A Contemporary Read Demanding Immediate Attention

Contemporary literature contains a revolutionary theme in its narration. It is comprised of elements such as, surreal, peculiar names, plots and consistent, piercing commentary, which gives the novel a direction of revolution. The works of contemporary literature in the postmodern era were considered as inherently distrustful. The works not only question cultural discrepancies, but also allows such discrepancies to unfurl within the narrative. The contemporary literature followed the pattern of highly politicized fictions that were popular in the 18th and 19th century, along with provocative philosophical questions of the Modernist Movement of the 20th century.
A contemporary novel can be described as a fictitious tale, whose theme departs, occurs and lives at the same time. The novel incorporates subject matter which ranges to present age or date. As India enjoys 64 years of independence, the country has seen various phases of life, including the good, the bad, the ugly, and the incomprehensible as here below is a popular contemporary novel, which will connect you to the perspective of the author as it has once been said by a famous author that novels are the best way that enables two human beings to connect each other.

Tamas by Bhisham Sahni

The novel has been originally written in the Hindi lingo and was translated by its author in the year 2001. The novel narrates a story of the troubled relations between people of various religions and regions of the country. The book also deals with the hunger for power which used to urge politicians to provoke followers, which often resulted into brutality, prolonged for years over various causes.

Writing decades after he witnessed the events in Rawalpindi that he based the book on, Sahni uses the riots in a little town as a microcosm of the horror that Partition caused.
The story opens up with the massacre of a pig by Nathu, who used to work as a sweeper. This killing of a pig was ordered by a Muslim politician, who used to pay Nathu the price even more that what he demanded. The author throws light on the tensions between the people and get into the fray, spreading a sense of fright and terror in the area, where one man turned upon the other and resulted in murders.
The novel has also narrated the forced conversations, the way political leaders used to manipulate the people, migration of the minorities and the attitude of the British. The book shows how during the times of Saadat Hassan Manto’s and Khushwant Singh, where violence used to be implied. Then, the book will take you to the happier times when the names and faiths stopped to affect the relations.

The book spreads a sense of apprehension, revealing the psyche of the protagonists, who react by instincts, when they are along with the crowds and get hide beneath the mask which gives them a completely new face and out of their character, giving a contrast of their behavior in their daily lives.thus, the government staunchly refuses to interfere and help the general public from the crisis during the independence era, illustrating the social-psychological factors that continue to influence the country today also.