Anand Neelakantan is an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter, and public speaker. He is known for writing mythological fiction and has authored eleven books in English and one in Malayalam.
He was listed as one among the “100 top celebrities in India” in 2015 and 2017 by Forbes India.
His debut book Asura: Tale of the Vanquished was featured in the list of “100 books by Indian authors to read in a lifetime” by Amazon Books editors. The book has sold more than a million copies over the years. Three of his books have been shortlisted for Crossword Book Award during the respective years.
His second book was based on Mahabharata told from the perspective of Kaurava and was part of a two-book series. Ajaya: Roll of the Dice was released in December 2013 and the sequel Ajaya: Rise of Kali was released in July 2015
Anand Neelakantan wrote the official prequel series of novels for the Baahubali film series. Titled Bahubali: Before the Beginning, it is a three-book series which acts as a prequel to the films. The first book in the series, The Rise of Sivagami, was released on 15 March 2017. The book became a blockbuster and was shortlisted for Crossword Popular Award 2018. Netflix has announced a web series on the book. The second book in the series, Chaturanga was released on 6 August 2020. The third book, Queen of Mahishmathi, was released on 28 December 2020.
Anand also writes a column for The New Indian Express on current affairs and his fortnightly column is called “Acute Angle”. Anand is also a prolific writer in Malayalam and regularly publishes stories in prestigious Malayalam magazines.
He lives in Mumbai with his wife Aparna, daughter Ananya, son Abhinav and pet dog, Jackie the Blackie
The session started with a question on the contradictions in the Vedas and Puranas. As in Rigveda, there are different versions of the creation of Brahma wherein in some stories he is the creator and in some he originated from the belly of Vishnu. Ms Seems Saxena informed the audience that the mythology takes the route of management wherein the devata who is a creator also appoints someone who would carry that creation further. So it is basically a delegation of tasks to some who is part of the creator. Mr Anand deliberated that the Indian culture has been a mixture of contradictions as Indians don’t seek one god, one truth kind of philosophy. They approach mystical concepts and they are okay if they don’t find the perfect answer to this conundrum. In the answer to the question asked about the women’s role and contradiction about earning money in mythology, Mr Debashish told the audience that made it easy for all to understand the relations between the goddess Laxmi and people pursuing the wealth. Ms Seema Saxena said that wealth has always been pursued by all in Puranas also and there are no vices attached to it. Mr Anand told that we humans have made a god out of something which is inside us and started distancing god from self and started worshipping the god outside us. With this example, Mr Debashish explained the difference between linear and circular time and the stressful lives we are having due to linear times. The session concluded with questions and answers.