Contemporary tale rooted in tradition

An engineer by education and a businessman by profession, VR Anil Kumar got interested in Hindu rituals when during his son’s wedding, his American in-laws had numerous queries regarding Hindu marriages. “To get an in-depth knowledge of Hindu rituals, it was essential to study Sanskrit. My wife and I moved to Mysore from Chennai in 2008 and I set up Kalpa Heritage Trust to do research on Hindu rituals and traditions. Eventually, I went on to do my PhD in Sanskrit from University of Madras in 2012,” says Dr VR Anil Kumar. The Kalpa Heritage Trust in Mysore is dedicated to preserve Indian scriptural heritage especially in the field of rituals to be followed as per Vedic traditions and practices. 

It is interesting that he chose the fiction format for his debut novel. “After my PhD dissertation was published in 2014, I thought of writing a novel with the intention of providing information about our scriptures, philosophy and traditions. I started writing it in 2014 and completed it in 2016. A book with only information is a tedious read for majority readers. Hence, I chose to disseminate information through a contemporary fiction piece,” he adds. The story has three lead protagonists, all of them engaged in their own pursuit of truth and life, hence the book is titled, Anveshana , which means ‘search’ in Sanskrit. 

The Hindu concept of karma and dharma dominate in his novel. “The entire human society is based on the concepts of karma, dharma and renunciation. But, I am still a seeker with no absolute convictions as such,” he shares. He has also started writing his next book which will also be a work of fiction based on traditions. “That is the best way to present these ideas to the present generation,” he finishes.