The forgotten Heroes
I've spent my entire childhood surrounded by fascinating stories. Narrations by my mother and grandmother about life lessons, hidden in the intricately woven treasury of stories have shaped my present concepts of morality. A lot of my ideas of right and wrong are influenced by my feminist spirit. However, a lot of them are also a reflection of the history buff inside me, learning from the mistakes of others.
I was a child of seven, maybe nine when I first started watching the Mahabharata on television. As is with age, one can never be sure when things exactly fall on the timeline. Sufficient to say, I young enough to have a sponge for a mind. Absorbing tales of virtuous Kings and courageous fighters, the epic was as simple as 'Good triumphs over Bad'. I sat through one Sunday after another, as the epic played out on TV. Holes in my memory were filled in by my mother's commentary. Life lessons as such are credited to the Mahabharata.
My limited view of the characters changed with time though. Man tries hard to stick to ideals, but life is strange. Its a mischievous little entity that delights in shattering long held beliefs. As adulthood rolled around the corner, my opinions on the key players changed. Flawed Yudhishthira who silently witnessed the great injustice to his wife, Arrogant Arjun who killed Karna dishonourably and the same for Bheema who killed Duryoghana by cheating. My heroes were flawed.
And other characters, who seemed like minor specs began to fascinate me.
Two of them were the most intriguing.
Karna.
Abandoned at birth by a mother who out of curiosity gave a baby making boom a try.
Told the truth about his birth too late in life. Forced to battle his own blood in war.
And then unfairly killed by a brother.
He almost made me root for the Dodgy Duryodhana to win.
Draupadi.
Dark skinned, she heard barbs for the same. But still turns out to be a princess worthy of a grand swayamvar.
Married to five men and forced to live like a hermit straight from the palace.
Molested in front of a hall full of the greatest warriors of her clan, with mute husbands sitting nearby.
Treated unfairly and at the same time key players in the greatest epic of Bharat, both Draupadi and Karna changed my outlook towards the story.
And then yesterday, an author took my perspective on my childhood fable and turned it on its head.
The Palace of Illusions didn't tell me anything new about the epic, but it did make me think about it from another perspective. A review will follow later on.
This post if more like an ode, to the people who history doesn't remember quite as often as the Kuru brothers.
Jai to be for the Surya Putra Karna, for being generous to a fault and honorable till the very end. (Possibly the exception of the Draupadi Vastra Haran and the death of Abhimanyu)
Jai to be for the sixth Pandava hero, for she might not have fought the war, but Draupadi lost as much in it and conducted herself with as much courage and determination.
Kudos to those two.
ps- made me sad like when Eric Bana died in Troy. But that's another story for another time.
I was a child of seven, maybe nine when I first started watching the Mahabharata on television. As is with age, one can never be sure when things exactly fall on the timeline. Sufficient to say, I young enough to have a sponge for a mind. Absorbing tales of virtuous Kings and courageous fighters, the epic was as simple as 'Good triumphs over Bad'. I sat through one Sunday after another, as the epic played out on TV. Holes in my memory were filled in by my mother's commentary. Life lessons as such are credited to the Mahabharata.
My limited view of the characters changed with time though. Man tries hard to stick to ideals, but life is strange. Its a mischievous little entity that delights in shattering long held beliefs. As adulthood rolled around the corner, my opinions on the key players changed. Flawed Yudhishthira who silently witnessed the great injustice to his wife, Arrogant Arjun who killed Karna dishonourably and the same for Bheema who killed Duryoghana by cheating. My heroes were flawed.
And other characters, who seemed like minor specs began to fascinate me.
Two of them were the most intriguing.
Karna.
He almost made me root for the Dodgy Duryodhana to win.
Draupadi.
Treated unfairly and at the same time key players in the greatest epic of Bharat, both Draupadi and Karna changed my outlook towards the story.
And then yesterday, an author took my perspective on my childhood fable and turned it on its head.
The Palace of Illusions didn't tell me anything new about the epic, but it did make me think about it from another perspective. A review will follow later on.
This post if more like an ode, to the people who history doesn't remember quite as often as the Kuru brothers.
Jai to be for the Surya Putra Karna, for being generous to a fault and honorable till the very end. (Possibly the exception of the Draupadi Vastra Haran and the death of Abhimanyu)
Jai to be for the sixth Pandava hero, for she might not have fought the war, but Draupadi lost as much in it and conducted herself with as much courage and determination.
Kudos to those two.
ps- made me sad like when Eric Bana died in Troy. But that's another story for another time.
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