the fiction's Indian women's writings. Through their writings, the voice of modern Indian women authors, published between the 1980s and 1990s, has contributed to a literary revival as the third generation of Indian writers such as Nayantara Sehgal, Anitha Desai, Arundhati Roy, Shashi Desh Pande, Gita Mehta, Bharathi Mukherjee, and Jhumpha Lahiri. These are the leading female novelists of 3rd generation and are central to contemporary literary scenario. Ability to control expression, they have made distinct impression on world literary scene. They have won recognition at national and international level, generous royalties & prestigious awards. [1]

Abithana Chintamani, first Tamil literature encyclopedia, states that the Awaiyar was little one of more than one female poet who was active in various Tamil literature periods. During the sangam period, i.e. during 1st & 2nd centuries, she lived among them Awaiyar and had a cordial relationship the Kambar and ottakuttar period. She has written many of poems which are still very popular and inculcated in Tamil Nadu's school textbooks. Her quote "Katrathu Kai Mann Alavu, Kallathathu Ulagalavu" was translated as "What you've learned is a handful; what you haven't learned is world's size" and displayed at NASA. It should be noted that, while her real name is not clear, the word Awaiyar means revered old women or grandmother. Raj Lakshmi Debi's, Hindu Wife or Enchanted Fruit (1876) & Krupabai Sathianandhan's Kamala. [2]

The studies of women in history have been traced so far-now moving on to women as presented in literature, representing women's lives through men's writings, and now and then a few women about whom Annie Besant exclaimed: literature can display no greater typing of womanhood than is found in India's great epic poems. The styles of Indian women sketched in from noble models and written in a few heroic figures by the master hands represent all that is at once the finest, sweetest, loftiest, and most devoted in mankind. a. Women in Indian Epic While great epics such as Ramayana & Mahabharata delineate different noble people, a trace of dichotomy inherent in Indian thinking seemed to remain. Either as a sensual, pagan creature like Surpanaka or as a devoted wife and mother like Sita, this dualism represented women. Indian women are considered to be pictured as caring wife and tender mother and have been celebrated or admired more in India than anywhere else for this performance. All these views are men's views, the way they looked at women. Rarely did these views reflect how women thought or felt about them themselves. They were silent all the time, which is evident from this phrase: "Women and eunuchs are those from whom there is no lecture, no guidance." This assertion shows that a silent majority had been the life-creating second sex. Sporadically, women's voice heard showed they were doomed to remain in the periphery. In Indian literary history, women as authors appeared very late.

Despite refusing public presence, Indian history presents how women left their mark in form of poetry from the past, often soft but strong. Women's earliest recorded poetry in India was the sixth-century B.C. Buddhist nuns. Such nuns ' poems serve as testaments to joys of these men folk by warfare. Women's writing has become rare as culture has become more patriarchal. A male-dominated society has driven women to the margins, making education less available to them. [3]

Kamala Satthianandan's publication of Indian Christian Life stories in 1898 marked starting of Indian writers ' short story in English. Yet India's short story tradition can be traced back to the' Panchatantra,' the Jataka Stories, Katha Sariotsagara. When Indian short story came of age in the 1930s, it recognized its value as an art form. Anita Desai-The Indian short story reaches a certain degree of maturity with Desai, particularly in her psychological depiction of inner self. In her short story collection entitled' Games at Twilight & different Stories ' (1978), she pleads for an attitude of moderation & adaptability in virtue of her successful characters to change circumstances. Looking at the Indo-English literature of the 1970s, it appears that marked increase in contribution of female authors and that there is also a greater awareness, with many critics focusing their attention on literary depiction of problems of Indian modem women, whether mental, emotional, social or economic. Women's literature is concerned solely or overwhelmingly with comprehensive investigations of a more fundamental nature, i.e. common themes such as the clash of cultures, East Vs West, Spirituality Vs Materialism, Indian ideas Vs the Western Externalized goals, etc. Many young female authors tended to express their ideas in a short form of narration. Most of the 1970's authors belonged to the middle class. Life of this class in India seems to offer a woman the opportunity to sit down and write her own stories, the challenge and the material means. Because of their own traditional role as' woman in the home' and' woman in society,' life experience seems to have been much more predictable. Consequently, female writers chose their subjects within the boundaries of the clearly drawn' women's domain.' The writers of the short story woke up to the problem of conventional images by way of a single experience; a mood or a feeling focused on a moment or moments of revolt. A generation's use of the long narrative form, as it were, is in the midst of working out new perspectives for itself, new approaches to master one's life, and experiences would not meet the requirement of the authors to give adequate expression to these investigations. This is' wrestling with reality' once again. The use of short story demonstrates, as it was, the 20th-century woman's creation. A female is given primary importance in the stories of women of the 20th perspectives on the verge of womanhood. [4]

