English, August by Upamanyu Chatterjee

‘Agastya's story is convincing, entertaining, moving—and timeless. It merits an accolade that's far harder to earn than "authentic." It’s a classic'

— The New York Times

Agastya Sen is a young Indian civil servant whose imagination is dominated by women, literature and soft drugs.

As the novel opens he has been posted to the small provincial town of Madna.

First published in 1988, English, August, a funny, wryly observed account of Agastya Sen's year in the sticks, is a cult classic.

The Last Salute (Shesh Namaskar) by Santosh Kumar Ghosh

Shesh Namaskar is the story of a young man, basically innocent but now gone astray. In his ruthless search for a meaning of life, there is a sadness that both ennobles and elevates the mind. Shesh Namaskar is written in the form of a series of letters from a son to his mother who had left home, never to return, when the son had accused her of being unfaithful when he was younger. Through these letters he finds way of discovering his own self. As a last tribute of reverence, he seeks forgiveness from his mother just before his death. This outstanding novel published in 1971 won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972.

See here for a review of this translation.

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