Publication Date: 26th June 2023
Genre: Fanfiction Retelling, Mahabharata Retelling
4.2 Stars
One Liner: Entertaining, fast-paced, and emotional
Book two begins with the Pandavas trying to make Khandavaprastha habitable and ends with Dhuryodhana falling in a pond in the Mayasabha after Yudhistir’s Rajasuya yagna. We see Arjuna’s twelve-year exile, the marriages of the Pandava brothers to other women, and the birth of their children. Khandavaprastha is now Indraprastha, with Yudhistir as the king and Draupadi as his queen. Things are great and not great, as always.
The story comes from Draupadi’s first-person POV.
My Thoughts:
I applaud the author for the full-page disclaimer (as the first page) about the book being a fanfiction retelling and should not be used for academic/ learning purposes.
After reading book one, I knew what to expect in this and enjoyed the other side of the story (the domesticated aspects). Nakul and Sahadev get more space, which I loved again. Their characters shine throughout the book.
Draupadi’s voice gets better in this one. While book one was decent, this one manages to hit the cord in many areas. The relationships between Draupadi, the Pandava brothers and their other wives get deeper exploration (without excessive drama).
I love that the other women have meaty roles. They have their strengths and work together to build a stable Indraprastha. Each wife – Devika (Yudhistir), Valandhara (Bheem), Subhadra (Arjun), Karenumati (Nakul), and Vijiya (Sahadev) has a distinctive personality, which makes it easy to track them.
The book seamlessly combines political strategy, social welfare, family and relationships. This makes for a more rounded reading experience. The topics mentioned in the official blurb are briefly dealt with, which is enough for the book. I’m glad we don’t get a moral lesson with loads of preaching.
I do love the focus on Draupadi and Arjun’s relationship. It’s a welcome change to retellings that make her yearn for Karn (I hate this trope). Doesn’t it make sense for Draupadi to love Arjun a little more? She was to marry only him, after all! The scenes dealing with her angst are very well-written.
My only grouse is that I wanted them to have an actual conversation like two adults. People saying they are two parts of one soul, etc., is okay. But we need to see it, too. Give us a scene where their love for each other shines so bright that it puts everything into perspective. (I sure wouldn’t have minded Draupdi getting a proper apology from Arjun. With all the creative liberties already taken in a retelling, why not use them to enhance a genuine relationship?)
Given the number of child-births in this one, we see a lot of pregnancies too. I like how there’s enough detail to show that each pregnancy can be different and affects the mother in different ways. We also see the distinctive personalities of the children; some are happy babies, some are demanding, and some are little angels!
The writing has modern tones with many contemporary terms like indigenous, natives, invaders, war refugees, immigrants, et al. Thankfully, the content is handled with enough care to not make it sound like a ‘progressive’ rant. We see how the Pandavas and the Nagas come to an understanding and how the place becomes more habitable for everyone.
Issues like being different, unconventional family structures, marital consent, family discord, etc., are also well done. I enjoyed the way these important aspects were presented.
The scenes with Krishna are my favorite (and why not). I feel even the author loves writing about him. The dialogues feel like they’ve been written with extra care. It’s Krishna, right! Naturally, there’s quite a bit of foreshadowing, which is easy to see if you know the original.
Karn is also present (obviously), though Druapadi is more focused on her family and kingdom. Fortunately, the animosity continues and gets even stronger (also, it’s not likely to turn into anything else, which is a relief). Karn is shown as who he is instead of who readers want him to be. Contrary to the public opinion, he is no saint. I do feel his friendship and loyalty to Dhuryodhana aren’t as pure but come from a place of Karn’s self-interest, too.
There are many versions of Dhuryodhana’s tour of Mayasabha and his subsequent ‘insult’. From what I know, that particular dialogue is not said by Draupadi (though some versions say the words were spoken by Bheem). Still, I don’t mind it much (considering we have worse retellings of the same).
To summarize, The Empress of Indraprastha – Building an Empire is well-written, entertaining, and interesting. It does provide a fresh perspective of Draupadi (as far as I know) and works well for the contemporary market. (It is not a standalone.)
My thanks to the author, Sonali Raje, for the complimentary copy.
***
P.S.: The cover is cool! I like how the colors perfectly match the description in the book. A darker skin tone would have been even better!
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