their miracles both in Europe and in India. European scholars have remained enthralled down the ages by these tales of heaven and hell, devils and angles, the Good State and the Bad State. But if these same Diadems in the crown of Erudition were to read tales from our own scriptures, the Agni, Vayu and Varaha puranas, they would be compelled to admit that our writers could have taught Plato a thing or two about fantasy. The Influence of the Fantastic on Social Life There is a great deal of similarity between the scriptures, lives of saints and philosophical treatises of Europe and of India. Another similarity is even more important The realists are often heard declaring proudly that no tale of fantasy can wield on society the kind of powerful influence that a realistic novel wields. This statement is hardly borne out by experience. The Old Testament has had a civilising influence on the barbaric mind of Europe that has lasted these 2,000 years. And, for over 2,500 years, the Hindu mind in India has been controlled by the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The events in these works are accorded the highest place in religious and social law. The characters are held up as ideals. Contemporary literary works are full of references to Krishna, Bhishma, Dharma, Drona, Arjun and Abhimanyu. It is generally admitted that our ancient legends are not history in the sense in which history is defined today. History is bound by considerations of time, place, event and causality; while a novel may ignore all of these and still remain a novel. The legends from our scriptures, then, are pure fantasy; but what a powerful hold they have had on social thought and action is not difficult to see. It is true of all societies, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist, that tales of fantasy have a total hold over them. So much for the use of the fantastic in religion. It is also possible to show how widely it is used outride religion in all the countries of the world. Every country has its children's stories. For example, the Grimms' tales in Germany. The impression that these stories create on a child's mind is so great that it helps to form his character and his morality. That is why in Europe, stories like Jack the Giant Killer are profusely illustrated. There are also tales of fantasy for adults, uneducated adults, in every country which provide them their models and morals for practical life. The innumerable tales we have of sons-in-law, husbands, guests and wives are full of fantasy. Thus there is no part or aspect of social life which is not influenced by fantasy. It is under the pleasurable influence of fantasy that writers like Halve and Risbud have written tales of fantasy inMarathi. They may not stand comparison with the classics, but they could be seen as harbingers. 80 July-September 1984