Mulk Raj Anand (1905-2004) is often known as mouthpiece of the underdog. Anand was a distinguished novelist, short-story writer and art critic. Greatly influenced by Prem Chand on the one hand and Tagore on the other, this great writer during his tenure as Chairman, Lalit Kala Academy, remained a controversial figure.
He was also the Secretary, Progressive Writers Association. Amanda’s stories display a variety of mood, theme and character. They are the integral part of his humanistic vision and spring from some vital concern which are characteristic to his novels. His realistic stories are in great variety, and they are often full of humor, pathos, irony and satire.
His novels are surrealistic in nature. Hence, his plots lack the complexity which is the hallmark of more popular and artistic novels in the world.
1. Untouchable (1935):
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This is Amanda’s first and most famous novel which carried a preface by E.M. Forster. He got name, fame and world-wide recognition with it and it was translated into many languages. Its fame rests on its presentation of an archetypal tension between individual and society from the point of view of a protagonist drawn from the down-trodden classes. The hero of the novel, Bache, is a prototype of the protagonists of other novels of Anand.
2. Coolie (1936):
A Sahitya Akademi Award winner (in 1972) this is a total novel of human experience whose hero is Munoo. However, it suffers from a loose tying up of detached episode? Which are epical but not quite artistic?