We are human and respectable creations of God, be it women or any other gender, we have the fundamental right to dignity - says the author in his plea to be heard and recognised as he speaks as ‘Draupadi’. He speaks straight from the heart of Draupadi with an aim to share with everyone the torment and anguish that Draupadi and alike undergo every day and that every human being has the right to respect, freedom, happiness and the right to his or her opinion and point of view. But, is it possible in this male-dominated world? This is a question that is explored in this book and explained in a simple and contemporary fashion. The Author, who is himself a male, describes beautifully the pain of a women and alike.
In this book, the author explains how he came in close contact with Sai Baba of Shirdi when he was 21 years old and why he felt the need to write this book. He says that he was inspired by Sai Himself. This book targets the youth of today as they need Sai regardless of caste, creed, religion and geographies. The author is convinced that all the readers, irrespective of their age, will find the right direction through this book, which will add meaning not only to their lives, but also to the lives of many directionless souls. WE NEED SAI FOREVER…AT 6, 16 AND 60! SAURABH KHANNA
"An amazing book . . . There is nothing remotely like it anywhere in the world. I am in awe at the skill with which the many different voices in this collection have been kept alive. It is a terrific and stunningly interesting read."—Wendy Doniger, author of The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex and Masquerade "This is a superb collection, which presents to the English reading public for the first time a literature of great beauty and importance. There is no similar or comparable anthology for any Indian language let alone Telugu. All of the translations of the poems are exquisite and learned. The introduction is both a much needed history of Telugu poetry and also a guide to the aesthetics of Telugu poetry and the art of reading it."—Phyllis Granoff, translator of The Journey: Stories by K.C. Das
Wars are kinder to men, for they are given a chance, in the battlefield, to showcase their prowess at weapons and strategy-making – either to emerge victorious or to die valorously. The very act of fighting a battle washes them off their earthly sins, securing their position in the heavens. But what about the women? Burning silently inside, anxious and afraid, guilty and grieved, passive and powerless, they remain silent spectators of events so momentous that turn their lives upside down. These women lose battles without fighting them. And then they keep burning inside, long after the pyres of the vanquished and the flambeaux of the victorious have fizzled out….. What if Gandhari didn’t blindfold herself just out of devotion for her future husband but at her powerlessness to prevent herself from a fate similar to Amba’s? Did Kunti ever overcome her guilt over Karn? Did Draupadi learn to sympathize with the maidservants and the prostitutes she was compared to in the open court or did she only think about herself? Did Subhadra learn to live with her guilt of having slept off mid-way during Arjun’s explanation of the Chakravyuh? Did the cold-shouldered Hidimba forgive the Pandavas? What must have been going on in the mind of Duhshala, the only princess of Hastinapur, when she had to support her infant grandson while reigning over the empire of Sindhu alone? What about Bhanumati, that unfortunate widow of Duryodhan? Could Uttara the child-widow ever learn to see Abhimayu’s reflection in Parikshit? A story of the unexplored thoughts of these powerful women, who lost inner battles bigger than Mahabharat and struggled in silence to endure with more strength each time life knocked them down!
" CHAKRAVYUH is a modern adaptation of the greatest epic ever written in the history of humankind, MAHABHARATA. This is a retelling of story from the perspective of a young warrior who was descendent of Kuru dynasty; born to lead; but destiny had some other plans for him. A loyal son, a loving brother, a caring husband, a disciplined disciple and a true warrior defied all the odds to be decorated in history for the generations to come. His skills and intellect were no less than his forefathers, but he was not bound to the dogmas followed by his ancestors. His judgement of situations was his own, and he didn’t follow the dynastic parlances. When the greed was at its epitome; the desires were killing the humility; the rules were rewritten to benefit a group; and in midst of all these pandemoniums; this young boy wrote a new chapter of his life and became immortal. This is a story of a chosen warrior who was separated from his father at the age of three. This is a story of a boy as handsome as sons of Ashwin brothers; as strong as son of Vayu; as calm as son of Yama; and as skilled as son of Indra. This is a story of son of Subhadra and nephew of Krishna. This is the story of ABHIMANYU. "
The Work On This Book Is Based Upon Vyasa Bharatha,The Author Has Recreated The Characters And Incidents Independently. The Author Created Of His Own A Parallel Concept Revolving Around Draupadi And In Those Imaginary Threads He Fastened The Petal Of KarnaýS Story. The Soliloquies Of Draupadi Are Innovated Imparting To It A New Philosophical Dimension And Giving A Tragic Depth In This Work.
