This picture says so much about perspectives. A few days ago I wrote about Mahabharata as seen by Draupadi; a woman’s perspective to the epic war. It didn’t change the key incidents but it definitely changed the way I perceived the epic.

The Garuda Raksha mask comes from Sri Lanka and relates to another great Indian epic – the Ramayana. The Ramayana as we know it is the story of the good King Rama defeating the bad King Ravana. But thats our side of the story. Sri Lankan’s accept the defeat but don’t see Ravana in the same light as evil. Here’s some things to mull over -

Ravana was a great king. His reign was the golden age in Sri Lanka. Even the Ramayan says the city of Lanka was made of gold.
He was an accomplished Veena player. He had won over the Gods and been granted many boons.
The people of Lanka loved Ravana and stood by him during the war. He was considered a righteous king.
Ravana may have abducted Sita (Rama’s wife) but he never touched her. He could have forced himself on her but didn’t.

So do we tell stories to prove ourselves right? Is it our way of justifying what we did and why we did it? Is history told by winners the real story?

I had fun shooting this one… Look carefully you can see my sneakers The location was amazing with a great night sky and painting the tent from inside with light was something I was trying for the first time…. A few attempts did it though

What do I like about this photo? Just the colours and randomness…

As a child Malgudi Days was my first exposure to the life in a village. The people R. K. Narayan described were colorful and fascinating. For the first time I started to see more to people than what met the eye. There was so much more to people’s lives – the drama, the stories!

I started to look forward to staying in a small town or village and getting to know the people and life there. Not that there wasn’t enough drama in the city but rather just that people in cities didn’t have time to stop and talk. And so, I travelled and talked to people across India, getting to know them and their lives. I was hooked!

Then as the universe has a way of giving us what we want, I married Che who’s roots lay in a small town in Tamil Naidu (did I say I have a thing for South India? I belong here). The first time I came to Kovilpatti was as a new bride and everyone went out of their way to make this non-Tamil speaking girl feel at home. I did feel at home but then the first time I thought it was just because I was new. Not True! Not true at all!

With every visit I get to know people better, their lives unfold with its stories, twists and turns and intrigue. And every time I feel more at home. Its the place yes but more than that, its the people. Here people have the time to talk and share their lives. They take the time, every time to make me feel a part of it. Me the hesitating, English speaking girl who needs everything explained repeatedly, slowly and with gestures.

This is my own Malgudi, a quaint little town filled with colorful people and stories at every corner. This is the India of my heart, the real India in all its colourful splendour!

Title: The Palace of Illusions
Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (May 12th 2008)
Genre: Mythology (Indian)
Read: eBook
Stars: ****/5
Summary: (GoodReads)
A reimagining of the world-famous Indian epic, the Mahabharat—told from the point of view of an amazing woman.

Relevant to today’s war-torn world, The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is half history, half myth, and wholly magical. Narrated by Panchaali, the wife of the legendary Pandavas brothers in the Mahabharat, the novel gives us a new interpretation of this ancient tale.

The novel traces the princess Panchaali’s life, beginning with her birth in fire and following her spirited balancing act as a woman with five husbands who have been cheated out of their father’s kingdom. Panchaali is swept into their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war involving all the important kings of India. Meanwhile, we never lose sight of her strategic duels with her mother-in-law, her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands’ most dangerous enemy. Panchaali is a fiery female redefining for us a world of warriors, gods, and the ever-manipulating hands of fate.

Review:

I heard of ‘The Palace of Illusions’ first from my husband Che during a discussion about perpectives and how what we think of history may not be the only way it happened.

I have read the Amar Chitra Katha version of the Mahabharata and even watched the TV serials avidly but all of these were from Vayasa’s viewpoint. Somehow that was the Mahabharata for me, I’d never thought that Draupadi or a woman’s point of view to the whole battle maybe different. Thats why I read this book.

And it didn’t let me down. It is a journey worth taking to see the battle with a different pair of eyes. ‘The Palace of Illusions’ is the same old Mahabharata but as seen by Draupadi. Chitra does a good job of letting us peek into the heart and mind of a woman. Her turmoil at trying to be more that just a woman in the harem of kings and her quest to learn more, be more. How she struggles to accept her fate that was sealed the day she stepped out of the fire. Her love for one unattainable man and her duty to another five.

Chitra makes Draupadi just like any other woman with her issues and reconciliation with her mother-in-law. Her sense of pride and honour and the lengths she would go to to revenge them. A woman we can relate to and yet she stands apart with the role she plays in the story.

This book is a must read if you’re into Hindu Mythology and Lore, and even if you’re not, this is a must read for the different perpective to history and lore.