Magical Realism in Indian Literature

Abstract

Magic realism or magical realism is a genre where magical or unreal elements play a natural part in an otherwise realistic environment. Although it is most commonly used as a literary genre, magic realism also applies to film and the visual arts. An example of magic realism occurs when a character in the story continuous to be alive beyond the normal length of life and this is subtly depicted by the character being present throughout many generations. On the surface the story has no clear magical attributes and everything is conveyed in a real setting and breaks the rules of our real world. Magic realism is term used to describe the everyday reality with supernatural events. The two terms ‘magic’ and ‘realism’ have become to intertwined that strange, unearthly happenings become almost an accepted, even normal part of daily life. Magic realism considers being a postcolonial phenomenon. Magic realism is to be found only in the post colonial texts. The writers of colonized countries incorporate magic realism in their writings as a mode of resistance to western rationalism. There is no place for logic in magic realism. In countries like India, People believe in myths and ghosts as they believe in history. Magical things do not constitute the Indian culture. There is realism also. Diaspora writers’ characters make use of magic realism to escape to a world of fantasy for it provides them pleasure, relief, and an escape from the excruciating pain they experience in an alien land. The term magical realism was introduced by Franz Roh, a German art critic in 1952. When Roh coined the term the mean it to create an art category the strayed from the strict guidelines of realism, but the term did not name an artistic movement until the 1940s in Latin America and the Caribbean. Magic realism or Magical realism is a genre of 20th century English literature. This paper deals Magical Realism in Indian literature and its authors.