Biography of bal phondke

A scientist. The history of true science fiction in India starts with a pioneering scientist.

Biography of bal phondke

The great Jagadish Chandra Bose, who in 1896 wrote a story of how a ‘cyclone that was about to put the heart of the British empire in danger’ was tamed with hair oil. The story was called Niruddesher Kahini (Story of the Untraceable) and would earn him the title, ‘Father of Bengali Science Fiction’.

But while JC Bose might’ve written this sci-fi story to win a competition, and promote Kuntalin hair oil, it was done without compromising on hard scientific principles.

To that, the later generations of Indian scientists who’ve followed in his footsteps in writing science fiction would add another layer of purpose – that of getting people to think about science.

After all, stories are one of the primary ways humans learn.