In a
startling media statement, Indian fiction writers have announced that they
would hang up their boots. Their decision to quit the profession stems from
acute frustration over the ground realities in the country becoming stranger
and weirder than any form of fiction they could conjure up.
“Look, we
thrive on presenting a fictionalized world to the reader. But, when the
day-to-day realities become stranger than fiction, what can we do? How can we
survive? At least, fiction has a responsibility to make some sense but the
reality has no such obligations. We quit,” said a renowned author.
Explaining
the circumstances that hit at the very roots of their profession, he said that in
terms of the bizarre quotient they were no match to the challenges posed by an
assorted group of politicians, sarkari babus and the media. “Can any of us
produce a greater fiction than a poll manifesto? Or a media sting operation? Or
a departmental inquiry committee report? We simply cannot measure up to their
imagination power,” the writer said.
In the good
old days when social life had a semblance of believability and certainty to it,
the writers could sit down with barrels of vodka for inspiration and unveil fictionalized
events to tickle the readers’ minds and take them on a flight of fantasy.
“Now, we
face multiple challenges in a world where the everyday life experience of a common
man is far more unusual, funky and spooky than any author can think of. How can
you sell a fantasy fiction to a reader who is already bombarded with a
thoroughly entertaining genre of fiction being dished out by politicians?” the
soon-to-be-jobless author wondered.
Another writer
of crime thrillers spoke about his imminent denouement: “After polishing off a
bottle of whiskey borrowed from a friend, I came up with a brilliant plot for a
thriller. But, when I watched a series of exclusive sting operations,
reconstructed crime stories and edge-of-the-seat investigative stories about old,
botched up police operations telecast on news channels throughout the day, I
thought my days are finished. I have only one question to ask now: what is the
meaning of my life?”
Sensing the
approaching trouble, a young writer dropped his already faded thinking cap and switched
over to a new role as the brand ambassador for an online marriage portal, helping
India’s youth to find their life partners. “At least, through this mission, I
can push the youth into another fictionalized world,” he quipped.
