"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
Indian Mythology is a living mythology unlike other ancient mythologies like Greek or Egyptian mythologies. We in India have one of the biggest,most varied and oldest stories ever told. Mythology is traditional truth born out of collective experience and memory.
This book contains little known stories from various parts of India. Some of them are different versions of familiar tales but from a different perspective. For example Draupadi's protectors is a little known woman centric story of the disrobing of Draupadi very different from the mainstream ones we have heard.
All the stories entertain but carry subtle messages on life,with humour. I have retold the stories as simply as I could and have tried to create the stories as I heard them in the many languages of India.
Most are oral stories and I have tried to keep that flavour of the oral tradtion as much as it is possible. They enchant, and entertain even as they educate.
Mythology is tradtional truth of a common collective cultural memory. The stories in this book are a small part of this memory and give an insight into the soul of India.
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed hearing them and retelling it here in the book.
R. Radhakrishnan
R.Radhakrishnan always had an interest in stories and travelling. During a career spanning over three decades he travelled the length and breadth of India.
The Mumbai born author found himself listening to many stories as he travelled.
India is a land of stories and the epics and the other stories from Mythology are known everywhere.
Radhakrishnan found that the stories had many versions highlighting some aspect of life or the other. Many versions had a different perspective of a character.
Duryodhana was not a villian in all the stories, Karna was an universal favorite.
There were women centric stories which were very different from the mainstream stories.
Enchanted by these stories Radhakrishnan started to tell them to his children and then share it with a few friends in his blogs. Encouraged by them he wrote this book.
There has been many requests for a print book and hence this book.
Radhakrishnan lives in in the beautiful seaside city of Cochin and continues to collect stories and tell some of his own.
