Epics Reimagined: The Influence of Epics on Modern Indian Writing in English

Abstract

This research Paper explores how the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata, as classic Indian epics, act as catalysts for modern Indian English literature in reinventing the heritage, ethical labyrinth, and the universal question about human life. Through authors such as Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Devdutt Pattanaik, Sudha Murty, Samhita Arni and Ashwin Sanghi, the paper demonstrates how traditional Indian epics are still being remodelled to solve contemporary problems involving gender, individual identity, moral battles and social development. These authors reinterpret old stories in modern-world view enriching the cultural continuity of the epics and introduce new viewers to significant insights in their new context. Specific attention is paid to the ways Indian epics still operate in the thematic, structural, and ethical roots of contemporary Indian English fiction.