Indian Culture Art and Heritage for Civil Services Examination

Devdutt Pattanaik loves to write, illustrate and lecture on the relevance of mythology in modern times. He has, since 1996, written over 50 books and 1000 columns for adults and children. His books have been translated in Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Gujarati. He has a multi-media presence. His TV shows include Business Sutra on CNBC-TV18 and Devlok on Epic TV. He has hosted a radio show The Devdutt Pattanaik Show on Radio Mirchi, and has an audio-show retelling the Mahabharata on Audible SUNO. He consults organizations on culture, diversity and leadership in addition to consulting various television channels and filmmakers on storytelling. In 1996, he gave his UPSC exams, and got through in his first attempt. But he chose to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry, where he worked for 15 years, before turning to his passion for mythology full time. To know more, visit www.devdutt.com

Within infinite myths lies an eternal truth

Who sees it all?

Varuna has but a thousand eyes

Indra a hundred

You and I, only two.

Fact is everybody's truth. Fiction is nobody's truth. Myth is somebody's truth. Myth is the truth of people-a cultural belief. It is how people imagine the world. People's belief changes with history and geography. And so, old cultures are different from new. And Indian culture is different from Chinese or European or African culture.

Every community has unique beliefs expressed using different languages, stories, songs, dances, rituals (intangible culture), as well as housing, clothing, literature, food (tangible culture), and in paintings, sculpture and architecture (arts). What we inherit is tradition. What we wish to preserve is heritage.

**Contents and Sample Pages**