Koral Dasgupta on Indian mythology and philosophy reframed: The intricacies of re-telling stories through social justice and gender perspectives

Thursday, 14 November 2024 | 11:30 to 13:30 EST | Virtually via Zoom

Koral Dasgupta, storyteller and founder of www.tellmeyourstory.biz, will be talking about the making of the Sati Series, a collection of works of mythological fiction (TheSatiSeries – KoralDasgupta) and lead the audience into a workshop on story telling and story receiving.

Stories of ancient culture were traditionally exploited to produce regressive narratives, endorsing macho men who control women. But when one consciously reads the poetry of ancient India, he/she can discover spiritual secrets that vastly differ from the popular belief or creative translations. 

Myth tells us that no one can be perfectly fair – not even God. The Indian epics introduce gorgeous men who are not afraid of women’s talent and own their mistakes. They collide or collaborate with women in various ways, producing multi-layered results. Indian mythology philosophises about the harmony of masculine and feminine energies to restore peace and enhance productivity. Shiva-Shakti, for example, is a team. When Shiva is separated from Shakti, it results in Taandav. Shakti chanelizes Shiva, contrary to the popular conditioning that men should control women. Here again, lies the fundamentals of social injustice. 

Attendees can register at this link.

This event is presented with support from the York Centre for Asian Research.