Autobiography In Indian Writing In English With Special Reference To Mahatma Gandhi J L Nehru And Nirad C Chaudhuri

Abstract

Autobiography is a good medium of self-expression. It is a powerful literary medium through which an autobiographer makes an attempt to include his name in the history of the country. He wishes to earn name, fame, and historical immortality by expressing his life style, ideas, emotions, habits and traits, interests and experiences, philosophy and psychology. It is the general tendency of every human being to achieve popularity; it may be a layman or a man of high repute and position. Most of the people feel interested to get their life published and glorified. newlineMany writers have been inspired to write their autobiography in their own languages. In English language too, many renowned authors have written their autobiographies. This impulse is found in foreign writers as well as in Indian writers. Although M. K. Gandhi wrote his autobiography originally in the Gujarati language which was later translated into English by Mahadev Desai. In India many well known authors have written autobiographies in their regional languages, and they were later converted into English by some other writers contemporarily or in future. Reality comes out itself in an autobiography. A man is evaluated by his social, political, religious and moral activities. He is certainly known by the company he keeps and by the actions he does. He cannot conceal his newlineemotions and sentiments, views and shortcomings, while describing his life-stories in his autobiography. newlineIn the beginning, the genre of writing autobiography was developed in England. Indians also came forward with their own works, especially the autobiographies written in the English language. The Indian autobiographers started writing in English vehemently in the 19th century and the process continued in the 20th century with more and more impulse. It cannot be said that autobiographies in English were not written in the ancient and medieval times, but the number was small and the speed was rather slow. newlineNow the question arises about the classification of autobiographies. We can classify