The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee DivakaruniMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"You will be remembered for causing the greatest war of your time.
You will bring about the deaths of evil kings ... A million women will become widows because of you."
And no, we are not speaking of Helen of Troy.
I've always heard of the Mahabharata but never had the opportunity to read even an abridged edition... which is why I'm so thankful for this book! Divakaruni presents, in a most accessible form, the re-telling of this great Indian epic from the point of view of Draupadi (also known as Panchaali).
A most beautiful woman for whom the greatest war of the age was fought, pitting demi-gods and gods against each other, as well as brother against brother.
A great hero who knows not who his parents are.
A defeated king who approaches his enemy and asks to be the one to bury his dead son.
A forbidden love.
A war to end all wars. "It was the end of the world -- the world as I knew it. Now the meaning of everything is different -- our lives, our deaths, what we do in between."
Talk about an EPIC epic! The parallelisms between it and the Iliad are too numerous to count, but the Mahabharata is set apart with culture-specific reactions from its protagonists. And also, I found the descriptions of astras (supernatural weapons with unique names) exceedingly fascinating!!
Upon finishing it, I am left in this queer existential reverie. Isn't this what the epics do best? They make us ponder about our place in the universe. They make us re-examine laws both mortal and divine, and make us see that even the best of humans fall prey to weaknesses. They make us realize that we are not alone in our struggles for validation, and warn us of what comes from pursuing righteousness above humanity, vengeance over peace.
I'm so excited to hear from a certain webpage (https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/...) that the author's next book features the Ramayana, retold from Sita's POV! Will surely look for her other works, which seem to feature ancient Hindu heroines. Any book that makes a non-Hindu reader appreciate the oldest and third-largest world religion better... in a very fun way... is a book well worth reading!
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