The Peripety Narratives in Manohar Malgonkar’s Novels

Manohar Malgonkar, the uncrowned king in Indian English fiction, holds a unique place amidst Indian English writers. He earns a good measure of recognition, reputation, and
veneration from all over the world. His admiration as an Indian English novelist is apparent from the fact that some of his novels have been translated into Indian and foreign languages too. The socio-historical milieu of those times provides the backdrop of his novels which are
usually of action and adventure. He wrote both fiction and non-fiction, including biography
and history. He reveals himself as a writer keenly interested in Indian social life. His
experiences, exposures, environment, and cultural heritage to varied and wide world have left
deep and undeniable impressions upon him. His themes such as the army life, the aristocracy, commonality, partition of India, violence, sex, hunting, betrayal, and revenge provide a scope to find out the depth of his understanding and knowledge of the social life. He also employs the Indian imagery and the true colours in tune with the setting and background of the novel. The inclination of Manohar Malgonkar is to write about contemporary Indian history and his narrative techniques provide readers a delightful entertainment in the literary world of contemporary Indian English fiction. Manohar Malgonkar‘s novels are full of actions and his narratives take unexpected twists and turns. In fact, the dramatic quality of his novels depends on peripety or peripeteia which sustains the suspense, surprise, and curiosity of the readers alive.