My Tryst with Mythology

Kartik Dutta, 201302018

Mythology ie the collection of stories and phenomena especially one belonging to a particular
religious or cultural tradition, typically involving supernatural beings.
Such stories are often very fascinating and some sort of moral principles are also often included
in them, like the story of Eklavya.
The various Kings with the megalomaniac palaces, the bravery and heroism of various
individuals, the huge wars between various Kings, Gods or Demons, the cunningness of
Krishna are some of the various memories I associate when I think about mythological stories
in general.
Often in my childhood I used to listen/ read about such stories with much excitement and
feeling of awe. Some of the stories especially produce an emotional response and attachment
with the individual, like me crying when Laxman was shot at in Ramayana.
I guess most of us do remember our parents reading us such stories to bed in order to make us
go to sleep or in a particular situation taking reference of the outcomes present in these stories
when we are in a desperate situations or reading them in English from magazines like Twinkle
(I only have a tattered understanding of Hindi). Through the above medium, mythological
stories for the first time in an individual create the understanding / knowledge of God and that
he is super powerful.
Through such works, one also gets a glimpse into the past that is described in our mythology as
how the world was those millions of year's ago helping us make comparisons between the
present and the past in the terms of the economy, living conditions, the ethics & customs
prevalent in the society. It can be taken as jump across time of our minds into a age much
before we were born. They also serve as a benchmark which describe our society's cultures to
others, and tells us about the origins of the cultures of the people from the land in which we are
from.
I guess I have been influenced by the mythology of the Indian subcontinent at the maximum,
while also being influenced a little by Greek mythology.
Such stories can be said to be prepare a man for his development into an adult as these stories
have hidden emphasis on principles, values, wittiness and sometimes cunning. They certainly
mold a persons personality in their young ages and hence it is important to lay emphasis on the
right kind of mythological stories with the outcomes that make a person morally and ethically
better, rather than highlighting the negative instances in those stories.
I therefore think that it was a great experience that I had my tryst with Mythological stories at
an early age, which infuse creativity, logical thinking from my childhood. They also made me
curios to read more, study more like various Novels and other larger works, hence can be said
to have increased my reading capability. And most importantly they introduced the concept of
God and made me God fearing. Hence I can definitely say in the end my tryst with Mythology
was a useful and an enlightening one.