Aesthetics and Socio-Cultural Functions of Two Hindi Satirical Fake News Columns: Sattū jī kī asatya kathāeṃ and Pappū aur Gappū kī baiṭhˡkī

The article is a first attempt to investigate the field of the satirical fake news in Hindi. To study this subject, the text focuses on the columns Sattū jī kī asatya kathāeṃ (“Sattu ji’s Fake News”) and Pappū aur Gappū kī baiṭhˡkī (“Pappū aur Gappū’ meeting”), authored by the noted columnist and satirist Ajay Shukla (Ajay Śukla). Both of them were published during the Coronavirus pandemic, on Janˡsattā, a well-known daily journal in Hindi. The article, after a broader analysis of the main features of the satirical fake news, engages in a study of the aesthetics and sociocultural functions epitomized by these texts in India during the pandemic. As far as the aesthetical side of the columns is considered, the article considers the relationship between the field of satirical fake news and proper fake news. The analysis explores the socio-cultural functions embodied by these columns emphasizing their role, during the pandemic, in the fulfilment of a variety of functions.