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ISSN 2278-9529
Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal
[Link]
The Criterion: An International Journal in English Vol. 14, Issue-V, October 2023 ISSN: 0976-8165
Vikas Sharma: The Emerging Writer
Archana
Research Scholar,
Chaudhary Charan Singh University,
Meerut, U.P
Article History: Submitted-29/08/2023, Revised-12/10/2023, Accepted-14/10/2023, Published-31/10/2023.
Abstract:
India’s literary space is an ever-expanding hotbed for fresh voices, inventive stories and
unhindered writings. Many emerging writers armed with just a pen and passion for writing -
are changing the way we interact with literature and how we perceive the world around us.
They are revisiting the limits of Indian literature and interacting with the forces of modernity
and globalization that are altering the nation. These authors' writings have had an impact on a
whole age group.
Indian literature is a veritable gold mine of fascinating storytelling, varied storylines,
and deep insights into the nation's rich cultural past. New generations of bright and diverse
writers are entering India's literary scene and making a big impression both domestically and
internationally. These new Indian writers combine cutting-edge storytelling skills, enlightening
viewpoints, and a keen awareness of current affairs.
English literature is widely produced in the world and India is the place whose
contribution to the collective English literature has been rising greatly. In fact, India is the third
largest producer of books in English at present. The objective of this paper is to analyze the
role and contribution of the emerging Indian writers with a particular focus on the works of Dr
Vikas Sharma, professor and Head at the Department of English, CCS University, Meerut. This
study, attempts to elicit more information from Vikas Sharma's novels and serve as a resource
and manual for upcoming authors.
He is entitled to a notable mention as he is the face of the contemporary world of writing
in the Indian Literary scene. In this study, we shall discuss the various themes adopted by Vikas
Sharma, which made him a renowned name in the literary world. He has penned seven novels
which are a major success and have been well received by the readers. The list of his works is
Raah Ke Patthar, Love’s not Time’s Fool, IAS Today, Never Together Never Apart, 498A: Fears
and Dreams, Medicine: Light in Twilight, Hope Against Hope and Ashes and Fires.
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Vikas Sharma: The Emerging Writer
Keywords: Indian Literature, globalization, Vikas Sharma, storytelling techniques.
Introduction
The emerging writers of Indian English language have improved the standard and
vibrancy of literature. They represented the history, culture, and all the variations required for
the enlargement of literature around the globe. Indian authors have made significant impact on
world literature as a whole. Indian writers have primarily contributed to English language
literature through their publications in India, with novelists taking the lead in this regard.
With the Vedas as its foundation, Indian literature spread its illuminating and
enlightening light across the entire nation. Particular authors expanded the geographic reach of
admiration, self-esteem, and connection. Indian English writing has improved significantly
since the country's independence. In light of this independence, it has been continuously
expanding.
If we look at the current scenario, poetry, drama, and criticism have not registered
remarkable performances, but fiction is about to touch its finishing line in the race, lagging
behind all the genres. Authors are bagging international and national awards in fiction. Indian
English literature is currently a reality that cannot be overlooked. Over the years, both in India
and overseas, it has attracted a sizable following. A special mention should be made of Indian
English writers since they have helped Western readers understand our nation, its rich social
and cultural legacy, and its societal standards. British linguistic styles and elements have not
been nativized by Indian writers, who instead have gathered English in an Indianized setting.
Raja Rao has well remarked in this reference:
One can notice “Indianness” in Indian writing in English. (Kanthapura)
Salman Rushdie’s bagging of the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981 for his “The
Midnight’s Children”, was a momentous event for Indian English novel. It generates
confidence in the Indian authors. He won the ‘Booker of Bookers’ in 1993 and the ‘Best of
Bookers’ in 2008. Arundhati Roy won the ‘Man Booker Prize’ for her novel “The God of Small
Things” in 1997. Kiran Desai won the same prize for “The Inheritance of Loss” in 2005, and
Arvind Adiga won it in 2008 for his “The White Tiger”. Similarly, Jhumpa Lahiri is the
‘Pulitzer Prize’ Awardee for the novel “The Interpreter of Maldives” in 2000. These writers
have taken Indian English literature to a remarkable place in the world. I would like to mention
some other contemporary Indian novelists whose works have found a remarkable place among
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The Criterion: An International Journal in English Vol. 14, Issue-V, October 2023 ISSN: 0976-8165
the readers and critics. They include V.S. Naipaul, Vikram Seth, Anita Desai, Amitav Ghosh,
Shashi Deshpande, Rohinton Mistry, Shashi Tharoor, Vikas Sharma, Amit Chaudhary, Manju
Kapoor and many more.
