Building bridges: A new book explores Indo-French literary exchange in the works of five writers

Writing Between Languages is a book about Indian authors from different regions of India, who not only write in French but also translate and write between French and Indian languages in various ways. When we think about Indian literature, we frequently think about English and Indian language literatures. But a small number of Indians have, and continue to write in French for various reasons, and I wanted to cast light on and explore that oft-neglected aspect of Indian literature in this book. In my research, I also discovered that a number of Indian writers have written literatures in Indian languages that has been heavily shaped by French literatures, which means that some Indian literary works are more French than we might think, and I explore this in detail. So the book is also about Indo-French literary exchange, and it demonstrates that several Indian writers have long been passionate about French literature, language and culture.

I’ve analysed the work of five writers in this book. Firstly, I look at the work of Ari Gautier, originally from Pondicherry, who writes fiction in French. I’ve recently translated one of his novels into English (Lakshmi’s Secret Diary, Columbia University Press 2024) and I cast light...

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