The Little Book of Hindu Deities PDF

The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow Paperback – October 31, 2006
Author: Visit ‘s Sanjay Patel Page ID: 0452287758

From Publishers Weekly

Don’t mess with Kali, cautions Patel on the opening page of this arresting, innovative, entertaining book. Who knew the Hindu pantheon could be so much fun? Patel, an animator at Pixar studios, breathes new life into old mythology, telling the exploits of various deities while drawing us in—literally—with his joyous and unexpected full-color illustrations. In the introduction, he notes that he has always been influenced by Japanese animation, and his renderings bear the mark of the wide-eyed, large-headed, simple style that he so admires. The book is awash in color, with vivid saffrons, purples, fuchsias and oranges adding a lushness to the tales he recounts. Although some of the design work is too trendy to last—to wit, the oversized green and yellow polka dots that decorate some interstitial pages—it is precisely that faddish nod to the au courant that will make the book popular with teens and 20-somethings, who are the core audience (“Next time you’re angry with your parents, don’t turn into a monster,” Patel jokes after introducing us to Bhairava, a vengeful incarnation of Shiva). Both funny and informative, this is a fresh and breezy introduction to the Hindu gods. (Nov.)
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Review

Throw another ingredient in the American spirituality blender. Pop culture is veering into Hinduism. — USA Today

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Paperback: 144 pagesPublisher: Plume; 10.1.2006 edition (October 31, 2006)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0452287758ISBN-13: 978-0452287754 Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.4 x 8.2 inches Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Best Sellers Rank: #8,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #20 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Hinduism #417 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences #642 in Books > Arts & photography
My sister bought this book for my kids online. On the whole – the characterizations, the illustrations – everything struck the wrong note with me. I didn’t like it all.

Aug 5th 2010.
Based on comments, I am qualifying my post with specifics:

First the author’s background confirms my doubts. With an educational background in animation, it seems like he started with the illustrations and then added the text. His religious education is mostly informal, initiated by an interest in drawing gods and finding ‘entertainment’ in their exploits. Nothing against the author, but it sheds light on why it lacks reverence and why it won’t help teaching religion or the spiritual side of Hinduism to children.

The ‘funny’ tone is not definitely funny to me, a hindu, who has had her share of laughs based on the gods. Some of the jokes are outsider jokes not insider – if you see what I mean. Some are downright repugnant – I don’t want to repeat them – if you have read the book, I don’t think you will have a hard time finding any of those.

I think the book confuses the lay reader on Hinduism more than educating him. It could’ve at least used a basic 1-2 page introduction of devas (gods), God, main philosophies/views ( trimurti concept/Shaivism/Vaishnavism etc) before delving in.

I would not like my children to identify reverential figures with the illustrations from the book.

Some stories, such as the one of Bhairava, I had never heard before. I did a quick look on wikipedia and the story is not even mentioned in his page. The ‘Animal gods’ section, where I expected the most irreverence, surprised me – It was educative.

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