I haven't exactly grown up listening to tales of Mahabharat. But I remember watching countless TV adaptions of it, although I was far younger back then. They were a good source of entertainment. But now, reading the tale through the eye of an adult and from the POV of Draupadi, was a different experience. Ancient mythological stories are largely male-dominated and are set in patriarchic society. When we think of Mahabharat, for instance, what comes to our mind are the tales of brave & virtuous warriors who fought for their kingdom and honor and women or queens whose identities were largely tangled into the fate of their male counterparts. It is therefore not surprising, how such perspectives have inspired countless notions of what an ideal woman should be like. The practice of Sati, for instance, which expected widows to throw themselves over the pyre of their dead husbands and burn to death was practiced in India for many years, before it was banned in 1829 by the British. Even today, there is no dearth of the influences of mythology in the Indian culture, such as in the grandeur of Indian weddings, the practice of using a veil to cover your head or face, the practice of accepting or demanding dowry (despite the many laws against it) etc. etc. By choosing to retell the story from the POV of a female narrator, the author has offered a fresh perspective, attempting to shine a light on a woman's stance; a woman who was born from fire and never knew a mother, who was reminded constantly that her birth was an unwanted surprise, who was married to 5 brothers and was despised by her mother in law, who was humiliated in the most cutting way imaginable and whose humiliation in fact became the most significant event leading to the Great war of Kurukshetra. In this book, Draupadi has been portrayed as a woman who was ahead of her times, a woman who was keen on making her mark on history and who was never afraid of challenging the norm or being different. This unique perspective helps us see Draupadi as a human being, who was just as tormented by her choices as any man, who festered just as many regrets and who made just as many mistakes. It paints Draupadi in a different light. She wasn't just a woman with a terrible fate, a woman humiliated in court. She was so much more.

In the past, I haven't been a fan of mythology. So I've kept my distance from this genre. But I've heard so much about this book. It was recommended by someone in the book club at my workplace. And I have really enjoyed this book. Sneha Mathan's narration needs a special mention. Wonderfully executed. I definitely recommend this book.