From Lord Shiva and Hanuman to the lesser known Shikandi, Devdutt Pattanaik has brought out the stories of these mythological characters and turned them into best sellers. An author, speaker, illustrator, columnist, mythologist and management guru, Pattanaik is all rolled into one.

Excerpts from an interview for Woodpie:    

1. You are a doctor turned author. Why the change of career?
I was in the pharma industry and mythology was my hobby until Kishore Biyani of Future Group offered me a chance to do it full time.

2. How do you research for your books? What is your source for stories? 
These are all available on google. The point is analysis, not data.

3. What do you think of the fictionalised mythologies which have turned into best sellers? Are they damaging mythologies or enriching them?
There is a market for them.

4. Are you working on any book currently? If yes, what is it about?
Yes. But I don’t discuss books until they are published.

5. All your works have been based on mythology. Have you considered writing stories set in contemporary times?
No.

6. Devdutt Pattanaik’s thoughts on woodpie.com?
Any attempt to get people to read is wonderful. Woodpie does this rather elegantly.