![Covers of Gujarati pulp fiction novels by G N Golibar, a stalwart of the genre. [‘Chhaya Padchhaya’, ‘Kaal Kundali’ and ‘Raatrani’, cover illustration by N Manwar. ‘Alabala’ and ‘Janamteep’, cover illustration by G Sandhwani]](http://media.assettype.com/himalmag%2F2025-08-27%2Frypo0w41%2FSARB-31-HEADER.png?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
Vishwambhari Parmar on Gujarati pulp fiction: Southasia Review of Books podcast #31
Welcome to the Southasia Review of Books podcast, where we speak to celebrated authors and emerging literary voices from across Southasia. In this episode, Shwetha Srikanthan speaks to Vishwambhari Parmar, the curator and translator of The Blaft Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction (Blaft Publications, December 2024).
The term “pulp” comes from the cheap wood-pulp paper on which stories considered lowbrow were printed on. Their content often reflected society’s darker sides: crime, corruption, misogyny and problematic caricatures. And despite – or because of – their racier subject matter, pulp fiction was wildly popular in Southasia.
These stories also helped shape much of what we now consider canon in Southasian science fiction, noir, horror and romance. Over time, paperbacks, comics, and higher-quality magazines largely replaced pulp publications – but the stories never stopped being written.
The Blaft Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction, curated and translated by Vishwambhari Parmar, and edited by Rakesh Khanna, preserves this rich and often overlooked Gujarati literary world. From supernatural crime thrillers and folk horror, to Mumbai underworld revenge fantasies, the anthology brings a taste of Gujarat’s bestselling adventure, dark fantasy and mysteries to wider English-reading audiences.
This episode is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Youtube.
Episode notes:
The Blaft Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction curated and translated by Vishwambhari Parmar and edited by Rakesh Khanna (Blaft Publications, December 2024)
‘Gujarati Pulp Fiction: A Note from Our Translator’ - Vishwambhari Parmar (Blaft Publications blog, February 2024)
‘H N Golibar and Gujarati Pulp Fiction Covers’ - Rakesh Khanna (Tasveer Ghar)
Himal Fiction Fest 2025: Caste, Gender and Resistance in Southasian Speculative Fiction (June 2025)
‘The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF: The present and deep past of anti-caste speculative fiction’ - Sreyartha Krishna (Himal Southasian, July 2025)