Lists are so subjective

Here's a list of Top Ten Indian Writers in English. I can't figure out when this list was dated from, but it's via Chilli Breeze, which has the tagline "Indian Talent, Global Talent." While lists are really just a ploy to get you to look and debate -- and that's exactly why I love them -- you'll recognize most of the names on this particular top ten. Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Rohinton Mistry, Amitav Ghosh, Jumpha Lahiri...

Since these writers are familiar to many readers, it was interesting to see a more recent version of the list filled with names I didn't really recognize. Well, except for Ghosh, Rushdie, and Vikram Seth, who appear on both lists. Everyone on the two lists are most likely worthy of checking out. Or if you're ahead of me, you've already read them and can't believe I don't know who Chetan Bhagat, Kirin Desai, and Aravind Adiga are. One of them apparently is dating a Nobel laureate and another was one of Time Magazine's World's Most Influential People 2010. Intriguing.

"Indian writing in English has been acclaimed around the world for its innovation, radical new approaches to the art of story telling and reworking of language. While the older generation continues to produce literary masterworks, a newer generation of writing talent has emerged, ensuring that the fount of imagination in the country has not run dry."
-Chilli Breeze

Here's a few other links to South Asian writers' sites as I was skimming around:

• DesiLit: Their tagline is "Celebrating South Asian and diaspora literature." I think DesiLit is still live as they have nine chapters around the country. They have a Facebook, a Twitter, and a blog, but the last two haven't been updated since 2009. They produce a biannual online magazine and are/were up to issue six. Here's an interview with Dr. Mary Anne Mohanraj, the executive director of DesiLit, from 2007. Also, a longish list of South Asian literary journals and a literature bibliography seem handy.


• South Asian English Literature: A dead site with broken images but there are quite a few interesting links/lists to dig through.


• The SASIALIT mailing list: An email digest for discussion of contemporary literature in South Asia. I just subscribed and will tell you all about it once I get a few emails in. Mailing list discussions! These things still exist? Also on the SASIALIT site there's a list of online South Asian literature resources.


• South Asian Women Writers Network: Recently updated and featuring information and resources for South Asian women's writers. There's a list of authors, a list of organizations, links to news and articles, and a who's who. They too have a mailing list.