INTRODUCTION
Stories from the great epics, poetry that sings of fabled battles and songs that spin tales of love, valour and heroism are all a part of the vast and diverse shared heritage of humankind. Intangible and priceless, this inheritance needs to be widely celebrated and bears repeated engagement, through literature, art and all forms of media. It was this need and our belief in the power of these stories to speak to a contemporary audience that led to MythoLogical—a two-day festival on myths, folktales, legends and such other ancient stories.
THE FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE
What is it? A 2-day festival celebrating mythology, folklore, legends and the world of ancient stories and art forms
What to expect?
- Access to ideas, deeper understanding of the stories, art forms and practices that are a part of a rich global cultural heritage
- Globally accomplished speakers, storytellers, performers on a single border-less stage
- Exchange of ideas around mythology (folklore, legend et al) and culture
- A forum for debate and discussion around some of the big ideas that world mythologies contain and their influence on life then and now.
Who are the organizers? The Mythology Project and Mythopia, independent platforms set up for the study of myth (folklore and legend, beliefs, etc), art and culture and based in Mumbai, India
Venue: Online
Dates: December 12-13, 2020
OBJECTIVE
- Provide an interactive platform for scholars, students, performers in the world of myths and folklore
- Create awareness about the deep – and shared — roots of mythology
- Create an archive of the ideas, knowledge and stories generated during the festival in the form of books, podcasts and films
- Document lost traditions, traditional stories and art forms
MythoLogical and Amar Chitra Katha welcome you to an online celebration of myth, folklore and legend.
About the festival
Centre Stage: Our keynote speakers explore the big ideas around myth and culture
Bibek Debroy
A Sanskrit scholar who has translated almost every major work in the language into English, Dr Bibek Debroy wears his scholarship as translator and litterateur with as much ease as he does, his immense knowledge as an economist and chairman of the PM’s Economic Council. Dr Debroy will speak on the art and need of translating the ancient texts and the role that an epic as grand and ancient as the Mahabharata plays in the contemporary world
Ganesh Devy
Ganesh Devy is a thinker, cultural activist and an institution builder best known for the People’s Linguistic Survey of India and the Adivasi Academy created by him. He writes in three languages—Marathi, Gujarati and English. Dr Devy has spent a lifetime working with the De-notified and Nomadic Tribes (DNT) and Adivasis and has initiated the largest-ever survey of languages in history. He will speak on the role that myth plays in the time of artificial memory.
Qissa Kahani
One-on-one conversations with authors, filmmakers and academics
Anuja Chandramouli
Widely regarded as one of the finest writers in mythology, historical fiction and fantasy, Anuja Chandramouli has several bestselling novels to her credit. An accomplished TEDx speaker and storyteller, Anuja’s highly acclaimed debut novel, Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince was named as one of the top 5 sellers in the Indian writing category for the year 2012 by Amazon India. She has won critical and popular acclaim with all her books including Kamadeva: The God of Desire, Shakti: The Divine Feminine, Yama’s Lieutenant and its sequel, Yama’s Lieutenant and the Stone Witch.
Anjum Rajabali
A professional screenwriter since 1992 whose credits include Drohkaal, Ghulam, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, and Raajneeti, Anjum Rajabali set up and headed Screenplay Writing department at the Film & TV Institute Pune for 12 years and is currently Founder-Head of Screenwriting at Whistling Woods International since 2006.
Patrick Graham
Patrick Graham: Screenwriter/filmmaker and director of Netflix shows Ghoul and Betaal, Patrick Graham is fascinated with the world of demonic beings in myth and folklore
Anand Neelakantan
Bestselling author, columnist, screenwriter Anand Neelakantan has authored five fiction books in English and one in Malayalam. He is also the author of Bahubali trilogy, the official prequel to S S Rajamouli’s prequel. His long list of books include his debut work Asura Tale of the Vanquished, Ajaya-Roll of the Dice, Ajaya – Rise of Kali based, the two books on the epic Mahabharata told from Kaurava perspective.
Anand Neelakantan is also the author of the Baahubali trilogy, the prequel to S.S. Rajamouli’s movie. The first book in the series, The Rise of Sivagami, was released on 15 March 2017 and continues to be the no. 1 bestseller across charts. The book was on Amazon’s list of top five bestsellers for 2017. Anand’s sixth book Vanara, the legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara was published by Penguin Random House and is a best seller. DAR films and KR movies have announced that they have won the film adoption rights and will be producing a multilingual film on Vanara. Anand Neelakantan seventh Book Chaturanga, the second book in the Baahubali trilogy series, was released on 6 August 2020. continues to be the no one bestseller across the charts. His 8th book, The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids was released on 28th September 2020.Within a week after release of the book, it is the best seller among all categories.