Graphic Narrative | Monochrome magic

What do the gods look like? In the film, OMG: Oh My God! (2012), directed by Umesh Shukla, when Krishna (Akshay Kumar), who sports mostly jeans and shirts, gives darshan to the non-believer, Kanji (Paresh Rawal), he manifests himself in traditional dress—crown, jewels and dhoti—saying, “Main usi roop mein aaya hoon jo aap log hamesha dekhte ho TV pe, calendar pe, filmo mein. Barso se yehi roop mera chalta aa raha hai” (“I’ve appeared in the very form in which you see me on TV, on calendars, and in films. I’ve kept appearing this way for years”), before reverting to modern dress. Yet, it is this traditional vision which finally makes Kanji a believer.

We, too, like Kanjibhai, are used to seeing the gods in different media, from ancient sculptures and in paintings, in the style of Raja Ravi Varma, which later developed in film, television and children’s comics. Like Kanjibhai, we are disconcerted when we encounter the gods in new forms, so different from the bright and familiar iconic images which many believe to be efficacious, miracle-working, and lifelike—: “Bhagwan ki photo” (photos of the gods). Stories of the gods can focus on different aspects of the narratives and new versions are no less valid than the old. Brahma Dreaming presents new images of the gods and stories told from a different perspective in ways that may surprise as well as delight.

The images were integral to the books, illustrating key moments and episodes, and remain forever part of the text itself. Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini’s images draw on this different lineage of illustration as a new way of presenting the familiar tales of Hindu mythology.

The style of the stories of the gods, told by John Jackson, is also redolent of this era of fairy tales. The simple language brings characters to life and presents situations afresh with deceptively plain sentences, with vivid descriptions and pithy dialogues.

The style of the book has many resonances for those who know the classics of European children’s literature, but will seem unfamiliar to many Indian audiences, and perhaps to the young who do not know this style of illustrated books. Yet this is hardly surprising, given that there is no fixed way to tell these narratives of gods and goddesses, which vary from Purana to Purana, or across media such as kathas, the images changing from cartoons to films and television.