Sudha Murthy on Writing for Children & the Mahabharata: ‘Everyone Says Krishna was a God But He was Also a Master Strategist’

By Sharanya Gopinathan

Sudha Murthy was at the Times Litfest Bengaluru, presented by ACT Fibernet, in a session where Jayapriya Vasudevan spoke to her about her new children’s book of lesser-known tales from the Mahabharata, called The Serpent’s Revenge. The discussion was followed by a dramatic reading of the story of Barbarika from the book by Samhita Arni. Audience members also posed question to Sudha Murthy on subjects ranging from where the idea for the book came (convincing her granddaughters to eat bananas), body image (“Do I look like Aishwarya Rai? No I do not. I don’t care about what others think”) and backpacking through the United States in her 20s (where she was mistaken for an Italian drug mule, and her curd rice dabba for a package of drugs).

We spoke to Sudha Murthy about her new book, the complexities of being a bilingual author and her advice for aspiring writers. Edited excerpts from the conversation.

Can you tell me about The Serpent’s Revenge, and how the idea for the book came about? 

The Serpent’s Revenge is full of unusual stories from the Mahabharata. If you ask a child what the Mahabharata is, they’ll tell you all the same things: That it’s about the Pandavas and Kauravas fighting, Draupadi’s vastraharan and all that. But there are so many stories people don’t know from the Mahabharata. Everyone says Krishna was a god, but actually, what people don’t realise is that Krishna was a master strategist. What about the story of Barbarika? They say Pandavas are Chandravanshiya. What is Chandravanshiya? What is the meaning of Pandava, of Kuru? Who are their ancestors? What are the 11 names of Arjuna, and why does he have them? Nobody knows all this. Keeping this in mind, I thought I should write a book. I drew up a kind of family tree, and brought out the unusual stories from the Mahabharata. They’re delightful stories, and by writing this book, more people would be able to connect to these unknown stories, and understand why things are the way they are.

How long did it take you to write this book?

As I had done a lot of research on Mahabharata from my childhood, the idea was in my mind for several decades. The book took about 20 to 25 days to write. Writing takes less time, thinking takes more.

How do you feel about writing children’s stories? 

As a child, I was fascinated by stories. Now, I have two granddaughters and I noticed that anything you tell them through stories, they like. If you give them a sermon, they don’t like it. So I decided I should write stories for children. There’re so many things you can tell children when they’re young, because their minds are so unbiased when they’re young. It’s like writing on a wet wall with a sharp pencil; what you tell them at that age remains with them. When you write for children, you have to think the way the child thinks. You can’t use difficult words, and I don’t write any negative stories for children, it has to be positive stories for them. I also try to convey some message, not directly, but indirectly. Writing for children is difficult in the sense that you have to imagine you’re 10 or 12 yourself; you have to look at life through a different angle. Adults think in such a negative way, they’re always doubting that someone may cheat them, or other things like that. Children don’t think that way.

Can you tell me a bit more about your writing process?

When I feel like I just have to write, I write in the early morning. Like 5 am or sometimes 4.30 am even. Depending on how high the urge to write is, I get up very early. I rarely write in the evening.

Do you write books simultaneously or one book at a time?

One at a time.

You’re a bilingual author, prolific in both languages. When you think of an idea, how do you decide which language to write the story in?

If it’s a novel, a creative novel, I write in Kannada. Other than that, columns, short stories, serial stories in columns, I write in English. When I write in English, I use the computer, when I write in Kannada, I use Kannada shorthand and write using pen and paper.

Which was the book your found most enjoyable to write?

That’s like asking a mother which child she likes the most. I like every book I work on!

Can you tell me about the travel book you wrote in Kannada, Hakkiya Teradalli?

I wrote that book very long ago, in ‘78 or ’79. At that time I had done a backpack tour in America, and I wrote about my journey there in Kannada. Today, the book is not so relevant, because going to America is not some great thing to do. It’s like going to Delhi or Bombay. But at that time, it was much more difficult, so I wrote about it for Kannada readers who may not have had that experience.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

I always say this to aspiring writers: Be sensitive, and read a lot. Reading a lot helps you see many different methods of writing. Also, they should be honest when they write. Don’t write to please anybody, write because you believe in it.