Devdutt Pattanaik


Devdutt Pattanaik is an Indian mythologist, speaker, illustrator and author, known for his prolific writing on sacred lore, legends, folklore, fables and parables, and for challenging what he perceives as wilful misinterpretations of ancient Indian scriptures, stories, symbols and rituals.
His work focuses largely on the areas of myth, religion, mythology, and management. He has incorporated the Mahabharata and the Ramayana into human resource management. He has written books on the relevance of sacred stories, symbols and rituals in modern times; his more popular books include Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology'; Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata'; and Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana.
He writes columns for Mid-Day, Times of India, Swarajya'', CN Traveller, Daily O and Scroll.in. He hosts a radio show / podcast for Radio Mirchi called the Devdutt Patnaik Show.

Early life and education

Pattanaik is an Odia, born and brought up in Mumbai. He was born in a Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha family of Karana caste. He spent his childhood and student life in Chembur, Mumbai. He studied in OLPS High School in Chembur where he first got acquainted with stories of the Ramayana in school plays. Pattanaik graduated in medicine from Grant Medical College, Mumbai, and subsequently did a course in Comparative Mythology from Mumbai University.

Career

Pattanaik worked in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry for 14 years and spent his spare time writing articles and books on mythology, which eventually became his full-time profession. He also worked as a consultant at Ernst and Young. His first book Shiva: An Introduction was published in 1997. Devdutt illustrates most of his own books.
He was a speaker at the first TED conference in India held in November 2009.
He is also a story consultant to Indian television network Star TV, where Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev is based on his work and Epic channel, where he presents Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik. He also served as the Chief Belief Officer at Future Group, one of India's largest retailers.
Devdutt has consulted Star TV network on mythological tele-serials like Mahabharata and Siya ke Ram; these serials have challenged conventional views of the narratives and opened up new avenues of interpretation.
Pattnaik worked on Audible Originals 's audiobook titled Suno Mahabharat Devdutt Pattanaik ke Saath and Revisiting Mahabharata with Devdutt Pattanaik. In his show he talks about the details of the great war, how it affected the world, and what happened to India after the death of Pandavas and Kauravas. He also communicates the Vedic tenets which describes the karma and dharma.

Art

All of the illustrations present in Devdutt Pattanaik's written works are actually sketched out by the author himself. Koral Dasgupta mentions, "Pattanaik’s art follows a particular style and is dependent on expertly sketched lines but the focus is never the perfection of hands and limbs and props. The pursuit is clearly that of beauty and depiction; not the grammatical detailing of a photograph!"

Views

Myth and Mythology

He opines that "no society can exist without myth as it creates notions of right and wrong, good and bad, heaven and hell, rights and duties". To him, mythology "tells people how they should see the world... Different people will have their own mythology, reframing old ones or creating new ones." His desire is "to get Saraswati out of the closet. Saraswati belongs everywhere, she has to flow everywhere" and his body of work is aimed "to make knowledge accessible."
In Shiva to Shankara : Giving Form to the Formless, he explores the layers of meanings embedded in Shiva's linga, we discover why and how the Goddess transforms Shiva, the hermit, into Shankara, the householder. Culture : 50 Insights from Mythology contextualises mythology and proposes that myths are alive, dynamic, shaped by perception and the times one lives in.

Business

Devdutt believes that leadership is about paying attention to the other, and enabling people not to mimic or pretend, but to be genuine/authentic about their fears. If a leader cannot sense fear in people around him, if a leader feels good when people around him are frightened into pretending, there is a problem. Power flows towards the leader or, rather, boss rather than towards the organization.
In his book, Business Sutra: An Indian Approach to Management, "the central theme … is that when individual beliefs come into conflict with corporate beliefs, problems surface in organisations. Conversely, when institutional beliefs and individual beliefs are congruent, harmony is the resultant corporate climate. It is when people are seen as mere resources meant to be managed through compensation and so-called motivation; it is when they are treated like switches in a circuit board; it is then that disharmony descends causing disruption".
In Leader : 50 Insights from Mythology Pattanaik uses myths and legends to arrive at wisdom that is both time-worn and refreshingly new, expressing what makes a good leader.

Fiction

Devdutt distinguishes between mythological fiction and mythology. He notes that mythological fiction is very popular as it is fantasy rooted in familiar traditional tales. Mythology itself is about figuring out world views of cultures, essentially how people think in a particular cultural ethos. "Most writers I know focus on mythological fiction. Study of mythology still remains rather academic", Pattanaik told IANS in an interview.

