My Tryst with MythologyKartik Dutta, 201302018

Mythology ie the collection of stories and phenomena especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition, typically involving supernatural beings.Such stories are often very fascinating and some sort of moral principles are also often includedin them, like the story of Eklavya.The various Kings with the megalomaniac palaces, the bravery and heroism of various individuals, the huge wars between various Kings, Gods or Demons, the cunningness of Krishna are some of the various memories I associate when I think about mythological stories in general. Often in my childhood I used to listen/ read about such stories with much excitement and feeling of awe. Some of the stories especially produce an emotional response and attachment with the individual, like me crying when Laxman was shot at in Ramayana.I guess most of us do remember our parents reading us such stories to bed in order to make us go to sleep or in a particular situation taking reference of the outcomes present in these stories when we are in a desperate situations or reading them in English from magazines like Twinkle (I only have a tattered understanding of Hindi). Through the above medium, mythological stories for the first time in an individual create the understanding / knowledge of God and that he is super powerful.

Through such works, one also gets a glimpse into the past that is described in our mythology ashow the world was those millions of year's ago helping us make comparisons between the present and the past in the terms of the economy, living conditions, the ethics & customs prevalent in the society. It can be taken as jump across time of our minds into a age much before we were born. They also serve as a benchmark which describe our society's cultures to others, and tells us about the origins of the cultures of the people from the land in which we are from. I guess I have been influenced by the mythology of the Indian subcontinent at the maximum, while also being influenced a little by Greek mythology. Such stories can be said to be prepare a man for his development into an adult as these stories have hidden emphasis on principles, values, wittiness and sometimes cunning. They certainly mold a persons personality in their young ages and hence it is important to lay emphasis on theright kind of mythological stories with the outcomes that make a person morally and ethically better, rather than highlighting the negative instances in those stories.

I therefore think that it was a great experience that I had my tryst with Mythological stories at an early age, which infuse creativity, logical thinking from my childhood. They also made me curios to read more, study more like various Novels and other larger works, hence can be said to have increased my reading capability. And most importantly they introduced the concept of God and made me God fearing. Hence I can definitely say in the end my tryst with Mythology was a useful and an enlightening one.