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Saturday, May 23, 2009

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...

7 comments:

Ram Iyer said...

interesting....
have you read any by ashok banker?

Clueless Woman said...

no i havent read anything by ashok banker... recommend something i`ll sure pick up

Ram Iyer said...

well, you can start with ashok banker's prince of ayodha, the first in the series.

for more info - ashokbanker.com

Ankit said...

I don't know in general who is strong because I have seen strength in both.I feel women are taught to accept their fates so that they can't have their say and it may be due to the conspiracy of men in the past

BrownPhantom said...

This is the third recommendation, from authentic sources,I am reading about that book. Gotta get my hand on it soon.

krishnan said...

may be thats the marvel of gods principle of opposites.. and by understanding each others inbuilt quality one can sail euphorically...

Sunit M. Bavishi said...

though over the years it has been potrayed that women are weak... but in this era a fool will think so... but also about mahabharat who knows the truth... one needs to go back in time... to find the real truth... :)