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A review by saumyaisreading101
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
5.0
The Palace of Illusions is a retelling of the Indian Epic Mahabharata from Draupadi's perspective. I have always found Mahabharata to be a fascinating read and reading it from a woman's perspective really peaked my interest. This epic never ceases to impart timeless life lessons. From the beginning of this book till its end, Draupadi's transition from a naive girl to a formidable woman, as a result of the tragedies that befall her and her family, is commendable.
Her father, King Drupad, organises a yagna to get a son who will avenge him for the humiliation he faced at the hands of Dronacharya. In this yagna, along with a son, he gets a daughter as well, who takes birth from fire. This is both unexpected and unwanted for King Drupad. This daughter is Draupadi. From her very childhood, she has a sense of being unwanted and keeps to herself and expresses her emotions only to her brother Dhristdyumna and her Dhai Ma. Despite being tucked away in a palace with not much of an opportunity to go out in the world, she is a strong headed girl and has it in her to challenge the norms of the society in respect of the roles of both the genders.
This story has every major incident that took place in the Mahabharata from Draupadi's angle and what she felt when it happened. The way she viewed each of her five husbands, knowing their strengths and weaknesses. From feeling loved to proud to betrayed, she faces it all. Draupadi is not a very forgiving woman and causes a catastrophe like no other due to the humiliation she faces of being disrobed in a court full of men with her husbands witnessing it all as mere spectators because of being "honour bound".
What honour, Draupadi thinks, lies in watching a helpless woman being robbed of her modesty without doing anything to put a stop it. Here, she challenges their oath and their so called warrior's pride . This book is brimming with such strong moments that as a reader I couldn’t help feeling like a part of the story myself. I felt Draupadi’s pain and her insecurities myself. I appreciate the way her character has been interpreted by the author and I believe that Draupadi’s actions and thoughts were totally legit.
This book is a masterpiece.
Her father, King Drupad, organises a yagna to get a son who will avenge him for the humiliation he faced at the hands of Dronacharya. In this yagna, along with a son, he gets a daughter as well, who takes birth from fire. This is both unexpected and unwanted for King Drupad. This daughter is Draupadi. From her very childhood, she has a sense of being unwanted and keeps to herself and expresses her emotions only to her brother Dhristdyumna and her Dhai Ma. Despite being tucked away in a palace with not much of an opportunity to go out in the world, she is a strong headed girl and has it in her to challenge the norms of the society in respect of the roles of both the genders.
This story has every major incident that took place in the Mahabharata from Draupadi's angle and what she felt when it happened. The way she viewed each of her five husbands, knowing their strengths and weaknesses. From feeling loved to proud to betrayed, she faces it all. Draupadi is not a very forgiving woman and causes a catastrophe like no other due to the humiliation she faces of being disrobed in a court full of men with her husbands witnessing it all as mere spectators because of being "honour bound".
What honour, Draupadi thinks, lies in watching a helpless woman being robbed of her modesty without doing anything to put a stop it. Here, she challenges their oath and their so called warrior's pride . This book is brimming with such strong moments that as a reader I couldn’t help feeling like a part of the story myself. I felt Draupadi’s pain and her insecurities myself. I appreciate the way her character has been interpreted by the author and I believe that Draupadi’s actions and thoughts were totally legit.
This book is a masterpiece.