We’ve all probably, at some time in our lives, been enamoured by Salman Rushdie or Amitav Ghosh; heard about, if not zipped through, Arundhati Roy’s prize-winning The God of Small Things and felt a surge of pride when yet another of V.S. Naipaul’s novels won accolades. Indian writers such as these have hit the big time, exploding onto the international literary scene, rubbing shoulders and turning pages with the global literati.

But what about the others—the equally good, but unsung, authors? The ones whose works deal with the people and places of our country in myriad ways, bringing up issues that affect us all and portraying them in many different hues.

Mrinalini Patwardhan Mehra’s Develop hobbies or indulge in creative pursuits like learning a new language, classical or light music, playing a musical instrument, enhancing your dancing skills or getting yourself trained in a sport you haven’t tried before like golf, tennis, swimming, etc. You could also discover the pleasures of photography, painting, sculpture, pottery, needlework and so many other activities that bring out your creative side. Making a commitment to learn something new gives you confidence and increases your self-esteem.

Kavita Daswani made tears of mirth run down our cheeks with her hilarious first novel, For Matrimonial Purposes, the heart-warming tale of Anju’s search for the perfect man. Followed up by Everything Happens For A Reason, another touching, light-hearted look at important issues in a woman’s life, Daswani’s latest, Salaam, Paris, shows that she’s a writer worth reckoning with.

In the same humorous vein, Cauvery Madhavan’s Paddy Indian is a hilarious comedy set in Dublin, Ireland, where Padhman—known as Paddy to his new Irish friends—is grappling with life in a new country, where people use toilet roll instead of mugs and water, and he is no longer the revered son of a wealthy Madras family, but just another junior houseman studying for his Fellowship exam.

If it’s a laugh you’re looking for, Indian writers provide them by the barrelful. Meera Syal, Anurag Mathur and Nisha Minhas are but a handful of authors whose writing will have you rolling in the aisles.

On a sombre note, Hindu mythology, class and caste, social stigmas, brotherhood and loyalty are brought to life with The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri. Passion India, while not written by an Indian writer, could well pass off as having been, because Javier Moro has done his research so well that one can’t help but believe that he must have lived in turn of the century India, in the princely times in which his powerful political love story is set. Anita Delgado is a young Spanish dancing girl who is wooed in Andalusia by Rajah Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala and whisked away to India to become his bride. Her journey of discovery in this strange and wonderful land begins when she arrives in the winter of 1907. Palaces, jewels, pomp and pageantry—Anita is dazzled by India, its people and their customs. Peppered with figures such as Gandhi, Nehru, Clémenceau, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Mohammed Jinnah and Bibi Amrit Kaur, Passion India provides a flavour of the times and an insight into the fabulous world of the Maharajahs, their eccentricities, their passions and their might.

With Bookers, Pulitzers and other literary plaudits awaiting them, let’s hope these writers make it to the big time. They certainly have the potential.