The Palace of Illusions

Palace of Illusions: It's the story of Mahabharata from Draupadi’s point of view.
The book started very well.
It talked about the childhood of Draupadi in very unusual and novel way; especially her relationship with her brother Dri (Dhristadryum) and Krishana.
But after say some 100 pages the book lost its initial zest.
It almost became a dragged and presumptuous narration of Mahabharata.
The author lost herself with a few assumptions that she had made. e.g.- Draupadi feels very strongly for Karna.
I mean even if that can be one of the many complex feelings in her heart. It should not become her life story I guess!
And my biggest disappointment was with the fact that Draupadi’s relationship with her husbands is totally superficial.
She is one woman who was officially married to 5 men. The book was a hope to understand what and why of her psyche in this regard. But as usual the story talked a few things about Arjuna, Bheema and Yudhisthira, but Nakul and Sahadev were hardly even mentioned.
I mean it's ok if Vyaasa didn't mention them too much as he had too many characters to talk about. But if we are talking about story of Draupadi, should she not be talking about these two men who are supposedly her husbands!
Another huge disappointment was the fact that Draupadi and Kunti’s relationship which started on a complex note was never mentioned or developed later on in the plot.
In another words novel raised the hopes really high in the beginning but never met those hopes.
Other women characters where also mentioned so briefly that it hardy told anything about women’s place in the time of Mahabharata. Gandhari, who is an extremely interesting woman, was mentioned so briefly as if she doesn’t exist.
Yet another disappointment was with the portrayal of Draupadi herself. Draupadi was not such a composed woman the way it’s portrayed in the book. She was much fiercer or else the Great War would NOT have taken place.
Here Draupadi and Kunti appear to be same person after a point with same set of dilemmas. I don’t want to reveal the plot so I will not tell much about it in detail.
Another thing, was it not Draupadi who wanted to wash her hair with Duhsashana’s blood. I mean when we talk about Draupadi we see THIS woman who was so passionate about her revenge. You will be horrified to know that incident was not even mentioned in the book.
Overall the book was a huge disappointment for me.

Palace of Illusions: It's the story of Mahabharata from Draupadi’s point of view.
The book started very well.
It talked about the childhood of Draupadi in very unusual and novel way; especially her relationship with her brother Dri (Dhristadryum) and Krishana.
But after say some 100 pages the book lost its initial zest.
It almost became a dragged and presumptuous narration of Mahabharata.
The author lost herself with a few assumptions that she had made. e.g.- Draupadi feels very strongly for Karna.
I mean even if that can be one of the many complex feelings in her heart. It should not become her life story I guess!
And my biggest disappointment was with the fact that Draupadi’s relationship with her husbands is totally superficial.
She is one woman who was officially married to 5 men. The book was a hope to understand what and why of her psyche in this regard. But as usual the story talked a few things about Arjuna, Bheema and Yudhisthira, but Nakul and Sahadev were hardly even mentioned.
I mean it's ok if Vyaasa didn't mention them too much as he had too many characters to talk about. But if we are talking about story of Draupadi, should she not be talking about these two men who are supposedly her husbands!
Another huge disappointment was the fact that Draupadi and Kunti’s relationship which started on a complex note was never mentioned or developed later on in the plot.
In another words novel raised the hopes really high in the beginning but never met those hopes.
Other women characters where also mentioned so briefly that it hardy told anything about women’s place in the time of Mahabharata. Gandhari, who is an extremely interesting woman, was mentioned so briefly as if she doesn’t exist.
Yet another disappointment was with the portrayal of Draupadi herself. Draupadi was not such a composed woman the way it’s portrayed in the book. She was much fiercer or else the Great War would NOT have taken place.
Here Draupadi and Kunti appear to be same person after a point with same set of dilemmas. I don’t want to reveal the plot so I will not tell much about it in detail.
Another thing, was it not Draupadi who wanted to wash her hair with Duhsashana’s blood. I mean when we talk about Draupadi we see THIS woman who was so passionate about her revenge. You will be horrified to know that incident was not even mentioned in the book.
Overall the book was a huge disappointment for me.

For a person who knows only bits and pieces of the Mahabharat, this was an eye opener. This book is like the abridged version of the great epic from Draupadi's point of view.
The author has kept enough of mysticism in the book along with demystifying come of the myths. The book starts with a very exciting beginning and the momentum is kept up till before the great war starts. Then the book drags itself to a close.
However, to say that the book brings out what women of the time thought and what role they played in making history would be an overstatement. The only woman who is described in detail is draupadi herself, at times the book seems to be an aloof description and not coming from the heart of a person. All other lady characters such as Kunti, Gandhari, Subhadra etc are all just touched upon. Read it if you are looking for a story and not a detailed view.
Over all, the book is an entertainer and keeps the readers attention.

Hasnt it ever passed your mind that when men and Gods took decisions for the 'greater good', what the women in their time went through?

Panchaali had a unique life and a unique destiny - and she was indeed born to change the course of history. However, the book tells you the story of the great Indian epic that has been remembered for its heroes and Krishna from a woman's point of view. The characters come alive as the protagonists husbands and friends and the story unfolds as the character break the barriers of their prototype historical persona.

I absolutely recommend it to anyone who feels even remotely interested in the subject.

It was a treat to read this book.. I found it totally gripping and it stayed in my system for a while after I had read it...

I say, why be judgemental on whether Draupadi had a crush on Karna or not?? Even if she did feel for him, what is wrong with that? She did have 5 husbands alright, but was it her decision to be married to all 5 of them?? She was still a woman of virtue who kept her feelings to herself and did what a good wife must...

It was nice to look at Mahabharta through Draupadi's point of view...