The Inspiration Behind My Upcoming Book

Like many Indian kids, I too grew up on a steady diet of Indian mythology/ history.

My parents would frequently read stories from the Amar Chitra Katha to me, and my imagination would take flight! I would imagine myself as one of the children running around Vrindavan with naughty little Krishna as he went about troubling the gopis, stealing the butter, taking the calves out to graze and dancing on the head of the venomous Kaliya snake. I imagined myself there during the Pandavas' 13 years' exile and the Kurukshetra war - a mute witness to their many trials and tribulations.

My summer vacations with my grandmother, Ammamma, were spent listening to narrations from her repertoire of rare and fascinating stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the beautiful poems she had crafted about some of these events.

My fascination for the Mahabharata stayed with me well into adulthood and I still can never tire of reading stories from our ancient epics or watching their television adaptations. 

 One of the many aspects of the Mahabharata that interests me is the sheer number of extraordinarily strong female characters present in the epic. We are of course, familiar with the strong-willed Draupadi who vowed to keep her luxurious hair untied until her humiliation was avenged. There is Kunti, who brought up five young children after the death of her husband, and who had to witness the repetitive injustices meted out to them by their cousins. Gandhari who, despite blindfolding herself out of unwavering loyalty to her blind husband, was not as blind to the antics of her spoiled son as her husband was. Then there are Chitrangada and Satyabhama, who were exceptional warrior queens capable of leading their armies and protecting their kingdoms during times of distress.

It was during one of my many many reads of the Mahabharata that the story of my upcoming book came to me. My protagonist appeared to me fully formed - as though she had always been lying in wait within me until it was time.When I began to write her story, it flowed so easily that I finished it within a few months.

After several rounds of edits and hesitations, I now feel confident about sharing it with the world.

In the next couple of weeks leading up to its release on 23rd May, I will share more details regarding what motivated me to write this book, which will be the first in its series.

Today, I will start off by sharing just a sneak peak of my protagonist. I hope you will enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

 

#indianmythology #mahabharata #fiction #indianbook #authorlife