{"id":1197,"date":"2020-05-11T12:58:40","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T12:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/wpbooksblog\/?p=1008"},"modified":"2022-01-14T10:38:52","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T05:08:52","slug":"the-palace-of-illusions-by-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/2020\/05\/11\/the-palace-of-illusions-by-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni\/","title":{"rendered":"The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Palace of illusions falls in the genre of \u201cNo man\u2019s land\u201d . Historical fiction ? Mythology ?, History ? Or just fiction?\u00a0 Amazon groups most of\u00a0 such literature under main head Science Fiction , Horror and Fantasy and subhead Fantasy . Does it mean fiction is not fantasy ?<\/span><\/p>\n

In a way, what is fiction but creative, imaginative narration of real life incidents with added twists and turns to make it dramatic and spell binding and fantasy gives unbridled flow to narration.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I go by this definition of Fantasy . Fantasy is a sub-genre of fiction. It refers to a branch of fiction which usually takes place in a world displaced from ours in either place or time. It has elements of the supernatural, including elements of magic, talking bears and dragons and so on.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So should we then call it historical fantasy ?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Palace of Illusions is the story of Mahabharatam , in a way it would appeal even to a young reader. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Indian mythology is very amenable to creative story telling. To quote the author , \u201ca story gains power with retelling.\u201d So we do have a very powerful story here.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have read many versions at least once and one version by Rajagoplachari, \u201cVyasar Virundhu\u201d in Tamil countless times. Mahabharatham is like a Matryoshka doll, <\/span>with stories within stories going on and on. Virtually there is an explanation for anything happening anywhere as a fall out of something that happened in a different time and space. That is the theory of karma in all its glory.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As for readability, the most boring version is, predictably , the original one; no not in Sanskrit but the English translation by Kisari <\/span>M<\/span>ohan Ganguli. Almost every sentence is so convoluted with lengthy adjectives and honorifics for each character even in a routine conversation. Some examples :-<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSaying this the mild-speeched Krishna hid her face with her soft hands like the buds of lotus, and began to weep. And the tears of Panchali begot of grief washed her deep, plump and graceful breasts crowned with auspicious marks.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Yudhishthira said this, his beloved queen. the high-minded Krishna of sweet <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>smiles, answered him.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Krishnaa is another name of Draupadi)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, we do need the story to be told and re-told in any number of styles, in prose, poetry and drama. The Palace of Illusions starts with the birth or the appearance of Draupadi at King Drupad’s yagya. (sacrifice) .\u00a0What makes this narration special is that it is told as seen though the eyes of the main female character , Draupadi or Paanchaali.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Right from the start there is the focus on her being born with a destiny to fulfill. In her growing up years (some say that Draupadi was already\u00a0 an adult when she came out of the sacrificial fire) there is elation and\u00a0 there is anxiety and her chance encounter with the great sage Vyasa , rather than putting her at ease, only causes\u00a0 more anxiety .<\/p>\n

Despite the prophesies ,as events unfold , she finds herself in no position to change the course of her unusual life. She is probably the only one\u00a0 among gods, gandharva , yakshas and the mortals , who is married\u00a0 to five men. She knows that her destiny would drive her to be the cause of the greatest war on earth\u00a0 and the end of an eon.<\/p>\n

No single character can be aware of everything happening over a large canvas of time and space. So our protagonist gets a boon of divya- drishti (divine power to see everything) from the sage Vyasa and the Queen of Dreams<\/a> dreams up the parts required to cover the gaps in the story. In a way Draupadi becomes the fourth know-all in the story after, Krishna, Vyasa and Bhishma.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The title says it all. Palace of illusions at Indraprastha is central to Paanchaali\u2019s reign as the Queen of Pandava Kingdom. Though this period spans 36 years , most versions give just a broad-brush treatment to this phase barring the Rajasuya Yagya which is at the fag end of the period.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I am going on and on about Mahabharatam in general rather than about this book; but I can\u2019t help it. While reading, there is always a stream of thoughts in the backdrop from various versions, as one looks for similarities and variances. What stands out in the Palace of Illusions is the total familiarity bordering on utter irreverence shown to the great heroes and even gods. This makes the characters look more human and the book more readable. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Just a few examples:-<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About Yudhistra<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWas he a saint, or merely lacking in common sense? In either case, it was most annoying.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About Arjuna<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor once, my much-wedded husband (aided by a dig from my elbow in his ribs) made the right decision: he asked that the princess become, instead, his son Abhimanyu\u2019s wife.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Krishna, an Avtar of Vishnu is singled out for special treatment . There is levity and facetiousness where-ever Krishna comes on the scene. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s how the famous Geethopadesh at Kurukshetra is described !<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I watched Krishna advise Arjun, consoling him, teaching him how to be successful not only on this battlefield but beyond it, I almost didn\u2019t recognize the amusing, carefree man I\u2019d known since my girlhood. Where had he learned so many philosophies? When had he made their wisdom his own?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is a story without a love triangle ? May be in this case it could be a love \u2013 hexagon or is it love-polygon , what with Paanchaali talking about the wives of her husbands ! Karna angle is the most unexpected one in the polygon. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Over all, It\u2019s a great read; awesome story telling and absolutely fascinating style. Just wondering ,how would the story have gone, if other strong female characters like Kunti , Gaandhari or even Rukmini had also insisted on voicing\u00a0 their viewpoints . <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The book is best enjoyed if you have a good knowledge of Indian Mythology in general. Unlike Ramayanam, Mahabharatham provides scope for threadbare analysis of all the characters. No one including Krishna is beyond reproach. For further reading \/ viewing I would suggest Gurcharan Das\u2019s \u201cDifficulty of being good \u201c and the serial \u201cDharmakshetra\u201d on Epic Channel. Here\u2019s one episode<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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follow through…..<\/p>\n

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Palace of illusions falls in the genre of \u201cNo man\u2019s land\u201d . Historical fiction ? Mythology ?, History ? Or just fiction?\u00a0 Amazon groups most of\u00a0 such literature under main head Science Fiction , Horror and Fantasy and subhead Fantasy . Does it mean fiction is not fantasy ? In a way, what is fiction … Continue reading “The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1197"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1974,"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions\/1974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sibha.in\/RR\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}