India as a nation is a treasure trove of mythological stories. Right from Lord Ram’s adventures in his 14-year long exile, to the Pandavas being ousted from the kingdom, these tales have travelled from generations in the form of texts and the oral tradition of recitals.
While these texts have often provided spiritual solace to those in need, very little has been done to form a new perspective. This is where the Talking Myths Project came into being. The group was started three years ago by Utkarsh Patel, Dr Vidya Kamat and Arundhuti Dasgupta, students of mythology at Mumbai University.
Utkarsh Patel at one of the sessions
“Today, these stories are presumed to be simply religious. However, there is rational reasoning behind them,” explains Utkarsh who teaches at the university’s Comparative Mythology department. He adds, “The whole idea of this project is to make people understand mythology as a subject.” The Talking Myths Project hosts talks as part of a public outreach programme that are organised twice a month.
From Ramayana retold from a woman’s perspective to Malayalam Mahabharata that describes the narrative differently, the group makes it a point to connect mythology to history and—at times —science.
“Today we have a scientific understanding of why clouds thunder or why planets exist. But there was a time when people didn’t understand the logic behind it. So, the primeval man answered these questions for himself. And that is where the birth to mythological tales came into being,” elaborates Utkarsh. “After this, soon as man started evolving, these explanations helped form a society, and the role of a man and woman in it.”
For instance, to explain the point of patriarchy in society, Utkarsh gives the example of Ahalya from Ramayana. Ahalya was cursed and turned into a rock by her husband, sage Gautama Maharishi, when Lord Indra tried to seduce her. “This story goes on to show that no matter what, women have to be sacred to her husband. Indra came to her in the form of her husband, but she is still the one to be blamed. And here, Gautam Rishi says a woman who doesn’t understand the touch of her husband is as good as a stone. We are putting a very high stake on a woman’s fidelity,” sighs Utkarsh.
Utkarsh Patel
With the intention to bring out the lost stories to people, the group has built a bank of such tales that have different narratives by people from across the length and breadth of the country.
“As part of our project we are trying to collect as many versions as we can. We collect it either from people, or we collect it from the books. If people send in a version of a story they know, we do extensive research on it before putting it up on the website,” says Arundhuti.
The group wants everyone to come and tell stories the way they perceived it from their ancestors. “When we look at these versions we get to know why different versions of these tales exist, there is a thread connecting them all,” smiles Arundhuti.
