THE PALACE OF ILLUSIONS - Chitra B Divakaruni

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The retelling of the greatest epic of India ‘The Mahabharata’ is not new. Many have written and rewritten about the valour and the bravery of the Gods, Demi-gods, Kings, Princes, Warriors and other noblemen. But never has it been humanized and seen through the eyes of a young girl who grew up without a mother, who unknowingly fell in love with one man but was forced to marry five others, the princess who lived as a servant, the queen who watched her family fall apart around her. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Draupadi is passionate, outspoken, defiant and self confident; refusing to believe that her identity was to be bound by the men in her life.
Draupadi, or Panchali (as she preferred to be called) has always been seen as a negative character. She is regarded as being a kritya, a woman brought forth into the world to destroy, the ill-fated one who was the cause of the ruin of a whole clan. However, Divakaruni portrays Panchali as a powerful and independent woman, an equal to the men around her. She presents Panchali’s life as a series of choices made by her, not the people around her, giving her a voice in an overwhelmingly patriarchal society.
Panchali experiences the gamut of human emotions from love to anger and desire for vengeance, and articulates them so distinctly that you tend to empathize with her and can't condemn her. Even the other characters in the story have been drawn beautifully. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, is another strong female character. The five Pandavas, as well as Duryodhan are shown through Draupadi’s perspective, making the readers aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Her conflicting feelings for Karna take a spin on the traditional narration. Her relationship with Krishna is also delineating. She sees him as a friend, and finds him an eternal source of conflict and bliss.
It is understood that whoever reads this book is familiar with the story. But this rendition of the epic saga keeps you hooked till the end. For generations that have grown up on stories from this ancient epic, The Palace of Illusions is a nostalgic trip. It is a beautiful piece of writing that stays with you long after you’ve kept the book down.

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