Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-1-334-345 Research Article Articles The Chekhovian Tradition in Indian Literature Ranjana Banerjee red@rusklassika.ru 25 03 2026 8 1 334 345 A. P. Chekhov India reception translations influence typological affinities Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 At the beginning of the 20th century, India was undergoing a period of transition marked by tension in its socioeconomic and cultural development. Leading Indian writers and thinkers, searching for new ideas and forms of expression, turned to Russian literature, where they found answers to many pressing questions. The innovative playwright and master of the short story, Anton Chekhov, attracted the attention of the Indian literary world when his works began to be published in the country’s literary journals. They went on to have a profound influence on the literary world and progressive writers of India: M. Premchand, R. Tagore, T. Bandyopadhyay, and others. Chekhov’s themes, ideas, and poetics can be traced in the works of many Indian writers, as the issues raised in the works of the Russian classic are highly relevant in the Indian context. This article provides a brief overview of the Chekhovian tradition in India and highlights the main Chekhovian themes embodied in the works of Indian writers. The article demonstrates that the reception of Chekhov in India occurred through two primary channels: direct contacts (influence and direct borrowing) and typological convergences resulting from the commonalities in the socio-cultural development of both countries in the 20th century. 1. Banerdzhi, R. “Tema gibeli dvorianskikh usadeb (po p’ese Antona Chekhova ʽVishnevyi sad’ i rasskazu Tarashankara Band’opadkh’iaia ʽMuzykal’nyi zal’.” [“The Theme of the Demise of Noble Estates (Based on Anton Chekhov’s Play ʽThe Cherry Orchard’ and Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay’s Short Story ʽThe Music Hall’.”] Usad’ba i dacha v literature sovetskoi epokhi: poteri i obreteniia: kollektivnaia monografiia [Estate and Dacha in Soviet-era Literature: Losses and Gains: A Collective Monograph], comp. by O. A. Bogdanova, ed. by V. G. Andreeva, and O. A. Bogdanova. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2024, pp. 218–228. (In Russ.) 2. Barannikov, A. P. “ʽSaptasarodzh’ Premchanda” [“Premchand’s ʽSaptasaroj’.”] Indiiiskaia filologiia. Literaturovedenie [Indian Philology. Literary Criticism]. Moscow, Vostochnaia literatura Publ., 1959, pp. 7–11. (In Russ.) 3. Mosaleva, G. V. “Siuzhet ʽliturgicheskogo puteshestviiaʼ v ʽStepiʼ A. P. Chekhova” [“The Plot of A. P. Chekhov’s ʽLiturgical Journeyʼ In The ʽSteppeʼ.”] Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 7, no. 1, 2025, pp. 282–309. https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2025-7-1-282-309 (In Russ.) 4. Skorokhodov, M. V. “Simvolika vishnevogo sada: mezhdu kommercheskim proektom, usadboi i dachei” [“The Symbolism of the Cherry Orchard: Between a Commercial Project, a Manor and a Dacha”]. Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 6, no. 3, 2024, pp. 196–215. https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2024-6-3-196-215 (In Russ.) 5. Chelyshev, E. P. “Chekhov i indiiskaia kul’tura” [“Chekhov and Indian Culture”]. Indian Journal of Russian Studies, no. 4, 2022, pp. 1–14. (In Russ.) 6. Chelyshev, E. P. “Chekhov i indiiskaia kul’tura: obzor” [“Chekhov and Indian Culture: An Overview”]. Literaturnoe nasledstvo [Literary Heritage], vol. 100: Chekhov i mirovaia literatura: v 3 kn. [Chekhov and World Literature: in 3 books], book 3. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2005, pp. 137–150. (In Russ.) 7. Chandar, Krishan. “Chekhov-novellist” [“Chekhov is a Short Story Writer”]. Vishal’- Bkharat [Vishal-Bharat] (Calcutta), 1960, March, pp. 160–161. (In Khindi)