Sukant Deepak
New Delhi, May 14 (). One of the country’s bestselling authors, Anand Neelakantan has over 13 books to his credit, including the Baahubali trilogy – The Rise of Sivagami, Chaturanga and Queen of Mahishmati. The official prequel to SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali, based on his book, reveals that he reinterprets epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and presents the stories in his books with a fresh perspective.
He told , why should I be afraid of being read wrong? This fear can come when we confuse Hinduism as a religion. We should not forget that it is a culture and a conglomeration of civilisations. This is not the first time someone is reinterpreting the mythology. Every Ramayana is different. There are over 1,000 to 2,000 Mahabharatas. We are an all-accepting culture. Every generation will write and rewrite it according to the needs of that generation and the perspective of the author.
He adds: I never deviate from the plot and don’t add elements that weren’t there. I just change the approach of writing, the story and plot remains the same, it only changes the mind of the character. Also, it’s not important for me to follow a linear narrative. I explore many angles.
His latest book Nala Damayanti tells a story of love taken from the Mahabharata narrated by Hemanga, the golden swan of Mansarovar.
It is an age-old tale, of a determined woman fighting fate, which has kept her lover away from her, she said at the recently concluded Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival organized by the state government in association with Teamwork Arts. So it is a modern book, even though it is one of the oldest love stories.
Neelakantan, the screenwriter of several popular television serials, says, “Those who can read deeply can immediately sense the reflection of the present in the ancient stories I tell. As a writer I shouldn’t be expected to be spoon fed.
Neelakantan feels that in the last few decades there has been a tendency to oversimplify mythological texts and present a linear perspective.
He said, look at the Ramayana. It was not written with such a well-organized narrative. The intention was not to show that Rama was perfect, but that there are multiple perspectives of everything and how they unfold through different times.
SGK
Follow Niharika Times for all the big news from India and abroad. Like us on Facebook and Twitter . Always visit Niharika Times for latest news.