If literature is
intrinsically linked to the language in which it is written, we
have at least 22 literatures. But common threads hold them
together.
Indian literature can best be studied in six broad
groupings :
- The Eastern
Group :
which includes Assamese, Bengali, Dongri
- The Central
Group :
which includes Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi
- The
South-Western Group :
which includes Marathi, Konkani,
- Other
Indo-Aryan Languages :
which includes Urdu, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Manipuri, Nepali
- The
Dravidian Languages :
which includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam
- Other
Languages :
which includes Sanskrit, English
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VARIOUS INDIAN
LITERATURES :
- ASSAMESE
LITERATURE : Though the language is comparatively old,
Assamese sprouted into literature only in the 13th Century.
Rudra Kandali's translation of Drona Pava (of Mahabharata) and
Madhava Kandalis' rendering of the Ramayana are the two works
of classical eminence in the early period. But the new
Vaishnavite movement of the 15th Century is the most notable
in the early period and that is remembered by lovers of
Assamese literature today. Sankara Dev (1449-1568) popularised
the movement by his poetic works and plays.
- BENGALI
LITERATURE : Among the many literatures of India, Bengali
has a pre-eminent position. It was the first to absorb the
impact of European influence. It also gave exceedingly
attractive examples of how the Indian mind could respond to
inspiration from alien lands. But this came with the
Renaissance. Historians have traced early writings to the
period between 8th and 12th centuries AD. The most important
historical development was the emergence of Sri Chaitanya
(1486-1533) in and around the Bengali area. Chaitanya, by his
literary work, made Vaishnavism a living faith.
- ORIYA
LITERATURE : Oriya is a younger sister of Bengali. For
some 400 years from the 13th Century, a regular stream of
different religious faiths expressed themselves in poetry. We
have not only Buddhism, Saivism and Vaishnavism but also
Shaktism. Folk literature also was prominent. There was a
group of poets who were keen not to import Sanskrit words and
phrases into Oriya and they all took the surname of Dasa -
Balarama Das (author of Oriya Ramayana and Mahabharata),
Jagannath Das (Bhagwata Purana) and Ananta Das, Yesowanta Das
and Achutananda Das.
- HINDI
LITERATURE : What is known as Hindi today evolved from the
Apabhramsas which comprised a number of regional dialects,
especially Sauraseni, Ardha Magadhi and Magadhi. Its history
begins about the year 1000 AD. However in the modern period
Khariboli, dialect of Delhi, became the standard vehicle of
Hindi Literature. The early period of Hindi literature called
Adikala is accepted as the period upto mid 14th century. The
Trend setters in this group are :
(i) The Siddhas
(ii)
The Jain poets
(iii) The Natha Panthis and
(iv)
The heroic poets
- GUJARATI
LITERATURE : Developing from one of the dialects of
standard Gurjara Apabhramsa and coming under strong Jain
influences in the early period. Gujarati language has four
broad historical periods :
(a) 1250-1456 In this early period Sanskrit was
cultivated and important libraries set up in the
monasteries.
(b) 1456-1650 The language breaks away from the
Rajasthani idiom, and Hinduism takes the place of Jainism as
the main source of inspiration. The epics and puranas flow
into Gujarati. Mirabai is the most celebrated woman poet of
medieval India, claimed by both Hindi and Rajasthani.
(c) 1650-1825 Life was somewhat dull during this period
until the British came on the scene. Premanand is the finest
poet of this period. He perfected the Akhyana technique.
(d) 1825-1995 The most celebrated novel Saraswati
Chandra comes from the pen of Govardhanram Tripathi
(1855-1907). This great work of modern India is a love story
with social and spiritual relevance.
- PUNJABI
LITERATURE : Spoken in India and Pakistan, Punjabi has
close affinity with Hindi and Urdu. It is Indo-Aryan and has
deep connections with Souraseni. Punjabi Literature is
undoubtedly the period of the Sikh Gurus beginning with Guru
Nanak (b.1469) and continuing till the passing away of Guru
Gobind Singh (d.1708). Most of the religious and often mystic
poetry of the period has been preserved in the Adigranth,
which is a great anthology of Bhakti poems. It is the
scripture of the sikhs, but it is also literature of high
quality.
- MARATHI
LITERATURE : Southern-most of the Indo-Aryan languages
spoken in India, with a modified version of Devngari, the
history of Marathi literature is usually divided into six
periods. The first two can in fact be one. The Yadava period
(1189-1320 AD) both deal with religious and philosophical
exposition.
Viveka Sindhu (sea of philosophy) by Mukunda Raj, a yogi of 'Natha
Panth', is considered the first major work. The origin of
Marathi prose is also found in the Yadava period, the credit
usually going to the religious sect called Mahanabhavas.
- KONKANI
LITERATURE : Marathis consider Konkani as a dialect of
their language, but the Sahitya Akademi has given it the
status of an independent language. One problem is that it does
not have a script of its own. It is written in Nagari, Kannada
or Malayalam scripts depending on the region of its use. A
considerable amount of Christian was written in Konkani during
the 17th Century. The modern creative phase of Konkani began
during the 20th century.
Strong groups of Konkanis are found in Mangalore, Mumbai and
Kerala. Quite a few them write in Marathi too, but they speak
Konkani at home as their mother tongue.
