Are Ramayana and Mahabharata relevant today? Were women and the lesser privileged treated fairly? What lessons can the modern world learn from them? The author of two books, Ami Ganatra,  Mahabharata Unravelled and Ramayana Unravelled, gave tremendous insights into these “Ithihasas” at a seminar held on May 6th and 7th at the First Parish in Lexington, MA

Ami Ganatra is an alumna of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai. She has over fourteen years of experience in business strategy and consulting, living and working across four continents and a multitude of sectors. In her personal life, she is a devout yoga practitioner and a certified yoga instructor. She is also a student of Sanskrit and Indian knowledge systems. An avid traveler, Ami loves to explore places and cultures.

Her tremendous knowledge of several of the ancient Indian texts and her ability to clearly articulate the content in a way that connects with the modern audience, made her two day seminar very enriching. 

For most people, their knowledge of Hindu texts is through often incomplete reading of abridged English translations, many of which have a colonial lens to them. Many of the questions in the minds of people about these texts often arise because lacking a serious study of the texts, people miss the point of the epics while focusing on trivialities.  Ami Ganatra made the session very interactive, answering all questions that were raised by the audience in a very candid and thoughtful fashion while destroying myths built around certain topics. 

The event was organized by the Hindu Parents Network(HPN) and the IAL Education Committee. HPN works with Hindu Parents and children to ensure a correct understanding of the Hindu Heritage so children can live Dharmic lives.