INTRODUCTION

Literature, refers to the collection of written, oral or published works that contribute to

the understanding of a particular subject. The word ‘Literature’ is derived from the Latin word

‘litteratura’, meaning “writing formed with letters”. It serves as both a mirror of society and an

imaginative realm that challenges conventional thought. Across time periods and cultures,

literature has provided humans with a platform to explore identity, morality, history and the

human condition. From epic poems like Homer’s Iliad to the novels of modern authors like Toni

Morrison, literature captures the diversity of human experience, offering insights into different

ways of life and thought. The written word has the power to transport readers into alternate

realities.

The history of literature is often categorized by genre, with each genre offering unique

conventions and opportunities for storytelling. Poetry, as one of the oldest forms of literature,

focuses on rhythm, meter, and symbolic language. From the ancient Greeks to the modernists,

poets have utilized their craft to explore the depth of emotion and thought. Drama allows for

direct interaction with the audience, presenting a story that unfold before their eyes.

One of the key roles literature plays is its ability to evoke emotions and provoke thought.

Readers often engage with characters ad narratives on an emotional level, feeling empathy for

their struggles or excitement for their victories. Literature allows individuals to explore parts of

their own psyche and confront issues they may not be able to express otherwise. Authors use

literary devices such as symbolism, imagery, and irony to enhance their messages, subtly guiding

readers to understand deeper meanings beneath the surface of the text. Literature can shape

social consciousness by shedding light on important issues, such as injustice, inequality, or

environmental degradation.
 The relationship between literature and society is dynamic; literature both reflects and

influences the culture in which it is created. During periods of social or political upheaval,

literature often serves as a voice for the marginalized or oppressed offering a means of resistance

against authoritarianism, war, or discrimination. Similarly, the feminist movements of the 20th

century saw the rise of women writers who used literature to explore gender roles, societal

expectations, and the constraints placed on women in patriarchal societies.

Literature is an essential part of human culture, a means of both personal and collective

expression. It allows us to explore the depths of our emotions, make sense of our experiences,

and envision new worlds. Whether through poetry, plays, or novels, literature has the power to

move us, inform us, and transform us. It speaks to the heart of what it means to be human,

offering a window into the lives and thoughts of people from all walks of life.

Indian English literature, also referred to as Indian writing in English, is the body of work

by writers in India who write in the English language could be one of the numerous languages of

India. Its early history began with the works of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio and Michael

Madhusudan Dutt followed by Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo, R.K. Narayan, Mulk Raj

Anand and Raja Rao contributed to the growth and popularity of Indian English Fiction in the

1930s.

Indian English Literature has a relatively recent history, being nearly two centuries old.

The first book written by an Indian in English was The Travels of Dean Mahomed, published in

England in 1794. Indian English Literature, in its early stages had influence from The Western

novel. Early Indian words to convey an experience which was essentially Indian. Bianca, or The

Young Spanish Maiden (1878) by Toru Dutt was the first novel written by an Indian woman.
 The non-fictional body of Prose-works, consisting of letters, Diaries, Political manifesto,

Articles, Speeches, philosophical works etc. in Indian English Literature of the nineteenth and

the early twentieth century, is rich and varies. The speeches of Swam Vivekananda,

Rabindranath Tagore, Chittaranjan Das, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas

Chandra Bose, to name only a few, shaped the destiny of modern India and also the destiny of

English language in India.

Raja Rao (1908-2006), Indian philosopher and writer, authored Kanthapura and The

Serpent and the Rope, which are Indian in terms of their storytelling qualities. Kisari Mohan

Ganguli translated the Mahabharata into English, the only time the epic has ever been translated

in its entirety into a European language. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) wrote in Bengali and

English and was responsible for the translations of his own work into English. P. Lal (1929-

2010), a poet, translater, publisher and essayist, founded a press in the 1950s for Indian English

writing, writers workshop.

R.K. Narayan (1906-2001) contributed over many decades and continued to write till his

death. He was discovered by Graham Greene in the sense that the latter helped him find a

publisher in England. Greene and Narayan remained close friends till the end. Narayan created

the fictitious town of Malgudi where he set his novels. With Narayan’s Pastoral Idylls, a very

different writer, Mulk Raj Anand (1905-2004), was similarly gaining recognition for his writing

set in rural India, but his stories were harsher, and engaged, sometimes brutally, with divisions of

caste, class and religion.

media, such as movies, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, and prose are the five main genres of

literature.

A poem is a piece of literature that makes use of rhythmic qualities of language, such as

phonesthetics, sound symbolism, and meter to convey meaning. Phonesthetics examines the

aesthetic appeal of the sounds of certain words or parts of words. Sound symbolism refers to the

non-arbitrary relationship between the sounds of speech and their meaning. A meter is the

fundamental rhythmic structure of a poem or lines of poetry. A poem’s meter, rhythm and its

focus on the sounds of syllables, words, and phrases distinguish it from other types of literature.

The purpose of poetry is to convey meaning through imagery and metaphors rather than to

provide complete, grammatically accurate sentences. The subgenres of poetry are Epic,

Narrative, Lyric and Dramatic.

There are several purposes for fiction, including entertaining, inspiring, informing, and

persuading the audience. Fiction writers create stories using their imagination. Fiction writers

use figurative language to create stories of completely untrue events, characters, and settings to

stimulate the imaginations of their readers. The subgenres of fiction are Mystery, Historical

fiction, Realism, Magic realism, Fantasy, Romance, Science fiction, Dystopian, Horror, Fable

and Mythology.

