2015
Devdutt Pattanaik
New Delhi
Rupa
pp. 256
Pattanaik’s ‘My Gita’ describes the lessons provided in the dialogue between Krishna and Arjun on the battlefield between Pandavas and Kauravas. The sermon is widely known to present important lessons of life and serves as the prelude to Arjuna’s darshan of Krishna as God. Despite its popularity and my keen interest on everything religious, I had never been able to develop an interest in reading any of the versions of the Gita. I tried several versions but found neither solace nor developed poetic appreciation that it is much famous for. My limited understanding was one factor. Readiness for it was probably another. Pattanaik’s work has provided me both. It is a pleasurable read. Reading over the past two weeks, I have picked it up at various times, read through different pages and learnt a new perspective on many things in life. It brings forth Hindu mythology, comparing it to Greek and other western mythologies at various points. It also presents lessons of life through sometimes challenging hitherto taken for granted perceptions. At other places, Pattanaik has elaborated on epistemology and sometimes ontology in ancient Hindu thought. It is thus a mini philosophical treatise, a mythological explanation and can be taken as a self help book, if you wish to.
I must confess, earlier books by Pattanaik had not caught my fancy. I could not connect to the interview transcript style of writing in Devlok with Devdutt or the isolated cases presented in Shikhandi. My Gita is contextualised and anchored in reading. It is in between a novel and an academic book. While the other books have been well research, probably the academic writing in My Gita has caught my fancy.
It is an enjoyable read. And a book to keep going back to.
Every book has a story
For two years I completed the Brunch Book Challenge. Last year, with relative ease. This year, it was a nice challenge of 36 books. But I, or no one around me doubted my being able to finish it. And I did try to read. In fact, at one point I was reading four books together. My Gita was the fifth that I picked up. And I managed to finish it in one go. Somethings are meant to happen. Some books meant to be read.