BOOK REVIEW: THE FOREST OF ENCHANTMENTS by CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI

Ramayana: A fantastic Hindu mythological tale about the journey of the righteous king Rama from being the crown prince of Ayodhya to being banished into the forest for 14years, and then waging a war against the demon king Ravan ensuring that justice prevails and spread the message of the victory of goodness over evil.

There have been innumerable stories written on the virtuous life of Shri Ram extolling his achievements and the pious way he lived his life setting an example for leaders and kings for centuries to follow.

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is yet one more retelling of this great tale. However, this time the story is written from the perspective of none other than Lady Sita, daughter of King Janaka and wife of Ram.

Although Sita has always occupied the space of great importance in the Ramayana, this book is unique in the sense that here, Sita is the main protagonist and we get to understand the Ramayana from her outlook. The most distinctive feature of this book is the manner that Divakaruni uses Sita's story to explain the startling and diverse forms of LOVE and our actions-reactions to this most-desired yet the most-complicated emotion!

We all believe love to be an all-encompassing feeling that alone can make our lives picture-perfect. How wrong are we in this thought process and even Sita realized it through her trials. One gem on this emotion that caught my eye in the story is, "Love, no matter how deep wasn't enough to transform another person: how they thought, what they believed. at best, we could only change ourselves."

Divakaruni has a divine gift wherein she has the ability to beautifully portray the varied gamut of emotions faced by Sita in her tumultuous journey of life bringing alive her decisions, her judgments, her feeling of despair, her joys, her loneliness, her fear, and the deep and true love for her husband.
Being a woman, a wife, and a mother, I could relate to Sita's feeling of helplessness and her righteous anger or should I say hurt on some of her husband's decisions that may be correct from the point of view of an honest and fair leader but are biased and unfair for the wife.

Why is it that the family of a conscientious man should always be the one to pay the heaviest price? Why can a just ruler not be able to balance duty and love?
Why should be always the female who has to be the one standing beside her husband in all his decisions irrespective of whether she approves it or not?
Why is the woman who has to make sacrifices in the name of duty towards her husband?
Why is it always the woman who has to prove her innocence time and again, just for the satisfaction of the male ego?

As Sita rightly said before she leaves her life on Earth to join the otherworld that when life tests us, we women should be able to stand steadfast and think carefully with our hearts and head when to compromise and when to say NO MORE.

Through this hauntingly soulful story, Divakaruni has given a place of prominence and a voice to the otherwise silent female characters who have been unceremoniously pushed to the edges of the Ramayana: Queen Kaikeyi, Queen Kaushalya, Ahilya, Surpanakha, Queen Mandodari, and last but not the least Urmila.

This book is a true feast for all book lovers and a must-read. Pick your own copy by clicking on the link below:
https://amzn.to/2EotgMp

I want to end this post using another of Divakaruni's definition of Love that says that love is like an ocean: unfathomable, astonishing, measureless, and of course, forgiving!

BOOK REVIEW : The Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

 

I got introduced to the author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni through her novel Palace of Illusions. Needless to say I really liked that book. So now when Sridevi, a very dear friend and an avid reader told me about the Oleander Girl by Divakaruni, I had to read it.
The story is about a young girl named Korobi who is orphaned at birth and is brought up by her maternal grandparents in Kolkata. As any other normal eighteen year old, Korobi too dreams of a handsome young prince who will come in her life and sweep her off her feet. This dream turns into a reality when she gets engaged to Rajat Bose, son of Mrs and Mr Bose who own a very famous and successful art gallery in Kolkata. Though happy about her engagement, Korobi has a deep yearning to know more about her dead parents. They are a mystery to her as her grandparents never spoke about them nor did they encourage Korobi to talk or ask about them. So when her grandfather passes away0 suddenly on the night of her engagement party, her grandmother reveals a secret to Korobi which changes her life forever. Korobi is forced to reevaluate all her existing relationships and go in search of that One truth, across the seven seas, to America that will make or break her life. In her quest to find the truth she meets many new faces who teach her about the different traits of man and they even help her to understand her own strengths and weaknesses.

