Rashmi Rekha Das, OP
There is something really fascinating about Indian mythology. People from all walks of life have always been captivated with the deliciously complex yet spectacular stories it told. Fortunately, for the past few years, there has been a sudden splurge in books pertaining to Indian mythology. ‘The Shiva Trilogy’, ‘The Krishna Key’, ‘The Palace of Illusions’, ‘Ajaya and Asura’ among a plethora of other books, have really helped spark a keen interest in mythology among readers. Another book in the same genre, ‘Shakuni, the honest villain’ by 86-year-old author Harihar Panda, has created quite a buzz among avid readers. The book, which retells the story of the epic Mahabharata from Shakuni’s perspective, met with favourable response from readers. Panda is former officer of the Orissa Administrative Service. Post retirement he worked as the chief executive of the most popular monthly literary magazine ‘Sucharita’ edited by his wife Sakuntala Panda till it closed in 2004. He spends a great part of his retired life in reading and writing. He has three books to his credit. In an interview with Sunday POST, the talented author tells us more about the book and shares his views on this current fad of Indian mythology books. Excerpts from the interview:
Why do you choose Shakuni as the title character of your latest book? Was it a deliberate attempt to go for one of the most intriguing characters of Mahabharata?
Ans: Of the thousand characters in the Mahabharata, Shakuni was the most maligned, the most intriguing and the least respected. As a young boy, under agonising circumstances he vowed before his dying father that he would annihilate the entire Kuru lineage steeped in vices and unrighteousness (Adharma) and thereby establish Dharma. Lord Vishnu took his birth on earth as Shri Krishna with the dual purpose of establishing righteousness (Dharmasamsthapanarthaya) and destroying the evil (Vinasaya cha diskritam). So the role played by Shakuni was no less significant than that of Shri Krishna. It has been my humble effort to rediscover this enigmatic character and redefine the role of this apparently bad guy with a good reason to do bad things.
How confident are you that his life would be interesting enough to hold the readers’ attention?
Ans: Shakuni lived a real life within and a sham life outwardly. His love for the Kaurava nephews was a disguised one. He was on the side of Dharma, though surreptitiously, while encouraging Adharma to be effaced from the face of earth at the end. It is this paradox, I strongly feel, in the character of Shakuni has a magnetic hold on the readers’ attention.
What research did you do for Shakuni and Satyavati, about whom very little is known from Indian mythology books?
Ans: It has taken much time and labour to collect and collate the scattered references to such seemingly unworthy character as Satyavati in the English translation of the original Sanskrit Mahabharata by Kisari Mohan Ganguly, the Harivansha and the Devi BhagavatPurana. However, an incisive study of Mahabharata is the only source for Shakuni.
There has been a recent splurge among Indian authors writing on Indian mythology. Do you feel that you can carve out your own loyal reader base from this particular
market?
Ans: It is gratifying that a number of modern writers are adopting mythological themes for their stories, novels and dramas. This trend, in turn, indicates growing awareness of the beauty and importance of mythology among the general readers. But some erudite scholars make their writings too scholastic beyond the comprehension of many while some others render the mythology predominantly fictional. Such writers may capture a good market, but cannot claim permanence. There are a few too who make the mythological stories too simplistic often sacrificing the serenity of the original text. I am aware of this pernicious limitation. I endeavour to retain the genuineness of the original but certainly impart occasional fictional touches merely to rejuvenate the weary readers.
Do you feel there has been this sudden interest in Indian mythology books? The TV serials don’t seem to work, but the books certainly do.
Ans: Mythology is an inexhaustible source of pleasure as it tells us stories of gods, goddesses and other superhuman personalities who often assume human forms and exhibit human propensities. Books expound these characters and qualities as truly as they exist in the original text. But TV serials tend to be too fictional in order to capture the anxious attention of the viewers even at the cost of honesty to the original. So among the sensitive and the awakened population, there is a natural preference to books.
How did you develop an interest in mythology? What was your inspiration for it?
Ans: During my college days I was a student of English literature. My loving Professor Sarbeswar Das inculcated in me an enduring love for mythology, both Indian and western. Under his able guidance I had a comparative study of Homer and Vyasa and was thrilled to discover many areas of similarities in spite of geographical and cultural diversities. After more than six decades, my dormant interest in mythology resurfaced and I have started writing these books with pleasure. At the age of 86 I feel young and energetic when I engage myself in this epical adventure.
What is the best book that you have read in this genre? Which book authored by you is your favourite and why?
Ans: I love C Rajagopalachari’s Mahabharata the most as it is presented in a lucid prose and it is a glaring contrast to Kisari Mohan’s English translation of the epic for which I had to toil and even shed tears with occasional disappointment. As regards the second part of your question I may only say that for a mother all her sons are equally dear to her.
Would you mind if you would be labelled as a ‘mythology- fiction writer’ or would you want to change that by writing books on different genres?
Ans: I am a mythology-writer with occasional fictional touch. I do not like the concept of mythology-fiction writing, because it takes away the sanctity of the hallowed text that is mythology.
So what are your future plans? Would the plans for your next book be based on the response you get for ‘Shakuni’?
Ans: My book has been published only a few days back. So its success is not yet confirmed. I leave it to the judgment of the readers. As regards my future project, I have just started my reading and research on PanchaKanya, the five holy virgins appearing in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and it is too early for me to comment on the project.