Namaha | Illustrated Story Collection | Abhishek Singh |
Wonder House Books, 2019 | ISBN: 978-93-88810-39-5 | pp 116 | 999

Enthralling graphic story collection

The ancient Hindu Pantheon with hundreds of deities, their narratives as well as dynamic and multifarious associated aspects finds a creditable space in our epics, novels, poetry and other literary genres. Though a plethora of Vedantic, Puranic and Upanishadic texts containing the stories of Gods and Goddesses and ancient wisdom of India are available, yet there is a growing need to revisit and resurrect these stories more than ever. After his graphic novel Krishna: A Journey Within, Abhishek Singh is constantly evolving as a unique re-interpreter of mythology. Through Namaha, Abhishek Singh attempts to reconnect us to the ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, and alludes to the embedded lessons of ecological harmony, oneness, interconnectedness of all life, and love in all its subtle forms. Singh takes the readers deep into the alluring and mystical world of ancient Indian mythology, unfolds the lessons of grace, gratitude, courage, endurance and kindness, and by the time, the reader closes the book, Singh succeeds in rubbing off his positivity to the reader. The stories traverse the world of divinity, solitude, wisdom, and spirituality where love, compassion and grace flow in abundance.

An inimitable feature of the book is the illustrations which capture the spirit, passion, creativity and imagination of the artist-cum-storyteller. Abhishek Singh’s beautiful ink-pen artwork, textured sketches, and watercolour paintings (though presented in digital format) are fluid yet intricate. One marvels at the sublime effect of the drawings as Shiva, Parvati, Krishna, and Brahma in their different avatars and aspects are painted in many textures, backgrounds and mediums.

The stories are dialogical in nature where the seeker and the source of knowledge engage in a conversation about the truth and wisdom of cosmos. The title story “Namaha” renders the origin, meaning and context of Namaha. “Om” is the sound of the Universe, the Birth; “Shivay” is the point of dissolution, the End; and “Namaha” is everything in between, the abode of the seeker. Probably, many cultural theorists might have derived the concept of ‘in-between’ spaces through this primordial truth. “Touching the Sun” is a dialogue between Jiva and Devi through which Devi (the illustration portrays Devi in its fierce yet benign form) bestows her knowledge to the jivatma and beseeches it to stay away from indulgence and greed as they are the reasons behind all worldly sorrows, suffering, and stress. “Little Droplet and a Thousand Rainbows” delivers a significant life lesson through desire of a little droplet to reach out to the rain. However, the wealth of compassion and art of giving in the heart of that droplet outweighs its desire to reach out to rain as it gives itself away to a little dying bird and “And this is how “Love” was reborn into the world.”

As we continue to thrive in a world ridden with bigotry, parochialism, jingoism, and prejudices of all kinds, the story “Fourteen Sounds, One Outcast” obliquely delivers a pertinent message to rise above these ills. By embracing an outcast, Ravana and dancing to the rhythm of his percussion, Shiva “dissipated all bias towards who can and who cannot create music.” Music runs as a common thread in many stories, seems to orchestrate with life itself and is also the driving force of the universe.  “The Flute” is another story woven around music where Krishna’s flute finds resonance with trees, birds and flowers, and eventually, merges with the forest and the Earth. “Halahala” recreates the epic story behind Shiva’s drinking the poison Halahala which turned his throat blue and earned him the title Nilaka??ha (the one with a blue throat). Through the unprecedented story of self-sacrifice on part of Shiva, Singh tries to awaken our conscience and beseeches us to introspect our actions. This is also a story about penitence and absolution as personified Halahala wants to rid himself of his spiteful disposition. “Yuj” is an exchange of dialogue between Nandi and Shiva whose innocent question whether he would be able to become a good yogi elicits a profound answer by Shiva to pursue and practise the yoga of “kindness”. “The Knower of Solitude: Kevalya” encapsulates the holistic philosophy of life and implores us to imbibe ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), aparigraha (non-possession), Daya (compassion), santosha (contentment), tapa (the collective radiating energy), mita-hara (moderation in consuming), and asana (the posture of body and mind) in our lives.

A hardbound fascinating cover page, captivating illustrations, and singular storytelling style – this graphic story collection enthralls and compels the reader to hold, absorb and cherish it for a long time. Singh masterfully uses illustrations and short dialogic stories to pay an ode to the Mother Earth. One thing which I would have liked to change in the collection could be the spellings of the title Namaha, which could have been Namah or Namha to convey what it originally means. Of course, Namaha is not an ordinary story book and one needs to have the sensibility and sensitivity to understand its underlying message.