WRITERS

a. Pre Independence Era Women writers appeared gradually in India, beginning with Torulata Dutt (1856-1877), who dealt with Indian womanhood archetypes such as the legendary Sita and Savitri. Pandita Ramabhai Saraswati was praised for her work that laid the groundwork for the liberation of women in India. Her three major works, Love & Life behind Purdah (1901), Sun-Babies in India's child life (1904) and Between the Twilight (1908), make her famous. Sarojini Naidu, India's Nightingale, although not a novelist, holds a prominent place as a poet in the Indian literary horizon. Women are primarily Indian in sensitivity in most early novels, filled with the traditional feminine attributes of honesty, affection, and resignation. These first-generation writers portrayed women in traditional fashion. Such women's writings appeared to be imitative under influence of famous British authors, while some concentrated on romantic idealization; others wrote with reformist zeal. All in all, with a reformatory spirit and a strong sociological motive, these women writers wrote. Therefore there was no room in their work for frustration, annoyance, or stress, but care and concern for Indian women who were suffering. b. Post-Independence Era: First Generation A spurt of fiction writing by women writers of higher quality and depth was experienced by post-independence India. There was no notable female writer in the period between 1915 and 1950. Consequently, there was gap among post-independence authors and their predecessors of thirty-five years. The second generation of women writers tried to project women as the central figure after a period of three decades and succeeded in addressing more effectively the plight of women. Such women writers have given the portrayal of women in family and culture a distinct dimension. We had described effectively the reactions, responses, issues and perplexities and the intricate workings of their internal selves and their emotional involvement and disruptions. c. The Second Generation Kamala Markandaya and Nayantra Sahgal are among the second-generation female writers in the literary field. Other famous novelists of the present era include Shobha De, Shashi Deshpande,

Nimbkar. A brief summary of the most popular novelists ' themes and techniques will give us an idea of current trend in English-language Indian Literature. To start with, in the literary circle, Kamala Markandaya has secured a firm position. She has been grappling with the subsistence problem. Her books A Handful of Rice tackle the plight of the poor whose lives are an endless struggle for life. The conventional relationship with Mother Earth could be found in her novels since the fortunes of these rural characters are related to the fertility and sterility of land & people. Kalpana emphasizes the portrayals of Kamala Markandaya: Instead of creating the world of a girl, she presents a real reality. Through her novels, mothers describe themselves within a socio-cultural framework through a series of interactions and modes of behaviour. In a conservative society, she challenges women who are thrown between tradition and modernity–the dilemma's twin horns. In Nectar in a Sieve, she points out how the contradictions and imbalances in the economic and social order have seriously hampered the Indian woman's emancipation. Her stories are mostly told honestly and explicitly, and she sparingly uses humor and metaphor. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is described in various ways as an insider inside and outside. She was born to a German-Polish parent and married a young Parsi architect, Cyrus Jhabvala. Throughout her stay in India, her creative spirit finds her artistic expression. She wrote eight novels and edited a few short story collections as well. She concentrated on her familiar milieu, Indian culture of the middle and upper middle class. The domestic setting pervades her fictional world and deals with family themes. She also discusses the topic of the relationship between European and Indian cultures. Her acute observation and knowledge of life in Indian society, coupled with her critical acumen, led to an accurate depiction of individuals ' daily lives in various predicaments. Jhabvala is especially conscious of the position of women in Indian community, and her novels portray the shift in her behavior in the changing cultural context. Madhuri is one of those characters in her Esmond in India. Her other novel is Get Ready for Fighting, Love Nature, Whom She Wants, Heat and Sand. The titles of these novels bear witness to her novels ' Indianness and show her appreciation of Indian culture and interest. While Jhabvala retains the voice of objectivity and sticks to straightforward narrative, in her novels one can find biting humor and social commentary. world that she filled with beings that were extraordinarily sensitive. Many of her characters find the real world too hard, too rough, too uncomfortable and too complicated. We withdraw into their inner world from reality and quest through this hostile world for ways and means of living.

