Delving into myths

For someone who has always been penning short stories and rudimentary poems, author Krishna Udayasankar has ensured that any work she engaged in involved a play of words. This lawyer-turned-lecturer-turned author is now enjoying the success of her first book of the series, Aryavarta Chronicles: Govinda. Originally from Bangalore, Udayasankar has been all over India owing to her father’s transferable job and has a creative mother too (an artist). She completed her law degree at NLSIU, Bangalore, and a PhD in strategic management.

A faculty at Nanyang Business School, Singapore, she explains that when she began writing in 2008, it was more of a satirical poem. “I realised that the more I wrote, the more I was delving into deeper issues. The epics have always been approached in a social and political context, not to mention the religious connotation. If we suspend the idea of the ‘Divine Will’, we will need a more humanistic explanation for the events that have transpired. That is how my enquiry began. Even in the text of myths we have read this far, it’s evident that we tend to glamourise in order to legitimise,” she says.

“I have attempted, not a reinterpretation or retelling, but a reconstruction of the canvas,” adds Krishna. Govinda deals with the events that lead to the formation of the empire, rivalry between two groups and the power play that comes into action and the chain of events that lead to its unification. With one book published and four more in the pipeline, she expresses excitement in realising her work will be read and knowing that her publishers at Hachette have a lot of faith in her is overwhelming and humbling. “I find much hope in a story where human beings rise up to be more than they are, without giving that place to the gods,” says the 34-year-old author. Post hoc, she has realised that people are probably at a stage where they require a bigger explanation of their history.

Her eclectic taste in books ranges from authors like Isaac Asimov and Herman Hesse to Rudyard Kipling. She loves philosophy and poetry too. “My constant companions while I write are my two Siberian Huskies. They live with me and my husband, Jaishankar Krishanmurthy, in Singapore where I teach.” Her next book will release in April.

— preethi@newindianexpress.com