A number of times The Mahabharata was covered from point of view made by the warrior characters defined in the epic but this time Panchaali, the most crucial woman in the epic speaks up in “The Palace of Illusions” narrated by Chitra Divakaruni

It’s an all men’s day out that the Mahabharata illustrates, and the epic is described from the point of view that the super-warriors kept displaying. However, the women era in this epic wasn’t always given the due importance that it deserves and Chitra Divakaruni places her generous effort in dealing this particular effort. The Mahabharata comprises numerous female characters, featured with their own philosophies towards life, and Divakaruni chooses Panchaali, aka Draupadi to give a new approach to this epical work. “The Palace of Illusions” demonstrates the most influential woman character in the Mahabharata from a completely new perspective. This work brings the Draupadi not as the common wife of the Pandavas, but as a woman with her own life philosophies, lookout for the politics, expectations, love, lust, and most importantly, her secret desires with the one who happens to be the most feared foe for the Pandavas, called Karna. The basic plot very simply is the story of the five Pandavas, who go up against their 100 Kauravas cousins to win back their kingdom of Hastinapur, with the divine intervention of one of the most popular reincarnations of Lord Krishna. Though she was destined to change the course of history, even as she arose from the sacred fire and smoke, Draupadi, one of the main characters in this tale and the wife of the five Pandavas, is traditionally left playing a supporting character role. What Chitra Divakaruni has done in her latest novel “Palace of Illusions” is to skillfully narrate this story from Draupadi’s point of view and more significantly a woman’s perspective. Traditionally many perceive Draupadi’s character of many dark shades, but Divakaruni has deliberately and masterfully crafted Draupadi’s character as one that deserves tremendous empathy and compassion. Divakaruni, with her expressive prose, has succeeded in rewriting this story of the enmity between two sets of cousins, into the story of a woman who changed history. The link at www.rightbooks.in/product_details.asp?pid=9780330458535&The%20Palace%20of%20Illusions from RightBooks.in host this periodic piece of work from her.