Diverse in their language, culture, and faith, Indian authors embrace multiple storytelling genres, reaching millions of diasporic readers with distinctly different tastes. Here are just five of the countless contemporary Indian writers you should be reading.

1. Devdutt Pattanaik. To understand Indian philosophy and its mythological depths, try reading Pattanaik. He writes nonfiction and mythology, but he explains the metaphorical characters of ancient scriptures with excellent precision and logic. Education, women’s issues, lifestyle — he covers multiple topics.
2. Ravi Subramanian. If you’re attracted by corporate suspense and ethics-dilemmas-equations in the workplace, try Subramanian’s banking novels. He fictionalizes beautifully the dynamic and diplomatic corporate relationships — sometimes throwing in a mystery to solve along the way.
3. Tuhin A. Sinha. Pick up one of Sinha’s political fictions if you wish to experience and explore the interplay of power and democracy in India, albeit with a soul-baring love story at the backdrop. (Politics is a sensitive aspect of a typical educated Indian’s mind set.)
4. Shobhaa De. You haven’t read enough of India unless you have read De! She builds her novels with grace, humor, and sarcasm; her characters are unapologetic about their shades of grey as they embody the beauty and adversity of living life in India.
5. Anita Nair. Relationships are at their lucid best in Nair’s books. She’ll introduce you to Indian ethos and give you a glimpse of the mind games that run in a typical Indian household. Her stories and characters are mature and modern, plotting Indian sensitivities in the global canvas.

Koral Dasgupta is author of Fall Winter Collections and Power of a Common Man, and teaches university-level marketing management. She writes about a wide variety of subjects, from art and mythology to books and film. Follow her on Twitter at @koraldasgupta.