When Prasanthi Pothina, a city-based writer, came up with her second book ‘A Cup Of Tea With Valmiki’, she attempted to tell untold tales of Ramayana in a newer version.
After her maiden book ‘Life’, released last year, the author says that the 205-page recreation of the epic has many frills that go beyond the war, bloodshed and demons’ invasion that eventually changed the fate of Ayodhya.
What is the message that the author wants to convey through A Cup of Tea with Valmiki ?
“The younger generation is more tech-savvy and are not aware of several characters that play an imperative role in Ramayana and Mahabharata. Many prefer social media platforms to stay connected rather than spend a few minutes reading. My attempt is to change this trend. Through my narration, I tried to explain how pain became the biggest source of inspiration for Valmiki to write Ramayana and how Sita’s sister Urmila along with several others played their part in the epic,” says Ms. Prasanthi whose short story ‘Suicide (So Decide)’ has been shortlisted among the top best authors in a competition conducted last year by Penguin Random House.
Keeping the modern readers in view, the writer tweaked the tale a little and focused on an army of warriors and seers who form a significant part of Ramayana.
Considerable research
“It took me six months to do considerable research on the subject before penning down the story. Though I have been drawn to drama and mythological stories right from my childhood, my father M. Jayadev became the biggest point of reference for the new exploration. Taking a leaf out of the great epic would have been incomplete without his support,” she admits.
With NotionPress as the publisher ,A Cup of Tea with Valmiki is available in online stores including Flipkart, Amazon.in, BookAdda.com and ShopClues.com.
“Soon, it will be accessed in a series of local stores as well,” confirms the author.
