Book:
Shikhandini-Warrior Princess of the Mahabharata
Author:
Ashwini Shenoy
Publisher:
Platinum Press (Leadstart Corp)
India has a long history, and even longer
epics. With multiple characters and multiple POVs, every retelling of those
epics presents a new picture of what could have happened during those times. In
the recent times, a lot of retellings of the Mahabharata have come up, with
some wonderful and amazing storylines and plot points.
Shikhandini-Warrior
Princess of the Mahabharata is the story of an
often sidelined, yet critical character, Shikhandini. Born as the Princess of
Panchala, her name is still uttered in whispers, but was it just her gender
that defined her, or was there more to her story? Ashwini Shenoy takes up the
story of Shikhandini and traces her life’s journey through the times, how she
was prophesized to be the one to avenge her ancestor Amba by slaying the Maharathi
of Hastinapur, Bheeshm. The book begins with her birth, and how one prophecy
changed her life. She was trained to be a warrior by her father and her
Grandfather, just to achieve that transgenerational vengeance. But destiny has
funny ways of influencing events. Had it not for her destiny, would the Mahabharata
have a different story? The book explores her life, the sacrifices that she did
to fulfill her destiny and how patriarchy forced her hand at different stages
in her life to make her take tougher decisions. The book is a vivid retelling
of the epic, from Shikhandini’s POV, her transformation from a Woman to a Man and
how she paid the ultimate price.
Written in a simple manner, Shikhandini is
a story that catches the reader’s attention from page 1 itself. The plot is
written in a sequential manner with some of the incidents overlapping and this
has been given a good treatment and nowhere does the story looks rushed. The book
envisages the mythical technologies as scientific marvels and there are hints
of a science fiction element in the book as well. The story also brings out the
ill-effects of patriarchy that were prevalent, in fact still are, and how those
rules make a person have to take life-changing decisions. Ashwini has addressed
this topic very beautifully and this is what forms the soul of the book.
Talking about the characters, the central
character of Shikhandini is crafted in detail with each nuance of her
personality coming to fore at different and apt times in the story. The character
of the king of Panchala has been expertly handled and how duties of a king
overshadow the ones of a father is shown in a heart wrenching manner. The other
characters are also praiseworthy and talking about others might prove to a
spoiler, but each of them has a distinct identity.
Overall, Shikhandini-Warrior Princess of the Mahabharata is an engaging read
and a definite recommendation from me if you like mythological fiction. The
book wins over 4 stars from me.
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