Writing Beyond Domesticity: Contemporary Indian Women Fiction

There has been a conspicuous shift in Indian women¿s writing in English. Rightly hailed as the aesthetic voice of contemporary Indian woman, it displays narrative dexterity, linguistic robustness, stylistic boldness, thematic innovation and polemical thrust. It is an articulation of female consciousness that instead of wallowing in maudlin sentimentality or domestic enclosures actively intervenes in the public sphere. Instead of merely reacting to the derivative notions of gendered femaleness, it offers a sturdy renegotiation of issues of public importance, and foregrounds this renegotiation as a necessary stage in the process of self-realization and self-representation. Not only the concerns but even the contribution of women writers in the literary world has become comprehensive and manifold. Today one sees their creativity straddling across genres as diverse as travel writing and detective fiction. Contemporary women writers have emerged and established themselves as confident professionals empowered enough to deal with any issue of public significance. Many of these writers have been active in socio-political domains, a fact that bears significantly on their creativity.