My Journey to becoming a TEDx Curator

I have been always mesmerised by the world of TED. TED, which stands for Technology Entertainment and Design, has grown a lot more and is rarely now restricted to these domains. It is where ideas are born and conversations take centre stage.

In 2009, Lakshmi Pratury was the driving force of bringing TED to India. TEDIndia took place at the sprawling campus of Infosys at Mysore. Post which she started her own journey of establishing INK. INK which stands for Innovation and Knowledge became instantly very popular and a national level conference to the tune of TED. In fact, for the first five years, INK was in association with TED.

I have been associated with INK as a volunteer since 2013, right through all of their conferences from Kochi, Mumbai and Goa. These conferences have inspired me so much. I have learnt something new and in areas which I never thought would interest me. This motivated me to do something at a very community level. Where individuals are contributing to the development and betterment of a particular community. And that led to the inception of TEDxBandra.

TEDxBandra, a one-day conference is happening on 26 March at Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Bandra(W). It is a platform where scientists, authors, educators, musicians, and people from a variety of hues come together and talk about intellectually stimulating ideas, and issues that matter. TED is a global foundation devoted to “Ideas worth spreading”.

Founded in 1984, TED began as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged. Since then, its scope has become broader, covering almost all topics; from science to business to global issues. TED is a platform and a global movement focused on meaningful change through the power of ideas! TEDxBandra, a TEDx event happening at Bandra, Mumbai; will host a series of talks that strive to bring people together and also discuss on giving back to the Bandra community.

Bandra is a suburban Village, located at Western Mumbai. A cultural extravaganza starts right from street arts, extending audaciously to community places. Bandra is the heart of Mumbai, where music reverberates at each and every corner. It is a hub for numerous restaurants, bars and pubs. From Bandstand Kisses to Sea link drives, Star homes to a shopper’s Paradise. Bandra is all about Food, fashion, Music, Movies, Experiences, Stories, People and Events. Hence It is aptly called the ‘Queen of the Suburbs’. And this is what TEDxBandra wants to bring out on the stage.

My notion of Curation was skewed until I met Raghuveer Surupa, who is currently the curator for TEDxDharavi. He told me curation process in not only about working on the scripts and the talk style of the speakers but in fact assessing the grass root problems of the communities and bringing in people together who have contributed to these communities. When the idea is clear so as to what is the entire purpose of organising an area level TEDx conference is, and as a curator one is focussed on the values which can be added to the society, the entire process of curation becomes very streamlined and easier.

The idea of TEDxBandra is to provide a platform to the Bandra community where everyone can promote cultural exchange. The Theme for this year’s conference is ‘Unilateral Act, Universal Impact’ celebrates the fact that how a simple idea if executed perfectly can have a universally larger impact. This happens once the idea reaches its tipping point and becomes viral. A unilateral act can ignite millions, a voice can move a country, and a single action inspires people beyond boundaries.

More than 18 speakers will be joining on stage at TEDxBandra and participate in this one extravaganza. The conference will also showcase performances by various artistes. A unilateral act can inspire millions, a single voice can move a country, and some actions pushes us beyond boundaries.

At TEDxBandra we will explore this theme in a myriad of aspects of Technology, Design, Education, Psychology, Basic Human Rights, Art, Music, and Business to Medicine and much more, and accelerate the discussion of how one idea can change the world. Speakers such as Shaheen Mistri, Puja Marwaha, Vaibhav Lodha, Capt. Raghu Raman, Rushva Parihar, Jas Charanjiva, Ajeet Khurana, Puja Marwaha and many more shall be voicing out their thoughts and shall enlighten us about their journey of universal impact.

The journey to organising my first ever conference has been a roller coaster ride, but so enriching. It has taught me so much before the conference itself. The best part about the whole journey is how everyone has come together and supported this initiative in a variety of ways. I am also so proud of my team of twenty who are working round the clock to make our first TEDxBandra an unforgettable one.

Come support us and be a part of this journey and experience this event which I along with my team have curated for all of you. For more details, you can visit http://www.tedxbandra.in and follow us on @tedxbandra.

