Indian mythological fiction is arguably one of the most popular genres. Krishna Udayasankar’s mytho-historical novel series, The Aryavarta Chronicles , however, is different because it is a re-telling of The Mahabharata without looking at the epic from the lens of magic and divinity. “There’s a larger, basic premise. If we take out the magic, we necessarily have to find human motivations behind the actions of the characters, and so you end up asking questions. I surely want to believe human beings with their mix of good and bad are amazing creatures. They don’t need to be made other-worldly to make them stand out as heroes. Govinda is human, but he is stunningly, jaw-droppingly intelligent,” says the Singapore-based Krishna, over phone.
Krishna does justice to every character in all three books of Govinda , Kaurava and the recently-released Kurukshetra , from main characters such as Govinda and Panchali to Abhimanyu and Uttara, along with characters of sub-plots such as Hidimba, Ghatotkacha, Shikandhi, among others. Does Krishna follow a due process of figuring out her characters? “Honestly, I haven’t figured them out myself. Through the writing of the book, I discover them along the way. They really have a life of their own,” says Krishna, who is law graduate from National Law School of India University, Bengaluru and holds a PhD in Strategic Management from the Nanyang Business School, Singapore.
She probes the role of women in The Mahabharata through her portrayal of strong women characters, Panchali and Uttara, and thus raises questions on violence against women. “I hunt for strong characters and bring them to the forefront. Uttara and Panchali are both strong, but in very different ways. While Uttara says she doesn’t need to prove anything, Panchali is very vocal. And Panchali stands up for a greater cause, and questions the injustice of hierarchy, not necessarily because she was wronged.”
Writing the action sequences in Kurukshetra, says Krishna, was like “watching a movie in my head and writing it down.” The process, she says, was quite enjoyable. “I didn’t want the scenes to be repetitive. I wanted each scene to remain fresh and yet convey the message I wanted to. Bringing in technology also helped. I also wanted to bring in strategy.”
Chitra Banerjee Divakurni and Amish Tripathi have written mythological fiction. How is TheAryavarta Chronicles different from their works? “My idea is not to bring the past to the reader. My idea is to take the reader back to the past.”
Krishna says she grew up on Indian mythology. “It was fed to me as a child, along with spinach, which I hated,” she laughs and says. “I grew up listening to these stories. As a teenager, I kept getting into arguments with my grandmom about why the characters would behave in certain ways. The questioning streak was always there in me.”
Two more of her poetry collection will be out this year as well as a novel based on the legend of Prince Nila Utama, the founder of Singapore; it will be a socio-political story, quite different from the mythical version. Krishna also plans a prequel to The Aryavarta Chronicles . “It re-traces the rise of Govinda, from a cow-herd to a prince. There is a lot more scope to show revolution.”
All three novels of The Aryavarta Chronicles have been published by Hachette.
