The Wrap-Up Post – Mahabharata Mash Up

Namaste, 

This is the final post of the year’s A to Z Challenge. 

A huge thank you to everyone who read, commented, and encouraged me during the month. I loved your input and the additional snippets of information you shared with me. Lakshmi M and Lakshmi A, Ratna mam, Monica, Anshu, Sanjeeta ji, Aparna, Narayani, Preeti, Priya, and Soumya, thank you! 

Be it the discussion about whitewashing Ravan’s crimes or the wonderful symbolism behind the story of the Samudra Manthan, your opinions were a treat to read!

Despite my intentions, I couldn’t read many other blogs as I wanted to. However, I managed to read the daily episodes of a novella on Tales of Suchita. It is a low-stakes romance set in contemporary India (Mumbai). Chiranjeev is such an adorable MMC! 

Another blog I followed was The Other Side by Tim Brannan. I admit I know nothing about the Dungeons & Dragons game (except that there’s a tarot deck based on it). Now, I know a little more, thanks to the posts by Tim. He is a professional gamer and a repository of knowledge about D&D.

Moreover, thanks to the #ReadTheNew initiative by Blogchatter, I found wonderful posts and 30 different blogs throughout the challenge. Some shared lovely poems, some gave practical parenting tips, and some bloggers talked about things they loved – food, music, or art. 

The month-long challenge has come to an end, and as always, I have bittersweet feelings about it. Hoping we can meet next year. I might do a season two on the same theme! In the meantime, hop over to the Draupadi Parashakti website for more write-ups about the Mahabharata. We are working on the character pages now. 

Here are the links to all the posts: 

 Day 1: A for Ashta Vasus

Day 2: B for Brahma's Sabha 

Day 3: C for Chitrasena, the Gandharva

Day 4: D for Dwaraka’s Description 

Day 5: E for A Year as Eunuch: The Story of Brihannala

Day 6: F for Forest Life of the Pandavas

Day 7: Sunday - Break 

Day 8: G for Gangavataranam

Day 9: H for Hidimba's Son, Ghatotkacha

Day 10: I for Indra's Sabha

Day 11: J for Janamejaya's Snake Sacrifice

Day 12: K for Kubera's Sabha 

Day 13: L for Love Stories in Mahabharata

Day 14: Sunday - Break 

Day 15: M for Matali, The Charioteer of Indra

Day 16: N for Nahusha

Day 17: O for Omens in Mahabharata 

Day 18: P for Pasupata Astra: The Battle Between Shiva and Arjuna 

Day 19: Q for Queens in Mahabharata

Day 20: R for Ravana's Family History

Day 21: Sunday - Break 

Day 22: S for Samudra Manthan

Day 23: T for Takshaka, the Naga King

Day 24: U for Usinara's Test

Day 25: V for Varuna's Sabha

Day 26: W for Why the Vindhya Mountains Swelled

Day 27: X for X Marks the Spot: Jayadratha's Vadha 

Day 28: Sunday - Break 

Day 29: Y for Yamadharmaraja's Sabha

Day 30: Z for Zodiac and Mahabharata

Bing is getting better at generating images with text. I’m not sure if it is a good thing or not! 

Of course, I cannot conclude the post without including a couple of videos. ;) 

Here are two scenes (in the technicolor version, the original was B&W) from my favorite movie, Mayabazar. 

This one is when Subhadra and Abhimanyu are sent to where Hidimba and Ghatotkacha live by Krishna (right after the Pandavas' exile). 

This scene is where Ghatotkacha marries Lakshamana (Dhuryodhana's son) in the guise of Sasirekha (Balarama's daughter). The real Sasirekha was getting married to Abhimanyu elsewhere. Savitri's acting is a masterclass! 

And bye! See you next year. :)