 

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Chronicle of a Corpse-Bearer : Life Beyond the Tower of Silence

I came across this book on the Kindle Store on Amazon. I picked it up as the name of the author really compelled me to buy it. Chronicle of a corpse-bearer is the story of Phiroze, a son of a respected Parsi priest from Mumbai who falls in love with Sepidah, daughter of an old ageing corpse-bearer.

This novel has given me an insight into the Parsi community in India. Their migration from greater Iran to Gujarat, India. I read about how they revere and worship fire, and I absolutely loved reading about their rituals, traditions and customs, especially the one in which requires the disposing of the dead on the towers of silence. It is a really intriguing custom.

Towers of silence are the buildings which are circular in shape where Zoroastrians perform the funeral customs for the deceased. In Zoroastrianism the body of the deceased is considered impure and hence not to violate the sacredness of land, they refuse to bury or cremate the body. Instead of this, they place the body on top of towers of silence wherein the vultures come and eat the meat.

As of today, the last tower of silence is located in Mumbai, India. But the lack of vultures and urbanisation makes it difficult to maintain and continue operation. Tower of Silence is mentioned a couple of times in the book and the cremation place has been the central area around which  Chronicle of a corpse-bearer 

One aspect of the book I absolutely come to have loved is the way in which parts of Bombay has been described beautifully. Especially the South Bombay area which has the maximum number of Parsi’s staying.

This novel has been written by an Indian Author and a playwright, Cyrus Mistry. He has been involved with playwrighting and worked with short film scripts as well as documentaries. A Zoroastrian himself,  he has recently been awarded the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for his novel ‘Chronicle of a Corpse-Bearer’. Cyrus Mistry has written a couple of other books like The radiance of Ashes, and , Passion Flower : Seven Stories of Derangement of which The Chronicles of the corpse has been widely read and acknowledged.

The book rather starts on a very dull note and the writing is very monotonous. But a few pages later the story becomes gripping and interesting and Cyrus’s style improves here dramatically. The story becomes a little fast paced in the middle and again towards the end the writing style deteriorates. His writing is very complex, though vivid but very confusing at times. There were parts which were not required and the inclusion of too many characters was not necessary.  They didn’t fit in the plot  and hence were just brought in to increase the length of the novel. The novel was a bit of a drag but I kept on reading until then end, just to complete it.

The book is inspired by a true story as mentioned by the author. But the author could have done justice and written it in a better way. On the other hand, I loved the characters especially the protagonist Phiroze. This novel talks about selfless love and the undying spirit of commitment.

This novel by Cyrus Mistry is a long and arduous read but still I thought of giving it a shot. The author has written a lot about the Parsi Community in this book. Parsi’s are a small but a well-known community in India. Since I have been writing about India based on the books I read, I think this one community is absolutely worth a mention here.

One can read this book at their own discretion. Not a highly recommended read, but one should get it if fiction interests them.

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Sources & References:

Chronicles of a Corpse-Bearer by Cyrus Mistry
Read more about Tower of Silence,  here.

Queer Quotient in Hindu Mythology

‘Vikruti evam Prakruti’

Vikruti evam Prakruti. This term in Sanskrit literally translates to ‘ What seems unnatural is also natural’. This is stated in the Rigveda, one of the four Vedas which form the basis of the Hindu Philosophy.

Some believe this particular term supports the homosexual behavior of human beings and deems it as as natural as anything else in this universe, else it would not have been created and included in these texts in the first place.

Hindu Mythology makes constant references to queerness, the idea that questions notions of maleness and femaleness. A lot of queer stories are related to Hindu Mythology where in Gods and mortals often change genders, indulge in homosexual activities as well as heterosexual activities as different reincarnated genders. Transgenders have also been mentioned in quite a few Hindu Mythological tales. All these various references just points out to the fact that queerness has been there since centuries in our culture, existing for more than about 2000 years now.

Shiva is at times referred to as Ardhanarisvara, who has a dual nature of femininity as well as masculinity. The male form represents the mind and the female form represents the nature, and they are interdependent on each other. This story comes from the Shaiva Agamas.

In the karmic worldview,one is queer because of karma, and it may turn out to be a boon or a curse.

Queer stories are not restricted to Hindu Mythology only. Most of the Queer tales are restricted to men, but a few exceptions are there, one of which were the Greek Poems of love and passion of a women for another women , by Sappho , which were written on the island of Lesbos, giving rise to the term ‘Lesbian’

Intrigued by the whole idea of the intersection queerness and mythology I looked up for a few books, and  Shikhandi and other tales they don’t tell you by Devdutt Pattanaik didn’t fail to impress me.