She is the first Indian-English author to look specifically at life from an existentialist point of view. Most of her novels were revealed through the monolog of the interior. She uses bird images to reflect the internal longings of the characters of women. Her writing in many cases hits epic heights. In style and imagery, the language is distinct. Descriptive and descriptive methods are also compatible. Nayantra Sahgal has a reputation as both a journalist and an author. She is credited with six novels and two autobiographies. After independence, she shows an accurate view of India. Jasbir Jain named Sahgal "one of today's best socio-political novelists." Her embracing public concern, however, is not divorced from humanistic concern. Sahgal is a champion of individual freedom which appears in her novels in various forms. She speaks sensitively about how women suffer in a patriarchal set-up due to sexist bias. She shows the need for a new morality in which a woman is regarded as the equal of a man and the relationship is to be cemented with mutual trust, love and understanding. Chandigarh Wind, Shadow Day, Rich Like us, A Good Time. Nayantra Sahgal performs a close and insightful analysis of the sufferings of elite-class women and demonstrates how they refuse to remain bound to the subordinate positions they are given, trying to defy traditional norms in pursuit of emancipation. Bharathi Mukherjee and Gita Hariharan discuss the moral dilemma that women face, in their works. Rama Mehta and Meena Alexander are known for realistic portrayals and authentic sociological study. Shobha De is known for her frank narration of incidents, her focus being the elite women of India. Arundhati Roy joins the above group in the truthful portrayal of the plight of women in society & their marathon struggle for seeking the sense of ‗identity‘ in a male dominated conservative frame sociological research were credited to Rama Mehta and Meena Alexander. Shobha De is known for her truthful incident analysis, her focus being on India's elite women. Arundhati Roy joins the above party in the honest depiction of women's plight in society and their marathon struggle in a male-dominated conservative system to pursue the meaning of' identity' work. [5]

Starting with Roy, the degradation of Ayemenem's fictional village emphasizes and represents in the larger narrative the moral corruption of the characters, especially the Ipe family. The popular motifs of the Meenachal River's pollution and history. House is the subject of environmental violence in tandem with sex and caste oppression in Kerala by Ammu and Velutha. Significantly, she appears to be an ornamental gardener in her career, and her garden is in shambles as she takes her life through television vicariously. The sibling incest takes place against this backdrop, a chilling illustration of the grotesque used by Roy throughout the book. Older feminist writers like Kamala Markandya and Anita Desai also wrote about women and the world before the phenomenal success of Roy's novel. These writers do nonetheless make profoundly political statements about social issues and Indian society as a whole while writing about specific and private lives about women. One explanation why women writers in this genre are often ignored and not taken seriously is the emphasis on the personal and the private. Markandya's Nectar in a Sieve and Desai's Fire on the Mountain both reflect the darker shades of nature as well as the parallel mixture of the women's darker aspects. Since nature is unpredictable and there is a drought in Markandya's book, Rukmini and her family are almost starving to death. Although Rukmini embraces her lot, her daughter Ira is forced into prostitution because of their dire financial situation. Throughout Desai's book, Ila Das's rape is carried out mercilessly in the darkness of the fields which are meant to sustain life. The atrocities that women suffer in Desai's novel culminate in Raka, which ultimately set the forest on fire. [6]

