Author: Sampurna Chattarji
Publisher: Penguin/Puffin
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 353
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0670058092
Description
Creation and the fall. The tempter and the holy man. The saintly hero and the heroic child. Miracles. Parables. These are the common threads that run through the world’s great faiths, weaving a tapestry of belief that is at once immense and dazzling, innocent and wise.
The Stories recounted in this book echo and mirror each other, changing mysteriously, yet mysteriously staying the same. Noah rides out the flood in his Ark; Yima survives the snowstorm in his Vara. David vanquishes Goliath with a slingshot; Prahlad defeats evil with his goodness. Two princes forsake their families and their kingdoms-Prince Siddhartha becomes the Buddha, Prince Vardhamana Mahavira. The Prophet Muhammad receives revelation, alone on the top of a hill. Guru Nanak receives his as he walks, alone, into a river. It, almost like an epic, covers nearly four decades of Indian history from 1915 to 1952, running into 2000 pages, portraying nearly 200 characters who belong to several ethnic groups, with its setting stretching from the Punjab to the Andamans and , above all, dealing with the enigmatic personality of Gandhi.
The richness and vibrancy of Sampurna Chattarji’s storytelling captures the magic and the passion of these ageless themes with a new intensity, reaffirming that the greatest stories are the ones that are eternal.
Contents
Creation and the Fall
The End of the World
The Divine Child and the Evil King
The Prince Who Gave Up the Earth
The Tempter and the Holy Man
The Revelation
The Trial of Faith
The Flight of the Persecuted
The Miracle Worker
The Heroic Child
The Parable
The Godly Animal
Author’s Note
About the Author