A Critical Analysis of the Use of Magic Realism in Indian Culture in Post-Colonial Literature Context
The term “Magic Realism” originates from the German “Magischer Realismus,” coined by Franz Roh in 1925 to describe the semi-surrealistic work of a group of German painters in the 1920s. Although it was briefly used to describe a short-lived Italian literary movement in the 1920s called “Stracitta,” it wasn’t widely associated with literature until the late 1940s. The concept gained prominence in literary circles during the Latin-American novel boom of the late 1950s and 1960s. Over time, it has come to describe fictional prose that blends realistic and fantastical elements, featuring realistic details mixed with dream-like sequences, sudden chronological changes, and complex plots. Magic realists often incorporate fairy tales and myths into their works. The term is commonly associated with authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Fowles, Gunter Grass, and Salman Rushdie. Contemporary novelists who utilize magic realism include Amitav Ghosh, Shashi Tharoor, Mukul Kesavan, Vikram Chandra, and Kiran Desai. This paper aims to critically analyze and evaluate the use of magic realism in Indian Culture and written by English writers, particularly within the post-colonial literary context.