Shikhandi and other tales they don’t tell youis short book with a few short tales from the Hindu Mythology which have an element of queerness. Men turning to women, Men loving men or individuals having unique sexual tastes , or stories even about cross dressers.

The book begins with a brief introduction on appreciating queerness and mentions how Hindu mythology has been defining the queer quotient since ages. It also gives an insight to the queer community in various other mythologies including the stories from the  Arctic and the  Vikings,  ranging to Egyptian, Chinese, Greek , Persian and biblical mythologies

The highlight of this book is this very historical acquaintance with the LGBTQ trends occurring in the pre Kali Yuga era. It’s fascinating to know what people condemn today was practiced long ago. And these are not the stories of ordinary people. The tales we are talking about,  largely revolves around Kings and God’s and people with quite some stature in the society. Seems like Indian history has been breaking barriers even before it was a barrier.

The book has around thirty tales which revolve around various characters from the Hindu Mythology. Stories from Ramayana,  Mahabharata and tales from various Puranas have been roped in. This shows the diversity of the spread of queer culture back then.

The writing has been exemplary. I have now read almost half of Devdutt’s books, and it keeps on getting better every time. More than the stories I have loved his piece on discovery and invention of queerness, in which the historical existence has been discussed at length.

There have been a lot of similar stories in the book apart from, Shikhandi, who became a man to satisfy her wife.These includes the story of Arjuna, who became temporarily castrated for showing restraint, and other tales like that of Aravan , whose wife was the complete man and of course about Vishnu, who became a women to deliver his devotee’s child. So on and so forth, a few other stories have been explained in length and the list essentially is endless.

As always, Devdutt Pattanaik’s books have been filled with interesting illustrations. Apart from being a doctor, writer and a mythologist he is an impeccable illustrator. This book is worth a read if one wants to discover the roots of queer culture in Hindu Mythology and it is definitely a recommended book.

In 2009 , India was going through a social change. There was hope in the air. During that year Delhi High court decriminalised section 377, and everyone had the same freedom as anyone else. It was a renaissance period for people of this country. A change was happening, and people were quite vocal about it as well. In 2013 Delhi High court revoked the order. This back tracking of the judgement has had seen a lot of dialogue between regressive protectors of Indian Culture, pseudo progressive individuals as well as a few obnoxious punks and some open minded intellectuals.

Indian culture is all about being plural and being open to accepting. In the end its about loving another person. I have had the privilege of meeting quite a few notable people from the LGBTQ community at various conferences where they have been addressing the delegates. They have succeeded in impacting an audience confined in that auditorium but we are far from convincing the reality. Times are changing but one thing is certain, had Queerness been against our culture it would not have been expressed in our mythological texts explicitly.

Afterall,
‘What seems unnatural,is also natural’ – Rigveda

 

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Quotes from Shikhandi and other tales they don’t tell you by Devdutt Pattanaik
Illustrations by Devdutt Pattanaik from devdutt.com
You can read more about the author on devdutt.com

Other Sources :

Blog, Times of India : Homosexuality in India – Progressive judiciary, regressive people

Speaking Tree : What do Vedas say about Homosexuality

 

First 100!

It brings me immense joy to know that my blog A year of reading India is now followed by more than 100 followers across various parts of the world with close to about 1000 readers and  viewers from about 24 countries. As a new blogger, this is really overwhelming! I am happy that the readers love the content and are interested in the books I blog about.

One thing which I really did not want was to convert it into a conventional Book Review Blog. As many of you might have noticed my reviews of the books I read weave around a particular story theme or concept , and I try to provide information, ideas and views not only related to the book but try to paint a picture on a wider canvas.

I have loved writing Mythology, Philosophy, Fiction, Non-Fiction by an array of Indian authors, and I still feel a lot more needs to be written about. Of my earlier posts I have written, my top five personal favourites are Jaya, which is a beautiful modern redering of the Mahabharata. Followed by Shantaram, which gives a vivid description of the Mumbai city, which now I call my home. I have loved Palace of Illusions, surely the fastest read I have undertaken in one sitting. Sita has been a very touching book for me personally and finally Gita which was very enlightening.

