My Friend Sanjay Gets Attention

NEWSARAMA: SANJAY PATEL ON THE LITTLE BOOK OF HINDU DEITIES
by Chris Arrant 01-29-2007, 10:41 AM

Released last November, Sanjay Patel's The Little Book of Hindu Deities is a delightful primer on the characters that make up Hindu mythology -- and boy, are they characters. Mythology has rarely been so flavorful and potent as how Patel describes the legends of Hindu, with characters ranging from monsters to demons to noble warriors and divine divas.

In terms of a short biography, Patel spends his days (and some long nights) as an animator for Pixar, haven't most recently helped animate Lightning McQueen from the Cars motion picture. In this book, Patel's fun, full-color illustrations complement the engrossingly imaginative prose which he describes each god. While not a comic, this illustrated book is sure to brighten the eyes of the art-lover in all comics fans.

Newsarama: What led you to deciding to do these more modern interpretations on Hinduism's gods that make up the book?

Sanjay Patel: Well, you have to understand that most of the children’s books and comics that tackle the topic of Hinduism in India were illustrated in the 70s. These were books that I saw when I was a kid and are still in publication today. The artwork in those old books looked really dated and the illustration approach was really serious. So I decided that this was something that needed to be updated, and re-interpreted for a new generation.

NRAMA: Far from just a text for those practicing Hinduism, your fresh and breezy style make this a book for fans of religion, mythology, interesting characters or just plain great illustrations. Was it your intention to make it so open-ended from the get-go?

SP: Well my approach to the illustrations was very careful, after all the subject matter here was religion. I knew right of that I wanted to create something that was completely charming and non-offensive, so I studied a lot of Sanrio designs and tried to approach the illustrations with that esthetic in mind. Beyond that, I had to keep reminding myself to sacrifice style for the sake of portraying the deity and what they stood for in a clear way. Ultimately the goal for me wasn’t to present a religion, so much as it was to present interesting characters from an ancient mythology in a charming way.

NRAMA: You originally self-published this book under the title Little India and sold it at Alternative Press Expo. Can you tell us how it went from self-published to the new book out now?

SP: After sharing a table at the APE convention with co-worker Louis Gonzales, there was a lot of buzz about my new book on people’s personal blogs. Then a big splash happened once it was posted on Boing Boing, all of a sudden my email box was filled with messages from people who wanted to buy the book. So by the time I brought the book down to the San Diego Comic Con, the book just got more exposure and I had a lot of offers ranging from adapting the book into animation to making toys and other merchandise. Soon after an agent from ICM found out about my book and offered to rep it, and within a month I had a book deal from an imprint of Penguin books called Plume. A year later we re-tooled the book expanding the number of gods and goddess, and nearly tripled the page count to a hefty 148 pgs. We even gave the book a new name, The Little Book Of Hindu Deities.

NRAMA: The book is great not just for the art, but for your expressively written descriptions of each deity. How did you work up all the information and tone of these written pieces?

SP: Well luckily, I knew a little bit already, since my parents raised me around the Hindu tradition. But they never explained anything to me, so doing the research about each god was a bit like finally knowing the back-story to someone you’ve already met. But generally I did a lot of research online and thru reading, and if I was stuck for some information I went to the Berkeley South Asian Arts library for specific reference as well as the Asian Art Museum.

NRAMA: You were raised in a Hindu household, and said that during your father's twice a day rituals and prayer sessions you watched cartoons. Looking back on that now, it seems almost a precursor to the book today. Can you tell us how your childhood affected your career now as an artist and doing a book on Hinduism's pantheon?

SP: That’s a big question. As an Indian kid with immigrant parents, all you really want to do is fit in and be accepted. So if I did as my parents wished as good Hindu boy, I wouldn’t be able to hang out with my American friends and go eat a cheeseburger. And as I got older I didn’t really have any connection with India let alone Hinduism. So in a lot of ways discovering Hindu mythology was really exciting to me as both an artist and as a person who was finally ready to accept who I was. Really this sentiment is exemplified in my book, as it’s definitely a product of the west but celebrates the east in a way that sort of merges the two. Which is really who I am now, a little bit American and a little bit Indian.

NRAMA: In a Pixar Q&A, you credit Chris Ware to be your favorite living artist. Can you tell us what makes him your favorite, and how it influences what you do?

SP: Gosh, that’s difficult to answer. I mean you look at the guy’s stuff and it dazzling, not only as art but as narrative as well. Truly amazing. But why I consider him one of my favorites is his dedication to the craft of cartooning. I mean the guy hand letters everything and meticulously draws out prefect geometric shapes, he’s truly a monk illuminating modern day works of art. Every time I think I’m working hard, I see that guy’s stuff and I’m always humbled.

NRAMA: You're said to have a fervent appreciation for children's books; even the title of this book harkens back to the "Little Book of.." that I remember as a child. Can you tell us what your thoughts are on what makes a "great" children's book?

SP: I don’t really know to be honest, my wife and I don’t have children so it’s hard to say what they respond to. I generally just loved well illustrated books be it a graphic novel or a something for kids. I also really admire the craft of assembling a book, from the paper quality to the end pages, if all done right gets me fired up.

NRAMA: The question everyone eventually asks in these sorts of things is 'what's next?' I've read somewhere that you're working on a book of hand-drawn animation. Is that true?

SP: I’m not working on a book of hand drawn animation, that’s for sure. I am working on another book project, but this time it will be a story. I’m afraid I can’t say more without ruining the surprise, so you will have to wait to know more.

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Sanjay's design work is awesome! You can buy his book at Amazon for $11.62 + shipping.