The Palace of Illusions

Mahabharat has always been known for its complexity and also the shades of human nature that mythology rarely accepts... maybe that is the reason why it has been so much more fascinating and intriguing than any other story we might have grown old on... when we talk of mahabharat, we see a lot of strong warriors, rulers, gods rally past the lanes of our memory... but what has always been interesting is that no matter how strong the men were, the women were stronger... they were the ones who kept it all together and when the time came destroyed it as well....
There have been interpretations and versions of Mahabharat and each one better than the other.. recently I happened to come across Panchali’s Mahabharat- The Palace of Illusions... the book told the story of mahabharat through the eyes of Draupadi... and i am not sure if it was the magic woven by the author or the amazing magnanimity of Mahabharat which made the book such a page turner...
It turned and tossed the corners of mahabharat and presented a picture which I had ever thought of... in the initial years panchali, through her fascination for Kunti comes to the question that do strong women have good marriages... well the question was relevant to her then and is relevant to me now... I wonder if men then and men now are so insecure that it is unbecoming in a female to be strong... or is it that once the lifelong dream of a happy marriage is broken the woman no longer has anything to loose and can take on the world for all that its worth...
Every woman strong or weak gives a hand and an eye to make her relationship work and I find it harder to believe that stronger she is the weaker the relation will grow... do men have such insatiable need to assert themselves that a strong woman can make them look inadequate... May be the answer is yes... maybe this is the reason that the girls are always painted as mute, giving and docile creature who needs to looked after... and maybe this is the reason that women through ages have been told to learn and accept their fates without question... to satisfy the great male ego...

Down with MEN!!!!!

Lately I have been having a pretty dull life nothing to do and a lot of time to make myself mad over petty details and hopeless love affairs... but then again I have always known to bounce back, so here I am... I have gotten into the habit of sleeping for 12 hours, swimming for 2 and then watching some obscure English television series for the rest of the night.... this is where I found a new thought and a new topic...
The other day I was watching Boston Legal I am a huge fan of James Spader aka Alan Shore and I love his nearly gay relationship with Denny Crane... but then as always I started drawing parallels... God has made me enough self obsessed to see myself in all the relationships or as I like to believe he has made me smart enough to learn from all of them... Last night I got one of those epiphanies when Denny Crane happened to mention that his and Alan’s relationship is the best he has known anyone to have so far... now how can a non-sexual gay relationship suck me in... well it did...
As it so happens I have a non- sexual gay relationship myself... and I happen to know that it is the best relationship among all the relationships that i have seen people have... and then it made me think why are our romantic relationships not that simple... is it the opposite sex which does the trick and ruins the spontaneity and honesty of it all.... what is it with men and women??? Are they even meant to be together... well as far as my experience is concerned I dont think so...
Why is it that my relationship with my ‘lady’ friend so simple and so easy??? Why don’t I ever have the need to work on it??? Why is it that this one comes so naturally and all the relationships I so desperately want to work out always end up in the crapper... what is it with men and sex that the relationship becomes a political arena requiring nothing short of all the means and manoeuvres of a Lok Sabha Election...
Seriously are men and women meant to be together... logic says no they are not... No matter what happens men and women are different they do come from a different planet altogether... and as the relationship gurus will have us believe- opposites attract but likes adhere... well here’s the thought men and women are not alike... they will never be and as long as they are together relationships will be difficult, unsatisfying and a lot of work...
Then is it so that Homosexuals have the answer... have they worked out the intricacies of life and relationships and have found the answer sought by us all...
I hope to god this is not the answer... for one it’s not the way to go for my 25 years old fatigued and haggard mind... its too late for me to change sides now... but then I think after asking all these questions I will still have a man who would make butterflies flutter in my stomach and my heart would miss a beat... and all the hard work and frustration would be OK.... till then I am happily single...