Well, I was dumbstruck when I saw her with that red coloured book with Friendship @ Facebook.com inscribed on it. She had always boasted of being the descendant of Kafka or Marxism personified. She was trying hard to hide the forbidden literature under her chunni. Gosh what a hypocrite! I couldn’t help speaking these words. I started recalling my college days. She always was dressed in the Khadi kurtas and a jhola complementing her attire. She chose European Literature over popular fiction and Literary theory over Euro – Drama. Can’t forget the expressions on her face when I was defending what I call entertainment literature and she called pulp fiction, Grub Street literature. What a sham this woman was? How can she read it herself after condemning it forever?
I took a plunge into the memory lane yeah! What did she say during our discussion sessions? She, “It’s a shame! It’s a shame to the complete Literary Society of our college, that our Vice-President is advocating Grub Street literature. Wrong choice didn’t I tell you friends?”
I, “Whatever! I don’t care about your personal picks ma’am, but what is the harm in reading literature for entertainment? I love reading Shakespeare, but don’t Shakespeare’s works too contain almost all the entertainment ingredients which the so called ‘pulp-fiction’ has?”
She, “Why don’t you shut him up? My friend literature has nothing to do with entertainment or for that matter your enjoyment. Literature is meant for a purpose. A purpose of changing the society. Be a radical, a feminist. Do you know how hard-core feminist am I? Huh! I helped my friend to get out of the clasps of her phalocentric, patriarchal, chauvinist boy friend who asked her not to wear micro minis to Chandni Chowk. Who the hell does he think he was to tell her that? And that is what your pulp fiction supports.. Commodification of women. Victimisation of poor. Oh! God this world and society needs a change. We should ban this literature and hang pulp fiction lovers. There should be a protest.” A few chashma girls standing behind her and shouted with her in unison, “Ban it! Ban it!”
I felt that the conversation was getting heated up but just couldn’t understand the idea of not being biased towards everything in the world but be biased towards this source of entertainment. What is the harm reading a light novel at least it would make you smile! I don’t know what happens to some of these wanna-be intellectuals after joining English (Hons). The attire changes into only kurtas and jholas and they claim to be the cream literature lover class. I know a few who were avid readers of Mills and Boons before joining college. But what is it? Some enlightenment or something? These pseudo-intellectuals are further divided into two classes. The first being the one I’ve mentioned above the second ones are the “Maal/Stuff group” or the dopers’ gang. With their eyes half open, they talk of philosophies and believe me they too equally hate pulp fiction. I wonder why?
I was feeling like a sinner for being the Vice President of the English Department of my college, yet having a taste for pulp fiction. But I wanted to stand for my thoughts and so I did. I said, “So you feel my dear friend that literature should be either about women upliftment or should just reflect the victimisation of poor by the capitalists. Is that what you want?”
She replied, “Yes and in fact I would suggest that there should be solution oriented fiction novels such as How I hurled a matriarchal abuse at him, or The servant’s punch, etc.”
I knew we needed change but the idea of making literature only for change didn’t click me. I never wanted to argue anymore but I wasn’t even convinced by her idea, so I carried reading both my entertainment literature and the “refined,” Classical literature as well. Holy Crap! She was reading it? Unbelievable. I realised she herself accepted the Power of Pulp.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe pulp fiction is no longer just about fun and frolic. Rather like our own bollywood, it's seen some drastic changes. We've witnessed the likes of Chetan Bhagat trying to share a message of boundrylessness with his book "2 States".
ReplyDeletePulps (pulp fiction) is not just a perspective, it's a idea built on the pillars of experience. Howsoever crazy they may be, they still have shrapnels from people's past coated with sugary words and spicey fiction.
They might not have a extended history, but they stand strong and hold their own in the world of literature.
I think it is pretty hard to define Pulp. One might say that anything that is not taught in universities is pulp, but that will be gross injustice! Interesting, thought-provoking post, Aman. :)
ReplyDeleteAnyone who writes simple and refrains from loading the reader with confusing philosophies, is considered pulp today. I don't like that Choppra guy. He talks nothing but showers gyan. Why read it in an English daily or buy his book and not listen to the similar gyan by babas on Sadhna channel?
ReplyDeleteGood post.. I agree bout the Chopra bid.. he writes for the firangis...
ReplyDeleteI like how you described these people in the college.. And I think even pulp fiction can do well to influence societies, its a slower but surer route than literature which makes a propaganda..
Great thoughts, Aman. Well-written, and I am sure you are going to pen a book very soon! Plus this is a good topic to debate upon and discuss. I guess all humans go through these phases. (I did too.) Pulp fiction and classical fiction, both are food for the mind. The former is more like a hamburger; and the latter more like a heavy meal. I guess we need both. Just like a bird needs both wings; a mind needs to assimilate the vacuous along with the Victorian classics. Especially in today's world where ipods, internet, playstations, x-boxes, movies, television etc try to grab our attention, we need to provide the audience with something that can be both entertaining and educating. So if we can create Pulp 'Edutainment' fiction, we will be rendering a good service to readers, for i believe that education and entertainment should go hand in hand. Thanks for the post:) Sam
ReplyDeleteThe perception varies from person to person. You can't consider anything loaded with HEAVY words to be merely hopeless (eg. Amartya Sen's writings). On the contrary everything simple is not class too. I won't argue much with you Aman (specially on the literary classification aspect of it), but I lie on that part of the spectrum which considers pulp (such that pulp is: something which you can go on reading and make no damn sense of; something which doesn't have any idea of whats being spoken about; or something after reading which you are as better (leave away worse) as you were before reading it; in short something like the KJo/Bazmee type of movies) to be a mere waste of time!
ReplyDeleteHey Umang I am simply reiterating the old quotation which says,''I'art pour I'art'' or "Art for Art's Sake." I fail to understand that how can an author provide good literature when he is writing with an agenda and a preoccupation of changing the society. He should rather show the society and should leave the decison on the reader. Premchand style.
ReplyDelete