Lately, I have been reading quite a bit of mythology or what
I call a whole new world of modern mythology. Have noticed quite a few themes
about the authors who have been delving into this world of magic mixed with
science and reality.
We have come a long way from the time that Valmiki and Veda Vyasa
wrote the Ramayan and the Mahabharat. And we would always have the erstwhile C
Rajagopalcharis, Ashok Bankers and the Devdutt Patnaiks of course, equally wondrous
and fascinating, but what makes the newest breed of authors different?
The Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi, Govinda by Krishna Udayasankar, Asura by Anand Neelakantan or
even The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi are all different in their own right. They are adventuring into
a new world of the not so godly gods, in all their avatars, but with a mixture
of fascination and respect, I’m presuming, towards not just the text,
but the entire theories in themselves.
There is all the talk of plots, adventures, action thrillers
and even romance and sexual liaisons, all described with the same dexterity and
ease, which one finds in the modern day novel, which probably has nothing to
do with mythology. In fact, the language used in books by Amish, Neelakantan
and Udayasankar; a mixture of modern terms and the age old words is fascinating.
What is it that makes them absorbing? It was probably the
humour, which Amish writes with, or the anger which Anand Neelakantan shows
towards Rama’s world, or it could be the smooth mannerisms of Krishna, which is put
forward by Udayasankar and Sanghi.
There is a whole new set of opinions, whether it is creative storytelling or
intelligent retelling. Call them what you will, interpretations or imagination
they definitely make good reads.
I was interested to know of the hint of romance between Draupadi - Krishna in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s 'Palace of Illusions' and Govinda - Panchali in Udayasankar's Govinda. Also, the father/ daughter
linkage of Ravana and Sita in Neelakantan’s 'Asura'. Or even the whole concept of
the nuclear weapon and the Brahmastra, in Sanghi’s 'The Krishna Key'.
Of course, we might have heard in passing of these interesting
facets to the story, but in these narratives, these plots are given a little breathing space, actually a whole new room, so as readers, we are allowed bits
of our own imagination to take wing.
