As soon as I started reading this book, I was overwhelmed
with a strong feeling of nostalgia. All the memories of my beloved grandmother
basking in the afternoon sun and telling me the fascinating tales of
Mahabharata came rushing back to me. I believe the Mahabharata stories constitute
an integral part of the childhood of millions of people across this nation.
Therefore, Divakaruni
deserves a lot of credit for being brave enough to write about a saga which has
been reconstructed innumerable times over centuries.
I remember
when I was a kid, I used to be in awe of Draupadi. She was the perfect daughter,
perfect wife and the perfect queen. This story takes away the entire enigma surrounding
Draupadi’s character and makes her very approachable. I enjoyed reading about
her childhood, her dreams and aspirations before her life became a series of tragedies.
The sibling bond is very well painted .It made me want to read more about her
brother,Drishtadhyumna(I had never really paid
any attention to this character before). Since the whole story is told from Draupadi’s perspective,
it obviously has a strong feminist undertone. The backdrop maybe of Mahabharata
but I genuinely believe the modern day woman can very easily relate to the
protagonist’s difficult choices and heartbreaking sacrifices. I loved the fact
that Draupadi was not portrayed as the victim in the book (unlike most of the
time in my grandmother’s stories).Instead it was her thirst for vengeance which
lead to the Great War. To be honest, I found the Panchaali-Karna angle equation
quite unimpressive. Sometimes I just fail to understand why all authors need to
provide an unrequited love angle in the life of almost every strong female
character of literature. It is like feminism cannot be portrayed without an
unfulfilled love affair.
The writing is not very sophisticated. In fact,
the prose gets repetitive at times. Overall, a quick and easy read. Any Indian
mythology lover will definitely enjoy it if willing to overlook few flaws.
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