00:00Hi, my name is Devdutt Patnaik. I write on mythology, but I also illustrate my works and
00:05this is the first time I'm exhibiting my artwork at the Bengal Biennale at Shantiniketan.
00:11So I'm very excited to show my work.
00:30So, I write on mythology and mythology is communicated not just through stories, but
00:43also through symbols. And therefore, imagery is very important, artwork is important. There
00:47are many things you cannot communicate through words, so for which you need art. And therefore,
00:52I create a lot of artwork in my books and all my books and all my columns have my artwork.
00:57And I think through art, you approach the same subject very differently, different parts of
01:02your brain gets fired up. And I think this is important. That's why my style is very diagrammatic.
01:07So it's only black and white, very simple, very simple lines, trying to communicate something
01:12which is very deep. So it's my own style. It's influenced, of course, by many artists,
01:19from Mario Miranda, to the Patta Chitra paintings of India. You know, you'll see that both influence
01:25the traditional influence, you will see the modern influence of different artists who use
01:32black and white. And that's what I do. Every culture is trying to explain the world to its
01:38people, whether it's from Middle East, whether it is from Far East, whether it's from India,
01:43China, Japan, everywhere. So each one of them has stories, symbols and rituals. And I try to
01:49study all of them and try to compare and contrast them. And then you realize,
01:52for example, Western mythologies focus on one God, one life. Indian mythologies have many gods,
01:58many lives. Chinese philosophy don't care much about God or life, they focus on order and material
02:04order. So it's a very different way of looking at the world. And I think that is evident in the art,
02:10in the architecture, in their literature, in their rituals. And I'm trying to sort of
02:16express that in my way. I don't see myself as an artist, I see myself as a communicator of mythology.
02:23Writing is, of course, my primary way. Lectures are important part of it. For me, illustrations
02:27are always part of my books and my columns. But the Bengal Biennale invited me and they said,
02:32you know, my work deserves to be presented in a particular way. And, you know, I got,
02:39you know, I have an architect friend called Kunal Shah, and he sort of said, I'll curate it for you.
02:44I couldn't do this on my own. I don't understand this world of space and light and production.
02:50So he said very kindly that he'll do it. And then I said, Okay, so you know, if I didn't get help,
02:55I don't think I can do it myself. You know, you need people who are experts in this field.
03:00And I think it's come out quite well. And I've got a good response. I'm very happy.
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