In My Gita, acclaimed mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik demystifies the Bhagavad Gita for the contemporary reader. His unique approach—thematic rather than verse-by-verse—makes the ancient treatise eminently accessible, combined as it is with his trademark illustrations and simple diagrams.In a world that seems spellbound by argument over dialogue, vi-vaad over sam-vaad, Devdutt highlights how Krishna nudges Arjuna to understand rather than judge his relationships. This becomes relevant today when we are increasingly indulging and isolating the self (self-improvement, self-actualization, self-realization—even selfies!).We forget that we live in an ecosystem of others, where we can nourish each other with food, love and meaning, even when we fight.So let My Gita inform your Gita.My Hanuman ChalisaAcclaimed mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik demystifies the Hanuman Chalisa for the contemporary reader. His unique approach makes the ancient hymn accessible, combined as it is with his trademark illustrations.Every time we experience negativity in the world and within ourselves, every time we encounter jealousy, rage and frustration, manifesting as violation and violence, we hear or read, the Hanuman Chalisa. Composed over four hundred years ago by Tulsidas, its simple words in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi and its simple metre, musically and very potently evoke the mythology, history and mystery of Hanuman, the much-loved Hindu deity, through whom Vedic wisdom reached the masses. As verse follows verse, our frightened, crumpled mind begins to expand with knowledge and insight and our faith in humanity, both within and without, is restored.PadmavatMore than five hundred years after the Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote his epic poem Padmavat, the story of Padmavati, princess of Simhal and her lover and husband, Ratansen, the king of Chittor, continues to capture the imagination of readers everywhere. In Padmavat, we meet Padmavati’s friend, philosopher and guide—Hiraman—a parrot, as well as Nagmati—Ratansen’s first wife and the brave Rajput warriors, Gora and Badal. This tale of two women and their husband who are tormented by Alauddin Khalji is a lyrical retelling of the story of Rajasthani bards, using idioms and metaphors from both the world of Islam and the Hindu Puranas.With Purushottam Agrawal’s deeply insightful commentary and Devdutt Pattanaik’s incredible illustrations, Jayasi’s epic love story is brought to life like never before and finally seen and appreciated for what it is—a remarkable ode to love, beauty and truth.
Devdutt Pattanaik writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. He has written over 500 articles in newspapers and thirty books, which include Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata, Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana, 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art, 7 Secrets of Shiva, 7 Secrets of Vishnu, 7 Secrets of the Goddess, The Book of Ram, 99 Thoughts on Ganesha, Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don’t Tell You and Myth=Mithya: Decoding Hindu Mythology. He lives in Mumbai.Purushottam Agrawal is a New Delhi based writer and literary historian. He works on Bhakti, spirituality without religion and India’s organic early modernity. His work draws upon sources in Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Braj and Awadhi. His book on Kabir, Akath Kahani Prem Ki: Kabir ki Kavita aur Unka Samay (2009) is considered a contemporary classic and won the first Rajkamal Kriti Samman. He is a well-known public intellectual, lending his voice to newspaper and television debates. He is a contributing editor at The Quint.
