Literary Diva: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
In October of 2016 I decided that I needed to read more women of color authors. It is so easy to get caught up in the mainstream literary scene. I mean if you Google "Best Books 2017" you get three women of color out of the first 20 books (the majority are white women).* You must intentionally search for these writers. We miss out on so much phenomenal literature by women of color who have been overlooked, relegated to niche genres or who are simply not celebrated like their counterparts.
Most profoundly we miss out on the nourishing and healing words of our sisters that, in times like these, we desperately need. Over this 5 month journey I have learned much about my womanhood and had my own experiences confirmed by some amazing women of color. These are the women I wish I had been reading when I was younger and dumber. Their voices are the very vision and hope for this blog: to hear and learn, to gain strength and wisdom from the amazing women around us. And of course to one day give back and contribute what we ourselves have learned.
Allow me to introduce you to fellow phenomenal woman, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni:
I have read three of Mrs. Chitra's books. My favorite so far is The Palace of Illusions (followed by The Mistress of Spices and Before We Meet the Goddess). The Palace of Illusions is a retelling of the Mahabharata, an epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War in ancient India, though the historicity of the epic is up for debate among historians. Now I haven't read the Mahabharata but if this is the clay Chitra took to mold The Palace of Illusions it has to be pretty dope.
Why is Chitra's rendition so bomb you ask? Well, the Mahabharata is told about two sets of cousin princes, the Kaurava and the Pandava, who go to war for power/the throne. It's all patriarchy and dominance, as told by men. (Sounds like your average history class right?) What Chitra does is tell the story from Panchaali's point of view; the wife of the five Pandava Princes. Chitra centers women in this epic story; they become the authority on the herstory of India. Werk.
It's a Man's World......
From the beginning of the book Panchaali is wrecking sh*t, kicking a** and taking names.
Her father got bested by an old friend and ended up losing half of his kingdom. He performs a ritual that will bring forth a weapon to conquer his foes and from the fire an heir, Draupada (Drupa), is born. A prophesy also comes detailing the defeat of the king's enemies at the hands of the child born from fire. The king is riding high when, out from the flames, Panchaali is born as well. No one saw that coming. Her very birth foreshadows the defiance we will see in her later on in the book. She too will have a very important role to play in the restoration of the kingdom, whether it was originally planned for or not.
At a young age she comes to realize the unfair treatment she receives as a girl. Her twin brother is the light of the king's eye, redeemer of the kingdom. He receives the best education and has many more freedoms and responsibilities than his sister. Panchaali internally questions this treatment. She recognizes that both Drupa and herself were born from fire, and the prophecy was not only given to her brother. Of course her family and kingdom ain't seeing it for her. They more or less use her as a pawn in their game of revenge and redemption.
.....Still I Slay
Panchaali remains one of the most intriguing and complex characters in the book, more than a mere instrument to be used at will. A lot of things happen to her (as a victim of the patriarchy) but she also makes sh*t happen just as often. Even in her limited roles as princess and then wife, she still finds ways to speak out and up for herself. Her actions come to define her life in amazing (and terrible) ways that not even she could have predicted. Her challenging spirit renders the men in her life utterly speechless at times. Slay trick. She bad. So bad that she is the catalyst of the most catastrophic war of the times. Imagine that, a monumental, devastatingly brutal war started over a dark-skinned woman. Yup, I said it. She's described in the book as having "skin so dark that people termed it blue." SAY WHAT? I'm here for it. And she fine ya'll! Panchaali is so beautiful people have a hard time looking her in the face. Chile, yaaaaas.
Panchaali is f*cking up beauty standards, gender norms, patriarchy and changing the course of Indian history in this book. That is why I love The Palace of Illusions and that is why Chitra will always have my heart. I would highly encourage you to read her literary slayage. Below are the three books I've read so far and here's a link to the rest of her magical works.
Most profoundly we miss out on the nourishing and healing words of our sisters that, in times like these, we desperately need. Over this 5 month journey I have learned much about my womanhood and had my own experiences confirmed by some amazing women of color. These are the women I wish I had been reading when I was younger and dumber. Their voices are the very vision and hope for this blog: to hear and learn, to gain strength and wisdom from the amazing women around us. And of course to one day give back and contribute what we ourselves have learned.
Allow me to introduce you to fellow phenomenal woman, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni:
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| Photo credit: Krishna Giri |
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning and bestselling author, poet, activist and teacher of writing. Her work has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, the O.Henry Prize Stories and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Her books have been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Bengali, Russian and Japanese, and many of them have been used for campus-wide and city-wide reads. Several of her works have been made into films and plays. - Bio from her website
I have read three of Mrs. Chitra's books. My favorite so far is The Palace of Illusions (followed by The Mistress of Spices and Before We Meet the Goddess). The Palace of Illusions is a retelling of the Mahabharata, an epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War in ancient India, though the historicity of the epic is up for debate among historians. Now I haven't read the Mahabharata but if this is the clay Chitra took to mold The Palace of Illusions it has to be pretty dope.
Why is Chitra's rendition so bomb you ask? Well, the Mahabharata is told about two sets of cousin princes, the Kaurava and the Pandava, who go to war for power/the throne. It's all patriarchy and dominance, as told by men. (Sounds like your average history class right?) What Chitra does is tell the story from Panchaali's point of view; the wife of the five Pandava Princes. Chitra centers women in this epic story; they become the authority on the herstory of India. Werk.
It's a Man's World......
From the beginning of the book Panchaali is wrecking sh*t, kicking a** and taking names.
Her father got bested by an old friend and ended up losing half of his kingdom. He performs a ritual that will bring forth a weapon to conquer his foes and from the fire an heir, Draupada (Drupa), is born. A prophesy also comes detailing the defeat of the king's enemies at the hands of the child born from fire. The king is riding high when, out from the flames, Panchaali is born as well. No one saw that coming. Her very birth foreshadows the defiance we will see in her later on in the book. She too will have a very important role to play in the restoration of the kingdom, whether it was originally planned for or not.
At a young age she comes to realize the unfair treatment she receives as a girl. Her twin brother is the light of the king's eye, redeemer of the kingdom. He receives the best education and has many more freedoms and responsibilities than his sister. Panchaali internally questions this treatment. She recognizes that both Drupa and herself were born from fire, and the prophecy was not only given to her brother. Of course her family and kingdom ain't seeing it for her. They more or less use her as a pawn in their game of revenge and redemption.
.....Still I Slay
Panchaali remains one of the most intriguing and complex characters in the book, more than a mere instrument to be used at will. A lot of things happen to her (as a victim of the patriarchy) but she also makes sh*t happen just as often. Even in her limited roles as princess and then wife, she still finds ways to speak out and up for herself. Her actions come to define her life in amazing (and terrible) ways that not even she could have predicted. Her challenging spirit renders the men in her life utterly speechless at times. Slay trick. She bad. So bad that she is the catalyst of the most catastrophic war of the times. Imagine that, a monumental, devastatingly brutal war started over a dark-skinned woman. Yup, I said it. She's described in the book as having "skin so dark that people termed it blue." SAY WHAT? I'm here for it. And she fine ya'll! Panchaali is so beautiful people have a hard time looking her in the face. Chile, yaaaaas.
Panchaali is f*cking up beauty standards, gender norms, patriarchy and changing the course of Indian history in this book. That is why I love The Palace of Illusions and that is why Chitra will always have my heart. I would highly encourage you to read her literary slayage. Below are the three books I've read so far and here's a link to the rest of her magical works.
*Update: This post incorrectly stated that in the first 20 books of a "best books 2017" google search there were mostly white male authors when in fact white women out number them.
