Tales of Bharat Dharma

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Threaded with gems collected from the glorious epics, legends, folklore and the history of the country, Tales of Bharat is an attempt not only to bring to you a treasure of stories but also a book that would silently instil values in a curious mind. Through her subtle and mesmerising story-telling skills, Rati Hegde presents in front of us a feast that would be welcomed equally by adults and children.

Rati Hegde is a columnist who writes on spirituality, Hinduism, current affairs, women and social issues. With the blessings of her Guru, Shree Shree Raghaveshwara Bharati Mahaswamiji, she published and co-edited a spiritual magazine called Setu for more than three years. Many of her write-ups on the spiritual website The Speaking Tree were published in their weekly edition. Subsequent to 2014, she ventured into writing on politics and current affairs. Her articles have been published in various portals, including Indus Scrolls, Organiser magazine, Hindu Post and others. She has spoken on various forums like Equal Rights for Hindus, India4Kashmir, Vedic WAVES, Sanatan Sanstha and more. She is based in Mumbai, Bharat.

Bharat has always been the land of stories. There is probably no other country in the world which has saved all its memories from time immemorial, in the form of stories. Every important temple in this land has its own Sthala Purana and every region of Bharat has ballads which speak of the greatness of the heroes and great women of that region. Even though foreign invaders and modern historians tried to wipe out vestiges of our culture, rituals, temples, great rulers, our sacrifices and more, they have survived through our stories, ballads, poems, sculptures and songs.

After Independence, the desire that children learn English to blend in with the modern world, coupled with the newly formed nuclear family setup, meant that at least two generations of our children were fed tales exclusively from the West like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc. Because of this, the child of today feels connected with Santa Claus more than with Shivaji Maharaj. This stark truth was laid bare to me when at a question answering session after a lecture of mine, a parent told me that when she herself did not know the stories, how could she tell them to her children at bedtime. Thus started my journey of writing short stories from our vast cultural heritage. The stories have been written in such a way that they can be read to children. These stories are not meant to be scholarly pieces of work, but a pathway to imagination and wisdom gleaned from our past.