Secretly yours, NVJ: A pseudonym that cloaked Narlikar’s sci-fi writing debut

Pune: AP Deshpande, honorary secretary of Marathi Vidnyan Parishad, and a long-time associate of Jayant Narlikar, said that the first time the renowned astrophysicist wrote science fiction was in 1974. "Narlikar took inspiration from his PhD guide Fred Hoyle who was also a science fiction writer. The astrophysicist was president of Marathi Vidnyan Parishad in 1973 at Jalna in Marathwada. That year, he distributed prizes for our science fiction story-writing competition. It was here that the thought of writing occurred to him. Until then, Narlikar had never penned fiction."He decided to participate in the competition the next year. "It was the fourth year of the contest. He wrote the story as there were no Marathi typewriters at TIFR. He realised that someone would recognise his handwriting. So, he told his wife Mangala to copy it," Deshpande added.Narlikar chose not to submit the story under his name to avoid influencing the jury. Instead, he created the pseudonym Narayan Vinayak Jagtap (NVJ), reversing his JVN initials, Deshpande added."The story won the first prize. Our panel comprised an expert with a science background and another in literature. After the results, he wrote to us revealing who Narayan Vinayak Jagtap was. The story — Krushna Vivar (Black Hole) — was published in his short story collection in 1978 by Mouj Prakashan. He mentioned this episode in the preface," he said.Durga Bhagwat was president of Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in 1974 when she referred to Narlikar and his work. Well-known humorist Pu La Deshpande too acknowledged his contributions in 1975. "Marathi Vidnyan Parishad opened a new chapter in Marathi literature by introducing science fiction. What set Narlikar apart from other writers was his aim to explain science through storytelling which drew much criticism. Some argued that if literature had a specific ‘intention' or agenda, it was reduced to second-grade writing. In his early stories, he included diagrams to illustrate scientific concepts. But over time, he evolved as the leading voice among science fiction writers in Marathi," Deshpande said.