There’s deep influence of Buddha in Sandhya Pai’s writings, opines literary scholar H S Venkateshmurthy

Bengaluru: Senior literary scholar H S Venkateshmurthy opined that he felt a deep influence of Buddha in the style of writing and narrations of author Dr. Sandhya S. Pai.

He was speaking, on Sunday, at the launch book ‘Smati Gandhavati’ authored by the Managing Editor of Taranga weekly magazine Dr. Sandhya Pai published by Ankita Pustaka Prakashana.

There is a poetic elegance in Dr. Pai’s writing, which captures the attention of the readers. Readers like such a style of writing, he opined.

‘My grandmother’s stories inspired me’

Speaking on the occasion Sandhya S Pai said her entry into writing was a coincidence. “Basically I am not a writer. An inevitable situation forced me to take the helm at Taranga. As I sat there, I felt the need to write something,” she fondly recollected.

“I was proficient in English but not so much in Kannada. I had a little fear when I first started writing in Kannada,” Dr. Pai said.

“While working in the office, the staff used to share their problems with me. I tried solving their problems by telling a little moral story. Thus the culture of story-telling also continued.

My grandfather lived in Bantwal. We were a close-knit family. My Grandma used to tell us stories at home. One day we would hear about Ramayana and the next day about a ghost. This culture of storytelling borrowed from my grandmother has inspired my storytelling style,” Dr. Pai said.