There are so many communities, cultures and vivid people all in this one small subcontinent in Asia. I am reading an array of books by Indian Authors and myself am intrigued by the variety of categories. Surely Indian writing is taking over subsequently, be it in a regional language or English.

I do have a few books lined up for upcoming posts, but I urge my readers to suggest books they would want me to write about pertaining to India or written by Indian Authors, and continue inspiring me in this journey of reading India.

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Cover Photo by Vicky Roy

Godan : Munshi’s Last Masterpiece

I have been hearing about this book, Godan, right from my school days. We had a couple of short stories by Munshi Premchand in our curriculum. But I never picked up any of his novels, until last week when I came across Godan on the Amazon Kindle store and thought of giving it a shot.

‘Godan’ literally translates to ‘Donation of a cow’. In Hindu culture, a cow is supposed to be the most sacred animal and one who is worshipped daily. Godan means gifting a cow to a brahmin and a certain set of prayers need to be performed along with it.This is a very sacred ritual in the Hindu subcontinent.

Mythologically it has been mentioned in Shastras that the performance of the Godan ritual facilitates one’s route or journey across the Vaitarani River and it becomes very easy for the dead. This gift serves as a relief to the deceased along their journey.

So the book revolves around a villager, ‘Hori’ and his life as a peasant in India. Suppressed by landlords or Zamindars and being pushed into a vicious cycle of debts , this book clearly identifies the plight of the poor and still doesn’t fail to identify the  small joys they experience each day.

This is a book about the rich as well as much it is about the poor. Godan provides a large canvas of various interwoven stories set Uttar Pradesh short of Lucknow. A long and arduous read. What I thought was not necessary was too many secondary characters which do not have a major role in the novel which could have been avoided. A highly recommended read.

The book which is a translation in English by Jai Ratan & P. Lal,  fails to capture the emotions by Premchand. The writing is downright mediocre but the story makes up for the pathetic translation. One should go for reading it in Hindi only if the language is not a barrier.

Munshi Premchand’s words ring true even today, with great reverence that always leave their mark. Premchand’s original name was Dhanpat Rai, but he shifted to his pen name ‘Nawab’ Rai and changing it to Premchand short while thereafter.

 Munshi was a great laureate in both Hindi and Urdu. A lot of people say that he has been an unparalleled author in Hindi Literature, one of the first and he definitely struck a chord with the rich and poor alike.

This is my way to pay tribute to someone who has coloured true and vivid pictures of real India through his writings and it cannot get real than this. I think I selected this book because unless the heart of India is not read about, its villages not experienced vicariously, reading India seems incomplete.

Today I post this as a tribute to Munshi Prem Chand on his Birthday and I believe that more people should go ahead get a copy and read this brilliant masterpiece.

Sita : Story of the Daughter of Earth

‘Animals fight to defend their bodies. Humans curse to defend their imagination of themselves. The imagined notion of who we are, and how others are supposed to see us, is called aham. Aham constantly seeks validation from the external world. When that is not forthcoming it becomes insecure. Aham makes humans accumulate things; through things we hope people will look upon us as we imagine ourselves. That is why, Janaka, people display their wealth and their knowledge and their power. Aham yearns to be seen‘, Ashtavakra said to Janaka

I was in my fourth grade when I first saw the Ramayana Series which used to run on Cartoon Network India, which was later made into a movie. It was phenomenal and so breathtaking. Even the animations were so realistic. Two years later in my sixth grade I read the Ramayana for the first time, in Hindi. The more I read about it ,the more I got lost in the enchanted world of Ayodhya.

I purchased Sita by Devdutt Pattanaik shortly after I finished reading Jaya by the same author. I had loved Jaya and was completely bowled over by it, and hence decided to give Sita a shot.

This book is an illustrated retelling of the Ramayana, and the central character is Sita, who was discovered in a furrow by King Janaka while the fields were being ploughed in Mithila. Hence she is also referred to as the daughter of the earth.

The book is written in a compelling manner , it starts with Hanuman and it ends with Hanuman, who is also the guardian of Ayodhya. The novel also concentrates on Sita’s  actions which are mostly associated with being at peace with herself and not wanting to be judged by a society, she has no part in. The story examines Sita’s actions as a spiritual side and her connection to nature than to the society.

