Guido von Arx was born a Roman Catholic. As a youth, he left his native Canton Solothurn and traveled the world in search of truths that he didn’t find in the culture and religion in which he was raised. He wound up in India and felt instantly at home. Was it a previous life experience, or simply connecting with the philosophy and culture that he thirsted for? In any case, Guido embraced “Vedic Philosophy” – the ancient wisdom of India, and has lived and practiced it ever since.

In 1996, Guido von Arx was inspired to start writing a musical work, which he dubbed “The Song Divine”, based on the Mahabharata, the longest epic in world literature. He wrote the lyrics in English – a foreign language to him.

After more than a decade of planning and development, the production, entitled “Mahabharata”, debuted at Sadler’s Wells-London in 2007. A successful tour of other major UK cities followed.

In 2016, Guido re-developed Mahabharata for a German-speaking audience. He endeavored to show that its message is as relevant today as it was in India’s ancient past. A troupe of 25 performed in Germany and Switzerland. An English version has been completed – now ready to tour, including in the place of the Mahabharata’s origin, India.

Who is the man behind Mahabharata? What motivated him to write it? Bob Zanotti spoke with Guido von Arx at his home in Zurich to find out.

www.gita-productions.ch/en/Guido.html

www.gitaproductions.org/theaterproduktionen