The Development Of Novel As A Novel In The 20th Century

Novel is one of the most famous and appreciated genre of literature in the modern age. To be precise, it is over a period of a little more than a century that the novel form has occurred and taken its roots in India. It was till later half of the nineteenth century that the Western impact on Indian culture has resulted, among other things, in the development of the formal written prose in regional languages first as functional and presently as an artistic medium. Novel in India can be seen as a product of configurations: aesthetic, philosophical, economic and political forces in the larger life of the country. It projects the images of life which in turn crystallizes the images of thoughts, feelings and aspirations of an individual or a nation. It is increasing more than any other form of the literature. Now, novels are written not only on the theme of love and marriage but every trends of the modern world is very well picturized by the novels of now-a-days. There are various kinds of novel as romantic novel, picaresque novel, sentimental novel, stream of consciousness novel, novel of ideas, social novel, crime novel, moral novel, war novel etc. The ‘novel’ as a literary phenomenon is new to India. Epics, lyrics, dramas, short stories and fables have their respectable ancestries, going back by several centuries, but it is only during a period of little more than a century that the novel---the long sustained piece of prose fiction---has occurred and taken a root in India.