Pratibha Ray makes a determined effort for a portrayal of the epic character and brings to the surface the broader and deeper aspects of Draupadi s mind that lay submerged in the majestic sweep of the grand Mahabharata. The novel won her the Bharatiya Jnanpith s prestigious ninth Moortidevi Award in 1993.

How different would mythological narratives be, if women voiced their perspectives? Amidst great wars, superhuman heroes and their ‘glorious’ victories, is there a place for women? Are ‘great wars’ limited to armed conflicts between armies of men on the battlefields? Do women have their own battles before, after and beyond the confines of wars in the epic narratives of India? Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have integrated into our social and cultural fabric, and permeated into the myriad layers of life across genres and media. It is a common practice to revisit mythological landscapes and realign the lenses to look at them afresh from different perspectives. Re-renderings often bring in multiple interpretations that are creative and critical, adding variety and currency to the original narratives. Vision and Re-vision traces the lives of seven marginalized women from revisionist works against the central motif of war. It follows the pursuits of Ganga, Surpanakha, Uruvi, Sita, Urmila, Satyavati and Draupadi to understand their struggles and victories as women. Analyzing textual spaces provided to women, it explores their marginalized voices and their resistance patterns. These, in turn, establish new narratives of subversion and reclaim the voices and identities of women from the margins. A sound theoretical framework enables a comprehensive understanding of feminism and its distinct Indo-centric identity.

MOVES & COUNTERMOVES Animish, the disciple teetering between scepticism and awe around Krishna’s divinity, inherits his Master’s mantle as the latter proceeds to Badari to pursue his self-realisation goals. Asareer's belief solidifies, and divine anecdotes about Krishna continue to enthral him. While the chasm between the viewpoints of both friends keeps widening, Krishna attains a God-like stature and comes to be feared by his opponents and revered by his devotees and sages alike. Meanwhile, rivalries explode between cousins. Kauravas, led by the determined Duryodhana, manipulate the king to their advantage while Pandavas fight for survival. Draupadi's entrance, forging a solid alliance between Pandavas and the powerful Panchala kingdom, adds a new twist to the story. And, through it all, the enigmatic Krishna emerges as the central figure, unfolding his own fascinating tryst with destiny. The game of one-up-manship between Kauavas and Pandavas, which resembled the opening stage of a chess game to Animish during the graduation ceremony of princes, moves into the next stage, the middle game. Kauravas and Pandavas were entangled in a prolonged fight over the chessboard of fate, with advantage shifting back and forth like in a bitter middle game of chess that does not produce a clear winner. Find inside the dramatic events of Krishna’s battles with Jarasandha, the setting up of the Dwaraka kingdom, Draupadi’s Swayamvara and her unconventional polyandrous marriage, the rise and fall of Indraprastha Empire, multiple marriages and battles of Krishna, the fortune-turning dice game where a wife was put on stake, and a host of other exciting events. Join Animish and Asareer, two good friends who disagree on matters of faith, to watch the enthralling moves and countermoves in the intricate middle phase of the story and analyse for yourself which moves are blunders and which ones are brilliancies. What did destiny ordain for the kings who thought they were players but were mere pawns on fate’s chess board?

Rendezvous of Repertoire: An Anthology of Critical Essays by Women is a collection of essays on diverse topics penned by female academicians. More than an editorial work, this has been a collective journey for all of us where we have grown together. This work is our tribute to all the women academicians who have changed lives.

Many Mahābhāratas is an introduction to the spectacular and long-lived diversity of Mahābhārata literature in South Asia. This diversity begins with the Sanskrit Mahābhārata, an early epic poem that narrates the events of a catastrophic fratricidal war. Along the way, it draws in nearly everything else in Hindu mythology, philosophy, and story literature. The magnitude of its scope and the relentless complexity of its worldview primed the Mahābhārata for uncountable tellings in South Asia and beyond. For two thousand years, the instinctive approach to the Mahābhārata has been not to consume it but to create it anew. The many Mahābhāratas of this book come from the first century to the twenty-first. They are composed in nine different languages—Apabhramsha, Bengali, English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu. Early chapters illuminate themes of retelling within the Sanskrit Mahābhārata itself, demonstrating that the story's propensity for regeneration emerges from within. The majority of the book, however, reaches far beyond the Sanskrit epic. Readers dive into classical dramas, premodern vernacular poems, regional performance traditions, commentaries, graphic novels, political essays, novels, and contemporary theater productions—all of them Mahābhāratas. Because of its historical and linguistic breadth, its commitment to primary sources, and its exploration of multiplicity and diversity as essential features of the Mahābhārata's long life in South Asia, Many Mahābhāratas constitutes a major contribution to the study of South Asian literature and offers a landmark view of the field of Mahābhārata studies.

As the outcome of an international conference held at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, this book provides a collection of productive texts on, and novel critical approaches to, comparative literature for young scholars. The wide range of analytical approaches employed here allow for the opening up of texts to new readings. The contributions here encompass readings of cinema, advertisements and literary representations, such as novels, poems and short stories, and are pertinent for scholars in media studies, cultural studies, gender studies, sociology and literature. As a commentary on contemporary representations of gender, the book is also relevant for all higher education institutions which seek to heighten gender sensitivity.

Are women safe in India? It is not just a million dollars question, it's a million daughters question. Silent: "The Unvoiced Women" depicts the sacrifices, a woman makes for her family and well being and how her freedom and opportunities are seized. The anthology revolves around women who have much to say but cannot. They are just silent or are made to shut their lips. They have much to speak but are denied. They have dumped every thought inside them. The book also focuses on some other major themes like rape and harassment, gender pay-gap period ,poverty and stigma. In short, the anthology is all about women and society. Every piece holds an emotion which are told and expressed through writing. The book is a result of the efforts of each and every co author involved in it. It has amazing writers and poets combined together from all around the world and has been compiled by Sejal Sondhi and initiated by Rosewood Publication.