There's a strong case for Mulk Raj Anand's 'Untouchable'. It's earlier, simpler, but its raw social realism and focus on a single day in the life of a sweeper made it a foundational text for proletarian and social reform literature courses. Its influence is historical, showing the early power of the Indian novel in English as a tool for social critique.
A friend teaching in Berlin says they use Amitav Ghosh's 'The Shadow Lines' extensively. Its non-linear exploration of borders, memory, and violence between India and Bangladesh resonates powerfully in courses about partition literature and transnational identity. The way it questions the very idea of borders—not just geographical but those in our minds—makes it a critical text for modern global studies.
The comparative literature department at my alma mater built an entire seminar around the rivalry (academic, not personal) between Rushdie's and Roy's approaches. One represents the maximalist, syncretic, masculine history; the other represents the minimalist, fractured, feminine interiority. Their contrasting influence shapes how two whole strands of postcolonial theory are taught.
All I wanted was a one-night stand with a random guy, just to get back at my boyfriend, who had insulted me for never being able to feel anything with him.
So, I left Brooklyn with my best friend, Ashley, to spend spring break in Cabo. The deal was simple: have fun like a normal young adult and hook up with any guy... just to prove a point.
I ended up in the bed of a man with the most mesmerizing eyes I’d ever seen—a man I knew absolutely nothing about.
He pleased me in ways I didn’t think were possible.
Every touch, every kiss, every whispered brush of his hands against my skin ignited a hunger I never knew I had.
But when I woke up the next morning, the stranger was gone. I thought it was just a forgotten one-night stand, someone I’d never see again.
Until I found out he was my new statistics professor.
It was supposed to be one meaningless night, but now I crave him in ways I never knew were possible.
Even knowing he could be my downfall, I still want him.
Still crave him.
Still want him to ruin me in whatever way he desires.
"Marry me.", Nicolas had his eyes fixed on her lips.
"Huh? Pardon?", Sanaya was totally surprised. She was in a dream? Or...
**
Sanaya Roy Chowdhury, from a small town in India who ran away from home. Twenty one years old Beautiful, tall and a simple girl. After running away to the USA she thought she finally got her freedom but one day, when she went to a party with her best friend she was lost. When she was searching for a way out she was chased by bad boys.
In order to save herself from them she asked a complete stranger to pretend to kiss her. Exactly when she thought she was saved there was something waiting for her...
When the stranger will ask her to marry him, will she agree? But he'll have her agreeing anyway possible because he wants her, AT ANY COST.
His name is Nicolas Davis.
The novel is mainly about the forgotten British poet/writer named C. J Richards who lived in Burma/Myanmar in colonial times and he believed himself as a Burmophile. He served as I.C.S (Indian Civil Servant) and when he retired from I.C.S service, he was a D.C (District Commissioner) and he left for England a year before Burma gained its independence in 1948. He came to Burma in 1920 to work in civil service after passing the hardest I.C.S examination. He wrote several books on Burma and contributed many monthly articles to Guardian Magazine published in Burma from 1953 to 1974 or 1975. Though he wrote several books which had much literary merit to both communities, Britain and Burma (Myanmar), people failed to recognize him.
The story has two parts: one part is set in the contemporary Yangon (then called Rangoon) in 2016 context and a young literary enthusiast named “Lin” found out unexpectedly the forgotten writer’s poetry book and there is surely a good deal of time gap that led him into a quest to know more about the author’s life. The setting is quite different comparing to colonial Burma and independence Myanmar (Burma), early twentieth century and 2016 which is a transitional period in Myanmar.
The writer’s life is fictionalized in the novel and most of the facts are taken from his personal stories and other reference books. It is a kind of historical novel with a twist and it has comparatively constructed the two different periods in Myanmar history to convince readers, locally and abroad more about history, authorship, humanity, colonialism, and transitional development in Myanmar today.
In 1940 Hitler gifted a Mercedes car to the then monarch of Nepal, Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev. The story revolves around this historical fact; however the main plot of the novel is the romance between a Nepal princess and a man from Kerala, a South Indian state. Both these characters are real people.
The man from Kerala is the protagonist of the story. He was in Kathmandu in 1989 to pursue his post-graduate studies. One of his classmates at Tribhuvan University was a princess, a relative of the then monarch, King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.
One day she showed him the Mercedes car, which at that time had been abandoned by the royal family and was resting at the Nepal Engineering College compound. The protagonist was a bit skeptical of Hitler's motive in gifting the car to the Nepal king, but since the princess could not give him a credible reason disregarded the matter.
After about 22 years the protagonist and the princess come together and travel to Mt. Everest to unearth Hitler's motive in gifting the car to the Nepal king. On the scary and freezing slope of the highest peak in the world they come to know about many unknown facets of Hitler and the main reason behind the fall of the Nepal kingdom. Along with that they also come to know about their past lives, which was scarily excruciating, at the same time thrilling. It is this revelation about the past lives of the protagonist and the princess that binds the story together.
She's doomed!
Hassan didn't expect that after the night she had spent with a stranger, she'd get knocked up. She's only eighteen. A beautiful, naive freshman. Now, the class was about to start but her period hasn't come yet.
Taking a pregnancy test, it confirmed her suspicion.
Deciding to hide her pregnancy til the semester was over, Hassan did everything to act normal when everyone was around.
But faith must be playing with her.
Realizing that her supposed quiet stay in the university is quite impossible as she realized the person who impregnated her was no other than the hot, drop-dead young professor she met in the club, Hassan's life has become a roller coaster of emotions.
Her decision was already firm, she didn't want to get involved in a scandal once people knew about her pregnancy. She doesn't want to tell him. She will keep the baby out of everyone.
But she must've underestimated Rajiv; the sole heir of a well-known company who works in their university as a professor.
Later did she realize that she was fooling no one but herself.
Kiran Nagarkar's 'Cuckold' is a stunning historical novel that sometimes appears in specialized courses. It's not as universally taught as the Booker giants, but for professors wanting to move beyond the 20th/21st century, it's a brilliant choice.