Summary Of Chira Banerjee Divakaruni's The Palace Of Illusions

Mahasweta Devi’s short story, “Giribala,” is about the life of Giribala, a girl of Talsana village located in India. Born into a caste in a time when it was still customary to pay a bride-price, Giri is sold to Aulchand by her father. From this point on, we see a series of unfortunate, tragic events that take place in Giri’s life as a result of the circumstances surrounding Giri’s life. There are many issues in Giri’s life in India that Devi highlights to readers. First, the economic instability of the village leads to an extremely poor quality of life for the lower, working classes. Next, the cruel role of women determined by men in society is to either satisfy the sexual desires of men or to reproduce offspring who can work or be sold off to marriages. There are also other social norms and beliefs which discriminate against women that will be discussed.

The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a period that is half history, half myth and completely magical. Described by Panchaali, the wife of the great Pandava siblings in the Mahabharata, the novel gives us a new dimension to the ancient epic. The novel traces the life of princess Panchaali, beginning with her birth in divine fire and following her unusual life as a woman with five husbands who were cheated out of their father's (Pandu’s) kingdom.

Mahashweta Devi is an extraordinary woman who has written, worked and fought for the marginalised tirelessly for the past six decades. She is a strange mix of an activist and a writer who has carried both duties fiercely all her life. Away from the spotlight, she keeps working for the welfare and betterment of those whom the media and mainstream conveniently keep forgetting. Her writing is disturbing because it shows the reader her or his own true face.

Women in India were unaware of their miserable condition. It is in the post independence period the women’s quest for identity of her own commenced. The 20th century saw the shift from outer to inner sensibilities and no one can better understand a man or woman better a feminine writer. In modern English fiction a number of women novelists have arrived on the literary scene, they have set out making new forays in to the world of women. Nayantara Sahgal being a feminist writer has emphasized in her novels on freedom and a new definition of the New Women. Sahgal’s heroines are well aware of the injustice done to them in their marriage and they come out of this traditional bond.

This paper attempts to examine the fictional projections of Indian girls, to see how they emerge in ideological terms. Their journeys from self-alienation to self-adjustment, their childhood struggles against the hypocrisies and monstrosities of the grown-up world, eventually demolishing the unjust male constructed citadels of power that hinder their progress- are the highlighted issues. The point of comparison between the two novels focused on here is the journey of Rahel in The God of Small Things and Sai in The Inheritance from a lonely childhood to a tragic adulthood passing through a struggle with the complex forces of patriarchal society. Both the novels portray the imaginativeness, inventiveness, independence, rebelliousness, wide-eyed wonder and innocence associated with these young girls.

There are many who believe that it was her headstrong actions that brought about the destruction of the Third Age of Man and she is known to be a Kritya, one who brings doom to her clan. But Chitra Banerjee moves away from such interpretations to provide a new outlook on Draupadi. She portrays Draupadi as a powerful, strong and independent woman, an equal to the men around her, rather than subservient. The novelist presents Draupadi‘s life as a series of choices made by herself, and not by her written fate. She is the one who writes her own story and gives herself a voice in the overwhelmingly patriarchal society in ancient India. She is the protagonist of her

The articles “Voicing the Feminine Within: A Journey through the Life Narrative of A. Revathi”, Writing a Life Between Gender Lines: Conversations with A.Revathi about her autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story”, Gender Geometry: A Study of A. Revathi’s autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story and the interview Voice of Visibility by NithinMayanth are the only works directly based on Revathi’s autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story, the primary text of this research.

According to the feminist perspective, the novel declares the “fantasy of a powerful woman, who subverts the patriarchal desire for knowledge, domination and control”. Gender studies and queer theory see this controversial text as a “hybrid and playful staging of gender that ‘queers’ or deconstructs traditional categories of masculinity and femininity”.