Devdutt Pattanaik mentions in the beginning that ‘To all those who believe that the Mahabharata is more realistic and complex than the Ramayana; may they realise that that both epics speak of dharma, which means human potential, not righteous conduct.’

Dharma is about exchange, about giving and receiving . It is about outgrowing animal instincts, outgrowing fear, discovering the ability to feed others, comfort others, enable others to find meaning.’

As Krishna says in Gita,

‘Dharma is more about empathy than ethics, about intent rather than outcome. I follow Dharma when I am concerned about your material, emotional or intellectual hunger. I follow adharma when I focus on my hunger at the cost of yours.’

Ramayana has had numerous retelling’s and it beacons across centuries. Before second century there were the oral retelling’s by travelling bards, and then in second century the first written form of Ramayana emerged in Sanskrit by Valmiki. The poetry, all scholars agree is outstanding, and has been traditionally qualified as Adi Kavya, the first poem.

Ramayana apart from being quite popular across the length and breadth of the Indian Subcontinent is also very popular across Indian borders including Tibet, Vietnam, and a lot of South East Asian countries. But most of the scripts in which Ramayana has been written in India emerged from the script we commonly refer to as Brahmi.

A few centuries later even Kalidasa wrote a version of Ramayana. There have been numerous Bengali , Assamese and Odia translations as well. Ramayana is divided into Seven Books, and in Sita the author has divided the the book into seven corresponding chapters. The interesting part of Devdutt Pattanaik’s Sita  are the short notes at the end of every section which divulge a whole lot of information from various sources and are very insightful. Alternate theories by different retelling’s have also been discussed in this section.

The story spans across different locations from Mithila to Ayodhya to Lanka, and during the fourteen years of exile of Ram & Sita accompanied by Ram’s younger brother Lakshmana, a lot of geographical areas has been covered by them on foot. These places, where they halted have their own significance and stories related to them.
After leaving Ayodhya, they reached Prayag shortly after. Prayag  also known as Triveni Sangam is the place of confluence of three rivers, Saraswati, Ganga and Yamuna, and is considered very Sacred.

Then they travelled to Chitrakoot and finally to Dandkaranya which covers a vast area of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Covering  a vast span across of the Indian Subcontinent makes it an important book with respect to my blog and hence I chose to write about it here. Personally I have loved Jaya more than Sita but the central theme of both the books is same. Dharma. A recommended read and a complete heads up to this book.

As for Sita, she went back the same route she came into this world, back into the furrow in the ground. And whatever remained of her above  the ground, her hair, slowly turned into blades of grass, which were being caressed slowly by Ram. He just sat there thinking of her, as he had always done, because she was always there in his heart no matter what the circumstances were.

 

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Quotes from Sita by Devdutt Pattanaik
Illustrations by Devdutt Pattanaik from devdutt.com
You can read more about the author on devdutt.com

 

 

Devdutt’s Gita!

My first tryst with books written by Devdutt Pattanaik started with this particular book called My Gita. A bright yellow coloured cover with an beautiful illustration of Krishna adored with a peacock feather caught my eye at the bookstore. I had not read any version of Bhagwada Gita before, as the mere complexity of it never motivated me to pick it up. But I finally did, and was glad that I picked it up because this book marked my entry to the world of Hindu Philosophy.

Gita means song and Bhagwada means God, and the literal translation comes out to be the Song of God! It was called the song of God as Gita was the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. Song which Krishna sung to his favourite friend, and brother in law, right in the center of the battlefield before the war of Mahabharata started.

There are numerous other Gitas apart from Bhagwad Gita. There are various other Gita’s in Mahabharata itself,  Pingala Gita (prostitute’s song), Sampaka Gita (priest’s song), Manki Gita (Farmer’s song) among others, and outside Mahabharata as well there is Ashtavakra Gita, Vashishtha Gita and many more. But Bhagwad Gita remains to be the most popular as well as most widely read one of all times.

From now on I will be referring to Bhagwad Gita just as Gita for ease and simplicity.
The final form of Gita has has 700 verses split into 18 chapters, divided into three broad themes of which 574 are spoken by Krishna and 84 by Arjuna, 41 by Sanjaya and 1 by Dhritrashtra.

