The text and the context - Creative writing of a nation is indicative of the thought-currents and the temper of its society. So is it with Indian writing. Rooted in the cultural and intellectual traditions of an ancient civilisation, it is making the inevitable overtures to the winds of post-modernism. India is a multilingual country with parallel streams of literary excellence, co-existing in different languages like Assamese, Bangla, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Telugu, Urdu etc. Bharatiya Jnanpith is an organisation dedicated to the recognition and propagation of whatever is distinctively great in Indian writing. For the last 50 years, it has been Jnanpith's constant endeavour to highlight what is immortal and sublime in various literatures of India. Bharatiya Jnanpith is legitimately proud of having a galaxy of distinguished Indian athours among recipients of the prestigious Jnanpith Award for excellence in writing. This book brings together five of the Jnanpith Laureates, through their selected writings, reflecting the Indian experience. It shows that great ideas are universal and, hence, their appeal is to the whole world, for all the times to come.