A bored Draupadi comes to Earth

Finding fresh ways to present mythology in Indian fiction is a task, but Trisha Das’ debut novel Ms Draupadi Kuru: After the Pandavas is an attempt to do just that. Featuring characters from the Mahabharata, Trisha writes the story of the wife of the Pandavas’ Draupadi, who gets bored of living in heaven. She decides to visit the earthly realm for thirty days, bringing along Amba, Kunti and Gandhari. The story follows their “holiday” as they learn about modern Indian society in humorous ways.

After studying at a residential school in Himachal and then pursuing a degree from Sophia College for Women in Mumbai, Trisha studied filmmaking in New York, and went on to become an Indian National Film award-winning filmmaker. However, after moving to Singapore in 2005, she chose to switch to writing, releasing a couple of non-fiction titles, including a critically acclaimed one on documentary filmmaking.

Ms Draupadi Kuru: After the Pandavas by Trisha Das HarperCollins India pp.254, Rs 245

“I wanted to start by writing what I knew, and that was films. However, I had always wanted to write fiction, and penning my first collection of short stories (The Mahabharata Re Imagined) and subsequently this novel just seemed like the natural way to go,” Trisha says. Fascinated by mythology, Trisha says, “It’s popular with writers because it’s also popular with readers. We’ve all grown up with these stories, and now we’re telling them in our own way — something that Indian storytellers have been doing for thousands of years.”

Dealing with criticism of the plot of her book, Trisha adds that she has already been receiving negative comments on social media. “The few excerpts and announcements that have gone up on social media have received some negative responses but I think it’s because no one has read the book yet,” Trisha says, and adds, “If you do read the book, you’ll find that it’s not really about religion but about our society. So there’s not much to be offended about.”