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7 Secrets From Hindu Calendar Art (The 7 Secret Series, #1) (2011)

by Devdutt Pattanaik(Favorite Author)

3.53 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

8189975676 (ISBN13: 9788189975678)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Westland Limited

review 1: I read this at the last . . .after the Vishnu and the Shiva . . so, all in all there were some parts which I knew and kind of skipped and read over the lines . . . But as unusual it is a Devdutt Pattanaik book. . . so you can't overlook it . . you don't want to!It was really astonishing for me to find the subtle nuances of the calendar arts, that we all are familiar with and are seeing from such an early age. . . From calendars to other commodities like rice and wheat sacks also have them, not to mention the Panjikas and all those graceful pictures with a halo in them . .. who knew that all these comes with so much insights and thoughts. . .it's as if I have beget a new pair of eyes to see the same thing again . . like I have switched on the RADIO-VISION or NIGHT-MODE oNN!... more :v :)All I can say, is that this book was really good and from now on, I am going to hunt down the clues in every calendar that I would find. he hhe! :)
review 2: Reading Pattanaik can wreak one's approach to faith, to life itself. If you are a believer, by the end of it, you will come to the following conclusions on why we need to believe in a God: A) Because life's tough and we need to know somebody gives a shit about us, no matter who we are.B) Because we are a lonely race and need a kind ear every now and then.And C) Maybe we just don't like ourselves enough and need to believe that there are beings more evolved than us, capable of a kindness which, quite honestly, the daily struggles for survival has wrung out of us. Tough shit. And don't get me wrong - I think Pattanaik is absolutely brilliant! Reading Pattanaik, in the beginning,is absolutely liberating! Suddenly those childhood stories begin to take new meanings and one is astounded by the sudden clarity that seems to jet stream into one's consciousness. By jove! Everything seems to make absolute sense and one is almost frightened by the thought that one might have figured out all that is there to know about life and faith and philosophy and the whole shebang!And then before one suspects, it happens. So...hmmmmmm... (slow gulp) ...in all probability there isn't a Ganesh ji for real. (Uhh-ohh) And so...um-hmmmmm....Shiva apparently is just a symbolic representation of a certain state of mind and not the benign paternal figure with whom one has had long heart to hearts.(fffffuuu.....deep breaths!!)Right now I am in some deep deep shit. Really. Deep. And the very worst part of all of this is you know this is it. No one can undo what you know. You can't go back to happy, safe ignorance. And yet you aren't any closer to feeling sorted about life and faith and philosophy and the works.Is this all that is there to know about God? A construct of an agrarian society, besieged with agrarian issues; and hence mythologies woven around everyday social concerns of that time. If all Gods and Goddesses are representative of a quality, a concept, a noun, a verb, then they are all incomplete by themselves. That is why perhaps the detachment-seeking Shiva worships the worldly Vishnu and the domestic Vishnu worships the ascetic Shiva. As if trying to balance out their natural tendencies.But in all of this, even as you appreciate your new found awareness, and your ability to view the Gods in a compassionate way, you are left with a terrible void. An emptiness. That you have only your own thoughts to turn to every time you need some compassion. I suppose this, this easy access to knowledge, is a unique ailment of our times. If the mind isn't mature enough for a certain kind of knowledge (however good that knowledge may be!) it WILL resist. less

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