It’s captured the collective imagination of a nation for generations. It’s been part of our textbooks and itineraries. The Konark temple in Orissa remains one of India’s national treasures, yet very little is known about the beginnings and the background of this breathtaking structure that faces the Bay of Bengal.
The editors at Amar Chitra Katha have done a terrific, most exhaustive job in weaving fact, mythology and folklore in this storybook. While most fans of ACK titles will lap this one up like the rest, it’s impossible to miss the fluid structuring with which multi-layered story has been dealt with. Set in the 13th century with constant flashbacks to the early ages where the gods and mankind rubbed shoulders, the storyboards are a delight to look and read through. The great Ganga king, Narasimha Deva I had commissioned 1,200 artisans to recreate the scene of Surya, the Sun God as he rose into the sky in his regal chariot, pulled by seven horses.