ABSTRACT
The effects of the ‘boundlessness’ of the atomic bomb have been described by Rob Wilson and Joseph Masco as an instance of the ‘nuclear sublime’. The seepage of information was also reliant upon tightly controlled official releases from the United States (US) government. A residual tension between the sacred and the profane is evident. Whereas Hanuman found it difficult to catch the sun, Kirloskar declared that recent developments demonstrated a fait accompli by nuclear scientists who had split the atom to release incredible amounts of energy. A related dynamic that characterised atomic schizophrenia was an impulse to explore possible futures, again signalling an attempt at grasping at time in order to orientate the temporal present. Readers became fascinated with developments and opinions on the new science in the West, along with ideas that perhaps these developments could also be channelled towards the subcontinent in a socially constructive manner.
