Genre: Nonfiction, Religion and Philosophy, Mythology
Pace: Fast
Level: Beginner
Review By: Garima Agarwal 

Review:

“Super intriguing and interesting, for both the avid reader and a new one. ”

Devdutt Pattanaik's book "Garuda Purana: And Other Hindu Ideas on Death, Rebirth and Immortality." Is a book that explores death on the spectrum of Hinduism. It traces back to the history of rituals and stories that have been embedded with the dead and is an enquiry into the Hindu response to death. I consider myself to be a 'semi-planned' person when it comes to choosing the books I read. 

I usually have a mental list of the books I want to read shortly, but I am open to changes. But this was a book that I discovered last year and knew I would read no matter what comes, during the period of Pitr paksha or the 'fortnight of ancestors' of this year. 

Death as a subject has always been interesting to me for some weird reason and having sat through Garuda Purana sermons as a kid, I had no choice but to pick up this book. 

This book title is itself intriguing but reading it made me feel so many things at once. I was reminded that there is so much history behind everything. The things we say, the rituals we perform, the stories we tell, the mantras we chant, the places we live in. There is so much history, so much meaning behind things which had no real meaning before humans, and that is just so fascinating. That realisation just scratches my brain. These stories of death are affected greatly by the place that they are being written in and the people who are telling them.