A breathtaking, world-famous Indian epic, the
Mahabharat—narrated by and from the point of view of Panchaali.
Written by Chitra Banerjee
Divakaruni
About the Author :
Chitralekha Banerjee is an Indian-American author,
poet and the Betty and Gene McDavid professor of writing at the university of
Houston creative writing Programme.
Divakaruni's
book ‘The Palace of Illusions’, was a national best-seller for over a year in
India and has also been included among a list of 12 books of Indian authors you
must read now released by Indiatimes.
About the book :
This book
gives us a new interpretation of an Indian epic-Mahabharat. Re-interpretation
from the perspective of the most powerful women of that ancient time, Panchaali
(Draupadi).
Palace of
illusions trails the life of princess Panchaali, beginning with her birth from
fire and following her high spirited decision of marrying five brothers and
balancing the act as a woman with her husbands who have been cheated out of
their father’s kingdom. Panchaali then swept into an insulting gesture by her
brother-in-law who tried to disrob her in an open court which led to
a terrible war amongst the Kuru-vansh; brothers on both sides.
Listen to
her words while you walk through her life. Panchaali almost spent her entire
youth in exile, who sacrificed herself for the Men in her life. Meanwhile, you
never lose sight of her strategic duels with her mother-in-law, her complicated
friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands' most
dangerous enemy.
Panchaali is
a fiery female redefining for us a world of warriors, gods, and the
ever-manipulating hands of fate.
My favourite
thought provoking lines from the book are :
“Love comes like lightning, and disappears the same way. If you are
lucky, it strikes you right. If not, you'll spend your life yearning for a man
you can't have.”
“Because ultimately only the witness -- and not the actors -- knows the
truth ““A situation in itself,” he said, “is neither happy nor unhappy. It’s only your response to it that causes your sorrow.”
“Above us our palace waits, the only one I've ever needed. Its walls are
space, its floor is sky, its centre everywhere. We rise; the shapes cluster
around us in welcome, dissolving and forming again like fireflies in a summer
evening.”
Conclusion
This is an excellently
well written fiction based on Hindu mythology that will enlighten the readers'
minds and souls as well as keep them entertained all through out the book. Post
reading this book you may never think of the Mahabharata in the same way
again.
Go, grab your copy now!
Buy your book from Amazon here:
