Portrayal of Indian Metropolis: A Panorama of Bombay City in Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil and Maximum City by Suketu Mehta

Literature, especially fiction of modern India, has witnessed a drastic change in terms of the choice of themes by the writers of the New Generation. These writers have shifted their interest to a completely new dimension of urban landscapes rather than rural topography. Indian literature is no longer an idealistic utopia; conversely, it has become the concrete substance of realism that critiques the elaboration of transparent images of city life with its cynicism. The present research focuses on the city of dreams for every Indian: Mumbai, as described by NewGen writers Suketu Mehta and Jeet Thayil in their narratives titled "Maximum City" and "Narcopolis," respectively. The research is a justification of a panoramic view of Bombay City with its darker sides, hopelessness, desperation, criminality, violence, corruption, and striking individuality of its own. The research is an observation of urban realism, primarily metropolitan symbolic representation, taking into consideration the financial and glamour capital of India. The comments of research and the themes of fiction generate a state of shock, exhilaration, devastation of human values, and pessimism. The research is an attempt to justify the mindset of writers behind such works that serve as eye-openers towards metropolitan culture and the significant challenges to the survival of individual existence.