The Palace of Illusions

Book Name: The Palace of Illusions

Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Genre: Mythological Fiction

"Wait for a man to avenge your honour, and you'll wait forever."

We all have read, Ramayana or Mahabharata at one point in our life, due to academic curriculum or out of interest. In both the epic tales, there are many strong-willed female protagonists, which we know, but still, we don't know their story, their point of view and their sufferings and turmoil. These books were written by the men, for the men, so we never came across their side of the story. We only know what they have described or what they have understood or thought about these characters. These female characters who played an important role in these epics are left unheard and unnoticed. The recent trend of retelling mythological books from a female perspective has given these characters a chance to be heard, though these re-tellings are not entirely historical, based on the fact, rather these blends of half fiction and half myths, still, they serve the purpose to think about these stories from a different perspective. The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is one such book.

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a retelling of one of the greatest epic of Hindu Mythology, Mahabharat, from the point of view of Panchali, also known as Draupadi. The narrator of the story, Panchali, takes you to her different stages of life starting from her birth to the last journey of her life. In this book, you will read how she was born unwanted, and then how she has to sacrifice her love due to societal restriction and have to accept five husbands, Pandav. She also talks about the great war of Kurukshetra between Kaurav and Pandavas and the repercussion of that war. 

This book is an amazing blend of history and fiction, which is going to leave you mesmerized and will compel you to think, yeah, maybe this is how she must have felt, this is how she has thought all along. This book gives you a more humanistic approach to her life.

Panchali is often blamed to be the reason for attracting the destruction of her clan. But was she the sole reason for that destruction? She has been portrayed as the reason for that destruction, but she was not that faulty as it is shown in the epics by calling her evil eye, doomed and what not. What I don't like in these epics is the way they have portrayed women. These epics are written by the men for the men, which portrays them as the superior ones. The female protagonist is always portrayed to be inferior, then the male protagonist and their story, their point of view are missing all along in these epics.

Talking about my view of this book, I loved this book as it gave me a new perspective towards Mahabharat. But I would like to say one thing that before starting to read this just keep your religious ideologies aside and then read. Always keep in mind that this book is not entirely historical based on Hindu Mythology, it has traces of fiction. Otherwise, you may end up hurting your religious sentiment or disliking the book. 

"Time is the great eraser, both of sorrow and joy."

If you have read this book share your thoughts in the comment section.