Dr. S. Bharathiet.al. [2019] This research is to examine Indian women's success in writing from the very beginning of their development and to sense the glitches they face. From the beginning until the contemporary authors are discussed the themes of sexuality and man-woman relationship which became the theme of writing this paper. But they are issues shows their sensitivity as a female writer, and this quality affirms their work as an exemplary contribution to English-language Indian literature to prove their unique character. [7] Zuha Moideen [2019] Since an instrumentalization of feminist theory takes place in these books, much of the critical literature describe chick lit as post-feminist texts. This paper explores whether Indian chick lit directly or indirectly supports postfeminist views and as such could be named. The paper looks at the problem of the nomenclature "Indian chick lit," followed by a discussion of its post-colonial identity and how consumerism, a staple of chick lit, is addressed in the genre. It claims that humor, argued as a subversive tool, is revealed as a concealing mechanism that serves to obscure the fact that the genre creates and strengthens suitable femininities. Feminist issues are glossed over within the complexities of gratification and escape offered by the Indian chick lit genre, and significance is attached to the plot's resolution of the socio-cultural concerns raised. [8] Upendra Kumar et. al. [2018] Several feminist writers who contributed to the society's literature wrote chivalric novels. Most of their novels are based on women's characters and the beauty of women in the world. Feminist women writers continue to strive in their works as poetry and novels to defend women's rights. Anita Nair is an Indian novel and poetry bestseller. She always had a desire to read and the bravery in all circumstances to try it. Nair is concerned with the many roles women play in their lives, and this is also expressed in her work. With great energy, she writes and produces wonderful works at ease. Post-colonial feminist literature has always beenar the heavy burden of coping with layers of cultural and theological misinterpretation. The role of women and their dependency is at the core of this problem, economically and socially. The more patriarchal a post-colonial society is, the more controversial the issue of the emancipation of women is. The more passionate its women novelists like Anita Nair pose, therefore, what many readers would find to be taboic questions about the role of women in post-colonial India today. Ladies coupe and Mistress are picked for this paper from Anita Nair's novels. Through these novels Anita Nair has signaled the arrival of a sensitive author who can perceive deeper complexities in the personalities of people and take the reader on a wonderful exploration journey. Such novels have the ability to taste the island world. In these pages I will try to appreciate the forces of Anita Nair to delineate the deeper layers of the character of the girl. [9] Dr. Tanu Kashyap [2018] Aspirations and dreams are not always fulfilled... relationships are not

Dr. S. Henry Kishore [2017] Modern Indian women maintain the fundamental positions in the midst of apparent change. The patriarchal Indian society is looking (down) at women and straitjacketed positions, even up to 300 B.C. in the early Vedic period. Women have been held in reverence and esteem. They broke out of an irksome domestic routine partnership in the fifth century and embraced self-expression. Manusmrti established a woman's proper social role, perpetuating her dependent role. Women have become outcasts in the medieval period. The age of Moghul brought women to the lowest ebb. British Raj, the sleeping country was awakened from its stupor in the nineteenth century. Indian epics delineate various noble people. Women writers in the pre-independence period gradually appeared. A spurt of writing by women writers of higher quality and depth was experienced by post-independence India. Post-colonial and feminist theories reflect the influence of their plays. [11] Dr. Racheti Anne Margaret et.al. [2016] The Indian women writers who for two major reasons shared their views and pain in the post-colonial times through their writings. Next, it was possible to see women's experiences under patriarchal influence to come out to the forefront and reveal the extreme brutality that men held against them. Women had to resist this male domination of them. We note that women have continued to define community, class and race boundaries. Via their plays, they tried to express their pain and frustration with male dominated behavior. While Indian women writers attempt to portray women as strong and concentrated in their dream to succeed in life, they were nevertheless ablest to succeed in their lives only in the room that the men allocated to them. The Indian women authors, however, who tried to stamp their authority as best they could in a male-dominated setting. I know very well that this is a very difficult path, because women had to break through years of male dominance, tabos and prejudices that had impregnated society heavily. Furthermore, critics argued that for women and for men, imperialism worked quite differently. This is because women are subject to both general discrimination as subjects ' colonial toys and specific discrimination as women who are addressed as "double colonization." [12] Dr. Venkateswarlu Yesapogu et.al. [2016] For two major reasons, feminist writings have been of critical importance to the post-colonial debate. Next, it was possible to see both patriarchy and capitalism exercising different forms of control over those who are their subordinates. Because of this, it was important for women's experiences under patriarchal influence to come out to the forefront and expose the excessive cruelty that men held against them. Women had to oppose this male domination over them. We remember that women have continued to establish culture, class and race boundaries. Via their plays they sought to impose feminism. While Indian women writers attempt to portray women as strong and concentrated in their vision to succeed in life, they were nevertheless ablest to succeed in their lives only in the room that the men allocated to them. The feminist writers, however, tried to stamp their authority as best they could in a male-dominated environment. It was a very difficult path, because women had to break through years of male dominance, tabulations, and prejudices that had impregnated society heavily. Furthermore, critics argued that for women and for men, imperialism worked quite differently. This was because women were subjected as colonial subjects to both general discrimination and direct discrimination as they were treated as ' double colonization'. [13] Patrika Handique [2015] Patriarchy is delineated as the kind of society in which males hold the supreme authority. Because of such a social system, the two biological sexes retain a form of

