Literature has always been a paradox for the civil society. It will remain so, further, I believe. We are always busy in understanding whether literature is the mirror of society or society reflects the texts. This gets further perplexed as we get into reading the modern literature produced by the authors (Indian). When we read extremely sad literature, we think that India is a hell. When we read the literature which is positively charged, there is no other place on the planet earth which is even comparable to our beloved motherland. And then, there is a place for the neutral literature – India is not so bad; India is not so good. And the remaining question still remains – what does the literature reflect?
Chetan Bhagat’s latest novel has been released. It will ‘forced’ to be the bestseller once again. It depicts the various barriers that we have in our country which does not even let the purest of the love to flourish. To be honest, this is true as well. We have created so many barriers and boundaries and limits in our society which cannot be broken any sooner. However, the scenario needs better treatment and a better literature to be displayed to the world. On the other hand, we have authors like Amish and Ashwin Sanghi who draw a different picture of India – incredible and upright. All these authors get their inspiration from the same society. Nevertheless, there might be a difference of sight, maybe.
Presenting a one-sided image with bias on either side can never be termed as a good literary practice any day. The literary practitioners do have a responsibility to shoulder. An author has to give equal attention to the good side and the bad side of an image. However, the readers and the critics must remember that there are the jolly works and there are the dark literary productions. It is purely on the conscience of the author to write whatever he or she wants.
However, I will simply conclude my ‘derailed’ article by calling the readers’ attention to the fact that one might make the truth out of constant lies and one might the truth look like a lie by bringing it in a concocted manner to the common audience. I hope I am making myself clear. There should be a balance if a writer is trying to play neutral. There must be a valid reason if an author is trying to draw the all-white or the all-black image. Ranting or flowering showers cannot be valid all the times. So, the readers also have the responsibility to ensure they understand the real story behind any story they read… wish you all a happy reading!
by the feature contributor, Literature News