Anthology on Lesser Known Characters of the Mahabharata — Shortlist

In October, we solicited short story submissions for an anthology on lesser known characters of the Mahabharata. We have been delighted at the outpouring of wonderful stories received, spanning so many characters and incidents across the ocean of wisdom that is the Mahabharata, penned by talented writers and passionate enthusiasts of the Mahabharata. The hardest part was having to choose just 15 entries out of all of many submissions we received.

Following up on the spectacular success of the first Indic Academy Anthology curated by Saiswaroopa Iyer, Unsung Valour, about lesser known battles of the Mahabharata, we are looking forward to the launch of this anthology in 2021.

I am honored to announce the names of the fifteen authors whose stories have been selected:

1. Ananya Ganesh – Our youngest writer, at the age of 14, Ananya loves reading, writing, and STEM. She was first published by Indic Academy at the tender age of 11 and has been writing more pieces for Indic Academy since then. She first read the Mahabharata when she was 5.
2. Anuradha S – Anuradha S has been associated with Indic Academy since 2017 when it helped launch her first novel, The Friendless God. Based in Singapore, her day job is that of a financial journalist.
3. Kavitha & Paras S – Kavitha is a scientist based out of Chennai, and she treasures good literature. She has been writing scientific papers and articles for a while. Paras is a software professional and an entrepreneur deeply involved in understanding our scriptures and facilitating access to it in the digital world.
4. Madhavi Girish Kunte – Madhavi is a happy, stay-at-home mother of two kids. Reading and narrating stories across genres has been a hobby ever since she can remember. She has recently started writing her own stories. She has a masters degree in Medical Microbiology, an MBA in Marketing and a PG Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights.
5. Neena Mukherjee – Directing dance dramas and Indian shows, Neena has been writing poems and short stories in Hindi and English for a long time. Some have been published in a Hindi webzine, Anubhuti. She currently volunteers with Sangam Talks, reviewing and suggesting edits to their videos.
6. Pranshu Saxena – While working at a Fortune 500 firm, Pranshu has published a short story with Indic Academy in the Unsung Valour anthology, featuring Yudhamanyu. He is now working on a novel. He has published nonfiction writings, including Cricket (Wisden). Pranshu tutors local youngsters on Indian Culture.
7. Raghu Ram Sola – Raghu Ram works as a research engineer in Hyundai Mobis. His interest in the Hindu epics and Puranas originated in childhood through his grandparents and old movies. Brahmahsri Chaganti Koteswara Rao garu introduced him to the wonders and nuances of this literature through his speeches.
8. Rajesh Ramachander – Rajesh is a lifelong student, learning the Vedas, and has a deep passion for Indic literature. He loves writing and spends his spare time reading books. He is an engineer, manager, and trader with degrees in Physics, Computer Engineering, and Data Science.
9. Ramanjaneya Sharaph— A CA MBA and an investment banker, Ramanjaneya has written a few plays, poems and short stories in Kannada, English, Hindi and a bit in Telugu and Tamil. He is working on a few novels, and one of his short stories was recently published in the TMYS Dec quarter issue.
10. Ranjith Radhakrishnan – Ranjith’s short story, ‘Shakuni: The Dice of Death’, has been published as part of the Indic Academy anthology, Unsung Valour. He is currently working on his first book on Parashurama.
11. Shambhavi Tripathi — A lawyer based in Delhi, Shambhavi is an avid reader and a forever learner of Hindu Dharma. She has written some academic papers and has done her graduation in Forensic Science before completing her LL.B.
12. Shantheri Mallaya — A journalist by profession (writing on enterprise tech for a living), Shantheri has been blogging and writing for quite a while. She has been published once before as part of a co-authored crime thriller novella. Indic epics form a core part of her interests.
13. Shivakumar GV – Shivakumar is a Consulting Editor for Indic Today and writes regularly on the Mahabharata. He is curating another Indic Academy anthology on “Indic Women of Substance”. His story has been published in the Indic Academy Unsung Valour He is also an IT Professional in the area of Learning and Development.
14. ShriCharan Battu – SriCharan is a final year undergraduate student of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering department at IIT Kharagpur. ShriCharan is an avid reader of the Mahabharata and also an enthusiastic reader of fantasy and sci-fi.
15. Sumati Sridhar — A long-time business & financial analyst, Sumati currently runs a YouTube Channel called Kulture Katha, where she regularly shares untold stories from Indian culture and explores the reasons why we tell them. She has completed an Advanced Diploma in Comparative Mythology from Mumbai University and is also visiting faculty there.

All the participants will now engage with our writing coach Otis and fine tune their drafts before we submit them for publishing.

Curator

Aditi Banerjee