There are 30 short essays in this book. They were written by renowned mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik over a ten-year period and published in various publications. He sought to share the heritage, art, culture, and mythology of not just of India, but also Odisha, with the wider world. As a non-resident Odia (NRO), born and raised in Mumbai, he realised long ago how homogenized religious and national identities, such as Hindu and Indian, are. They make people ignorant of rich local heritage. Through these essays he has aimed to introduce non-Odias to Odisha's wealth of ideas and forms in an accessible, non-academic, way. At the heart of all things Odia is Shri Jagannatha, which is why these essays are linked in one or another to Odisha's Mahaprabhu, who is Lord of the World. It makes us realise how in India, the particular becomes universal, all things Odia also reflects all things Hindu and India. In India, identity is as important as infinity.
Devdutt Pattanaik is India's bestselling mythologist, who writes, illustrates, and lectures on the relevance of sacred lore in modern times. Son of Odia migrants to Mumbai, he was trained in medicine, and worked in the healthcare and pharma industries for 15 years before following his passion full time.
He defines myth as somebody's truth, that reveals the worldview of a people. With over 50 books to his credit, most illustrated by him in his unique style, he is also famous for his TV shows (Devlok) and TED talks. His deep love for Odisha manifests in his constantly reminding his readers to look at Kalinga beyond Ashoka's invasion and celebrate the very unique Jagannatha temple culture that survived and thrived despite attacks by Bengal Sultans (Kalapahada), Mughals and British, and continues to renew itself even today, adapting to every challenge.
My name is Devdutt Pattanaik. I was born in 1970 in a suburb of Mumbai to Sabitri Das and Prafulla Kumar Pattanaik, both of whom had migrated to the city from Odisha via Chennai, after my father got job in a privately owned company. Like all children, I learnt about my culture from what they told me, and what I experienced around me.
My neighbors were Maharashtrian, Konkani, Kannadiga, Tulu, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalee, Parsis, Jains, Hindus. My school was a Catholic school, Our Lady of Perpetual Succor High School. My two elder sisters went to St. Anthony's High School. My teachers, who taught me Ramayana and Mahabharata, along with science, mathematics, and languages, were Christians, Hindus, Muslims. I grew up in a diverse cosmopolitan world.
My sisters and I constantly had to explain what Odia was, and where was Orissa (now Odisha). Even educated people knew little about my state and culture. Is it north or south of Bengal, one asked. When we said the land of Jagannatha Puri, then everyone smiled in recognition. It was through this temple that Odisha was known to most people.
Then suddenly they would connect my surname with the Pattanaiks, Chief Ministers of Odisha-Biju (and his Indonesian adventures), JB (and his scandals), and Naveen (famous for winning elections with great poise despite not being able to speak the language fluently). Are you related they would ask? No, it's a common surname like Shah, or Patel, I would say.
Then they would wonder about caste. Karana, I would say, because that's what my parents told me. No one understood it in Mumbai until I realized it was known in Kayastha in the rest of India. Years later, when I was handling a particular toxic political situation in the corporate world, an Odia colleague remarked I displayed 'Karaniya Chal.' I had no clue what he meant.
I realized later that it was not really a compliment and suggested a kind of Machiavellian trait that Kayasthas are accused of by rival Brahmin communities across India.
Odiãs who grew up in Odisha would always laugh at my Odia. I would use Marathi grammar and phrases and pronunciation often. At home, we did speak Odiä. But we had a few Odia friends, but my parents were private people and avoided too much association with people generally. So we were not really part of any Odia Association. I learnt about them much later in life. So over time, after my parents moved on, my practice went away. Today, I can speak Odia quite well privately. I know a few weeks of practice will set it right. But on camera, or in public, I get tongue tied, I search for words.
My exposure to Odia culture remains deep though, mainly through stories my parents told me, and songs my mother sang, and through food. This was long before national television and internet. My father spoke of his village Balarampur, in Jajpur, and how he spent his childhood in Keonjhar, and studied in Sambalpur University, how he became an Odia Revenue Service officer, and how his teacher encouraged him to do MBA in New York University in late 1950s, long before IIM were established in India, and anyone in India knew about this course. Not surprisingly, he faced six months of unemployment on his return! There were other struggles, how his passport was stolen on his way back from Kolkata, how my mother sold her jewelry to help him go to the USA, and how my mother got frustrated when my father did not return from USA after two years.
Vedas (1293)
Upanishads (481)
Puranas (612)
Ramayana (837)
Mahabharata (328)
Dharmasastras (162)
Goddess (474)
Bhakti (241)
Saints (1303)
Gods (1268)
Shiva (344)
Journal (144)
Fiction (52)
Vedanta (333)
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