"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
The genius of Vedvyasa as the author of the great epic The Mahabharata is evident by the way he interrupts his narratives at various places to introduce literary gems like Srimad Bhagwat Gita just before the commencement of the war. The Vana Parva, which contains many more gems like the stories of Nala-Damyanti, Satyavan-Savitri, Harishchandra, Ashtavakra Gita, etc., is another similar example. True to his genius of introducing gems by creating situations for their introduction, Vedvyasa follows this style throughout the various Parvas of The Mahabharata particularly the Vana Parva. A huge section of the Vana Parva covers the entire period of the Pandavas exile and could, very well, have existed as a separate book; but the way Vedvyasa inserts it immediately after the game of dice that results in the exile of Pandavas integrates it beautifully with the main text of The Mahabharata. Similarly all the other gems referred to above were introduced as a consequence to the questions asked by Yudhishthira to various Rishis who visited Padavas during the course of their long exile. This book attempts to highlight this beautiful and captivating style of writing.
Umesh Kotru, Ashutosh Zutshi
The authors have to their credit two books titled ‘Karna the Unsung Hero of the Mahabharata’ published by Leadstart Publishers in 2015 and ‘Bhishma an Enigma’ published by Notion Press in 2017. Current book is their third work.
Umesh Chandra Kotru, a specialist in accounts and finance of the Government of India, retired in 2010 from the Ministry of Power, after a distinguished career spanning decades of professional work in the Ministry of External Affairs; Indian Embassy in Washington; Ministry of Finance; and Ministry of Environment & Forests. An avid reader of books on Philosophy, Religion, Mythology and Fiction, and a passionate aficionado of Sports, Umesh now divides his time between his two pursuits of the mind and the body. Living in Noida with wife, also retired from Central Government Service, they have a daughter who is a doctor and a son who is an engineer with MBA, both married.
Contact: umrams@gmail.com
Ashutosh Zutshi, like-minded nephew of Umesh Kotru, is a technocrat with a difference. An electronics & communication engineer, Ashutosh is working as Vice President in a Japanese MNC in Delhi. At the same time, an inner urge for self-actualisation drives him to find some time – mostly in the weekends – to pursue his other interests in music, social work and of course, in serious reading. Ashutosh too lives in Noida with his wife, who works with the United Nations and two sons who are in school.
Contact: zutshiash@hotmail.com
