The Palace of Illusions

The Palace of Illusions is Mahabharat from Draupadi’s PoV – from her birth to her death – interesting in the book is the liberty taken by the author about ‘Draupadi’ and ‘Karna’ to the point where she blames herself most for what happened to him.

“Love comes like lightning, and disappears the same way. If you are lucky, it strikes you right. If not, you’ll spend your life yearning for a man you can’t have”

“What did I feel, seeing Karna fall? Part of me was glad that the unbearable tension of the battle was over. Part was relieved that my husband had won, that he was safe. Part realized that we were now very close to achieving the vengeance I’d craved—though it gave me no satisfaction. Part was thankful that this dreadful war would now end—for without Karna, what hope did Duryodhan have? Part sorrowed that a great warrior and a noble soul had died. But the part that was a girl at a swayamvar facing a young man whose eyes grew dark with pain at her words, the part that didn’t owe loyalty to the Pandavas yet, couldn’t hold back her tears. Regret racked me. How might Karna’s life have turned out if I’d allowed him to compete that day? If he’d won? The longing that I’d suppressed all these years crashed over me like a wave, bringing me to my knees. He’d died believing that I hated him. How I wished it could have been otherwise!”

An interesting read ….