| A Greek Treat  Sophocles' Oedipus the King is as much a celebration of the Greek classic as the Indian style of presentation. It is one of four ancient dramas retold by Sirish Rao and Gita Wolf who have spared no effort in giving this classic a contemporary touch. The others include Sophocles' Antigone and Euripides' The Bacchae and Hippolytus that have been published already, while the fourth book Euripides' Hippolytus is currently in the process of being written and illustrated. Sophocles' Oedipus the King (published by Tara in collaboration with Getty Publications) has won several international awards, including one from the Association of American University Presses in 2005.
Wolf, who has authored several award-winning books including The Very Hungry Lion and Hensparrow Turns Purple, finds Greek plays fascinating. "We owe a lot of our understanding of human psychology to the Greeks. Our challenge was to make our effort accessible as also to be faithful to the original," says Wolf. "These plays touch the human soul. That's why you can relate to them even though they were first written over 2,500 years ago," adds Rao. For the authors, it was an exciting journey to explore the Greeks' understanding of human behaviour, while reiterating the story of Oedipus, the King of Thebes, who attempted to discover the dreadful sin for which the gods were punishing his city. A passionate mountain climber and the author of over 10 books, Rao has experimented with a range of genres, from novels to children's books. He feels the most difficult part of writing is to be "spontaneous" and be able to "capture what you want". Rao says his approach in this book was to explore the emotional aspects of the characters. He is now working on several projects related to pop art and is in the process of starting a novel. Sophocles' Oedipus the King owes much of its success to its inventive design. Illustrator Indrapramit Roy vividly captures the agony of a proud king and C. Arumugam's printing technique on handmade paper gives a fresh perspective to an ancient tale. The book doubles up as a work of art and this cross-cultural blend, as Kara Kirch of Getty Publications puts it, "breaks new ground by presenting classic myths in a format that reflects the spirit of ancient craftsmanship".
-By S.S. Jeevan | 
