article
Talk by Shakti author in office
Dr Chitgopekar is a well-known academic and Indian religious studies expert. She has written extensively on the Shakta tradition and Shiva, and lectured at universities globally, including Delhi University, Harvard and Oxford.
Speaking about her journey of writing Shakti, a visually stunning retelling of the story of the Goddess and the tradition of Her worship across the Indian subcontinent, Dr Chitgopekar gave us an insight into the process and regaled the DK team with stories from Indian mythology.
Interestingly, she took the audience through the unique challenge of writing a book during the months of lockdown in India. As her usual sources were locked away in libraries, she found herself relying on online channels of research, which was a novel way of working for her. Helped by the editors, she collated the many stories and wrote about the myths around the Goddess tradition. She fondly recalled her interactions with the enthusiastic DK team at all times of the day and night.
Everyone listened in rapt attention as the author narrated stories from the book, from the legend of the descent of Ganga, the celestial embodiment of the holy river Ganges, to rare tales of marital interactions between the goddess Parvati and her husband, Lord Shiva.
Dr Chitgopekar’s session was informative and engaging, and left everyone in the DK Delhi office highly motivated. The session was followed by questions and a short quiz on the Goddess tradition. The winners of the quiz – Romi Chakraborty, Tarun Sharma, and Abhidha Lakhera – won signed copies of Shakti.
It was an enlightening session for everyone and we all wanted to continue listening to her. We look forward to many such sessions with our celebrated authors in the future!
Avanika and Nayan Keshan
