Who is Devdutt Pattanaik?
Devdutt Pattanaik writes on relevance of mythology in modern times, especially in areas of management, governance and leadership. He defines mythology as cultural truths revealed through stories, symbols and rituals.Devdutt Pattanaik an Indian author known for fictional work and interpretations of ancient Indian scriptures.
Myth and Mythology
He opines that “no society can exist without myth as it creates notions of right and wrong, good and bad, heaven and hell, rights and duties”.
To him, mythology "tells a people how they should see the world... Different people will have their own mythology, reframing old ones or creating new ones."
His desire is "to get Saraswati out of the closet. Saraswati belongs everywhere, she has to flow everywhere" and his body of work is aimed "to make knowledge accessible."
Business
Devdutt believes that leadership is about paying attention to the other, and enabling people not to mimic or pretend, but to be genuine/authentic about their fears. If a leader cannot sense fear in people around him, if a leader feels good when people around him are frightened into pretending, there is a problem. Power flows towards the leader or, rather, boss rather than towards the organization.
In his book, Business Sutra: An Indian Approach to Management, “the central theme is that when individual beliefs come into conflict with corporate beliefs, problems surface in organisations. Conversely, when institutional beliefs and individual beliefs are congruent, harmony is the resultant corporate climate. It is when people are seen as mere resources meant to be managed [read manipulated] through compensation and so-called motivation; it is when they are treated like switches in a circuit board; it is then that disharmony descends causing disruption.”Indian business concepts are dominated by western management theory. But in India, business is meant to go
Fiction
Devdutt distinguishes between mythological fiction and mythology. He notes that mythological fiction is very popular as it is fantasy rooted in familiar traditional tales. Mythology itself is about figuring out world views of cultures, essentially how people think in a particular cultural ethos. “Most writers I know focus on mythological fiction. Study of mythology still remains rather academic,” Pattanaik told IANS in an interview.
Performing Arts
Focusing on Natyashastra, a Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts written by Bharata Muni, Devdutt has answered questions on the origins of the text and why it was referred to as the Panchama Veda. “By dancing, Hindu Gods differentiated Hindu faith, they drew attention to time, space, rhythm, vibration and body,” explains Pattanaik.
He notices dance as part of religion. He speaks of how, over the years, the general gaze of looking at dance and dancers has changed. He states, "Calling someone naachnewali or naachnewala has become a way of putting them down. We need to understand that dance is about seduction. For me, the story of Lord Vishnu taking the form of Mohini and dancing to seduce Bhasmasura is one of the most powerful stories. We don’t understand that the story of Natraj also relates to seduction. But somehow, the word seduction has taken a negative connotation now. Through dance, we can understand a lot about Indian culture, history, geography and more. It’s about time we did that."