- URDU
LITERATURE : The grammatical structure of Urdu is based on
Western Saura Seni Apabharama while its vocabulary, idioms and
literary tradition depend heavily on central Asian, Turkish
and Persian sources. Urdu literature has therefore a flavour
of its own. Even the terms accepted by the protagonists reveal
the special quality. Consider, for instance, Masnavi (a poetic
form in couplets) ghazal (talking to the tender sex), Marsia
(elegiac poem) and nazm ( a poem with a special musical
quality). Urdu influenced, and was influenced by, Islam and
Hinduism. Muslim saints made it a vehicle for the prop made it
a vehicle for the propagation of their concepts of
brotherhood.
- KASHMIRI
LITERATURE : There are two opinions regarding the origin
of the Kashmiri language. One places it under the Dardic group
of languages and the other in the Indo Aryan Group. Kashmiri
literature may be divided into two phases: the ancient and the
modern. Ancient Kashmiri writings are linked closely with
Sanskrit. Even the technical terms used in poetry show this.
Early Kashmiri poetry is an extension of the Saiva texts in
Sanskrit (11th Century). Kashmiri prose is very recent.
Actually fiction originated with the Progressive Movement in
the forties.
- SINDHI
LITERATURE : The origin of Sindhi Language is in dispute
as its connection with Mohanjodaro is still not clear. Early
poetry in Sindhi was based on romantic tales of Sindh.
Religious poetry of the 14th Century is important. But what is
noteworthy is that literature was not recorded but handed down
by word of mouth. There is a fusion of Islamic and Hindu
thoughts and ideals in this period.
The modern period saw poets who followed the Persian poetical
forms like Ghazals, Rubais and Masnavis.
- TAMIL
LITERATURE : With a history of at least 2100 years behind
it, Tamil literature can be compared only with Sanskrit in
terms of traditions. An example of the distinctiveness of
Tamil in the second millennium is Kambaramayanam of the 12th
Century. Tamil is rich in devotional literature. Nayanmars are
the exponents of Salvism and Alwars the celebrants of
Vaishnavism. The four great Nayanmars are :
Thirunavukkarasar, Sundarar and Manikkavasakar. The 20th
Century has seen an explosion of talent. The greatest of them
all was of course Subramania Bharati. His patriotic songs
inspired thousands of Tamilians. Kuyilpattu, Kannanpattu and
Panchali Sapatham have been on everyone's lips.
- KANNADA
LITERATURE : Although Dravidian in origin, Kannada has
been highly influenced by Sanskrit. According to some
scholars, its early literature dates back to the 5th Century
AD. In his work Kavirajamarga, Nripatunga of the 9th Century
refers to a number of works of earlier periods and this is the
evidence for specifying 5th Century as the date for early
works. Works based on Ramayana and Mahabharata form the
earliest literature of Karnataka. The three important names of
early Kannada poetry are Pampa, Panna and Ponna, all born in
the 10th Century. They introduced Sanskrit epics into
Kannada.
- TELUGU
LITERATURE : Structurally, Telugu is one of the principal
Dravidian languages and an offshoot of the central Dravidian
sub family. Telugu-speakers constitute the largest segment of
Dravidian population. The history of its literature, in the
second millennium, fall into :
(a) The Age of Puranas (1020-1400)
(b) The Age of Srinatha (1400-1510)
(c) The Age of Prabhandas (1510-1600)
(d) The Southern period (1600-1820)
(e) The Modern Period (after 1820).
The early periods were dominated by the Bhakti poets and translations
of Mahabharata by Tikkana (13th C) and Yerrana (14th C). The
Ramayana poets started with Ranganatha Ramayana. Other great
religious poets included Potana (1450-1510), Jakkana and
Guorana. The Golden period of Telugu literature was during the
15th and 16th centuries, with writers like Krishna Deva Raya
and Reddanna.
- MALAYALAM
LITERATURE : Historians are agreed that Malayalam
literature commences from the 12th Century. During the first
three centuries we have three streams flowing almost
simultaneously:
(a) The Pacha Malayalam or pure Malayalam without any
admixture of Tamil or Sanskrit
(b) The Tamil Stream
(c) The Sanskrit Stream
The first category comprised folk items, which is difficult to
date. In the Tamil stream, the most important work is Rama
Charitam (12th C) composed in a mixture of Tamil and
Malayalam. Recently a small book in the same style,
Thirunizhalmala, has been discovered. The Sanskrit stream
consists of Manipravala Kavyas under the categories Sandesha
Kavyas (message poems) and Champas.
- SANSKRIT
AND ENGLISH LITERATURE : Sanskrit is the pride of our
country, but it is not a modern Indian language. English has a
similar function in maintaining the unity of the
sub-continent, but it is a borrowed language. It would be
wrong not to recognise the role of English in Indian
literature, especially when Indian writers in English have
been in the front ranks of world literature. That tradition
began with Toru Dutt who died when she was only 21. Tagore,
Sarojini Naidu, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi himself
were great writers. A large number of full-time writers
flowered in the years since, making a mark on the world stage.
A handful of Indians today dominate the scene as the most
successful writers in English.
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