The Honor of Interviewing Bestselling Author Chitra Divakaruni
Tapping into the Well of Inspiration: How Indian Epics Shape Contemporary Fiction.
Podcast interview with Chitra Divakaruni and S. A. Sreedharan.
The new episode of the Cosmic Dancer podcast involved renowned writer Chitra Divakaruni and Vedanta teacher S. A Shreedaran, a student of Swami Parthasarathy at the prestigious Vedanta Academy, and addressed the topic of Indian mythology and philosophy as a great source of inspiration for contemporary and highly successful Indian historical/fantasy novels, if we consider international best-selling authors such as her, Amish Tripathi and Ashwin Sanghi. Chitra later told us how she came to write the best-selling novel The Palace of Illusions, centered on the Indian epic text Mahabharata, but told from a totally new perspective, (that of a woman), and featuring refined prose.
It is worth mentioning that Chitra Divakaruni, with her short story collection Arranged Marriage, won an American Book Award in 1996, and two of her novels (The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart), as well as the short story The Word Love, have been adapted into films. Mistress of Spices was shortlisted for the Orange Prize.
Currently, “Sister of My Heart”, “Oleander Girl”, “Palace of Illusions”, and “One Amazing Thing” have been optioned to be made into films or television series. This is without mentioning the numerous awards and literary prizes he continues to receive. Strongly enriching in today's podcast episode was the presence of Vedanta teacher S. A. Sreedharan, founder in Dubai of the Mind and Intellect organization.
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