It is a beautifully written story about a girl who starts has had a very sheltered upbringing,  who is in awe of everything around her, unsure about what she wants. But by the end of the story she emerges as a confident young woman who is willing to fight for her self respect and who is strong enough to withstand  any storm in her life, just like the Oleander flower.
All the characters in the story are very well etched with believable traits which we can all relate to. The one character whom I really liked is Sarojini, Korobi's grandmother. She is shown as a meek housewife who is always in the shadow her husband's name and title. But her inner strength, the deep love and understanding, her ability to brave the truth comes into forefront when she is forced to look after the huge house, its finances and her granddaughter after the untimely death of her husband. There is a line which Sarojini says that is the essence of ever person. " How many layers there are to a man's heart, tender spots beneath the calluses, hidden even from himself" .
I am partial to stories with happy endings because they always leave a warm fuzzy feeling in the heart and makes me smile. This is one such book. It is a sweet story which stays with you long after you've finished reading it and makes you want to believe in love and faith and trust.

BOOK REVIEW : The palace of illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Mahabharata is one mythological story which we all know very well and have grown up listening or reading it's various tales. I was around 10-11yrs old when I first heard about it from my grandmother who seemed very excited about Mahabharata being aired on Doordarshan every Sunday morning. And so developed a Sunday ritual at my place. Everyone would get up early, take a bath, have breakfast n then sit in front of the television to watch Mahabharata.
Mahabharata is an epic tale wherein the main theme is the fight against injustice and to act in accordance with your dharma. It is the story of the families of two brothers Dhritarashtra and Pandu, the Kauravas n the Pandavas and how their enmity ultimately leads to the bloody battle of Kurukshetra which brings an end to the Third Age of Man or the Dvapar Yug, as per the Hindu scriptures.
Many authors have written about the varied and fascinating tales of Mahabharata. This book, though, is different. In this book, the author talks about the Mahabharata through the eyes and emotions of Draupadi.
The book starts with the birth of Draupadi and her brother Dhristadyumna from the sacrificial fire of the great Yagna organized by king Drupad who wanted to take revenge from Drona, the great teacher of Warcraft, who not only taught Kauravas and the Pandavas but even taught Dhristadyumna. Draupadi talks about her childhood which was very lonely and gloomy and how she always dreamt of getting married and going to a new ideal palace. The story moves ahead to her swayamvar where she snubs Karna and eventually gets married to Arjuna. She talks about the horrible way in which her new mother in law Kunti, gets her married to all her five sons and the strange special code of marital conduct designed by sage Vyasa to foster harmony in the Pandava household. As Divakaruni writes, Draupadi says, "like a communal drinking cup, I would be passed from hand to hand whether I wanted it or not." Post marriage, Draupadi along with her husbands and her mother in law go to live in the royal palace of Hastinapur. But Draupadi could never settle there and always had an intense desire for a palace of her own, which would be designed according to her choice. This heartfelt desire gets fulfilled when they shift to the barren Indraprashtha and the Pandavas ask the great Ashura magician Maya to build them the most beautiful palace. It was the most magnificent magical palace that shifted the settings strangely making the palace new each day. The Pandavas loved their palace but in the end, it was their pride in this magical palace which made Duryodhana greedy for it leading to the infamous game of dice where the Pandavas lost everything. Yudhisthir, not only lost all his riches and the magical palace but also his brothers, himself and their wife Draupadi. It was Draupadi's humiliation by the Kaurava brothers in the royal court of Hastinapur that made her vindictive and so determined to take her revenge from the Kauravas. It was she who with her open, matted hair, her sharp comments and taunts never made the five Pandavas forget her humiliation during their long exile of thirteen years. When even after the exile Duryodhana refused to give back Indraprashtha to the Pandavas, it leads to the bloodiest battle of that age which wreak destruction, both physical and emotional, of a magnitude never imagined before. Though technically the Pandavas won the battle of Kurukshetra but in reality, they had lost all that mattered to them- their sons, their beloved family members, their values n the righteousness which Yudhisthir always prided on.
Divakaruni is undoubtedly a master storyteller. This take on Mahabharata from Draupadi's perspective is a refreshing change and makes the reader view the Mahabharata from a totally different angle. To read about a young Draupadi, a lonely motherless princess who has never received any love or affection from her father and how this craving for love, fame, and power changes the life of Draupadi as well as those around her, is a sheer delight. It is intriguing to read how Draupadi was so ruled by the prophecy, which was made at the time of her birth. At the same time it is inspiring to know that in spite of all her hardships, she faced life like a regal queen stoically without begging for forgiveness or sympathy.
A must read for all those who love the mythological tales with a strong female protagonist and you can grab your copy right here: https://amzn.to/2KPmpNB

HAPPY READING!!!