A cobalt blue Rama poised to shoot his arrow at an intricately patterned Ravana; a gorgeously geometric Sita embellishing her hair; forests full of mutli-coloured deities, brilliant bursts of angular armies, demons being devoured by hungry orange flames: Supervising animator and storyboard artist at Pixar Animation, Sanjay Patel’s latest graphic novel Ramayana: Divine Loophole, is truly worship-worthy.

Tale Blazer

Prey on Patel’s lush drawings and whimsical characters packed into a 150-page modern interpretation of the ancient Hindu mythology. The artist, who’s worked on mainstream animation films like Ratatouille and Monsters Inc, was motivated by the potential presented by the visually rich world of the Ramayana. The artist revealed in an online interview that it took him an extensive four year research and a near burn out before he completed the incredibly detailed vector illustrations that went into this book. The artist's every day work is inspired by ' Watterson, creator of Calvin & Hobbes cartoons, along with a slew of other artists.

On Loop

The divine loophole in Patel's retelling of the Ramayana refers to the birth of God-turned-prince Rama, the only one who could get around Ravana’s mighty powers. The book also contains Patel’s super stylised works in progress. The artist’s fresh, young interpretation of the Ramayana is bound to draw both, the desi youth and international audiences to the epic Indian tale. If you like what you see, also put your hands together for the super cool Hey Bhagwan journals and postcards available online at Play Clan. Divine!

Getting there: Ramayana: Divine Loophole available by order on Amazon, Rs 800 (approx).

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