Maha's musings

Book Review The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni The book with the pages of pains, sufferings, yearnings, betrayals, guilt and finally salvation (of Panchaali) -- The Palace of Illusions It is always invigorating to read or listen to the story of  the great Indian epic -- The Mahabharata. There are numerous retelling of this epic in the forms of novels, plays, movies, series, etc., "The Palace of Illusions" stands unique from them all as it features Panchaali as a narrator who recounts the legend from her viewpoint. While reading the novel I could see the scenes so vividly through the eyes of Paanchaali.   The plot begins with the magical birth of Panchaali from the yagnya fire, next to her brother Dhri. Right from the birth, she is ignored by her father for being a girl. Panchaali, being too innocent to understand the sociaty, yearns to fulfil the purpose of her life. Years pass under the protection of her nanny (Dhaima) and the friendship of Krishna.  Her m

Siblings - The Saplings of Same Soil Siblings are the saplings planted in the same ground. They get the same rain and same shine; breathe in the same air. Bloom together. Shade each other. Their flowers are of same fragrance; fruits are of same taste; leaves are of same shape. They bud, flourish and wither finally unchanged. Yet the bond gets stronger and stronger day by day. Their roots are tangled to let them stand firm.  There are thousands of people we come across in our life. Family is a miniature society which is complete in itself. Mother gives us birth, father gives us protection, grand parents give us care. But the siblings are ultimate. They play multiple roles. They are our parents while showing us love; teachers while teaching good and bad and streamlining our path; friends while having fun; enemies during the trivial brawls we have and what not! Despite all the odds, we stand for each other. A brother may pull your braid but will never let anybody pull your pride. A sister

Can there be a man as loyal as Hasan? as guilt-ridden as Amir? as majestic as Baba? as submissive as Ali? as prodigious as Sohrab?  as wicked as Assef? The Kite Runner deals with the lives of two Afghan  boys - Amir and Hasan. The novel is in first person narrative from the point of view of Amir which enables us to view his guilt, longings, insecurities, anger and love in a vivid way. It's a mixture of friendship, loyalty and inevitably betrayal and guilt.  Amir is the son of rich and well known Baba. Throughout his life he longs to gain his father's  love. When the novel begins, he is a motherless small boy. He and his servant Hasan are fed by the same nurse. Albeit being his master, he never treats hasan as his servant but as his friend perhaps as a brother.  Hasan is the son of Ali who is the servant of Baba. Like Amir and Hasan, they both too share the bond of friendship as they both too were fed by the same nurse. Despite being Hasaras, Ali and his son are treated fairly b