These writers have developed confidence in the young, talented, aspiring and budding
writers and have opened the ways of world literature to them, too. The writers here come up
with multidimensional themes and are making their place among scholarly readers. They touch
on various themes like socio-political issues, romance, individual psyche, feminine subjects,
diasporic elements, marriage, history, environment, politics, etc. These emerging writers today
can compete with the best in the world. Because their vehicle itself speaks a globalized
language, they can cope with new problems and changes with ease. Salman Rushdie once told
in an interview in 1982: “I think we are in a position to conquer English literature” (Ibid,
1989:552), and that is true too, as this is precisely what these novelists are trying to do in their
own ways. So, they demand a serious critical attention, analysis and classification.
Dr. Vikas Sharma, Dr. Prem Prakash Pathak, Ashwin Sanghi, Vaibhavi Sonawane,
David Davidar etc., are such emerging writers whose works today can be found in almost every
literary library. Ashwin Sanghi’s novels are inspired by the high values of mythology and
theology. He is the author of famous novels like The Rozabel Line, Chanakya’s Chant, The
Krishna Key. He promoted conspiracy fiction as well.
Dr. Prem Prakash Pathak has more than fifteen years of experience in preaching
‘Teachings of Bhagwat Gita’. These preachings help students and employees develop essential
life skills based on Bhagwat Geeta. He is the author of “The Golden Eggs’, which is based on
the education ecosystem. His book “6 Essential Life Management Skills from Bhagwat Gita”
presents six essential management skills from Bhagwat Gita. These skills are as Listening Skill,
Emotional Intelligence, Understanding People, Developing Divine Character, Acquiring the
Right Attitude and the SAP Coaching Model. SAP Coaching Model was used by Lord Krishna
to motivate Arjun and fix his goal just before the great war of Kurukshetra when Arjuna was in
a dilemma. This novel discusses the utility of this SAP Coaching Model in the corporate setting
for personal growth.
David Davidar’s “The Solitude of Emperors” narrates the journey of a young
newspaper journalist in the 1990s. He blamed racial tension on officials, the media, police,
politicians, and more. The path of a rural, destitute character who becomes a business tycoon
by assassinating his master is depicted in this story. The writer highlights the economic,
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Vikas Sharma: The Emerging Writer
political, and social disparities and the widespread greed and inhumanity in society. The author
draws attention to essential subjects, including communalism and socioeconomic injustice.
This work uses of a textbook that emphasizes the importance of teaching youth about
secularism. It places a strong emphasis on the need to raise young people to be responsible and
religiously tolerant.
Vikas Sharma
Professor Vikas Sharma is a well-known name in the academic and literary world. He
has served as a Principal in D.A.V P. G College, Bulandshahr (U.P), for about four years.
Currently, he is serving as the Head of the English Department in Chaudhary Charan Singh
University, Meerut. He has published several works in English as well as in Hindi. Apart from
Hindi, his novels were translated into Urdu and Punjabi. He published seven novels, which
proved to be a significant success and well received by readers nationwide. Some of his novels
are a part of the syllabus of UG and PG courses in various universities. His debut novel ‘Raah
Ke Patthar’, in Hindi, proved to be a foundation stone in his literary career. This novel got
remarkable applause from the readers, its theme being the Hindu-Muslim unity. Not only this,
it was translated into English as ‘Never Together Never Apart.’ It got a similar response in
English, too.
Vikas Sharma is a contemporary emerging novelist, poet, short story writer,
academician and a keen observer of society. Besides a writer, Dr. Vikas Sharma is a much-
respected teacher who, from time to time speaks on various social and legal issues on different
platforms. He has more than fifty research papers on his credit. He is the guide, and mentor of
so many students who have been awarded the PhD degrees and some are still pursuing the same
under his guidance. He is a master writer and a consummate educator with more than 27 years
of experience in the classroom. He wrote a famous collection of poems and short- stories
entitled ‘Epiphanies’. The widely anticipated publication of his most recent book, "Novel as an
Art Form," makes particular reference to Anglo-Indian artists, and attempts to draw readers'
attention to a broad genre that is both wonderful and educational.
