Chitra Banerjee DivakaruniAuthor Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni redefines the portrayal of femininity in a captivating way. In her latest book, Palace of Illusions, the US-based writer interprets the mind and life of the enigmatic Panchali from the Mahabharata. "The epic has captured the imagination of the reader for centuries, yet there remain so many things unsaid about Draupadi. Palace of Illusions dwells in her psyche and tells a tale from her point of view," says Chitra.The war in Iraq spurred her travel back in time. "It is distressing to see that human civilisation is still involved in conflicts and destruction that has engulfed it since time immemorial. Iraq is just an example, there are so many places. And there is no denying the fact that women and children are the worst sufferers, they are the silent victims.""That is when the idea to get up close and personal with a woman who has experienced all this and more in her dramatic life came to my mind and Palace of Illusions was conceived," Chitra says."The book is about Panchali’s life in her words, right from the time of her magical birth in fire to her her fine balancing act of being married to five husbands who face exile," the writer says.She stands with her family both in the public and private domain. Her strategies to take control of the household from her mother-in-law, who is no less a strong personality, her complicated friendship with Krishna, or her secret attraction to Karna who is her husband’s most dangerous enemy, all find mention in the book, Chitra says.The title, Palace of Illusions, holds special relevance. "In the physical aspect it points at the palace which had mysteriously come up for the Pandavas and Panchali during their exile and it is thematically important in the Mahabharata as it hints that things and people are not what they seem," Chitra says."When the protagonist looks back, she realises that she has misunderstood many aspects of her dramatic life. And from the central tenet of Vedantic philosophy, the entire world is a palace of illusion — a certain maya."Referring to one of the most talked about episode from the epic, she says, "In the novel, the disrobing of Panchali has been dealt in a different manner. Instead of Krishna making a physical appearance, he surfaces in the form of her inner strength where she realises that it is not her honour at stake, rather it is that of the men who are indulging in such a shameful act and the men who are its mute witness who are inflicting this humiliation on themselves. There was a transformation inside her mind, which resulted in the abuse to come to a halt."Chitra’s work may be not have an overtly feminist agenda, yet women hold centrestage. And she endorses the Indian connection and the diasporic sensibilities in her writing, crediting it to the "most impressionable years spent in my country of origin that is of utmost importance to my imagination."Her previous works include, Arranged Marriage: Stories, Queen of Dreams, Leaving Yuba City. Bestsellers like Sister of My Heart was adapted into a television series and Mistress of Spices was made into a feature film."I am open to the idea of my books being reinvented on celluloid version. People tell me that they enjoyed watching the movie while others say they liked the book better, so it is a win-win situation for me," she says. Currently she is working on Shadow Land, the last installment of the Children’s triology, The Brotherhood of the Conch and The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. Chitra is the co- founder of Daya, a Houston-based NGO working to provide support to women of South Asian origin who are victims of domestic abuse. She is also a professor of English at The University of Houston creative writing programme.As told to Shagufta Kalim