EXPLORING URBAN REALITIES : A STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ENGLISH FICTION THROUGH CHETAN BHAGAT’S NOVELS

India is commonly perceived as a cultural repository, and numerous Western countries have embraced Indian culture while achieving significant material success, yet have failed to preserve the spiritual development promoted by India for centuries. Contemporary Indian novelists, such as Chetan Bhagat, often set stories in metropolitan cities that reflect the urban lifestyle of the youth. Urban lifestyles encourage a materialistic approach to life, which can lead to a decadence in people’s sensitivity. The depiction of metropolitan cities and peripheral venues, such as public parks, call centres, and coffee houses, can be found in many of Bhagat's novels. These works have mirrored youth culture in big cities and have had a profound impact on the present generation. Chetan Bhagat's novels have shifted the setting from rural regions of the earlier novels to the metropolis in most of his works. The present study examines the depiction of urban culture in the novels of Chetan Bhagat.