Science Fiction As A Genre

I have always been fascinated by science fiction. More so than fiction set in normal settings. One aspect of this has always been related to my interest in technology and how stuff works. The futuristic aspects of technology in books as well as popular shows like Star Trek always worked well as far as my attention was concerned.

However, there seems to be an even more important factor - the flexibility that SciFi provides in creating settings. This ability to distort reality from any angle allows the author to bring out the central theme as clearly as possible. Readers of Nightfall by Sir Isaac Asimov will recognize this.


There is also a conundrum about SciFi. I have rarely come across a piece that I find acceptable. I am either quite enthused about what I read or quite disappointed. My first personal attempt at writing (as a young teenager) was also in the same genre; it turned out to be bad enough for me to not attempt again for over two decades. Now that I have begun to write again, I have thought about why SciFi elicits such extreme reactions from me. It seems that in exploiting the flexibility given, we can make good better, but we can also make bad worse.  Some thoughts on this below.

Area	Thumbs Up!	Thumbs Down!
Story	A good story line just like any good fiction	No story line. A story line confused with a technical paper. A story line which would not work in regular fiction.
Technology / Setting	Supports the story and provides a context for it	Is the story. Interferes with the storyline.
Philosophy / Point	Clearly articulated using the story. The context allows for it to come out clearly.	No philosophy or point at all. Preachy with the context providing an excuse.

Given that I would like to write some prose, and it will end up being SciFi, I hope the above thoughts will help me avoid staying away from writing for two more decades.

So, as somebody famously said, Engage...

Sins Of The Past

I have a friend, and he is better than me
I asked my mom, when I was a child
Why he could jump higher than me
And she said, he is not a friend to you
His Grandma had denied water to yours
But you relax my Son, you will get even

I have a friend, and he is better than me
I asked my Dad, why I need to get even
And my Dad had tears in his eyes
He asked if my forefathers were important
He asked if past sins deserved fixing
But don't strain yourself, you will get even

I have a friend, and he is better than me
I asked my teacher, why he scored better
The teacher was kind and looked down at me
He told me about the grave injustices of the past
Him scoring better was a reflection of that
But don't worry child, you will get even

I have a friend, and he is better than me
I thought about the past, and reflected on the present
I did get water, and there was no injustice
But I had to fight the past right here in the present
I didn't know what I would do or wanted
But, I was confident, I would get even

I have a friend, and he is better than me
He worked tirelessly and did the right thing
He stayed up nights and got into college
I waltzed in just holding a piece of paper
The job he wanted was given to me
It seemed to me, I did get even

The ghosts of my mom, my dad and the teacher
Showered flowers on me, and said in unison
You showed him, you did, and you got even
I smiled, I thought and I reflected on this
I have a friend, and he is STILL better then me
It's not about past sins, it's just about him and me

Main To Uske Paas Hi Hoon...

(Imagined as sung by the Late Jagjit Singh to the tune of  तुम गगन के चन्द्रमा हो)

मैं तो उसके पास ही हूँ, बस ज़रा सी दूर हूँ
उस ने मेरा हाथ थामा, तभी तो में मौजूद हूँ

साथ मेरा दे के उसने, की मेरी दुनिया हसीं
फिर भी मेरे दिल को अब तक, हो नहीं पाया यकीं
अब भी मैं जब सोचता हूँ, डर मुझे आता है याद
उस से मिलने की ख़ुशी में, रोने पर मजबूर हूँ


इसलिए कहना है उसको, छोड़ देना ना हमें
उस अकेलेपन की आदत, लग नहीं सकती हमें
आज फिर मैं ये तमन्ना, लेके आया द्वार पर
आज फिर मैं बुतपरस्ती, करने पे मजबूर हूँ


ऐ खुदा ये जान मेरी, खोई है जो ख्वाब में
उसको वापस कर दो मुझको, या उठा लो तुम हमें
तेरी दुनिया में तो खुशियाँ, कम ही लगती हैं मगर
और कम करने का कारण, जान लूं तो पूर्ण हूँ

Main to uske paas hi hoon, bas zara si door hoon
Us ne mera haath thama, tabhi to main maujood hoon

Saath mera deke usne, kii meri duniya haseen
Phir bhi mere dil ko ab tak, ho nahin paya yakin
Ab bhi mein jab sochtaa hoon, dar mujhe aata hai yaad
Us se milne ki kushi mein, rone par majboor hoon

Isliye kehna hai us ko, chod dena na hamein
Us akelepan ki aadat, lag nahin sakti hamein
Aaj phir mein ye tamanna, leke aaya dwaar par
Aaj phir mein butparasti, karne par majboor hoon

Ai khuda ye jaan meri, khoi hai jo khwab mein
Usko vapas ker do mujhko, ya utha lo tum hamein
Teri duniya mein to khushiyaan, kam hi lagti hain magar
Aur kam karne ka karan, jan loon to poorna hoon

Berukhi (indifference)

अश्कों से मैं डरता नहीं, बेरुखी की बात और है
तुम मेरे कुछ लगते हो, तभी तो रोना आता है

Ashkon se main dartaa nahin, berukhi ki baat aur hai
Tum mere kuchh lagte ho, tabhi to rona aata hai

My View on Slapgate

कहते तो तुम बहुत थे, मगर काम क्या किया
जिस शर्त पे जिए थे, उसे मान न दिया

तुम हो आज़ाद हिंद में, कोई तुम्हें तंग न करे
पर अपने जिद में तुमने, किसीको तंग क्यों किया

वैसे तो गांधीजी, तुम्हारे देश के पिता हैं
फिर हाथ उठाने का, गलत काम क्यों किया

तुम कहते हो वो सुनते नहीं, है नहीं शर्म
मगर तुमने बिना सुने, शर्मनाक काम क्यों किया

में भी तुम्हारे साथ हूँ, हैं मुश्किलें मुझे
लेकिन गुंडागर्दी करने को, मेरा माने न जिया


Kehte to tum bahut the, magar kaam kya kiya
Jis shart pe jiye the, use maan na diya

Tum ho aazaad Hind mein, koi tumhen tang naa kare
Par apni zid mein tumne, kisi ko tang kyon kiya

Waise to Gandhiji, tumhare desh ke pita hain
Phir haath uthaane ka, galat kaam kyon kiya

Tum kehto ho wo sunte nahin, hai nahin sharam
Magar tumne bina sune, sharmnak kam kyon kiya

Main bhi tumhare saath hoon, hain mushkilen mujhe
Lekin gundagardi karne ko, mera maane na jiya

Gam aur Khushi

जश्न-ए-गम में तू जाम पिला दे साकी |
कोई ये सोच ना ले ख़ुशी गवारा ही नहीं ||

Jashn-e-gam mein tu jaam pila de saaki,
Koi yeh soch na le khushi gawara hi nahin

Couplet

ख़ुशी मिली ज़िन्दगी में, ये हम कैसे बतलाएँ |

पता तो चले हमको, ख़ुशी होती क्या है ||

khushi mili zindagi mein, yeh hum kaise batlaain
pata to chale humko, khushi hoti kya hai