NEW DELHI: Post a third world war while Europe is devastated by chemical, nuclear and genetic pollution, nomadic tribes emerge taking charge of the exploitation of a specific element.
Transporting readers into such an alternative universe takes a little more than a faction of wild imagination and most sci-fi authors base such stories on mythologies of the world, says notable French author Pierre Bordage "All mythologies of the world are the basis of the science fiction writing. For me the most important mythology is the Greek followed by African, American. American-native, Asian and so on. I like Indian mythology very much. At present I am actually reading the Upanishads and it is feeding me various concepts especially about physics, creation of the world," says Bordage.
Bordage one of France's best selling science-fiction author was here recently for a discussion on science fiction writings. He was joined by a fellow French author Olivier Lafont who is also a Bollywood actor famous for his role as Kareena Kapoor's fiancee in the film "3 Idiots".
Lafont has recently authored a mythological adventure book "Warrior". Intrigued by Indian mythologies and stories of Amar Chitra Katha, Lafont stresses on the fact that mythologies of the world are the basis of fantasies.
"Oral traditional story telling was actually of mythological tales which were later converted to theatres and novels. These are the first source of inspiration for authors," says Lafont. Shedding light on the fact that in India science fiction writing is in a nascent stage and the audiences are open to various kinds of tales and fantasies, the authors feel that experimenting with the Indian readers will be interesting.
"To read a science fiction novel or book the mind has to be free of stress and tension so that the reader can be transported into the author's world. In west the society is filled with angst but in India the society is more relaxed and can enjoy this particular genre," says Bordage.
With over 20 novels published in just over a decade, Bordage says he finds it difficult to find writers to translate his books into English. Several of his books have been translated into European languages but not English.
"I hope one day someone translates my books into English so that more readers can enjoy science-fiction".