Devdutt Pattanaik Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Devdutt Pattanaik

• Devdutt Pattanaik is a well-known Indian mythologist, speaker, illustrator, and author.

• He was first introduced to the stories of Ramayana while he was in school. In an interview, while talking about his school days, he said,

I remember collecting pigeon feathers to help my teacher prepare the wings of Jatayu. I remember watching Lakshmana struggle to mark three visible lines on the well-polished grey stone floor using precious white chalk, otherwise used by teachers on the blackboard. I remember laughing as Ravana picked up Sita, and hooting with others since Sita was a boy dressed as a girl.”

• He recognised being homosexual while he was in class 10. While talking about that incident, in an interview, he said,

I was in 10th standard when I saw Jewel on the Crown movie… I heard the word homosexual.. and I looked up the dictionary and knew that’s what I am. It was only when I turned 30 and my parents were after me to get married and settle down that I eventually told them the truth outright that I was gay and will not be getting married.” ^[8]Yahoo News

• He used to write columns on mythology for his college’s magazine.

• Later, he cleared the Union Public Service Commission Exams, but he did not take up the assignment as he had no interest in that job. ^[9]LGBTQ Religious Archives

• After completing his graduation, he wanted to study in American or European universities, but he could not do so due to his family’s constraints.

• His story narrating skills were first noticed by the Indian magazine editor Randhir Khare in the mid-90s. He encouraged Devdutt to write articles for various newspapers and magazines.

• Later, he met one of Khare’s friends Arun Mehta who motivated Devdutt to write his first book.

• In 1997, Devdutt’s first book ‘Shiva An Introduction’ was published which received a decent response from the readers.

• He has also worked as a part-time editor for various health magazines like ‘My Doctor.’

• Later, he worked as an assistant of the Indian behavioural scientist Dr Giri Shankar.

• He joined a private firm ‘Good Health N You’ in Mumbai in 1998, and he worked in another firm ‘Apollo Health Street Ltd,’ in Hyderabad in 2000.

• He appeared as a speaker at the first TED conference in India in 2009.

• Devdutt has worked with many private firms like Sanofi, EY, and Future Group People Office.

• He joined ‘Reliance Industries Limited’ as a culture consultant in January 2014 and worked there for almost 5 years.

• He has also worked as a story consultant for mythological TV serials like ‘Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev’ for Star India.

• Devdutt has worked as a freelance writer for many renowned newspapers and magazines like Mid-Day, Times of India, CN Traveller, Daily O, and Scroll.in.
  

  Devdutt Pattanaik’s article in a newspaper

• One of his essay ‘Homosexuality in Ancient India’ (2000) was appreciated by the homosexual community.

• He has appeared in various TV serials like ‘Business Sutra’ (2010) on CNBC-TV18 and ‘Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik’ (2017) on Epic TV.

• Devdutt has authored many books on mythology, children, business, and art. Some of such books are:

• • ‘Hanuman: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd., 2001’
  • ‘Myth=Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology. Penguin Books India, 2006’
  • ‘The Leadership Sutra: An Indian Approach to Power. Aleph Book Company, 2016’
  • ‘Leader: 50 Insights from Mythology. HarperCollins India, Indus Source 2017’
  • ‘The Boys Who Fought: The Mahabharata for Children. Puffin, 2017’
  • ‘Vahana: Gods and Their Favourite Animals – Rupa Publications India, 2020’
    

    Devdutt Pattanaik with his books

• He has been supporting the LGBTQ community for a very long time even before Section 377 was decriminalised in India on 6 September 2018. In one of his social media posts, while talking about Section 377, he said, he said,

I think for many people it will be life as usual. But for many people, it will be acceptance at state level. And you can talk to your families. Corporations will hopefully change their laws. You’ll be able to openly come out as gay. And you will not get into forced marriages where you ruin not just one life, but lives of two people. You know imagine a gay person marrying a non-gay person. That’s just not right. It ruins young people’s lives.”

• He lent his voice for a few audiobooks like ‘Suno Mahabharat Devdutt Pattanaik Ke Saath’ and ‘Revisiting Mahabharata with Devdutt Pattanaik’ in 2020.

• He has also hosted a podcast ‘The Devdutt Pattanaik Show,’ a radio show that aired on Radio Mirchi.

• He has indulged the concepts of Mahabharata and the Ramayana into human resource management.

• Devdutt had appeared as a motivational speaker in many events and seminars.
  

  Devdutt Pattanaik in a seminar

• His work has been praised by many famous authors like Ashwin Sanghi and Neil Gaiman.