KOCHI: There is magic in the air; wizards walk the long, winding, strange lands; fire-breathing dragons roam the sky, and strange creatures are deadly in the dark night. Then appears the prophesied hero with a promise to save everyone from the looming, fearsome villain.
But first, she has to find herself, travel through the world, slay and win the small battles to brave the last war. And you travel with the hero to strange lands, and learn new languages, encounter new terrors.
There is nothing like poring over thrilling fantastical lands and magical creatures that inspire childlike wonder. Fantasy has always been a popular genre among readers, be it the young or the older; there is something to savour between the bizarre lines.
And for many young readers in Kerala, the introduction to the world of fantasy began with the Harry Potter series. A young orphan boy, who goes to a magical school, where wizards, goblins, and giants exist, finds friends, and a new family, grows into a brave teen, and vanquishes the villain. “I love that little boy, and I waited eagerly to know what happened to him,” says Dr Meenakshi Hemanth, 27. “I still go back to those books. They are a comfort read on rainy days.”
After the Harry Potter universe, Meenakshi craved a different world, where magic was real. She wanted to explore new horizons. “From The Lord of The Rings by J R R Tolkien and the widely popular A Song of Ice and Fire series (also known as Game of Thrones) by George R R Martin, I started reading more fantasy,” says the Kozhikode native. “However, I soon lost touch with the genre, as my preferred areas are crime thrillers and literary fiction. Now, I am slowly rediscovering the rich fantasy world.”
Meenakshi, who recently returned after doing her MD in London, is now familiar with many more worlds from the books her fantasy-fan husband gifts her. “The famous Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson is an example of phenomenal writing. He breaks free of the mould Tolkien had created. He has created a new world, a new kind of magic. I hope more people discover his works,” she says.
Dr Balamukund Raveendranath, her husband, grew up reading fantasy. “I found the ‘Game of Thrones’ books before the series hit the screen. I was in med school then and ploughing through books along with my studies,” says the 29-year-old Mavelikkara native, currently settled in Kochi. He adds that there are “pre- and post-Tolkien eras” in fantasy literature. Tolkien changed the landscape and introduced the idea of good vs evil in an epic new world filled with orcs, dragons, and wizards, just after fighting in World War I.
Ursula K Le Guin, considered the queen of speculative fiction, is one of his contemporaries when it comes to mapping out thought-provoking fantastical narrations. The Tales From The Earthsea puts out the idea of magical schools and students. It changed the way readers and authors approached their heroes, the plots, and their quest for greatness. Most fantasy fiction that followed – including Harry Potter books, The Wheel of Time series, and Game of Thrones – were inspired by the foundation laid by Tolkien and Le Guin.
However, slowly but surely, the idea of fantasy is changing from the European-centric world, becoming more diverse. “Thanks to the internet, everything is reachable to you,” says Balamukund. Indian fantasy? “I’m yet to pick one up,” he says. Nimmy Chacko, a freelance editor working in the publishing industry, laments the lack of well-written homegrown fantasy fiction, except for some gems such as Samit Basu’s GameWorld trilogy. However, speculative fiction, especially fantasy, is a rare offering in India, she says.
“We are still stuck in the mythical genre,” Nimmy continues. “Innumerable authors are taking characters from the Ramayana or Mahabharata, and the gods we grew up hearing about. Most are just retellings of stories already known. They also sell well; we can’t ignore that fact.” Readers like her, however, seek more. “There is plenty to explore. Plenty of epic fantasies to be written, maybe even inspired by Hindu mythologies and folklore,” she says.
Nimmy is currently reading Jade City, a fantasy fiction by Fonda Lee, an American writer of Chinese origin. “Many young writers are exploring their cultures through fantasy. There is Saba Tahir whose books are based on Middle-Eastern, Indian, and Pakistani cultures. R F Kuang, whose books are rooted in Chinese history, is making waves in literary circles,” she adds.
Aleena, a budding poet, says that the element of reverence and predictability present in the mythological books make avid fantasy readers reluctant to pick them up. “After tasting high fantasy, going back to mythologies can be hard,” she says. “Believe me, pure fantasy will also get such an audience like mythology. We are already discovering new authors and books from across the world.”
Nimmy, however, is a bit sceptical. “Most publishers box fantasy fiction into children’s and young adult sections, even stories meant for adults. At the end of the day, you need the books to sell. So self-help, business, mythology, etc., get priority,” she says. That doesn’t mean there has never been fantasy fiction in this part of the world.
“Our literary fiction, though rooted in reality, always played with fantastical elements. From Ponam, a recent work by K N Prasanth, to some stories by Indu Gopan, we have seen rich fantastical elements,” notes writer Nithya Mariam John. Anandabhadram by Sunil K Parameswaran, Odiyan by P Kannankutty, and the ongoing Kanthamala Charitham by Vishnu M C are a few other examples.
“I want more,” smiles Aleena. “More full-fledged fantasy books in regional languages.” This is something every fantasy fiction fan agrees with. An epic fantasy, rooted in the Indian sub-continent offering a new world to explore. That’s what they seek.
Malayalam fiction has shades of fantasy
DC Books, a major publishing house in Kerala, says fantasy has a huge readership in the state. Babu M T of DC Book Store at Sreekaryam in Thiruvananthapuram says, more than children, it’s the adults who relish the fantasy genre.
While the book series ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians’ is a favourite among children, high and epic fantasy, including young adult fantasies, are popular among the adult crowd.
“Malayalis who grew up listening to ‘Aithihyamala’... Kadamattathu Kathanar, Ettu Veetil Pillaimar and Kayamkulam Kochunni... are yet to consider Malayalam fantasy as adult reading,” says an editor with DC Books.
“Hence, there is no solid fantasy genre in Malayalam. However, the literary fiction in Kerala, especially by writers such as O V Vijayan and Benyamin, are rooted in fantasy. Most of our fiction is filled with fantastical elements. Meanwhile, in the upmarket category of readers, there is considerable readership for English fantasy fiction, well beyond ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Lord of The Rings’.”
The Chottanikkara tale
Author S V Sujatha is a lover of everything mystical. Her maiden book, The Demon Hunter of Chottanikkara, released a few years ago, was a mix of horror, fantasy and mythology.
The Chennai-based writer’s quest began after she visited the Chottanikkara temple at the age of 18. She fell in love with its atmosphere, local folklore and myths. “The stories of Yakshi, a bandit and many more inspired the book,” says Sujatha, 33.
In her book, the protagonist is named Devi. She slays the many villains, including corrupt priests who have turned into demons and yakshi. Vetala, who is part of several Indian fables, also features in the story.
“I loved writing the book.. the research, everything,” she says. However, she believes the work did not get its due in terms of publicity. “It was a new publishing house. It was exciting to work with them, but I had to shell out money for marketing,” she adds.
A huge fan of Neil Gaiman books, science fiction and horror, Sujatha believes India has a long way to go in producing quality speculative fiction, especially fantasy. “We have inspiring tales. We need to just take inspiration and make them our own, fly away with those characters in one’s imagination,” she suggests. “See how some writers play with the Greek gods. We do have the baseline, we just need to take that plunge.”