Dr Vikas Sharma, being a keen observer of society, opted for the themes of his novels
from within the society itself. It is being indeed said that a writer is a mirror of contemporary
society. Love, romance, extra-marital affairs, dowery, divorce, middle-class working women
with a passion for their career, living in relationships etc., are some of the themes, he picked
up for his novels from the contemporary society.
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The Criterion: An International Journal in English Vol. 14, Issue-V, October 2023 ISSN: 0976-8165
His first novel, Raah Ke Patthar, was published in 2021 in Hindi and later was translated
into English as Never Together Never Apart. It attempts to raise humanity above the thoughts
of caste and communalism. This novel encourages Hindu-Muslim unity, which was the need
of the hour. His novel, Medicine: Light in Twilight, represents the corruption in education
system. From another novel IAS Today, we learn that clearing the prestigious, IAS exam is not
a piece of cake; it requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Moreover, it teaches us not to
surrender in critical situations. Hope Against Hope is based on the theme that one should not
lose hope and should have faith on God. Fire and Ashes and Love’s not Time’s Fool represent
the New Women who crave against radical social changes.
The Concept of New Women in Vikas Sharma’s Novels:
The developing "new women" have been given enough room in Vikas Sharma's novels.
At the close of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, the traditional ideal image of
women in English literature began to alter. Till then, New Women become the central character
of the fiction. In addition to challenge male dominance, new women also emphasised women's
rights and inspired intellectuals to rework on gender roles. The difficulties surrounding
women, and their role in the home, society, and the workplace were all addressed by Victorian
women novelists. Simon de Beauvoir claimed that women are bound to traditional roles such
as wives and mothers. She observes: for him(man), she(woman) is the sex- absolute sex, no
less. (The Second Sex). The main female characters in Vikas Sharma’s novels like, Richa in
“Love’s not Time’s Fool,” Shivangi from “IAS Today” and Suvidha from “Ashes and Fire” can
be seen as a replica of new women. New Women started taking sexual liberties. New women
have new ideas, and new thoughts and they want to fly high in the sky. As a result of the general
disapproval of women, she was forced to pursue the traditional middle-class woman's careers
of marriage and motherhood. Her role was fixed by the patriarchal Victorians. She was, not
permitted to discriminate against them on the basis of sex, gender, or any other basis.
Nevertheless, one may assert that several social, political, and economic elements contributed
to the creation of the "New Woman”, and that this conception of the "New Woman" never
stayed static but instead changed over time, taking on various shapes and tones and same can
be seen in the novels of Professor Vikas Sharma.
Richa is bold enough; she had an affair before her marriage, and to that affair, she had
a baby. She gives preference to her physical desires and so she engaged in another affair with
her employee Abhilash even after her marriage. Shivangi also breaks all the social shackles and
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Vikas Sharma: The Emerging Writer
gives preference to her passion of dancing. She jumps from the Victorian threshold of the
society that wants to limit the women inside the domestic circle and elopes with Danny to go
to Mumbai, the dream city where she wants to give air to her dreams. Similarly, Suvidha, the
protagonist from Vikas Sharma’s novel “Ashes and Fire” go against the fixed patriarchal
morality for women only. Her father, after her husband’s death, wants her to be in the role of a
mother, a guardian and a caretaker for her children. She was well-educated and wanted to make
a place for herself in the society. She continuously urged her father to be independent: “I want
to establish my own image in the society.” (47). She enters into a new world where unethical
sexual relations are normal. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules and
customs.
The rise of the new woman in fiction was influenced by socio-cultural forces, new
science, new technology, new education, and movements towards liberalisation. The word
"New Woman" was used by author Sarah Grand in her piece "The New Aspect of the Woman
Question" which appeared in the North American Review in March 1894. From here only,
'Ouida' (Maria Louise Rame) received the inspiration for her essay's title, "The New Woman."
This phrase was coined by Sarah to describe a contemporary, independent woman who is
resistant to significant change. According to other sources, Henry James coined the term "New
woman" to refer to American immigrants who were living in Europe (Stevens 27). The most
significant quality of an autonomous person, according to him, is the growth of the intellect,
which he used to characterise this. Rich, materialistic, sensitive ladies exhibited a free spirit in
their attitude and conduct. They changed their behaviour in response to numerous social,
political, and economic influences, assuming new roles in these spheres of human existence.
