Crossword Bookstores and Puffin India launch Sudha Murty’s "The Upside Down King" in Mumbai

At the launch of her 30th piece of original work, The Upside Down King, at Crossword Bookstores, author Sudha Murty was in conversation with RJ Anita. The duo dived into the genre of mythology and writing for children. Over 100 book lovers sat enraptured as Murtyji spoke about her third book in the series of unusual stories in Indian mythology. 

“Ram and Krishna are the two very popular Gods. They are the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu and yet their personalities are dissimilar,” said Murthji. In her latest book, Murtyji unravels their dispositions along with other characters in the age-old tale where readers discover speaking bears, Ravana’s brother- the God of Wealth, and a man with thousand arms. 

Talking more on the relevance of these lesser-known stories in current times, Murty stated that Mahabharata and Ramayana come in various versions such as Bengali, Odisha and so on and that’s why taking into account the idiosyncratic storytelling from different states and tribes becomes important. 

“Although more and more authors are writing mythology, the genre is struggling to stay alive. Parents should buy their children only books as gifts. Hold a dialogue through books,” she said. 

Talking about her own experience on how she began writing in the mythology space Murtyji said ‘The reason I started writing mythology was for my grandchildren in London, which made me wonder how much my daughter and in turn Indians know about mythology. I embarked on a journey to pen down and to expose the simple yet unknown facts of our past.” 

The conversation was followed by a question and answer session where Murtyji revealed that because of her mother’s persistence to make her write 25 lines every day, she became a proficient writer. 

“Murtyji is launching her book at Crossword, Mumbai again and we couldn’t be happier. Her persistence to keep writing quality stories which engages readers of all ages is remarkable,” said Maulik Desai, Head, Crossword Bookstores.