Representation of Indian Knowledge System in Chetan Bhagat's '2 States'

Abstract Indian English Novels have a great tradition of transmitting Indian culture, values and knowledge throughout the ages. From R. K. Narayan to Chetan Bhagat, novelists had tried to pass this indigenous knowledge through their novels. The Indian Knowledge System (IKS), though traditionally associated with ancient texts and religious treatises, also stay alive through social and family institutions, customs, and moral practices of the people. Chetan Bhagat’s all novels reflect the cultural perspectives of Indian society, but some novels represent the Indian Knowledge system rooted in the lives of people. This paper specially exposes his fourth novel, ‘2 States: The Story of My Marriage (2009), which represents a contemporary Indian society’s culture, knowledge, and ethical values within the framework of modern education, urban life, and cross-cultural relationships. This paper examines how ‘2 States’ reflects the Indian Knowledge System through Vedantic philosophy, meditation, family system, marriage system, ethical values such as adjustment and harmony, forgiveness, and the negotiation between tradition and modernity. The study argues that Bhagat’s narrative, setting, characters, conflicts and themes meaningfully contributes to the representation of Indian knowledge and cultural wisdom in Indian English novel.