From Vedanta to Whatsapp

Long before the blitz of 'modern age' wiped away our patience, stories were the most potent medium to disseminate the accumulated wisdom of mankind. From politics to spirituality, and from commerce to war, stories were used as a knowledge tool.

A bestselling author, voracious reader and accomplished technology professional that Dev Prasad is, he always felt the irresistible need for reinventing and revitalizing storytelling to address the problems of modern day-to-day life. The present volume is born of that effort. More than a carefully collated anthology of tales both ancient and new, and anecdotes—personal and apocryphal—From Vedanta to WhatsApp is meant to be a ready reckoner for one and all, as we wade through the challenges of everyday life.

This is a book to be kept by your bedside to dip into, and perhaps read out to your grandchildren some day.

So keep that smartphone away and dive into the addictive world of storytelling!

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou

India is a land of storytelling and storytellers. Storytelling has always been a part of our tradition and rich cultural heritage. The Ramayana and Mahabharata are two of the greatest ancient epics India gave to the world. These epics chronicle hundreds of stories and anecdotes, and each of them comes with many life lessons.

Indians are not only good at writing stories but also at narrating them. Our parents fondly recollect their childhood days when they would sit on the laps of their grandparents and listen to the enthralling tales of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

During the 1980s and the 1990s, Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana and B.R. Chopra's Mahabharata on national TV had a huge impact on the people of that generation. I vividly remember how, in those days, some banks even changed their timings so that their employees and clients would not miss a chance to watch these epics. In most homes and in public memory, the TV versions of these epics replaced the original ones and the grandmothers of the '90s and 2000s narrated these versions to their grandchildren.