Though the Kuru family survived on Vyasadeva’s seeds, he never belonged to the house. Moreover, being an ascetic, he was even exempted from obligations of the complicated dynamics of human relationships. This armed him with a ruthless dispassion and he could go on telling his stories with stoical detachment, free from any bias and uncontaminated by quintessential human dilemmas. But had any of his characters given his own account of the story, would not that have lent a different dimension to the events seducing ordinary mortals like us to identify, if not compare, our private crises with those of our much celebrated heroes? The Unfallen Pandava is an imaginary autobiography of Yudhishthira, attempting to follow the well-known story of the Mahabharata through his eyes. In the process of narrating the story, he examines his extremely complicated marriage and relationship with brothers turned co-husbands, tries to understand the mysterious personality of his mother in a slightly mother-fixated way, conducts manic and depressive evaluation of his own self and reveals his secret darkness and philosophical confusions with an innate urge to submit to a supreme soul. His own story lacks the material of an epic, rather it becomes like confession of a partisan who, prevailing over other more swashbuckling characters, finally discovers his latent greatness and establishes himself as the symbolic protagonist.
Brahmananda Patro (J B Patro) retired as a Deputy Chief Executive from the Nuclear Fuels Complex, Hyderabad (earlier in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre), specialized in the production of Nuclear Fuels for Power Reactors. He is a member of the early pioneering team in the production of natural uranium, right from milling ore to finished fuel for nuclear power reactors operating in India. During his long service he had the chance to interact and participate in a number of scientific seminars in India and abroad. Drawn to the teachings of Lord Krishna right from a very early age, Mr. Patro viewed Bhagavad-Gita as a treatise on the Physics of energy-The Laws of Thermodynamics-the very cosmic laws that govern of our Universe and conduct our lives as the rita of the Vedas. He has compiled, edited and since published Sree MahaBhagavatam in English translated from original Sanskrit by late Swami Ramakrishna Brahmananda. Enchanted by Lord Krishna’s personality and researching into the classical and contemporary literature on Krishna, his book The Life and Times of Krishna- the Deity Who Lived as Man was published by Wisdom Tree in September 2013.While researching on Krishna Mr. Patro was fascinated by the character of Arjuna, the bosom friend of Krishna. Krishna says on a number of occasions in the Epic Mahabharata that Arjuna is his other self, alter ego. And also, the Puranic literature attributes the duo to the legend of ancient rishis Nara Narayan. Arjuna being an avatar of Nara-The primeval Man or eternal spirit pervading the Universe, always associated with Narayana the Supreme Spirit Vishnu/Krishna. Both are considered as Gods or Sages and accordingly called ‘Deva, Rishi, and Tapasao’. This has been the theme of the book on Pandava hero Arjuna entitled as ‘Two Krishnas and One Chariot-The story of Arjuna. It took about two years to research on the subject from Epic Mahabharata and other related literature. Arjuna was a versatile human, intellectual with an enquiring mind, and a peerless warrior, and Lord Krishna rightly selected him to impart his Science of Yoga which has been handed down to us as Bhagavad Gita.
This is the first volume of a projected three-volume work on the little-known South Indian folk cult of the goddess Draupadi and on the classical epic, the Mahabharata, that the cult brings to life in mythic, ritual, and dramatic forms. Draupadi, the chief heroine of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, takes on many unexpected guises in her Tamil cult, but her dimensions as a folk goddess remain rooted in a rich interpretive vision of the great epic. By examining the ways that the cult of Draupadi commingles traditions about the goddess and the epic, Alf Hiltebeitel shows the cult to be singularly representative of the inner tensions and working dynamics of popular devotional Hinduism.
Stories of wonder and wit, from far and near Everyone will find a favourite story in this collection of folktales and legends. There is the story of Jumman the labourer, who thinks the Qazi of Jaunpur is actually his donkey! And the strange adventure of Dhania who, stealing out for a midnight snack, gets stuck in honey. Or the account of how a lowly weasel put the mighty Yudhishtir in place. And what happens when Bhim tries to match his strength against that of Hanuman! Culled from all parts of the country, and spanning heaven, earth and the netherworld, these stories let us into a world of enchantment, wisdom and loads of fun.
