The Man who would be King

Devdutt Pattanaik in the picture chuckled when I gaped at him in shock. 8220;Yes, I wrote the book in four days,8221; says Pattanaik, who was in town last week for the release of his latest work in Hindu mythology, The Book of Ram Penguin, Rs 250. A mythologist for over 14 years now, earlier this year Penguin published Pattanaik8217;s The Pregnant King, which has been selling very well. 8220;I live, eat, breath mythology and I write every single day for different magazines, columns and books that I plan to put together. This book has been in my head for years now and in four days it all came together,8221; says Pattanaik, who has also illustrated the book with his own drawings based on the Ramayan.

The Book of Ram deals with the story of the Hindu king Ram, the only monarch to be worshipped as a deity. 8220;Ram is Eka-vachani, a king who always keeps his word, Eka-bani, an archer who strikes his target with the first arrow and Eka-patni, a husband who is eternally and absolutely devoted to a single wife. But within these roles, Ram is caught between desire and destiny. As Maryada Purushottam, the supreme upholder of social values, it is interesting to see how he balances the roles he was created to fulfill,8221; says Pattanaik, who has put the story of the Ramayan and analysed every action as well as reaction in eleven essays in the book. He also explores the relevance of Ram in modern times by examining him in his various roles: as Dashrath8217;s son, Lakshman8217;s brother, Vishwamitra8217;s student, Sita8217;s husband and Ravan8217;s enemy.