Reading Notes Part B: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Mahabharata

One thing that I thought was interesting for Part B that I did not address in Part A was the fact that the characters in the stories are different than the ones I read about in Mythology and Folklore. What I mean by that is that each person seems to have emotional ties to whoever is going through a journey.  Generally, when reading a story, it focused on a major protagonist and then it had secondary characters who stood in the background mostly.  With Part B, the characters that I thought were background people are coming to the forefront.  I thought that was interesting because it allows us to get a better view of these people who we might not have considered important in the beginning. On top of that they all have backstories which I think is ingenious. By allowing them all to have backstories it gives us characters we can more easily relate to and cheer for. I do enjoy the fact that multiple stories are told through this novel. It gives us a chance to further expand our knowledge about Indian folklore.  These stories will help us be able to write better story books that everyone would be to understand.

Still one thing that I dislike and probably never get over is the fact that the characters names are hard to announce. Most people would not think that is a big deal but to me it is. When you cannot say the character’s name it is hard to generate a response to what they are going through. Going forward I hope the authors can keep one straight narrative and not split into 10 different ones. That would be very helpful, so I am not confused about what I am reading. Overall, thought Part B was a great read.

Devavrata. (1923)

B P Banerjee. Source: Wikicommons

Bibliography: Gibbs, Laura. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Mahabharata. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Mahabharata