Mahabharat, one of India's most cherished epics, has fascinated generations. The age old saga of warring cousins, the valiant pandavas, and the formidable kauravas has left an indelible mark on our collective imagination. Yet beneath the stories of failure and villainy lie complex human emotions that challenge our ideas about good and evil. Can the virtuous always conquer the malevolent? Are the kauravas truly the embodiment of darkness, while pandavas exude righteousness? Does Dharma triumph in the end?
A very good afternoon to you, Sudipta Bhaumik. Sir, your book, Dwapar Katha. First of all, many congratulations for your book. The title looks very interesting and promising. Mahabharata has been an essentially part of our school curriculum, sir. As Mahabharata talked about greed, it talked about changing relationships, it talked about the instance where Draupati's dignity was being violated. It and how Lord Krishna comes to her rescue
Hello sir. I'm Miss Siddhi. I'm Swamija, a poetist with the pen name of Kassim. Sir, I've heard your podcast on Mahabharat and they're really interesting. In my view, Mahabharat is not just about righteousness but also about diplomacy, international relations and so on. And your book Dwapar Katha. Exploring the age old tales of Vanapar. Delving into the lesson shared by the Rishis with the Pandavas. It would be a thrilling experience to explore it
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 1:24
Sudipta holds a PhD, a master's degree, and a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering from IIT Kharagpur. He currently resides in New Jersey, USA. Hello sir, and welcome to my svelcast. To begin with, I'd like to know Aparakatha. The stories of the Mahabharata speaks of the psyche of eclectic characters, which, among the many characters from Mahabharata, has had you fascinated and why
sudipta bhawmik
@bhawmik · 2:41
And in fact the game starts collins from then, although the Varanabat episode also the game had already started rolling, the ball had already started. Krishna. The way Krishna plays passive, active role in the entire narrative, in the entire Mahabharat is something very interesting and how he uses his diplomacy, his political acumen, his intelligence and to guide the Pandavas and in fact steer the entire story into a direction where he wants it to go. And so it is a very interesting character
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:23
So when I discussed Mahabharata with a few known people in my circle, one of them said that Mahabharata was actually war of wits that only few people understood. And this war of wits was actually fought between Shakuni and Krishna. Do you agree? What are your thoughts about this particular angle of Mahabharata? Was it really war of wits?
sudipta bhawmik
@bhawmik · 3:30
And yes, there is kind of a belief and a theory that one of the person who this is indeed a battle of wits between Shakuni and Krishna. But think about it, that the Shakuni initially, the scheming he did, that was part of the initial thing. But later on, when the war had started, Shakuni did not play that significant role, at least the one that I have read
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:15
The blurb of the book reads, can the virtuous always conquer the malevolent? Are the Kauravas truly the embodiment of darkness? While the Pandavas exude righteousness? Does Dharma triumph in the end? I'd like to know your answers to these questions
sudipta bhawmik
@bhawmik · 4:57
So those are the kinds of things that happen. But still, it is not mean. Karna's character itself is a very solid example as to where does he lie in the entire spectrum of good and evil. Now the question does Dharma triumph at the end? I mean, does Dharma triumph? I don't know
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:07
So, talking about Lord Krishna's role in the entire epic, where do you think he triumphed and where do you think he owed?
sudipta bhawmik
@bhawmik · 4:52
So Gandhari cursed him that he will die like a simple man by an arrow from a hunter those are the places where I think Krishna becomes a human really a human, not a God. And as they say, to err is human. So those are the places where he erred or possibly made mistakes in his relations but ultimately he got what he wanted he got the Dharmarajya established and that was his intention of his life of his reappearance in this world
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:10
Two characters from Mahabharata that have fascinated me were karna and Ashwathama, and I feel that both were wronged in this war of Dharma. What is your view on this?
sudipta bhawmik
@bhawmik · 5:00
Well to answer your question I agree somewhat about Karna but not so much about Ashwatama yes the first problem or the issue was that Kunti's abandoning of the baby Karna and luck he got rescued by Adhirat and Radha's foster parents and he grew up to be a great warrior but that was not justified and that was of course very cruel to him but later on just because he was born in the family or not born rather grew up in the family of Adhirath who was a charioteer a Gupta Suta putra and he wasn't considered to be equal to the kshatriyas and of course that's why during Nastinapur when this show of arms was going on Dronacharya and Kripacharya didn't let him display his skills and then Duryodhan came and befriended him and gave him this kingdom of Anga so Karna was deprived but later on his activities were not always justified another place where he was also treated badly was by Draupadi during the nasayamvar when he came to try the bow try to shoot that fish on top of that spin that difficult test and everybody knew that possibly Karna would pass it pass the test and that time Draupati insulted him by saying that no I'm not going to marry a son of a chariot here
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:05
So, sir, what inspired you to pen this book, and how long did it take for you to finish it?
sudipta bhawmik
@bhawmik · 2:25
So I can't help on that such that it becomes very real. I mean, they can see this entire drama happen in their, as I say, theater of the mind. And that was my purpose. And I'm glad that I'm able to reach out to so many youngsters from five years old all the way to even seniors. Okay? That was my purpose, and that's what I think this book is trying to achieve. Thank you
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:07
So, sir, before signing out, I'd like to know, how many stories does one get to read in the book? And what unique can a reader expect from the book?
sudipta bhawmik
@bhawmik · 3:38
And that's what the feedback I'm getting also from most of the readers who read this book. I hope people like that style. And that's what I think is whatever uniqueness is there in this book, thank you. And thank you for talking, talking to me. And thank you to all the listeners. If you have any questions and anything, any comments, please reach back through swell to me, and I'll be glad to answer them whenever I find the time and an opportune moment
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:05
And this was one insightful conversation. Thank you so much, sir, for doing this interview session with me