Monday, March 5, 2007

scifi as mainstream literature

Science fiction is still not considered as a mainstream literary genre while it contains almost all necessary elements needed for a literary expression.This state of affairs could perhaps be attributed to snobbery of so called mainstraem literaty worldwide which do not relish invasions of a more potential literary venture into their territory.Apathy of publishers towards this emerging field on other hand is another reason why sf is not getting its deserved status amongst common readers.
Its really very unfortunate that a genre which is genuinely concerned directly with the very existence of man on the planet earth or even beyond is stiill in a state of neglect and apathy.A wholehearted sincere effort from all those who are interested in the welbeing of human species on this planet is needed to boost the present sorry state of sf not only in India but in other countries of world including those where this literay genre is said to have originated and evolved from ie Britain and USA.
arvind

Friday, February 9, 2007

definition of science fiction

There is a lot of debate and discussions amongst Indian sci fi writers over such a basic issue as what sci fi is realy about?In what best way it could be defined?There is no consensus as yet on the issue but I think that Asimov's views on the genre is crystal clear.I fully endorse his opinion that
Scifi is an imagined literary response to the impacts of science and technologoy on man himself and the society in days to come.It has nothing to do with our contemporary world but deals with a world not familiar to us but may become a reality some day.This is infact a deviding line between contemporary social fiction which is full of man's miseries of his present world and saga of future societies of the world.Fiction and fantasies both contribute to enrich this genre but they must have some science background.That is why despite all the fantastic elements
our many mythological stories especially stories in Hindu mythology depicting heavens and hells can not be grouped under sci fi genre,though they beautifully illustrates enchanting settings of worlds not familiar to us.They appear so unfamiliar that no amount of scientific and technological pregress can convert them into realities for us.More next.
Arvind

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Science fiction in Hindi which is official language of India has now come of age.There are almost a dozen sf writers in Hindi including the author of this blog who are actively and regularily contributing to enrich this literary genre of west in India despite an apathy from traditional Hindi litteraty.Any suggestion to impress Hindi litterateurs?Or they should not be taken any notice of their continued apathy at all?
Arvind Mishra