As I mentioned earlier the Gita is divided into three major themes or Yog’s, namely Karma Yog, Bhakti Yog and Gyana Yog, wherein each theme focusing on Work, Worship and Wisdom respectively.A lot of concepts like darshan, atma, deha, dehi , karma , dharma, yagna , yoga deva, bhagwana ,maya , moha and moksha are expained along the way. With each chapter dedicated to one of the concepts as mentioned above.

Mahabharata which tells the story of a war between brothers fought over eighteen days involving eighteen armies, indicates that the core teaching of the Gita has much to do with relationships.Any study of Gita has to take into consideration Vedic, Upanishadic, Buddhist, Puranic, Bhakti and orientalist ideas.

Devdutts style of writing this book is very impressive. Simple and easy to comprehend. This kind of simplistic writing style is necessary for such a complex subject. In fact because of this book only, I eventually picked up his other books and developed a liking for his style which renders to the modern era.He has explained each concept backed by a lesson in history and a story to support it along with a paraphrased quote from the Gita.

Now, My Gita by Devdutt Pattanaik is not a translation of the original Gita, but an explanation of it in the authors own words. Its his interpretation to the existing Gita and an addition of his thoughts on every concept. Even the chapters in My Gita are explained at different locations as per the authors whims and fancy. The chapters are staggered and not sequenced according to the original Gita but it definitely does not break the flow of narration.I think the idea behind was to acquaint the reader slowly with the book, one step at a time. This can be an excellent book, if one wants to pursue reading the original Gita further after this.

So basically the Gita is focused on an individual’s psychological expansion, mentally physically as well as emotionally. As mentioned in the book, the Gita does not speak of changing the world. It speaks of appreciating a world that is always changing. It says unless the heart feels secure, the head will never receive new ideas. one of my favourite verse by Krishna in the book is ;

“Arjuna you wear fresh clothes at the time of birth and discard them at the time of death. You are not these clothes” – Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 22 (paraphrased).

An interesting aspect of the book is the various illustrations after every few pages to support the texts , were provided, but this I feel could have been avoided. The diagrams are not so interesting as much the texts are and I usually skimmed through most of it.The illustrations in My Gita were not as captivating as the ones by Devdutt in Jaya or Sita.

The book also excellently explains the concept of Gunas commonly known as tri-guna ; Tamas , rajas and sattva. The tendency towards inertia comes from tamas guna, the tendency towards activity comes from rajas guna and the tendency towards balance comes from sattva guna. In humans the sattva guna dominates , which is why only humans are able to trust and care for strangers , empathize and exchange.

Personally this book had a very strong connect with me. I was reading this at a stage where my personal life was going through a lot of troughs and crests. My Gita did help me find deeper meaning within myself and since then I have read the book numerous times. I think this is not a one-time-read-from-cover-to-cover-and-toss-it kind of book. I have referred to it now and then during turbulent situations and it has not failed me to find a bit of solace in it, thus helping me in my transition from the tamas guna to the sattva guna.

“Arjuna, one who gives up conceit and ownership and craving, in other words the sense of ‘I’, ‘Mine’ and ‘me’, will always find peace.” – Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 71(paraphrased).

Gita forms the  epicenter of Hindu Philosophy. Of course the Vedas and Upanishads are there and they contain more deeper philosophical knowledge, but Gita connects more easily to the people. Hence I was compelled to write about it here, as reading across India would seem incomplete if the roots of Indian philosophy were left untapped.

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Quotes from My Gita by Devdutt Pattanaik
Illustrations by Devdutt Pattanaik from devdutt.com
You can read more about the author on devdutt.com

Yayati: A Poetic Masterpiece!

For a long time I have been wanting to explore some Marathi literature. But how does one select from a vast ocean of amazing literary pieces. Its difficult to pick one ,and I was very much tempted to read all of them at once.

This land of Maratha has experienced countless stories; right from Shivaji to the very contemporary ones, and they have been beautifully illustrated in countless written forms. Eventually I started asking around a couple of friends who are really into Marathi literature and drew up a list of quite some interesting books which have been recommended in the past.

From this list, I short listed close to about thirty books to choose from and finally set my heart on Yayati by Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar.

