RENOWNED my­thologist Devdutt Pattanaik has selected 72 tales, mainly from India’s rich mythol­ogy, and used them as a canvas on which to paint the 21st century.

THE STORIES WE TELL: MYTHOLOGY TO MAKE SENSE OF MODERN LIVES
Devdutt Pattanaik
ALEPH BOOK COMPANY
Rs.499 Pages 199

This collection of engag­ing anecdotes originates from Pattanaik’s webcast Teatime Tales. Why did he pick 72 stories? Well, the reason lies in mythol­ogy. 72 steps, 72 hours, 72 names, 72 stupas — all these and more feature in mythology. Read the 72nd story in the book to learn the significance of the number 72 in mythology of various cultures.

‘Myth is how people imagine the world,’ says the author in the introduc­tion. And then he takes you on a whirlwind tour of the world through the lens of mythology. Not just the usual Indian suspects — Ramayana, Mahabhara­ta, Jataka and Jain tales and the Puranas — there’s a dive into Arabic, Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Norse myths as well.

The author has opted to bucket stories as per various themes. One such theme is ‘Apsara’ — a quick run-through multi­ple interesting stories with women (apsaras) as pro­tagonists. There is Tilot­tama, who without lifting a weapon, causes the death of two asuras; Urvashi who returns to heaven, leaving husband and chil­dren behind, because she was bored, and a few more interesting apsara stories. Surpanakha, a rakshasi, has a whole chapter, with two-three versions of her story, dedicated to her.

If you’re fond of puzzles, you will find Tale 7 interesting. It’s about a king named Vikrama­ditya of the post-Gupta, pre-Rajput era. The author shares a few vikram-vetal (ghost) parables, with each parable containing a puzzle.

Tale 10 talks about the Jain Mahabharata. Not many of us know that such a version even exists! The 21st tale is about justice and about the importance of measurement inherent in justice. There’s plenty of food for thought here.

It is not easy to draw parallels between two dif­ferent religions. However, Tale 24 is titled Easter and Holi and contends that both festivals are connected to rebirth and regeneration.

Join the author in drawing even more paral­lels in Tale 45 titled ‘Star Wars and the Ramayana’. This chapter also has references to the Odys­sey, the Iliad, Finnish folklore, Lord of the Rings and some Japanese and German folklore as well. Interesting thought flow!

Tale 55 is a sweet story about the Sun god and his wife, with strong relation­ship advice at the end of the story!

Was the Buddha bald or did he have a topknot? Why do the Shankara­charyas keep their heads covered? Hair and the lack of it are discussed in Tale 57. Tale 59 is dedicated to numbers. There is a list of popular numbers used in Hindu mythology and references to instances of their use.

Accompanying the reader, through the book, starting from cover, is a tantric Saraswati symbol. It’s a pattern that starts with one seed and heads towards infinity. The au­thor likens the symbol to the life cycle of a story. He intends each story to be a seed that will sprout infi­nite ideas. And the symbol works the other way too — from infinite to the finite. Perspective makes all the difference, depending on how you interpret the author’s tales.

A rewarding read, the author is fine if you prefer not to draw lessons from these stories. His endnote is open acceptance of the fact that not everyone will receive his stories as he intends them to.

ANDAL JAGANNATHAN (The Book Review)