Performing Arts

Focusing on Natyashastra, a Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts written by Bharata Muni, Devdutt has answered questions on the origins of the text and why it was referred to as the Panchama Veda. "By dancing, Hindu Gods differentiated Hindu faith, they drew attention to time, space, rhythm, vibration and body", explains Pattanaik.
He notices dance as part of religion. He speaks of how, over the years, the general gaze of looking at dance and dancers has changed. He states, "Calling someone naachnewali or naachnewala has become a way of putting them down. We need to understand that dance is about seduction. For me, the story of Lord Vishnu taking the form of Mohini and dancing to seduce Bhasmasura is one of the most powerful stories. We don’t understand that the story of Natraj also relates to seduction. But somehow, the word seduction has taken a negative connotation now. Through dance, we can understand a lot about Indian culture, history, geography and more. It’s about time we did that."

Political Stance

Devdutt is known to avoid partisan views and points to the strengths and weaknesses of the Left and the Right, the secular as well as religious, the capitalists and the communists, the patriarchs and the feminists, as indicated on his many articles on beef ban, vegetarianism, and Ramayana. He is wary of the influence of 'white saviours' on liberals as well as religious radicals. He has been rather contemptuous of the hyper-nationalism of a section of American Hindus who are clueless about Indian realities. He also frowns on secularists and atheists who deny their own missionary zeal and mythic structure, and see themselves as 'rational'.

Sexuality

After having coming out as gay, Devdutt has been frank about the LGBTQ revolution in India. Pattanaik commented on how, while he never had any issues with being gay, he was aware that other people in society hold prejudices and judgements against people who do not conform to the norm. It was this knowledge that made him keep his sexuality hidden from the public, and that it was never because he felt guilty.
He was always a proponent of free-thought and individualism, as made plain by his views on the criminalization of homosexuality in India. "The validation of law is an important element for removing prejudice from the minds of people, especially friends and family members".
He has written about the presence, and at several instances, the celebration, of the queer within the Indian mythos. Elucidating that karmic faiths can be used to affirm the dignity of queer people, he speaks of how when one discovers love and appreciation for the world as it is, not the way one wants it to be, one develops wisdom.

Vedic Civilisation

Devdutt is of the view that the Harappan civilisation was not Vedic but Vedas were a part of Harappa. He states that "While there is relative certainty that the much older Harappan civilisation was not Vedic civilisation, there is increasing evidence that by the time Vedic civilisation established itself in the Gangetic plains, it was influenced by Harappan ideas and practices."

Reception

In 2014, Pattanaik was listed in the top category of bestselling Indian authors. His book Devlok, based on the television programme of the same name, was one of the bestselling books of the year 2016. Forbes India had ranked Pattanaik among the 100 celebrities of India in 2016.
Fiction author Ashwin Sanghi has said that Pattanaik attempts to "explain mythology in simple words". Psychologist Urmi Chanda-Vaz, who calls Pattanaik "India's most beloved mythology explicator", praised his book 'My Gita'. Intellectual Shiv Visvanathan has praised Pattanaik by saying that he has made myth-reading "an open, playful, almost domestic game, like Chinese Checkers or Scrabble".
Neil Gaiman praised Devdutt Pattanaik for his 2016 book “Olympus: An Indian Retelling of the Greek Myth”. “I read a fantastic Indian writer recently where he told Greek myth but from an Indian perspective... He makes it so easy to understand but what is lovely is that he does from a very proud Indian connect."
Pattanaik coined the phrase "Bharat Tyagi" to depict "a small group of PIOs, Queen Victoria’s frozen-in-time children, imagine they must save India from Indians".

