Devi: Tales of the Goddess in our Time

by Mrinal Pande

Writer and journalist Mrinal Pande sees in strong passionate women who defy the strictures of a male-dominated world, shades of the Goddess. There were many such women in her life, women who succeeded beyond the expectations of men. First, there was her forceful mother, the writer Shivani. Then came Badi Amma, the most colorful woman in this book, her domineering, intellectual aunt. There were friends who silently lived lives of emotional deprivation till they opted out of the world altogether. There were women who made the news and women who preyed on men. In all these women, the writer sees the original Devi.

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Mrinal Pande (born 1946) is an Indian television personality, journalist and author, and until 2009 chief editor of Hindi daily Hindustan. She left Hindustan on 31 August 2009. She was appointed chairperson of Prasar Bharati, the official apex body[clarification needed] of Indian broadcast media by Congress Government. This appointment commenced on 23 January 2010. She was replaced by Dr. A. Surya Prakash as chairperson of Prasar Bharati. She also hosts a weekly interview show Baaton Baaton Mein on Lok Sabha TV under Congress Government. She is the daughter of the Hindi novelist Shivani. Earlier she worked for Doordarshan and STAR News during Congress regime. She has also written a few short stories. She was the editor of the popular women's magazine Vama from 1984-87. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2006

Reviews

[Ayush Kothifora · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is patchy - with parts that make perfect sense as the author invoked comparisons with the goddesses' tales with women in her life and around the society, and then there are parts that, are just there.

I really enjoyed the author's interpretation of Devis and the tales, and her exploring them through a feminist and human viewpoint, rather than the conventionally holier-than-thou lens mythology is viewed from.

[gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciated this take on the goddesses on Hindu mythology interwoven with common tales of our present time. What struck me in particular is how deep rooted misogyny is and how it goes so far back even to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. I did not know that Saraswati's story is one of child abuse and incest. And as always, the male (in this case, Brahma) prevails. Sort of depressing but Mrinal didn't let me feel that way and talked a lot about the resilience of women which is often time hidden but is no less powerful. This book particularly feels salient in today's time.

This being said, the transitions in the book did feel choppy and so the reading experience wasn't very smooth. But, this is an important book and a good one.

[࣪ ִ♪˚✿⋆tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most thought-provoking, articulate and beautiful compilation of stories I have read in a long time. Devi attempts to educate readers about the original stories of Hindu goddesses who have been wrongly molded into loyal wives while they were anything but that. Originally ruthless women who were not afraid of men but whose wrath terrified even gods, these goddesses' stories blended with Badi Amma's life stories, is absolutely riveting to say the least.

This book took a longer time for me to finish than I had expected just because of how saturated with new information it was. I did not have much knowledge about the Hindu goddesses' lores and thus I took my sweet time in turning those pages.