Epic venture

For some time now,Devdutt Pattanaik has been systematically breaking down the mystique surrounding Indian mythologies.

For some time now,Devdutt Pattanaik has been systematically breaking down the mystique surrounding Indian mythologies. For Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling Of The Mahabharata,he did it almost literally when he used excel sheets to keep track of each chapters length. In this age of quick-fixes,this helped him keep this retellings concise and crisp to make the book almost a page-turner. The result: the book is well under 350 pages,even though it contains over 100 chapters and close to 250 line illustrations.

Such minimalistic approach is crucial when Pattanaik retells the epic from the start the snake sacrifice by Janmejaya. He narrates the stories of many ancestors of the Kauravas and the Pandavas joining the family tree and the dots with accompanying illustrations as well as grey boxes with pithy pointers. All this is a part of his effort to make mythologies less pedantic and more enjoyable for all. The boxes are,of course,inserted at the end of each chapter with an aim to start a dialogue. Unless you do that,you dont reflect, says the doctor-turned-mythologist. And Jaya this is what the Mahabharata was originally known as provides a lot of scope for that.

According to Pattanaik,gathering material for Jaya (published by Penguin,priced at Rs 499) was not a tough task. There are many books on the Mahabharata. Even a Google search offers lots of information on it and many tales related to it, he says. Still,the epic tale is often not properly packaged. Most of these versions are heavy on descriptions. But I have tried to keep the storytelling quite stark with the focus on the soul of the story, says the author,who is a mythologist by passion.

Pattanaik has popularised the reading of mythology with books like Myth=Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology and The Pregnant King. All his works showcase his unconventional approach and engaging style. He often busts myths too,such as contrary to popular perception,both Gandhari and Kunti are viewed by Vyasa as ambitious women. He also shares several trivia related to many rituals and festivals in India which have their roots in the Mahabharata. For example,according to Jain chronicles,Hastina-Puri was an ancient city and three of the 24 Tirthankaras were born there.

All these features take the book beyond the costume drama that the nation stopped to watch on Sunday mornings years back. Its a book that entertains and informs about the 3,000-year-old epic.

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Epic venture

For some time now,Devdutt Pattanaik has been systematically breaking down the mystique surrounding Indian mythologies.

For some time now,Devdutt Pattanaik has been systematically breaking down the mystique surrounding Indian mythologies.