Book Review - The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Divakurni

It’s been past 4 weeksI have started to read “The Palace of Illusions” by Chitra Banerjee Divakurni. It is the depiction of Mahabharata through Draupadi’s lenses. Writer has mighty pen to take us in the age Draupadi lives. While reading book I was feeling as if Draupadi is my best friend and is telling me what all she has gone through in her life. Each chapter is interesting and indulging. Dedicated chapters are written for the important characters in Mahabharata who has influenced Draupadi’s life. Some of the characters which are not much elaborated and given importance in Mahabharata but which are important from Draupadi’s perspective are explain detailed in the book.  For Example Dri, Draupadi’s brother is explained nicely in bits and pieces in first ten chapter. Some characters which are described noble and good hearted in Original version of Mahabharata but if they are not the same from  Draupadi’s view, writer had written them in that dimension.  Chitra’s Draupadi is rebellious. She is not ready to surrender herself to destiny. She asks questions(unlike what we read in most of the ancient dramas,  woman are born to obey there fathers, brothers and husband and are not allowed to question them). She believes she has much more things to do in her life than other princess of her age and her times. She likes Shikhandi who is neither woman nor man because she is mighty and brave.  We find Draupadi a regular teenager when she find Karan’s portrait attractive before her swayamwar because of his golden arms and earings. She expresses her desire to have access to his portrait whenever she desires. We can easily relate ther struggle to imitate her father’s queen and to look good and confident in all the court ladies. Ms banerjee has the strong hold on language and puts the every aspect asthetically and aptly thus it improves the impavt of Draupadi more on readers. She never looses her focus on Draupadi not even for “Krishna”. All the characters come in book when they come in Draupadi’s life. But some of the facts are little bit taken away from Mahabharata like Drupad (Draupadi’s father) was not so happy to get a girl out of Yagya. And the fact that Draupadi was brown and not much fair and beautiful as we read in much of the books.  But given the fact that these descriptions actually take us nearer to Chitra’s Draupadi and understand her psychology better as most of us are the brown women in today’s India using faireness creams to get that white, bright and tight look(You naughty, don’t think anything else I mean our face here :)).
             In India it is said that every woman must have three relations in her life. A woman should have a mother, a sister and a daughter. As these three are the persons who understand her and give her valuable advices timely. Draupadi is a woman who doesnot have either of these relations. The characters in this novel are humanistic whereas the characters in Mahabharata are more about demigods, Princes and prince. But Chitra's Draupadi is strong, rebellious, intelligent and thinking. She prefers to be called as a Panchali opposing the egoistic name of Draupadi given by her father. She is a woman who loved one man all her life and was married to other five men. She has made choices in her life. But still at some points we can make out though she was strong and respectful the place of woman in that society was no different from what it is today. Her husbands and other respectful men in the Hastinapur who never came to her rescue when she was being sexually assaulted in the court, for them Dharma and their words were more important than the dignity of women in their family. But when it came to war they forgot all the rules to win the battle. Some of the instances and scenes of this novel are missing from original Mahabharata but they are so perfect fitting at that particular situation that we can easily accept writer's imagination. The chapters and their heading are also very interesting and apt. As the pages unfolds Chitra's Draupadi captures our soul and mind completely. Even after finishing the book Chitra's Draupadi lingers in our thoughts.