পলাতক তুফান

by Jagadish Chandra Bose

This story by J.C. Bose (1858-1937) is regarded as one of the first works of early science fiction in the Bangla language, and one of the first science fiction stories in India. It was first published in 1896 as "Niruddesher Kahini" ("The Story of the Missing One"), the winning entry in the Kuntalin Story Competition. Kuntalin was a popular hair oil at this time. The inventor and owner of the oil, Hemendramohan Basu, instituted a promotional annual fiction competition from 1896 onwards, with the precondition that the story would have to feature the hair oil and promote it. (For details about the competition, see: Bhattacharya, Arupratan. Bangalir Bigyanbhabana o Sadhana. Kolkata, Dey’s Publishing, 2006.)While the oil itself was symbolic of the industry of its creator, who was also active in the Swadeshi movement, it was Bose who turns this potentially nationalist symbol to an active cultural symbol that could combine scientific endeavour with nationalist concerns. Bose was the first winner of the competition that would later include some of the best names of the period, including Jagadananda Ray, who wrote what is arguably the first science fiction story in Bangla (although published much later). Bose later reworked the story for his collection Abyakto (1921) with the alternate title "Palatak Toofan" ("Runaway Cyclone").The later version has been used for this translation and significant changes have been indicated in the footnotes. These include the name of the hair oil (now "Kuntal Keshari") and a new backstory about its mysterious and supernatural origins. Moreover, while the 1896 version uses both English and Bangla, with English for scientific explanation (mostly) and Bangla for the narrative, the 1921 version uses only the latter language. The 1921 version also excludes a long explanatory passage from a scientific journal at the end of the story, as well as a reference to the Empire (both in English).
The source text for translation of both the 1896 and 1921 versions of the story was taken from Sera Kalpabigyan (Best Science Fiction), ed. Anish Deb (Kolkata: Ananda Publishers Limited, 2007). The 1921 version has been cross-checked against the reprinted Abyakto: A collection of popular science of Jagadish Chandra Bose articles and other essays by Jagadish Chandra Bose (Kolkata: Dey’s Publishing, 2009 [1921]). The translation is included in my PhD dissertation, Bangla Kalpabigyan: Science Fiction in a Transcultural Context (University of Oslo. 2013).

—Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay, September 2013

Endnotes
[1.] 1896: Englishman.
[2.] Cyclones have been common phenomena in Bengal. There were four major cyclones in the Bay of Bengal in the 19th century alone. Of these, a particularly destructive one had been the great Calcutta cyclone of 1864 in which over 50,000 lives were lost. The Meteorological Department in Kolkata was established after this cyclone. According to the Encyclopaedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones:Aghast at the Great Calcutta Cyclone’s economic and human scope, the British East India Company subsequently established the continent’s first weather service, the Indian Meteorological Department. Symbolically headquartered in a rebuilt Calcutta, the service was tasked with tracking threatening Bay of Bengal cyclones through shipping reports and then telegraphing that information to vulnerable coastal areas via a comprehensive network of warning stations. (David Longshore, Encyclopaedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones, New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2008, p. 257-58)[3.] At this point a number of significant lines of the 1896 version have been left out, most significantly the line reported by the Reuters agent to the Times: "The Capital of our Indian Empire is in danger." By the time the story was republished with the new title, Calcutta was no longer the capital city.
[4.] 1896: Englishman.[5.] 1896: Daily News.[6.] 1896: Pioneer, Civil and Military Gazette, Statesman.
[7.] The 1921 version uses a plural form to refer to the different scientific opinions while citing merely one. The 1896 version gives a second "scientific" opinion which is both humorous and politically loaded, thus providing a justification for the plural form. It mentions that "the Lieutenant-Governor had gone for a stroll in Diamond Harbour right before the storm would have struck Calcutta, and his fierce reputation managed to quell the force of the storm!"
[8.]1896: Herr Stürm F. R. S., "On a Vanished Cyclone." While the 1896 version contains the title, the long extract from the Professor’s paper/speech is not a part of it.
[9.]The 1896 version ended with a short passage in English:Six months after this story the following scientific explanation was published by Scientific American.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1921

About the author

Acharya Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, (Bengali: আচার্য স্যর জগদীশ চন্দ্র বসু )was a Bengali polymath, physicist, biologist, botanist, archaeologist, as well as an early writer of science fiction.He pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics, made very significant contributions to plant science, and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent. IEEE named him one of the fathers of radio science.He is also considered the father of Bengali science fiction. He also invented the crescograph. A crater on the moon has been named in his honor.

Literary Works:
Abyakta (Bengali), 1922

Awards:
Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) (1903)
Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI) (1911)
Knight Bachelor (1917)

Reviews

[Ed Erwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and very short story about the amazing power of hair oil. Interesting mainly because it is one of the first SF stories written in the Bangla language, in 1896.

Still relevant today for these lines about fake news:

Now it is certain that scientific knowledge is completely false.

Another daily published the following: If science is false then why should the taxpayers be burdened by the totally unreliable Meteorological department?

An English translation of the 1921 revised version is here:
http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/ru...

[পুটুশের · Rating 5 out of 5]

বাংলা ভাষার প্রথম সাই-ফাই, না পড়ে কি উপায় আছে?!!
ভালো লেগেছে।
Thumbs up!!

[simone]

Gravity works according to relative mass. That which is heavier is subject to more gravitational force and is therefore relatively tied to its own position on the earth. The lighter object is less influenced by gravity and is therefore relatively free. This is why when we mix oil and water, the lighter oil generally floats to the surface. Hydrogen being lighter tries to escape the Earth’s atmosphere—however it is not completely free of the gravitational pull. However we doubt if the truth of relative mass is applicable to areas other than physics. For instance, in the country called India, the men are heavier and relatively free, the women who are relatively light are tied to the domestic space.

[j j · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eminent scientist jeers at the public's tendency to fill the knowledge gap with outrageous, unscientific and superstitious beliefs. Until the remark about municipal tax system, I thought it was going to be a hard sci-fi short.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

ছোট্ট লেখা। রস, রহস্য, অ্যাডভেঞ্চার এবং কুন্তলীন কেশ তৈলের সমন্বয়ে একটি জমজমাট কাহিনি পেশ করেছেন কিংবদন্তি বিজ্ঞানী।
অনীশ দেব সম্পাদিত 'সেরা কল্পবিজ্ঞান'-এর একেবারে শুরুতেই থাকা এই লেখাটি আগে না পড়ে থাকলে এক্ষুনি ত্রুটি সংশোধন করে ফেলুন।

[Avishek Bhattacharjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

৩-৪ পাতার একটা গল্প। খুব একটা চিত্তাকর্ষক নয়। তার উপরে ভাষার খটমটে ভাব তোহ আছেই।

[Julie Capell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful story. The humor resonated for me, more than 100 years and half a world away from its time and place.

[Mohammad Labid Hossain · Rating 4 out of 5]

একে রম্যরচনা বললেও ভুল হবে না

[Tasnim Dewan Orin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first science fiction in Bangla and again written by my favorite scientist. It is a successful satire sci-fi. It is must read for all Bangla reader who loves science fiction.

[Obsession Beats Desolation · Rating 5 out of 5]

পড়া শুরু করার আগে চিন্তা করিনাই যে বাংলা সাহিত্যের প্রথম বৈজ্ঞানিক কল্পকাহিনী একটা হাসির গল্প হবে। মজার ছিল। 😁