Brief Review for Agnir Debota by Dr.

Dilip RoyChaudhury

The genre of Science Fiction has had to suffer a much-neglected status

in Bengali belles-lettres as it is popularly understood. It is no wonder,
therefore, that most readers have continued to remain largely unaware
even of something as ostensible as the fact that SF can command adult
readership as well. SF in Bengal, consequently, has been relegated to
occupy the less significant status of childrens literature and even then,
something that approximates modern-day fairy tale with bits of scientific
information sprinkled over willy-nilly. Under such circumstances it is
often easy to almost forget or depreciate the wealth of indigenous SF of
which weve had a long if largely downgraded tradition. Late Dilip
RoyChaudhury, the father of Yashodhora RoyChaudhury, an eminent
contemporary poet, thinker and columnist, was a nuclear physicist in his
capacity and also has left an indelible mark on the pantheon of Bengali
SF, a substantial contribution that is all but completely forgotten. It is
very rarely that someone with professional training in what is commonly
understood as hard sciences and also equipped with an active
imagination tries his hand in creative writing and when that happens, as
it had happened in this text which was published as long as half a century
ago, something truly spectacular materializes.
In Agnir Debota (Published as a Bengali novelette by Alpha-Beta
Publications in the year 1966) what strikes a reader habituated to a
pronounced lack of scientific analysis in Bengali science SF (a historical
malady of sorts) is the prognosis and detailing of cause-effect and an
obvious, unmistakable mastery over technical tidbits. Writing science
fiction isnt easy precisely because of the oxymoron that the genre itself
encapsulates; - science/fiction. Its a genre of possibility, of potentialities
that are inherent in existing cognitive domains. But to be able to predict
those possibilities one needs to be discerning enough to understand the
potential of, say, an extant piece of technology or theory or what weve
known about a particular object or system or scheme so far. To illustrate
my point, one only needs to look at the way Mr. Ray has detailed how
Prof. Shonku had chanced upon the metal that eventually went into the
manufacturing of an almost indestructible spaceship. Despite all the awe
that this iconic fictional scientist has inspired, if someone can recall the
chart, as I can, its less science, more alchemy. It might cater to the
unsuspecting mindset of a 10-year-old, but the first lessons in Chemistry
and Physics and Biology are enough to make one dubious. This is not
science-fiction, this is fairy tale.
Mr. RoyChowdhury, on the contrary, as I came to realize as a pleasant
surprise, knows what he is talking about. He knows the science, the
technology that can render certain things possible, and of course, the
intrinsic potential. After I finished reading the novelette, I felt ashamed
that I hadnt read more by or of this man who was not only profoundly
knowledgeable but also a true imaginative visionary. I feel inclined to
maintain that there are specific points about the text which aspire to
become more than a fiction in its inimitable way of introducing a novice
reader of SF to specifics of the science being discussed or explained. Mr.
RoyChowdhury was well on his way of giving the Bengali readers a real
taste of Hard SF. Its very strange, therefore, that there remains an
unfilled vacuum, as it were, after such brave attempts so long back.
Its an ambitious narrative with a magnificently large scope that talks of
inter-planetary espionage and global ramifications, international
rivalries and the dawning realization that those puny mutual
competitions are insignificant in the face of unimaginable catastrophe on
global scale. One is bound to feel disheartened by the rather brief span
of the text. More is required, of course: more about the surreptitious
albeit global plans of the alien infiltrators. After a leisurely, comfortable
introduction the narrative assumes a sudden pace, rapidly draws to an
end which appears rather rushed. The narratorial scope has been
compressed, compromising both our curiosity and sequential
development. But that is to be understood, given the very likely
possibility that a second installment was definitely being gestated.
Cautiously steering clear from providing any spoiler as I really want
modern readers to have a taste of this, Ill finish with just another
observation. Given the distance of Pluto from its host star (5,906,380,000
kilometers on average) and the consequent frozen status of its surface,
its untenable that an advanced civilization would sprout there, capable
of interplanetary espionage and manufacturing of androids and AI-s. The
choice of another star-system or even the introduction of even trans-
dimensional being-s would have been more logically defensible.
But overall, it remains an experience for an SF buff like me and is capable
of restoring faith to the future possibilities of SF, and more importantly,
Hard SF, written in Bengali. And that is the best tribute that an SF
enthusiast can come up with.