The family is important in Indian literature and drama. Both the Mahabharata and Ramayana—the
two most famous works of Indian literature and theater— are family
epics, featuring cousins, uncles and aunts “struggling and killing each
other over land and dharma and then mourning inconsolably."
The Gupta Empire (A.D. 320 to 647) is regarded as the classical period
or golden age of Hindu art, literature and science. Art (often erotic),
architecture and literature, all patronized by the Gupta court,
flourished. Philosophy and science also enjoyed a kind of golden period.
Under the Guptas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharta were finally written
down in the A.D. 4th century. India's greatest poet and dramatist,
Kalidasa, acquired fame expressing the values of the rich and powerful.
Poetry in the Gupta age tended towards a few genres: religious and
meditative poetry, lyric poetry, narrative histories (the most popular
of the secular literatures), and drama. The Nalanda University in Bihar,
came to fame during the Gupta rule.
Sanskrit was the language of learning and theology in South India, as
it was in the north, the growth of the bhakti (devotional) movements
enhanced the crystallization of vernacular literature in all four major
Dravidian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada; they often
borrowed themes and vocabulary from Sanskrit but preserved much local
cultural lore. Examples of Tamil literature include two major poems,
Cilappatikaram (The
Jewelled Anklet) and Manimekalai (The Jewelled Belt); the body of
devotional literature of Shaivism and Vaishnavism--Hindu devotional
movements; and the reworking of the Ramayana by Kamban in the twelfth
century. English is arguably the most important thing the British left behind in
India. English helped unify the Indian subcontinent by providing a
common language for a region with a multitude of languages and dialects.
It also provided a common tongue for administration and education. The
Indian constitution and Indian legal code are written in English and the
famous speech delivered by Nehru after India became independent was in
English. English is especially popular among the affluent middle class.
As was true in the colonial era, English is a prerequisite to getting
ahead, especially in the outsourcing and technology world. English is
more widely spoken in southern India than northern India in part because
southerners loath to use Hindi.
However, Indian literature has been also influential for muslim literature and create an impact to the world.
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