Roopa Pai’s work has appeared in many well-known publications including Business Today, Indian Review of Books, Travel & Leisure South Asia, The Times of India, Deccan Herald, The Pioneer, and the Asian Age.She is the author of Taranauts, India’s first fantasy adventure series for kids and has many other children’s books to her credit. Roopa is part of the founding team of “BangaloreWalks“, an initiative that organizes walking tours in various parts of Bangalore.
This is only a short excerpt, for the original interview, refer to the link at the bottom.
tgbc: What were the sources you referred to for this book?
Roopa: Several. My most fundamental references, however, were Dr Radhakrishnan’s scholarly and wonderfully liberal commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, and the more lyrical interpretation by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood.
tgbc: How did you distill the learnings into this not so thick book?
Roopa:Well, I kept both the chapters and the lessons short, alternating them with each other to further break it up.
tgbc: What aspects of the Gita fascinated you?
Roopa: One was the idea of responsibility – the Gita is very tough on that. You can try and find as many excuses as you like to justify shirking your responsibilities – as a student, an employee, a dad, a writer, or, as Arjuna did, as a warrior – but none of them will wash; the Gita sees through all of them. Second was the idea of karma – not as some fatalistic ‘destiny’ that you should resign yourself to, but as an incentive to work hard, be good, and earn brownie points for your next life, for your children, and for the general good of the universe.
I also loved its storytelling structure – bung in a mega-dose of drama and spectacle – Krishna’s Vishwaroopa form – in the middle, at chapters 10 and 11, right around the time when the philosophy is getting dense and readers’ interest could be beginning to wane – and then, when you have them all stunned and worshipful and obedient, give them the rest. It’s like a 101 on How To Get The Reader To Read What You Want Him To Without Losing Him
Courtesy: https://thegoodbookcorner.com/2015/09/08/interview-with-roopa-pai-author-of-the-gita-for-children/#:~:text=tgbc:%20What%20were%20your%20comfort,any%20to%20follow%20in%20life.