New literary genres … are you game?

As a writer and as an individual I am fortunate to be born in a country which is imperfect. I believe imperfection builds extreme scenarios – both apathetic and sympathetic. Either way a writer enjoys the fruits of it. There is a reason. Long ago when I was active on several literary forums and websites, a writer from U.S pointed out that India was a perfect place, an apt landscape for writing meaningful, tangible literature as it provided a perfect setting, emotions, drive and diversity – both in visual and literary forms.

I agreed with that writer then, and even today.

Writers from the developed world where most of the countries have achieved socio-economic, cultural and religious equilibrium, rely on “History”, “Contemporary Romance”, “Future” and “Technology” for motivation whereas we simply need to look out of our window, whether it is our home, hotel room, train or a cab to find our muse. The reasons are many; rampant poverty, illiteracy, a corrupt system, brain drain and social, cultural and religious dogmas to name a few. Incidentally, the above mentioned conflicts when penned down have more often than not fetched accolades from the international literary communities.

While we continue to exploit issues such as people, love, society, marriage, inter-caste marriage, casteism, women atrocities, law and order and migration in our works, elsewhere, writers are experimenting with genres such as Sci-fi ( Science, Space, Aliens and Climate ), Fantasy ( Dark, Magical, Mythical ) and Speculative ( Supernatural, Superhero, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic ) .

On the brighter side, many Indian writers have contributed to the fantasy genre with their unique stories based on mythology and mythological characters set in classic as well as contemporary times. So, is this the paradigm shift? Should more writers follow suit? The million dollar question is – would people back home prefer to indulge in these genres which are typically the bastion of Western writers and readers? Would you?