Epic realism

Author Shashi Deshpande on why the Mahabharata8217;s nagging questions still inspire her
An early childhood memory is of being told the story of Shakuntala by my father; the memory is of a poignant and touching story. There were also stories of nbsp; heroes8212;Bhima, Arjuna, Ghatotkacha, Abhimanyu8212;and their heroic feats. Though I vaguely knew that these people and their stories came from the Mahabharata, revelation came only in my final year in school.

Our Sanskrit selections included the passage in which Draupadi is dragged out by Dushasana. School text in an ancient language though it was, I thrilled to the drama of it. And when our teacher, anbsp;man, raced, embarrassed, through Draupadi8217;s words pleading that she was menstruating, we were transfixed. This was a real woman! This was real!
Years later, I read Iravati Karve8217;s Yuganta and discovered the fascination of the Mahabharata for a writer. Yuganta led me to Amba, whose story I just had to write.nbsp;Duryodhana came to me in the final moments of his life8212;no villain this, but a man meeting death with dignity and courage. Andnbsp;Draupadi, loving one man, married to five and 8220;hammering her heart into submission8221;. There was Kunti, telling her own story, Nahusha8217;s wife, Indra8217;s wife 8230;
But the Mahabharata,nbsp;apart from making me retell these still meaningful stories, has been a constant source of inspiration in the way it endlessly harps on what8217;s right and what8217;s wrong8212;always through questions, doubts, actual conflicts; never pedagogically. In its timelessness and continued relevance. In the way it made me question patriarchy, words and their meanings. Because of the surprises it offers: the gods become cunning plotters, the good do wrong andnbsp;the wicked suddenly reveal flashes of nobility. This is human history, it8217;s literature, it8217;s morality, it8217;s art, it8217;snbsp;drama, it8217;s entertainment 8230; What is it not?