Publications

Mythology

  1. Shiva: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd., 1997...
  2. Vishnu: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd., 1999...
  3. Devi, The Mother-Goddess: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer, and Simons Ltd., 2000...
  4. The Goddess in India: The Five Faces of the Eternal Feminine. Inner Traditions/ Bear & Company, 2000.. Translations: Hindi.
  5. Hanuman: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd., 2001...
  6. The Man Who Was A Woman and Other Queer Tales from Hindu Lore. Harrington Park Press, 2002..
  7. Hindu India. Brijbasi Art Press, 2003..
  8. Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and Rituals from the Heart of the Subcontinent. Inner Traditions/ Bear & Company, 2003..
  9. Lakshmi, The Goddess of Wealth and Fortune: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer, and Simons Ltd., 2003...
  10. Myth=Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology. Penguin Books India, 2006.. Translations: Hindi, Marathi, Turkish.
  11. Shiva to Shankara: Decoding the Phallic Symbol. Indus Source, India. 2006.. Translations: Czech, Hindi.
  12. The Book of Ram. Penguin Books India, 2009.. - Part of a book series on mythological figures published by Penguin.
  13. 7 Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art. Westland Ltd., 2009.. Translations: Gujarati, Hindi.
  14. Hanuman's Ramayan. Tulika Publishers, 2010...
  15. Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata. Penguin Books India, 2010.. Translations: Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil.
  16. 7 Secrets of Shiva. Westland Ltd., 2011.. Translations: Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Russian, Telugu.
  17. 7 Secrets of Vishnu. Westland Ltd., 2011.. Translations: Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Russian.
  18. 99 Thoughts on Ganesha: Stories, Symbols and Rituals of India's Beloved Elephant-headed Deity. Jaico Publishing House, 2011.. Translations: Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu.
  19. Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana. Penguin Books India, 2013. Translations: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil.
  20. Shikhandi: And Other Tales They Don't Tell You. Zubaan Books & Penguin Books India, 2014.. Translations: Hindi, Marathi.
  21. 7 Secrets of the Goddess. Westland Ltd., 2014.. Translations: Hindi, Italian, Marathi, Russian.
  22. My Gita. Rupa Publications India, 2015.. Translations: Hindi, Marathi.
  23. Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik. Penguin Random House India, 2016..
  24. Olympus – An Indian Retelling of Greek Mythology. Penguin Random House India, 2016. .
  25. Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik – Publisher: Penguin Random House, 2017 Translations: Hindi
  26. Shiva to Shankara : Giving Form to the Formless. HarperCollins India, Indus Source 2017.. – Based on Older Book / Reprint
  27. My Hanuman Chalisa. Rupa Publications, 2017. .
  28. Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik – Publisher: Penguin Random House, 2017.
  29. Shyam: An Illustrated Retelling of the Bhagavata. Penguin, 2018 .
  30. Ramayana Versus Mahabharata: My Playful Comparison. Rupa Publications India, 2018 .
  31. Faith: 40 Insights into Hinduism – Publisher: Harper Collins, 2019.
  32. Pilgrim Nation: The Making of Bharatvarsh - Aleph Book Company, 2020.

    Management

  33. Business Sutra : A Very Indian Approach to Management. Aleph Book Company, 2013.. Translations: French, German, Hindi, Italian, Marathi, Tamil.
  34. The Success Sutra: An Indian Approach to Wealth. Aleph Book Company, 2015.. – Based on Older Book
  35. The Leadership Sutra: An Indian Approach to Power. Aleph Book Company, 2016.. – Based on Older Book
  36. The Talent Sutra: An Indian Approach to Learning. Aleph Book Company, 2016, – Based on Older Book
  37. Culture : 50 Insights from Mythology. HarperCollins India, Indus Source 2017..
  38. Leader : 50 Insights from Mythology. HarperCollins India, Indus Source 2017..
  39. How to Become Rich: 12 Lessons I Learnt from Vedic and Puranic Stories – Publisher: Rupa Publications India, 2019.

    Fiction

  40. The Pregnant King. Penguin Books India, 2008.. Translations: Hindi, Marathi
  41. Is He Fresh?: Aka Kaula Hai?. Penguin UK, 2015.

    Children's Books

  42. Fun in Devlok: An Identity Card for Krishna. Puffin India, 2011..
  43. Fun in Devlok: Gauri and the Talking Cow. Puffin India, 2011..
  44. Fun in Devlok: Indra Finds Happiness. Puffin India, 2011..
  45. Fun in Devlok: Kama vs Yama. Puffin India, 2011..
  46. Fun in Devlok: Saraswati's Secret River. Puffin India, 2011..
  47. Fun in Devlok: Shiva Plays Dumb Charades. Puffin India, 2011..
  48. Fun in Devlok Omnibus. Puffin India, 2014.. – Reprint
  49. Pashu: Animal Tales from Hindu Mythology. Penguin Books India, 2014.. Translations: Hindi.
  50. The Girl Who Chose: A New Way of Narrating the Ramayana. Puffin Books, 2016. .
  51. The Jaya Colouring Book. Penguin Random House India, 2016.. – Based on Older Book
  52. The Sita Colouring Book. Penguin Random House India, 2016.. – Based on Older Book
  53. The Boys Who Fought: The Mahabharata for Children. Puffin, 2017 .

    Foreword

  54. Celebrating Public Spaces of India. Mapin Publishing, 2016..
  55. I Am Divine. So Are You: How Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism Affirm the Dignity of Queer Identities and Sexualities. Harper Collins, 2017.
  56. Padmavat: An Epic Love Story. Rupa Publications, 2018.. -Illustrator
  57. Behold, I Make All Things New: How Judaism, Christianity and Islam affirm the dignity of queer identities and sexualities. Harper Collins, 2019.

    Co-authored

  58. Yoga Mythology: 64 Asanas and Their Stories – Publisher: Harper Collins, 2019.
  59. Aranyaka: Book of the Forest – Publisher: Westland, 2019.