BHUBANESWAR: History is fact-based fiction and mythology fiction-based fact, said mythological fiction writers at the 11th edition of Odisha Literary Festival here on Sunday. History has a lot of mythological elements in it. Similarly, mythology does have a lot of historical elements in it, said the new generation writers of the genre.
Putting her perspective straight on ‘Epics and Modernity: Reimagining our myths’, writer and columnist Anuja Chandramouli said in history and mythology, both come down to faith.
“History and mythology contain timeless truth and it is up to people to unearth the timeless truth. The essence of it is what matters. At the end of the day they all are stories,” she said.
In his remarks, author Gourav Mohanty said mythology is a mix of history and imagination of ancestors. “Our puranas are five million years old. In my writings, like puranas, every story ends with a moral dilemma. We are retelling it. Readers should go through it and decide on what side of the fences they want to be,” he said.
When readers will go through Sons of Darkness, they will come across mythology from a different character’s perspective. “It has more to do with re-imagining a brave new world that is as disillusioned and ultraviolent as own reality,” he said.
Author and screenwriter Satyartha Nayak said, “When you say something is history and not mythology, I think you are making a value judgment and putting history at a higher pedestal than mythology. History is extremely time bound. It is about AD, BC, dates, events and timelines. Mythology is timeless. How does one contain Mahadev, Krishna and Ram within timelines?” he asked.
Citing a classic example of history combined with mythology relating to Odisha (the then Kalinga), Nayak said the state is mostly remembered for just one-time defeat from Ashoka. But no one remembers Kharabela and the trade that Kalinga established with the South East Asia. Mahabharat has a one-line reference about it that Duryodhan was married to Bhanumati, the princess of powerful neighbour kingdom Kalinga.
History, Nayak said, has a certain amount of arrogance as it says ‘I know, because I have the evidence to prove’. “In contrast, mythology says I do not know, but I still believe.”. The session was moderated by Consulting Editor of Sunday Standard Ravi Shankar.