Book Review: Shikhandi And Other Tales They Don’t Tell You

Book Cover Via Amazon.in
Book Cover
Via Amazon.in

Many in India uses our culture and religious roots in the arguments. Many times, it looks like bringing gun to a knife fight. Last time, when it was widely used in argument was the event of Supreme Courts’ controversial decision on Section 377 of Indian Penal Code, dealing with LGBT’s rights in India. Also, the moralist used this arguments against the women role in the society, specially when it comes to mindless arguments of provoking the sex-offenders.

With 30 stories from ancient Hindu Mythology, this is Devdutt Pattanaik attempt to shut them for once and all. Shikhandi and Other Tales They don’t Tell You is the collection of stories from Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and other religious texts that refers to “queerness” and its non-subjective treatment in the “cultural context” of India.

The three Men who Know What its Like to be A Woman
The three Men who Know What its Like to be A Woman

In the first half of the book, Devdutt establish the context of “Queerness” from the global mythological sphere bringing stories from Vikings, Egyptian Gods, Bibliographic readings and Chinese legends. As we move forward to the next part, he brings these stories that challenges our social and cultural perception on sexuality. To be honest, if you have read other books from Devdutt, like Jaya, Sita, Pregnant King, or Myth= Mithya (click on the highlights to read my review of these books) ; you will find many stories repeated here. Like the story of Shikhandi, that is beautifully used in Pregnant King in explaining the sexual complexity of the king who gives birth to a child from his thigh. Or the story of Arjun losing his manhood due to curse of Urvashi in Jaya. Yes, these stories are repeated but still the author adds value and fresh perspective to them.

I gave Shikhandi and Other Tales They don’t Tell You by Devdutt Pattanaik a 4 out of 5 stars in the goodreads. This book will help in taking the queer agenda in the mainstream. It will be an eye-opener for many, who shield behind cultural and religious excuses in these matters.

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21 thoughts on “Book Review: Shikhandi And Other Tales They Don’t Tell You”

      1. Hi, may I make a point? Like many authors before her, she too seems casually and needlessly dismissive of Arjun’s achievements.
        Being an ardent Arjun fan, I found it very irksome that she basically ‘Cut’ Arjun’s triumphs and ‘Pasted’ them to Shikhandi.

        I mean, her Arjun needs to learn the difference between fire-tipped and fire-tailed arrows from princess Uttara! Whilst Krishn’s trusted warrior-ally and Subhadra’s dream man is Shikhandi!

        Interpretation is not the same as Distortion.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. See, the point she makes in the book is that she is using history as reference only and yes there was lot of bending of characters but still there was some fresh point of view.

        But I like your anger for Arjun. Such fan following he has 😛

        Liked by 1 person

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