This I did for particularly two reasons. Firstly I knew that Yayati was a character in the Mahabharata. I read about him first when I came across a chapter bearing his name in Devdutt Pattanaik’s Jaya, and hence was intrigued to read more about him. Secondly for the love of mythology I simply went for this novel. As much as I would want to read the original edition of Yayati my insufficiency in reading and comprehending the language compelled me to stick to the English translation.

I have always loved how complex Mahabharata is. That is why they call it an epic. Every characters perspective is different on the tale. What may be good for one might not be good for the other.I guess in true sense nothing is good or evil but our thinking makes it so, and hence Mahabharata never fails to fascinate me with its different aspects.

Yayati is often regarded as selfish, self-centered and a very materialistic person. So much so that he started neglecting his own Kingdom and daily affairs and indulged in wine and women. But this was so contradictory to what Sage Kanva once had to say about him. Sage Kanva blessed his daughter Shakuntala, mother of King Bharata on her marriage that: ‘May you be as dear to your husband as Sharmishtha was to Yayati’.

This was indeed puzzling.These scattered pieces of the puzzle were put together by VS Khandekar beautifully in his novel Yayati.

Yayati existed approximately thirty five generations before the actual war of Mahabharata took place. Son of the great Puru king Nahusha and his wife Viraja, Yayati was the crown prince of Hastinapur,being from the Puru Dynasty. Nahusha was himself carrying a curse, that his children will never be happy, and that pretty much shaped Yayati’s life.

Yayati was tricked into marrying Devayani, daughter of Guru Shukracharya, in spite of Devayani being a Brahman. As he was smitten by her beauty Yayati didn’t protest much, but as it turned out the marriage was a unsuccessful one.

But eventually Yayati set his heart on Devyani’s maid, Sharmishtha, or dearly called as Shama by Yayati. They married behind Devyani’s back and even had a son called Puru.

The interesting part is later after many years; Yayati was still so immersed in himself that he asked to exchange his old age with his youngest son Puru. This is quite fascinating by many aspects. Puru’s love and affection for his father knew no bounds and he readily accepted this fate upon himself.

They say sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free. Yayati realised this very late in life. Its not the material possession or the beauty which you are going to carry with you in your grave, but the number of lives you touch.

I love the concluding lines of the book which actually sets the theme for the entire novel:

Oh man, desire is never satisfied by indulgence. Like the sacrificial fire, it ever grows with every offering.

A truly beautiful and an immersive story. Yayati was  originally written in Marathi, which went on to win the Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi Awards and hence subsequently got translated to English. This novel is a masterpiece by VS Khandekar.

A highly recommended read to everyone, especially those who are interested in mythology. The translation by YP Kulkarni does justice to the original version but the original version in Marathi is supposed to be more vivid, and one can enjoy the mythical past vicariously.

The Palace of Illusions :An artistic marvel

“Through the long, lonely years of my childhood, when my father’s palace seemed to tighten its grip around me until I couldn’t breathe, I would go to my nurse and ask for a story.  And though she knew many wondrous and edifying tales, the one that I made her tell me over and over was the story of my birth. I think I liked it so much because it made me feel special, and in those days there was little else in my life that did. Perhaps Dhai Ma realized this. Perhaps that was why she agreed to my demands even though we both knew I should be using my time more gainfully, in ways more befitting the daughter of King Drupad, ruler of Panchaal, one of the richest kingdoms in the continent of Bharat.”

And thus begins the story of Princess Panchaali, born out of fire , as it was prophesied, she would be responsible to change the course of history, and oh man how excited was she to hear all about it over and over again. This beautiful dark skinned princess was none other than Draupadi. As we all know her as the wife of the legendary Pandava brothers, the only women to have five husbands all at the same time.

I have read the Mahabharata a couple of times, and a couple of versions of the epic have surfaced before my eyes and through these very hands. Each time I have added something new to my existing knowledge , and each time I have read a new version by a different author, it keeps on getting better. From my early childhood days I have wondered that how ever all the Pandava characters have been given much importance in the epic, but not much has been talked about Draupadi, apart from the very fact being that she was responsible for the downfall of the Kauravas.

A story becomes powerful with every retelling, and so has been the case with The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. An enchanting retelling of an epic that is truly powerful. This book while painting a vivid picture of events leading up to the war at Kurukshetra also sinks in the realization of the imperfections of human nature.