’[4] As Dangarembga's plot shifts from Tambu's individual rise to collective effort with all her female relatives and friends, she acknowledges ‘If 1 forget them, my cousin, my mother, my friends, 1 might as well forget myself. ’[5] In recording these women's resistance to the patriarchy, Dangarembga suggests that the strongest, most resilient females are not the women educated and ‘liberated’ in the West and privileged within their

While feminists have been using literature to spread their beliefs and to advocate gender equality for centuries, science fiction as a genre is traditionally masculinist in its approach to the ideology of humanity. Within science fiction texts, human values are frequently represented by white male protagonists who become capable of overcoming natural limitations while women are reduced to insignificant supporting roles. Feminism seeks to counter such sexist depictions of humanity, and although such movements have obtained impressive momentum, much of the focus has historically been placed on women in the western world. Postcolonial feminism marked a transition away from a singular focus on middle class western women to campaign for the rights of women of color and developing nations. India in particular is and always has been governed under a strictly masculine hegemony that presents women with numerous cultural challenges such as discrimination and a lack of access to education. Rokeya Shekhawat Hossain is a feminist writer who was well ahead of her time as the themes portrayed in her most notable short story “Sultana’s Dream” coincide with the postcolonial feminist movement that would take rise over fifty years after the publication of her work. The article “Feminist Theory and Science Fiction” by Veronica Hollinger outlines several different approaches and general structures feminist science fiction authors undertake to promote their feminist agendas. Although Hollinger

He said that victory had indeed accrued to the righteous as the Pandavas had fought for a righteous cause. Gandhari, however, could not forgive Lord Krishna whom she held responsible for all the tragic events. She cursed him saying that the whole of his clan of Yadavas would die fighting one another. Her words came to be true. After the war, she retired to the forest with her husband and sister-in-law, Kunti, where they perished in a forest fire. Kunti Kunti was the wife of Emperor Pandu and mother of the Pandavas. She was the daughter of King Surasena, father of Vasudeva, Krishna’s father. Her father gave her in adoption to his brother-inlaw, King Kuntibhoja, and hence she was called Kunti. Her name at birth was Pritha, and therefore, one of the names of her son, Arjuna, is Partha. A large part of Kunti’s character has already been considered earlier when studying Karna in the Mahabharata: how she invoked the Sun God, abandoned the newborn out of a sense of shame because she was not married, how she met Karna again on the eve of the battle and revealed to him for the first time his divine birth. Kunti accompanied her sons during their first period of exile, having escaped from the arson of the house of combustible material

What defines a woman? A question most women might ask themselves. Is it culture, the color of their skin, their clothes, education, the way others perceive them? Those being among the few of the attributes that might define a woman according to society. Throughout history, women have struggled through gender stereotypes and other discriminations. Women struggle with identity because of those stereotypes; it can be difficult when a woman is trying to pursue a career. Additionally, women want to be more than what their culture says; they want to make a difference in the world. At times while dealing with these discriminations, women find themselves in situations that are inevitable. No matter where in the world or time in history, women have tried to combat those cultural stereotypes. Within, today’s society women battle against the societal norms; against women furthering their education or obtaining free will. Additionally, the way women perceive themselves can affect their lives and the decisions they make. In the stories Clothes by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Minutes of Glory by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, the reader can visualize the way women are viewed according to their cultural norms. Thiong’o and Divakaruni illustrate the different roads these women take through the use of imagery and symbolism to overcome societal norms.

Valmiki’s Ramayana has transcended being simply a folktale, and has manifested itself into an embodiment of virtues. It has great influence over the expectation of a women in the society; the status and the ideal itself has been conferred upon them by the Ramayana which depict ‘Sita’ as the ideal wife worthy of being emulated by Hindu women. There is a similar, recurring pattern that seems to unfold for any women depicted in the Ramayana who actively stray beyond this idea model. These women, particularly Tataka, Shurpanakha and Ahalya, are depicted as creatures that conclude in paying the heavy consequences set on them by the patriarchy.

Abstract: In The Palace of Illusion, Divakaruni portrays Panchali as a bold, powerful and independent woman, an equal to the men and not subservient. She presents Panchali’s life as a series of choices made by her and giving her a voice in the overwhelmingly patriarchal society that was ancient India. Divakaruni interprets the epic – Mahabharat which provides a complete narrative. She gives a stronger role to the women of the story, and portrays them as equals in society. This paper aims at the new perspective given to Panchali by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Draupadi has been portrayed mostly negatively in Hindu society in India and we will fail to find girls being named after her. Many believe that it was her headstrong actions that brought about the destruction of the Third Age of Man. She is known to be a kritya - one who brings doom to her clan. But Divakaruni moves away from such interpretations to provide a new outlook of Panchali.

Written in the first person narrative, The Palace of Illusions is a feminist perspective of Mahabharata. Told through the eyes of Draupadi, from the time of her mystical birth till her divine ending, the novel is a highly fictionalized work of literature which talks about the life of a princess who was born human but was expected to be