One of the major debates on the question of narratives and modernity has beenhow to define ‘modern’ narrative. In other words, to what extent a narrative thatis practiced or exists in contemporary period could be considered ‘modern’. Forexample, though in Europe, novels and short stories were associated in its earlyphase of production and consumption with the emergence of the middle class, inthe case of South Asia, the middle class or its concerns were not necessarily thebasis of the process. Further, differences also existed in the nature of the narrativeof novels and short stories that were written in South Asia. Similarly, in the caseof other literary narratives such as in poetry or lyrics that transformed into‘modern’ narratives, elements that werecharacteristic of earlier narrative methodscontinued to be used. It is in this content that the debate of ‘tradition’ vs.‘modernity’ in modern narratives assumes importance.By the latter period of the 19thcentury and early 20thcentury, narrative methodscame used in novels and short stories in South Asia that tried to bring togetherthe earlier narrative methods and the new ones of novels and short stories (whichwere imported from Europe, or more appropriately English literature, during theperiod). For example, in the writings of Fakirmohan Senapati (Oriya) orLakhminath Bezbarua (Assamese), there were attempts to incorporate the folkmethods of narrative (i.e. tale) in the