IN SHIVA HE TRUSTS

At 91, Dr Karan Singh is equally devoted to politics and scholarship, but editing the recently released Shiva: Lord of the Cosmic Dance was for him an expression of a more personal piety

- Shreevatsa Nevatia

Q. Compared to other gods and goddesses, is Shiva an easier deity to theorise?

In some ways, he was more difficult to theorise. Other gods fitted neatly into the Vedic pantheon, but Shiva was always the outsider. The way he dressed, smoked, ate—was totally outside, totally beyond the normal. In the end, I think what led to him being accepted is the fact that he was all-encompassing.