Indian women writers in English expressing the realities of Indian fact in the current Indian literary scenario. In the literature universe, they carry many obligations. They conduct as anthropologists, sociologists, novelists, essayists, travel authors, educators and move into global duty to create peace as ambassadors with admirable aplomb. We exceeded the international literary standards set by men and women post-colonial and post-modern authors such as Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Vikram Chandra, Sashi Tharoor, and Arundhati Roy, etc. These have become the colossal central socio-literary figures, drawing global attention to the substantial work bodies. We have also become the only negotiators to mediate India and other colonized nations ' key social and cultural problems. All of their major works have enjoyed considerable scholarly attention throughout the globe, attracting and generating a great deal of literary criticism, especially about feminism. They built a large readership and strong critical support that represents serious academics and scholars 'interest. Both post-colonial and post-modern predicaments are battled to show a high degree of self-awareness that continues to challenge the political, theoretical, cultural issues of rape and sexual harassment of innocent women in contemporary Indian society. Our studies have prompted with populism the rise of feminism criticism. Their intellectual insights, conceptual, theoretical and textual experiments involved the complex colonial and postcolonial situations and interpreted them.

1. Reddy, Sheela (2002). ‗Writing Through Turmoil‘. Outlook, New Delhi,19 August 2002. 2. Kirubahar, Samuel, et. al. ed (2012). Womens playwrights in the Arena of Indian English Drama . Insights into Indian writing in English. Virudhunagar: Research Centre in English, pp. 126-131. 3. Andal, N. (2002). Women and Indian Society. Jaipur: Rawat Publications. 5. Marx, Karl. (n.d.). (2014). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved November 8, 2014, from Brainy Quote .com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/karlmarx 384275. 6. Warren, Karen J. (2000). Ecofeminist Philosophy. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. 7. Dr. S. Bharathi and G. Vadivelmurugan: ―An exploration of the Indian women writers‖, International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in Technology ISSN: 2454-132X Impact factor: 4.295 (Volume 5, Issue 2). 8. Zuha Moideen (2019). ―Internat ional Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Language Teaching‖ Volume 1 Issue 1 January 2019 INDIAN CHICK LIT AS POSTFEMINIST TEXTS. 9. Upendra Kumar, Dr. Dhirendra Kumar Mohanty (2018). ―A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE IN THE NOVEL OF ANITA NAIR‖, January 2018, Volume 5, Issue 1 JETIR (ISSN-2349-5162) JETIR1801124 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR). 10. Dr. Tanu Kashyap (2018). ―FEMINIST STUDY IN MEENA KANDASAMY‘S NOVELS ―WHEN I HIT YOU: OR, A PORTRAIT OF THE WRITER AS A YOUNG WIFE‖ AND ―THE GYPSY GODDESS‖, Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; Email:editorrjelal@gmail.com ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O) Vol.6.Issue 3. 2018 (July-Sept). 11. Dr. S. Henry Kishore (2017). ―The Evolution Indian Women Psyche: A Chronological Study of Women and Woman Writers in India‖, ISBN 2017: 8th International Conference on Literature, Languages, Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies (LLHIS-17) Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Dec. 14-15, 2017. 12. Dr. Racheti Anne Margaret (2016). ―The Indian Women Writers and their Contribution in the World Literature- A Critical Study ‖,International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature

http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2347-3134.0410006 www.arcjournals.org ©ARC Page | 32. 13. Dr. Venkateswarlu Yesapogu (2016). ―The Voice of Indian Women Novelists and their Status in the Contemporary Indian English Literature –A Critical Study‖, American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (ARJHSS) ISSN (Online) : 2378-7031 Volume 2016, 8 pages. 14. Patrika Handique (2015). ―Patriarchy and Women: An Exploration of Ruskin Bond‘s Selected Novels‖, International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 5, Issue 3, ISSN 2250-3153.

Assistant Professor & Head, Department of English & American Studies, K.K.P.G. College, Etawah, Uttar Pradesh