The book undertakes a nuanced and critical exploration of select works by two towering figures of Indian English literature, R. K. Narayan and Anita Desai, situating their fictional worlds within the broader socio-cultural transformations of postcolonial India. It closely examines how their characters negotiate the complex and often fraught interface between entrenched indigenous traditions and the intrusive forces of modernity, frequently mediated through Western ideologies and lifestyles. The study foregrounds the evolving construction of subjectivity, with particular emphasis on female...