i not only read indian writing in english i read it with great interest these writers have been there since rk narayan raja rao and dhanagopal mukhopadhyay but since the 60s a new breed of writers has drawn the attention of the world they have the advantage of being widely read within the country since regional writing does not get translated that easily those whove been living abroad write in english because thats the only language they have writers in india are brought up in at least one other national language they adopt english to reach an international readership unless they get a foreign publisher and space in the new york times or the times literary supplement does anyone read them the rise of this literature was a wonderful thing since it brought within the pale of indian writing taboo subjects like incest and homosexuality books like in an antique land or the glass palace opened areas of experience which even western writers were not tackling but the point is how far can you sustain such newness for the attention these writers are getting is tempting many who are not so qualified to write in english and im apprehensive about the direction this will take it is not enough to bask in the limelight of media attention when a new name is launched the fat advances the novelty of themes the hysterical attention directed towards them the celebrity book releases everything works towards exhausting the print order but then these books lie on the shelf sometimes even unread actually what people return to again and again is poetry but that area of writing cannot be done in a borrowed tongue as ts eliot found out perhaps that is why vikram seth is an exception the rest are players of prose and that i firmly believe does not inspire repeat reading however the newness of subject will continue to draw readers especially in india as the subject matter of even those living abroad is drawn from indian soil the characters are indian and so is the ethos even when the writers lived in new york for 35 years how do these compare with the characters and ethos of the language writers regional writing has a wealth of details and subtle play of sentiments the dilemma of their characters is readily identifiable and gets under the flesh of the reader even a minor thing like naming a character in an indian language has a bearing on the plot or in the unfolding of the character this is impossible or lets say the plausibility is severely compromised in english by the same token theres greater spontaneity and sincerity in the foreign writers when they express inherent fears the emptiness in their lives or the dreams generated by their prosperous milieu when an indian pens these the inner world the landscape of the psyche is missing that is why they have to