Write an account on the popular regional writers in colonial India.

Novels were different in the different regions of India. Chandu Menon, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Premchand were some of the popular regional writers.The new novels in Indian languages had descriptions of domestic life of the people. They portrayed the culture, dress code, habits , religious beliefs and practises of the people of that particular region. Some of these books were translated into English, by British administrators or Christian missionaries.Novels began appearing in south Indian languages during the period of colonial rule. Quite a few early novels came out of attempts to translate English novels into Indian languages. Novels in Malayalam
O. Chandu Menon, translated an English novel called Henrietta Temple written by Benjamin Disraeli into Malayalam. The Indian readers did not relish the translated novel as they were not able to identify with the characters. So, O. Chandu Menon, wrote Indulekha, which was published in 1889. It was the first modern novel in Malayalam.Novels in Telugu
Kandukuri Viresalingam (1848-1919) translated Oliver Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield into Telugu. His translation was not successful. So he wrote an original Telugu novel called Rajasekhara Caritamu in 1878.Novels in Hindi
Bharatendu Harishchandra, was the pioneer of modern Hindi literature. He was encouraged by poets and writers to recreate and translate novels from other languages.Srinivas Das's novel, Pariksha-Guru was published in 1882.The novel cautioned young men of well-to-do families against the dangerous influences of bad company and consequent loose morals.Novels in Bengali
The early Bengali novels lived in two worlds.

• Novels based on historical events.
• Novels based on domestic life in contemporary settings.

Domestic novels dealt with the social problems and romantic relationships between men and women.Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali novelist. His novels had ingenious twists and turns of the plot. There was suspense and the language was relished. The prose style of his novels became a new object of enjoyment. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's first novel was Durgeshnandi.