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Journalism of Courage
In the opening chapter of Mumbai Fables itself,Gyan Prakash gives enough indication of his love and longing for Bombay. Though born in Hazaribagh and brought up in Patna and Delhi,the author confesses to having hungered for the city in his childhood. Such a desire for this mythic city was largely fuelled by Hindi films. Much later,this metamorphosed into the driving force that sustained his eight years of research on all the allures,glamours,scandals and myths that the city holds. I went through all the issues of Blitz from 40s to mid-80s. I found them in micro-films in Chicago and London libraries. It was tedious reading them. But I wanted to look into the citys history as told by tabloids. My intention was to ferret out what lies beneath the reality, says the professor of History at Princeton University,USA,who bought a flat in Mumbai during his year-long sabbatical to write the non-fiction account that has just been published. (Harper Collins,Rs 599)
In Mumbai Fables,the author refers to the city as Bombay,as the city was known till 1995 and covers the period before that,with a focus on exploring its mythical inner life. There are references too to the various portrayals of the city,as found in Mario Mirandas Bombay,Atul Dodiyas self-portrait called Bombay Buccaneer and even pages of Raj Comics Doga,the superhero who protects the city.
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