Chitra Banerjee
The Forest of Enchantments – Chitra Banerjee (Paperback)
- Publisher : HarperCollins India; 1st edition (31 October 2019)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 372 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9353573572
- ISBN-13 : 978-9353573577
- Item Weight : 500 g
- Dimensions : 14.15 x 2.79 x 21.51 cm
- Country of Origin : India
- Condition : New
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The Ramayana, one of the world's greatest epics, is also a tragic love story. In this brilliant retelling, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel: this is Sita's version. The Forest of Enchantments is also a very human story of some of the other women in the epic, often misunderstood and relegated to the margins: Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, Mandodari. A powerful comment on duty, betrayal, infidelity and honour, it is also about women's struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men, as Chitra transforms an ancient story into a gripping, contemporary battle of wills. While the Ramayana resonates even today, she makes it more relevant than ever, in the underlying questions in the novel: How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say, 'Enough!'
About the Author
The Last Queen – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Paperback)
- Publisher : HarperCollins India (20 January 2021)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 372 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9390351952
- ISBN-13 : 978-9390351954
- Item Weight : 450 g
- Dimensions : 20 x 14 x 4 cm
- Country of Origin : India
- Condition : New
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While we have all heard tales of Rani Lakshmi Bai and Padmavati, not many of us are familiar with another Indian queen.
Daughter of the royal kennel keeper, the beautiful Jindan Kaur went on to become Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest and last queen; his favourite. She became regent when her son Dalip, barely six years old, unexpectedly inherited the throne. Sharp-eyed, stubborn, passionate, and dedicated to protecting her son's heritage, Jindan distrusted the British and fought hard to keep them from annexing Punjab. Defying tradition, she stepped out of the zenana, cast aside the veil and conducted state business in public. Addressing her Khalsa troops herself, she inspired her men in two wars against the 'firangs'. Her power and influence were so formidable that the British, fearing an uprising, robbed the rebel queen of everything she had, including her son. She was imprisoned and exiled. But that did not crush her indomitable will.
An exquisite love story of a king and a commoner, a cautionary tale about loyalty and betrayal, and a powerful parable of the indestructible bond between mother and child, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's unforgettable novel brings alive one of the most fearless women of the nineteenth century, an inspiration for our times.