The palace of illusions is a very different approach to the Mahabharata. It is narrated by Panchaali. It is Mahabharata through the eyes of Draupadi. From the time she was born until the end, its her take on the entire situation, and on the journey she mentions about her thoughts, her insecurities , her desires, her anger, lust, love, responsibility and her portrayal of courage.

Courage of-course. Courage to have five husbands. Courage to face shame in an assembly full of her husbands and their brothers. Courage to have Krishna as her best friend and comrade and courage to let go of her love, the person she admired the most, with whom she always wanted to be. As the author rightly mentions –

“Love comes like lightning, and disappears the same way. If you are lucky, it strikes you right. If not, you’ll spend your life yearning for a man you can’t have.”

The highlight for me has been the conversations between Draupadi and Krishna. How subtly Krishna explains Panchaali about things beyond her understanding. The way Krishna always talks in riddles, and how behind every conversation there is a deep meaning to the entire context.

One of my favourite quotes from the book, again a conversation between the duo, wherein Krishna says –

“Just as we cast off worn clothes and wear new ones, when the time arrives, the soul cast of the body and finds a new one to work out its karma. Therefore the wise never grieve for the living or the dead”

Draupadi’s character has been discussed in depth.To what lengths she can go to have her way, how she often dreams of living in huge palaces, and get adorned with the finest jewelry and be pampered at all times. Her character is buoyant, expansive and uncontainable, a side of hers which lot of people are not aware of.

The book is written in a very gripping way. Its simple yet beautiful. Its vivid and colourful. The details are very picturesque and the whole saga has been depicted in a very quaint style. I loved the book, and was hooked to it completely. It definitely features in my ‘Top 5 picks of all time’.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has done complete justice to the concept of this half mythical half fictional tale, which has turned out to be completely magical.

 

 

Indian Mythology : Chronicles from the Indian Subcontinent

In Indian mythology, the timeline of existence has been divided into four Yugas namely Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali. For Devas one year equals to 365 human years. Krita Yuga lasts for 4800 years, Treta for 3600 years, Dwapara for 2400 years and Kali for 1200 years for the Devas and Pitrs , the Gods and Ancestors. For humans each Yuga gets multiplied by 365. At the end of Kali Yuga, the cycle repeats itself and starts of again with the Krita or the most pious Yuga commonly referred to as the Satya Yuga.

And within the unending cycle of these yugas  lay the epic tales, chronicles and the rich history of Indian Mythology, and hence begins my quest to discover more about it.

It is quite difficult to not think about Devdutt Pattanaik if you are looking for authors writing about mythology, and even more difficult is not to love his work. But as I stumbled upon his earlier books I did not find that to be true. His writing has definitely improved over the years and so has the clarity in conveying things right way.

In one of my previous posts I had given a brief about the common sources of sacred narratives in Hinduism, which dates back to 2000 B.C.E. The scriptures included the Mantra Samhita, Brahmana, Upanishads, Puranas, and later various temple texts such as Agama. Derived from these texts come the 99 chronicles mentioned in this book titled ‘Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and rituals from the heart of the Indian subcontinent’. The title  did grab my attention at first sight, and I was ready to delve deeper into the colourful mythical tales from the past. The book also has but limited history and comparison to Greek and Roman mythologies.

The Persians and later the Arabs had used the word Hind or Hindustan to describe the land around the river that was known to Greeks as the Indus and to the local population as Sindhu and hence came the name India.Customs , Rituals and beliefs maybe profound to a set of people, but to the  rational minded these sacred stories and customs remain fantastic, even absurd, and hence branded as myth.

The book talks a lot about the function of myth, essentially the book has been divided into spectrum of four major branches which include Mythology:Studying Myth,  Mythosphere: Comparing Myths, Mythopoesis : Transforming Myth and Mythography : Interpreeting Myth.

A dry read in the middle, the writing style is a drag, and not so gripping, unlike his other books. Devdutt in this book tries to merge Mythology with philosophy to some extent but fails to express clearly. For me it took a long time to read the book because apart from the illustrated chronicles other sections of the book seemed stark, undemonstrative and impassive.

What I hoped for was a rich history of the Hindu mythology but found a list of tales and information scattered around it. I love Devdutt’s work but this book simply fails to impress.