I liked this book. I tweeted/Facebooked that this was my commute reading and the response was great. All the women who had read it loved it. And all the men either hated it, or were critical, or said that it was self-indulgent. I will give it to the one who said self-indulgent. But then why shouldn't authors be, right? Where would fiction be, where would imagination be if authors aren't self-indulgent?

All this said and done, there was a huge debate on why this book wasn't worth it. Some people felt that it robbed the whole essence of Mahabharata, some others were disgusted that a 'great' woman like Draupadi was shown as a scheming, lustful woman who lusted after Karna.

Well, if these are the issues, then hey! I like the book for precisely these reasons. I'm no Mahabharata expert, but from the little I've read and watched (Every 90s Indian kid has watched the Mahabharata), the story is very much about the men who fought a war narrated from a male perspective. This book focusses on Draupadi, the Pandava queen who got married to all the 5 brothers. How easy it was to accept that a young girl didn't mind marrying 5 men, let alone not having chosen any of them. Because that's how it was done. This book talks of a fresh perspective. What went through young Draupadi's head. She wasn't perfect. Like none of us women are. We aren't saints. We have feelings, some of them very wrong, but the truth is they exist. And women's feelings (I'm using the word feelings very loosely here)aren't acknowledged, let alone expressed or been allowed to express, even by the women themselves. So, it is good to see that perspective here. Yes, it focuses a lot on Draupadi's pride, her thoughts/desire for Karna - something which isn't acceptable in mainstream society, then and now. Is that why a lot of the men in my circle hated this book? Because it didn't show Draupadi as this perfect wife who gave up everything to follow her husbands? Did it ruin the ideal image?

Apart from saying it was wrong because the Kauravas did it, why doesn't anyone talk about her being a pawn. Even the book speaks of her as the character that is the cause of a war. She is as much a pawn in the game. As much as she wouldn't believe that herself.

Do read. I'm not a huge fan of philosophy, so a lot of it went over my head, and I plan to read it again + read other Mahabharata inspired books. But if this perspective of Draupadi being a thinking woman and someone who didn't think as is expected of her hurts, well, get over it.