The Mahabharata is an ancient Sanskrit epic poem attributed to the sage Vyasa. It is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.

Tiruvalluvar is a renowned Tamil poet and philosopher, best known for his work, the Tirukkural, a collection of 1330 couplets on ethics, morality, and statecraft.

Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was awarded the prize in 1913 for his body of work, including the collection of poems, Gitanjali.

Abhijnanashakuntalam, also known as Shakuntala, is a renowned Sanskrit play by Kalidasa. It tells the story of the love between King Dushyanta and Shakuntala, a beautiful maiden raised by a sage.

Nissim Ezekiel is a prominent Indian poet known for his modernist style and exploration of universal themes. His works include collections such as 'The Unfinished Man' and 'Latter-Day Psalms'.

The Hungry Generation was a literary movement in Bengali literature that emerged in the 1960s. It was characterized by its focus on realism, social consciousness, and a rejection of traditional literary conventions.

Premchand is widely regarded as the father of modern Hindi literature. He was a prolific writer known for his realistic and socially conscious novels and short stories, which often explored the lives of ordinary people.

Arundhati Roy is an Indian author best known for her novel 'The God of Small Things', which won the Booker Prize in 1997. The novel explores the lives of fraternal twins in Kerala, India, and the impact of social and political forces on their lives.

Kuruntokai is an ancient Tamil poetic form consisting of short poems with a strict metrical structure. It is known for its brevity, use of metaphor, and exploration of themes such as love, nature, and separation.

Nissim Ezekiel is a prominent Indian poet known for his modernist style and exploration of universal themes. His works include collections such as 'The Unfinished Man' and 'Latter-Day Psalms'.

Salman Rushdie is an Indian author best known for his novel 'Midnight's Children', which won the Booker Prize in 1981. The novel tells the story of Saleem Sinai, a child born at the stroke of midnight on the day of India's independence.

The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas, the sacred texts of Hinduism. It is a collection of hymns and philosophical insights, composed in ancient Sanskrit.

Aravind Adiga is an Indian author best known for his novel 'The White Tiger', which won the Man Booker Prize in 2008. The novel tells the story of Balram Halwai, a poor villager who becomes a successful entrepreneur in Delhi.

Sangam is an ancient Tamil poetic form that flourished between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. It is characterized by its use of allegory, symbolism, and a rich vocabulary.

Kiran Desai is an Indian author best known for her novel 'The Inheritance of Loss', which won the Man Booker Prize in 2006. The novel tells the story of a young woman named Sai, who travels from India to the United States to pursue her education.