Mythology and fairytales - they're my jam
Welcome to Fairytales, Folklore, and Mythology, too! I've recently rediscovered the joy of looking at stories from diverse cultures and how they layer together in a vibrant narrative that connects us no matter where we come from.
Being mixed-race, I've always been fascinated by the stories that shaped my family - the Hindu myths and legends of one side of my heritage, the Judeo-Christian and European tales of the others, and folk tales from all over the world. They all captured my imagination and had me riveted from day 1. My mom was an Nth generation Texan who was an avid reader and lifelong artist. My East Indian dad was educated in Japan, and growing up, we heard him speaking Japanese more often than Malayalam or Hindi. And my stepmom was a trilingual French-Italian who could have been an interpreter for the U.N. Between the three of them, my early upbringing in Texas was like a mini-U.N., a way station for international expats who brought with their own stories with them. Growing up in a place where East Indian culture wasn’t exactly the dominant narrative and even Cinderella had been sanitized, I came to realize how few of the stories I loved were celebrated in mainstream media.
It's precisely that void that sparked my passion for exploration. Through research for my own fractured fairy tale series (in development), personal musings, and story-RE-telling, I'll be diving into the intersections of our world's mythologies and fairy tales. What lessons do these old stories hold? How do they inform our understanding of ourselves and each other? And what might we learn from the ways in which different cultures have grown alongside each other to build the rich mosaic of our humanity?
On this blog, I invite you to join me on a journey of discovery, exploration, and celebration. Whether you're a fantasy writer, a mythology enthusiast, or simply someone who loves a good tale, come share your own stories, ask questions, and let's create a community that celebrates the variety and richness of our human experiences.
Oh I may not have mentioned... there will be cats…
