FANTASTIC WORLDS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

SPECULATIVE FICTION, WHICH HAS A STORIED HERITAGE IN INDIA, IS MAKING A COMEBACK ON THE BACK OF THE PANDEMIC

- VAISAKH E. HARI

On September 28, 1896, the Shimla Meteorological Office published a report: A massive cyclone—the worst and the most dangerous in years—would devastate Bengal in two days. Fear gripped the city, and nobody slept at night as the mercury plummeted. But, on the dreaded day of October 1, after a few drops of rain, the sky cleared up. Scientists were astounded. Where on earth had the cyclone disappeared to? This was the premise of Niruddesher Kahini (Tale of the Disappeared), a short story by celebrated Bengali physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose in 1896.

As interesting as the plot is the circumstance under which the story came to be. Entrepreneur Hemendra Bose, creator of the Kuntalin brand of hair oil which was quite the rage across eastern India, stumbled across an innovative way of marketing his product. He instituted the Kuntalin Purashkar, a literary prize conferred to the best short story that featured the hair oil and promoted it. J.C. Bose’s story went on to win the maiden award.

The second part of Niruddesher Kahini delves into the mystery behind the missing cyclone; the protagonist of the story is a balding man, recovering from a long illness. He is convalescing onboard a ship in the Bay of Bengal around the time the cyclone forms. Upon understanding that violent death awaited him in the form of crashing waves and apocalyptic winds, he panics and recollects his daughter’s parting words. She had told him that she had packed a bottle of Kuntalin for him. A scientific article, which postulated that oil, being lighter than water, rises to the top and calms the tension on the surface, flashes across his mind. He quickly empties Kuntalin into the sea. The cyclone dissipates.