Part II of my exploration of The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF, that mines a rich lode of fantastic, anti-caste, Dalit futurism and Adivasi futurism
Illustration/Uday Mohite
We had celebrated Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 by revisiting the extraordinary book, The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF, that is undoubtedly a landmark. I had dealt with the women writers last time; in part II here, I’m sharing about the male writers and artists’ contributions. Published by Blaft Publications Pvt Ltd (R995, 2024), the book mines a rich lode of relatively unexplored literature. It is described as an anthology of “weird, fantastic, supernatural, Dalit futurist and magical realist fiction by writers from South Asia and the diaspora.” Edited by RT Samuel, Rakesh K and Rashmi RD; RT Samuel observes in his introduction, how, because of mainstream science fiction/speculative fiction’s overlooking of marginalised voices, this book aims to capture some of the “bubbling countercultural renaissance.”
As I mentioned last time, the book offers a superb selection of authors, mainly marginalized voices--minorities, caste-oppressed and indigenous writers; along with superb English translations from Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali. The writing is imaginative, philosophical, thoughtful and savage, some of it very funny, and thrillingly, it includes a number of visual stories as well. It includes a diverse range of voices, including Gautamiputra Kamble, V Chandrasekhar Rao, PA Uthaman, Neerav Patel, Goutam Mandal, Rahee Punyashloka, Nabi H Ali, Subash Thebe Limbu (an indigenous artist from Nepal/London), Bama (translated by Meena Kandasamy), Tamil Magan, New York-based Mimi Mondal, Gouri, Hameedha Khan, Gogu Shyamala, Esther David, Aswathy K Raj, Rashmi Ruth Devadasan, Gitanjali Joshua, and savage satire by Sumit Kumar of Bakarmax comics fame and many other comic book artists.
Gautamiputra Kamble offers us Parivrajak (wandering ascetic), a philosophical story with contemporary observations. Kamble is an Ambedkarite intellectual and founder of the Secular Art Movement (disclaimer: he is a mentor of sorts to me, as I’ve been following the history, arts and culture of marginalised people, since eight years). He describes the metaphorical journey of Naiser and Anisha, that parallels the journey of Siddhartha. His characters realise people are hobbled by false stories they have been fed; they cross rivers they are forbidden to cross; they seek peace as a way forward, rather than war. V. Chandrasekhar Rao’s stunning The Last Radio Play, reads like a web series in 13 pages. As four people recount stories in a radio station’s recording room, we hear of a marvellously-described community, “whose caste occupation was to go from house to house, reciting the family histories of the owners…Our grandfather used to perform burra-katha as well.” How extraordinary--one longs to learn more about them. The narrator was born to a Pichikuntla family (nomadic tribe), and learnt Oggu tales, Dasari and Chindu folk songs, and when his father burnt his tambura and goat-skin bagpipe, “a few songs walked out from them and encircled me.” He describes a declining performing troupe in Andhra Pradesh: when Sankaram told the narrator he would put his songs on a cassette, he said, my songs “still carried a bit of stench of rotten meat, so he hired a pandit to rewrite them.” It speaks of a familiar exploitation and contempt, ending with a macabre prophecy on the fate of artists. Rahee Punyashloka writes of The RV Society for Promotion of Underground Sci-Fi Writings, a stinging satire with allusions to Rohith Vemula, and how the ‘RV Society’ is “assimilated” into the Department of Historical Corrections. Many authors, expectedly, allude to Rohith Vemula, the Dalit scholar who, oppressed by circumstances, committed suicide.
There are several visual story contributions, including Spacewali, brilliant satire by Sumit Kumar of Bakarmax comics fame, as well as Sanatan Gaming comics by Kunal Lokhande, and Looly Cooly ‘comics’ by Yeswanth Mocharla, all set in a dystopian future. Subash Thebe Limbu, an Indigenous Yakthung (Limbu) artist living between Newa Nation (Kathmandu) and London, explores what he calls “Adivasi Futurism,” with Yangdang Phongma, an ‘autobiographical’ photo-essay referring to the day a newborn is given a name. The Blaft book has clearly hit a rich lode: we hope this is the first book of many.
Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist.
Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com
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