Samhita Arni is an Indian writer who writes in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. She is best known for her adaptations of

Indian epic poetry Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called ''Kavya'' (or ''Kāvya''; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá''). The ''Ramayana'' and the '' Mahabharata'', which were originally composed i ...

. She started writing and illustrating her first book The ''

Mahabharatha The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succes ...

- A Child’s View'' at the age of eight. The book then went on to be translated in seven languages and sold 50,000 copies worldwide. Her second book – ''Sita’s Ramayana'' – was on the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Bestseller list for

Graphic Novels A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and ...

for two weeks in 2011.

Career

Arni's first book, ''The Mahabharata: A Child's View'', was published in 1996, when she was 11 years old. It was translated into several European languages, and won the

Elsa Morante Elsa Morante (; 18 August 1912 – 25 November 1985) was an Italian novelist, poet, translator and children's books author. Her novel '' La storia'' (''History'') is included in the Bokklubben World Library List of 100 Best Books of All Time. L ...

Literary Award from the Department of Culture of Campania, Italy, among other accoladates. As an adult, she has written two books based on the

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

. The first, ''Sita's Ramayana'', is a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

developed in collaboration with

Patua The Patua (Bengali: পটুয়া, ''paṭuẏā'') are an artisan community found in the state of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in India and parts of Bangladesh. Some Patuas are Hindus, while others are Muslims. Hindu Patuas ar ...

artist Moyna Chitrakar. Her second Ramayana adaptation is ''The Missing Queen'', a

Speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

mythological thriller. It was published by Penguin/Zubaan in 2013. ''The Prince'', her latest book, is the culmination of a five-year journey spent studying

Ilango Adigal Ilango Adigal (a title, literally "prince ascetic", fl. c. 4th-6th century CE) was a Jain monk, belonging to the Chera royal family, from the city of Vanchi. He is traditionally credited as the author of the epic poem Cilappatikaram (the So ...

Silappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the earliest Tamil epic. It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely ''akaval'' (''acir ...

.It was the year 2014 and the Nirbhaya case had taken centre-stage, unleashing a wave of wrath from women across the country. Arni watched this unfold, disturbed by the tragedy of what had taken place and staggered by the collective fury. It led to what she calls an obsession with

, the

Sangam period The Sangam literature ( Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' ( Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ''), connote ...

epic, a story of love, betrayal, grief and above all, wrath. Retellings, she feels, are important for a culture to evolve. “Each generation is different, and for a myth, story, or an epic to resonate with that generation, it must be told in a way that relates with that generation's experience, in order to touch them, and for that story to remain part of our cultural psyche. She has been a regular columnist for '' The Bangalore Mirror'' and ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

''.

Education

Arni is an alumnus of the

United World Colleges The United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organisation was fo ...

in Italy. She has lived in Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Italy and the United States.

References

External links

Personal website
Samhita's website featuring some of her works ; Interviews and talks
''The Prince - Book launch ''
nbsp;– The author, Samhita Arni, in conversation with Arshia Sattar, 2019-04-05 (video, 63 mins)
''Interview''
nbsp;– In Conversation with Samhita Arni at GALF 2016, 2016-02-03 (video, 09 mins)
''Conversation''
nbsp;– Finding a Voice: Samhita Arni & Abeer Hoque in conversation with Supriya Nair, 2017-01-24 (video, 41 mins) ; Columns and articles
''Gender doesn’t come in the way of Nirvana''
Column in the national daily

''Sita’s Freedom Struggle''
Column in the national daily

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

''Temple Run: The Sacred Structures of the Chola Dynasty in Tamil Nadu''
Article in

National Geographic Traveler ''National Geographic Traveler'' is a magazine published by National Geographic Partners, NG Media in Armenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Latin America, Israel, Poland, Romania, Slov ...

''Why do majority of Indian writers remain obsessed with myth?''
Article in the national daily

''Breaking up with the Ramayana: Why I chose texts that promote empathy and looking beyond one's identity''
Article in the news and media website Firstpost {{DEFAULTSORT:Arni, Samhita Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indian women novelists English-language writers from India 21st-century Indian writers Mythographers Indian columnists