What if you could cross The Night Life of Trees, the magical artwork based on Indian mythology, with The Ancient Book of Myth and War, that delightful side project by a team of Pixar animators? You'd get The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow -- an impossibly charming illustrated almanac of gods and goddesses by Pixar animator Sanjay Patel. These beautiful stories from Indian mythology span the entire spectrum of human experience -- petty quarrels and epic battles, love and betrayal, happiness and loss -- with equal parts humor and respect, pairing each full-color illustration with a lively profile of that deity.

In the book's introduction, Patel notes his fascination with Japanese animation, which influenced his style in depicting the Hindu deities -- a curious case of creative cross-pollination across cultures. For an added smile, Patel originally self-published the book before Plume picked it up.

A playful morphology of a mythological pantheon, The Little Book of Hindu Deities is as captivating and entertaining as it is informative without being encyclopedic -- a light and joyful journey into Hinduism by way of the contemporary pop culture aesthetic.

Patel's follow-up, The Big Poster Book of Hindu Deities, featuring 12 stunning removable prints, is also very much worth a look.

Images: Sanjay Patel. Via @ShamilaJiwa.

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