Non-fiction writing aims to inform or inspire the audience by using actual events, people,

places, or facts. Students can gain a deeper understanding of fiction texts through nonfiction

texts, such as textbooks and essays. Before writing a nonfiction piece, nonfiction authors
typically conduct expensive research. The few subgenres of nonfiction are Autobiography,

Biography and Essay.

Dramas are representations of fiction that involve dialogue and performance. Dramatic

literature includes epic poetry, lyric poetry and novels. The performance of a dramatic piece of

literature may occur on stage in front of a live audience or through radio, film, and television.

There are many sources of inspiration for drama pieces, including novels, short stories, poems,

and real-life events. A drama contains dialogue, and the actors portray the characters through

their impersonations. A dramatic piece of literature contains acts or scenes that rely on props or

imaginative dialogue to create a visual experience. The subgenres of drama are Tragedy,

Comedy, Musical and Melodrama.

The prose is a literary genre with no formal metrical structure. Instead of relying on

rhythmic structure, as in traditional poetry, it relies on a natural flow of speech and ordinary

grammatical structure. It involves clear, concise paragraphs that may be fiction or nonfiction.

Chetan Bhagat is a renowned Indian author, columnist, and screenwriter. He is widely

recognized for his ability to combine contemporary issues with engaging storytelling. Making his

works a favourite been described as a ‘Youth icon’ due to his ability to connect with the young

generation of India.

Chetan Bhagat was born on 22 April 1974 in New Delhi, India. He was raised in a

middle class family, and his father was an army officer. Bhagat attended The Army Public

School in Delhi Cantonment, and later went on to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering

from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. He then went on to complete his MBA from

the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad.

Kong for a few years. However, he soon realized that his true passion lay in writing, and he

decided to pursue it full-time. His first novel, ‘Five Point Someone’, was published in 2004 and

went on to become a bestseller. The book was later adapted into the Bollywood movie ‘3 Idiots’,

which was a huge commercial success. Bhagat has since written several other books. Apart

from writing books, Chetan Bhagat has also been a columnist for various newspapers and

magazines, including The Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar. He is known for his outspoken

opinions on a wide range of issues, including politics, education and society.

Chetan Bhagat has also worked as a screenwriter, and his screenplay for the movie ‘Kai

Po che’ was well-received by critics and audiences alike. Chetan Bhagat’s works have been

widely recognized for their impact on Indian literature and society. He has been awarded several

prestigious awards, including the society Young Achievers Award for Literature, the Publisher’s

recognition Award, and the India Today Youth Icon Award. In 2015, Bhagat was included in

Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. He has also been invited to

speak at various events and conferences around the world, including the prestigious TED Talks.

He started writing his first novel Five Point Someone, while working at Goldman Sachs

in Hong Kong in the early 2000s. In an interview, he said he wrote about 15 drafts of the novel

and also sent the final manuscripts to several publishers. The manuscript was finally accepted by

the publishing house Rupa Publications in Delhi and was published in 2004. The novel narrates

the story of three IIT students who consider themselves to be below-average students among

other students there. The story was adapted by film director Rajkumar Hirani into a film named

3 Idiots starring Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Kareeena Kapoor.
 After the success of his first novel, he started working on his second book, One Night @

the Call Center, which was published in 2005 and was also a success. In the first three days of

its release, almost 50,000 copies were sold. The book was also adapted into a movie named

Hello, with Bhagat and Atul Agnihotri as writers.

Bhagat’s fourth novel, 2 states, was published in 2009 and drew inspiration from his

marriage and wife. The novel revolves around a young engineer falling in love with a South

Indian girl and the tribulations of this relationship. The book was adapted into a successful

movie of the same name starring Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.

Bhagat’s later novels Revolution 2020, Half Girlfriend, and One Indian Girl also gained

commercial success. Bhagat’s is still active as an author, producing The Girl in Room 105 in

2018, One Arranged Marriage in 2020, and his latest novel, 400 Days, in 2021.

In 2004, Chetan Bhagat released his debut book, “Five Point Someone”, which propelled

him to fame and recognition. The novel is set from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in

the period 1991 to 1995. It is about the adventures of three mechanical engineering students

(and friends), Hari Kumar (the narrator), Ryan Oberoi, and Alok Gupta, who fail to cope with the

gtrading system of the IITs. The three hostel mates Alok, Hari and Rayan get off to a bad start in

IIT they screw up the first class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things only get worse.

It takes them a while to only get worse. It takes them a while to realize “If you try and screw

whit the IIT system, it comes back to double screw you”. Before they know it, they are at the

lowest echelons of IIT society. They have a five-point something GPA out of ten, ranking near

the end of their class.

institution of the country. They go through mugging up for classes, making notes, preparing for

vivas, and not to forget that surprise quiz which is always round the corner. The story takes a

good sharp turn as they realize that they are mere ‘five-pointers’ and need to work a lot harder.

Presuming it’s going to be dead difficult, the trio came up with a mission which aims at

leaking of the major question paper from the HOD’s office. They are caught red handed stealing

the papers. After these all, there is one more very interesting and shocking twist in this book

when Alok try to committee suicide from the institute’s roof. But in the end after loads of

punishment and wasting many months from their lies, each one of them in the end is established

nicely. Alok got a good job and Hari joined a company in Bombay. Rayan got to work as a RA

with one of the professors.

Through this novel Chetan Bhagat depicts the youth’s would, their culture, challenges,

problems, addiction, parties, fast foods, fashion, taste, interests, attitudes, relationship, love,

expectation, nationalism, stress, responsibilities, rebelliousness and their various complexes.

Globalization has brought with it in both positive and negative aspects.