Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Relevant to today’s war-torn world, The Palace of Illusions takes us back to the time of the Indian epic The Mahabharat—a time that is half-history, half-myth, and wholly magical. Through her narrator  Panchaali, the wife of the legendary five Pandavas brothers, Divakaruni gives us a rare feminist interpretation of an epic story.  

The novel traces Panchaali’s life, beginning with her magical birth in fire as the daughter of a king before following her spirited balancing act as a woman with five husbands who have been cheated out of  their father’s kingdom. Panchaali is swept into their quest to reclaim  their birthright, remaining at the brothers’ sides through years of  exile and a terrible civil war. Meanwhile, we never lose sight of her stratagems to take over control of her household from her mother-in-law,  her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husband’s most dangerous enemy. Panchaali is a fiery female voice in a world of warriors, gods,  and ever-manipulating hands of fate.

The Palace of Illusions

The book is based on the Indian epic The Ramayan, which she re-tells from the point of the main female character, Sita.

The Forest of Enchantments

In this dazzling historical novel, bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni presents the unforgettable true story of Jindan, who rose from daughter of the royal kennel keeper to become the last reigning queen of India's Sikh Empire. Sharp-eyed, stubborn, and passionate, Jindan was known for her beauty. When she caught the eye of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, she was elevated to royalty, becoming his youngest and last queen--and his favorite. And when her son, barely six years old, unexpected rose to the throne, Jindan assumed the regency, transforming herself into a warrior ruler, determined to protect her people and her son's heritage from the encroaching British Empire. Defying tradition, she stepped out of the zenana, cast aside the veil and conducted state business in public. Addressing her Khalsa troops herself, she inspired her men in two wars against the 'firangs'. Her power and influence were so formidable that the British, fearing an uprising, robbed the rebel queen of everything she had, including her son. She was imprisoned and exiled. But that did not crush her indomitable will. An exquisite love story of a king and a commoner, a cautionary tale about loyalty and betrayal, and a powerful parable of the indestructible bond between mother and child, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novel brings alive one of the most fearless women of the nineteenth century, one whose story cries out to be told, an inspiration for our times.

The Last Queen

A Novel

Independence

A magic realism tale on Tilo, a woman from India who is given immortality by the gods as long as she remains chaste. In her old age Tilo ends up in California, running a spice shop and helping immigrants. One day enters Raven, a handsome American, and Tilo transforms herself into a beautiful woman for a night of love. Now she must pay the price.

The mistress of spices

Sister of My Heart

"A new novel from the author of Oleander Girl, a novel in stories, built around crucial moments in the lives of 3 generations of womin in an Indian/Indian-American Family"--

Before We Visit the Goddess

One amazing thing

Palace of Illusions

Enjoying a sheltered childhood with adoring grandparents but troubled by the silence surrounding her parents' deaths, Korobi is prompted by a love note among her mother's possessions to travel from India to post-9/11 America in search of her true identity.

Oleander Girl

Arranged marriage

Rakhi, a young artist and divorced mother living in Berkeley, California, finds herself caught between the turmoil of life in America in the wake of September 11th and the India of her mother, a dream-teller gifted with the ability to share and interpret the dreams of others. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Queen of Dreams

In 1939, twelve-year-old Neela meets a young freedom fighter at her sister's wedding and soon after must rely on his help when her father fails to return home from a march in Calcutta against British occupation. Simultaneous.

Victory Song

Neela

A collection of short stories set in India explores the adjustment of immigrants to a foreign land, the accommodations families make to the differences between generations, and the struggle to find a balance between the pull of home and the promise of change.

Stories

The Unknown Errors of Our Lives

m ZZ-UNEDITED-TWUK THE VINE OF DESIRE is the story of Anju and Sudha, two young women far from Calcutta, the city of their childhood, and who after a year of living separate lives are rekindling their friendship in America. The deep-seated love they feel for each other provides the support each of them needs. It gives Anju the strength to pick up the pieces of her life after a miscarriage, and Sudha the confidence to make a life for herself and her baby daughter, Dayita - without her husband. The unlikely relationships they form with men and women in the world outside the immigrant Indian community as well as their families in India profoundly transform them, forcing them to question the central assumptions of their lives, especially when they must confront the deeply passionate feelings that Anju's husband has for Sudha. THE VINE OF DESIRE is a novel of extraordinary depth and sensitivity. Through the eyes of people caught in the clash of cultures, Divakaruni reveals the rewards and the perils of breaking free from the past and the complicated, often contradictory emotions that shape the passage to independence.

The Vine of Desire

The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is half-history, half-myth, and wholly magical; narrated by Panchaali, the wife of the five Pandava brothers, we are -- finally -- given a woman's take on the timeless tale that is the Mahabharata Tracing Panchaali's life -- from fiery birth and lonely childhood, where her beloved brother is her only true companion; through her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna; to marriage, motherhood and Panchaali's secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands' most dangerous enemy -- The Palace of Illusions is a deeply human novel about a woman born into a man's world -- a world of warriors, gods and the ever manipulating hands of fate. Praise for Queen of Dreams: 'A riveting story, eloquently written. Divakaruni's attention to detail in descriptive passages is beautifully telling' Boston Globe 'Magic, intuition and folklore drawn from India, combined with a darker, contemporary tale that will resonate with anyone who has struggled with modern love, mores and parenthood' USA Today

riwāyah

'Āshiqat al-Tawābil

Sorella del mio cuore

Gurinder Chadha

Paul Mayeda Berges

Screenplay

The Mistress of Spices

After his family is forced into a life of poverty on the harsh streets of Calcutta and his father goes missing, Anand encounters a stranger who asks him to watch over his magical conch, and that meeting soon leads Anand on an important journey into the high mountains to bring the conch back to its rightful home. Reader's Guide available. Reprint.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Books

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