Women won significant victories in political and legal reforms during the early 20th
century. Women gained unprecedented physical freedoms—sexual liberation dissolving all
societal hierarchies. In all his novels, Vikas Sharma has presented liberated women who, after
going through all the hurdles in their life, stand for their own identity. They fight from the
external and internal dishevels of their mind and society and emerge as the New Women. The
women characters presented by Vikas Sharma are very realistic as they search for material and
physical pleasures. It seems as if they are our next-door neighbours. They are very bold,
brilliant, intelligent, elegant and powerful characters. Shivangi is the perfect example of a
modern, determined and ambitious woman who is free from the obstacles of societal norms but
is not available to everyone. She refused to sacrifice herself before the director and producer
representing the male domination and sexual exploitation of women at workplaces.
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The Criterion: An International Journal in English Vol. 14, Issue-V, October 2023 ISSN: 0976-8165
Famous heroines like Daisy Miller (Daisy Miller), Isabel Archer (Portrait of the Lady),
Nora Helmer (A Doll’s House) and Sue Bridehead (Jude the Obscure) presented themselves as
the new women who were a threat for the conventional ideas of the Victorian society. They also
made the way for these emerging new women like Richa, Suvidha and Shivangi. All three
female characters, Richa, Suvidha and Shivangi, become self-independent and stand like the
New Women by the end of the respective novels. Richa has a footwear company; she runs it
very effectively. Suvidha started her school after completing her PhD. Shivangi sold her
property for fulfilling her dream of having a studio of her own. Richa, despite being cheated
by her lover, does not put a stop on her dreams. Like a new- women, she realistically deals with
the situation to cater to her emotional, biological and financial needs. Similarly, Suvidha and
Shivangi, by overcoming all the patriarchal and societal limitations, give flying colours to their
dreams. Richa and Suvidha’s stand on the issues of love and sex herald the new women’s craze
for uninterrupted romance. Vikas Sharma’s heroines are free from the taboos of society and
live according to their own will. They are the voice of the new women who are self-dependent
and wander in their own world in which they want to live just like the Daffodils of Wordsworth,
which are fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Conclusion:
In the contemporary literary scenario, Indian writers in English reflects the truth of
Indian society, and shed light on the little-known realities. The most important issue of
harassment of women in or outside the threshold and her emergence as a new woman can be
seen in the writings of the male writers, too. Numerous emerging authors are jointly provoking,
amusing, and engrossing audiences and scholarly readers all around because of their diversity
and ingenuity. With a significant body of work that has garnered the attention of the masses,
they have emerged as the colossal major socio-literary characters. They have attracted a sizable
readership and strong critical endorsement that reflect the attention of severe academicians and
scholars. These writers are carrying the concrete base and platform of Indian English literature
to new heights.
Works Cited:
Sanghi, Ashwin. The Rozabel Line. Harper Collins India,2022
Pathak, Prem Prakash. The Golden Egg. Tamal tree Global, 2021
Davidar, David. The Solitude Emperor. Aleph Book Company, 2007
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Vikas Sharma: The Emerging Writer
Asnani, Shyam. New Dimensions of Indian English Novel. Delhi: Doaba House, 1987.
Print.
Beauvoir, Simon de. The Second Sex. Vintage, 2011.
Grand, Sarah. The New Aspect of Women Question. The North America Review. Vol. 158,
No. 448(1894), PP. 270-276.
Rao, Raja. “Forward” Kanthapura. George Allen and Unwin, 1968.
Mukherjee, Meenakshi. The Twice Born Fiction Themes and Techniques of the Indian
English Novel in English. Pencraft International, Delhi, 2010.
Sharma, Vikas. Never Together, Never Apart. Diamond Books, New Delhi,2022.
Sharma, Vikas. Love’s Not Time’s Fool. Diamond Books, New Delhi, 2021.
Sharma, Vikas. I.A.S Today. Diamond Books, New Delhi, 2021
Sharma, Vikas. 498A: Fears and Dreams. Diamond Books, New Delhi.
Sharma, Vikas. Medicine: Light in Twilight. Diamonds Books, New Delhi.
Sharma, Vikas. Hope Against Hope. Diamond Books, New Delhi,
Sharma, Vikas. Ashes and Fire. Diamond Books, New Delhi.
Bhagdikar, Vandana. Fiction of Namita Gokhale: A Critical Study. Prestige Books
International, 2015.
Morgan, Dockrell Mrs. Is the New Woman a Myth? Humanitarian8(1896). 339-350. Print.
Desirable Daughters. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 200. Print.
Singh, Sushila. Feminism: The Movement and the Ideology. Feminism: Theory, Criticism,
Analysis. D.K Fine Arts Press, Delhi, 1997. Print.
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