Joy of Anubhava discusses Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s alternate take on the Mahabharata

Poorvaja Prakash and her husband, Anand Srinivasan, started Joy of Anubhava (experience) in Bengaluru six months ago with the sole purpose of discovering books through various art forms. “We wanted to read, analyse and contemplate characters and situations in books through other forms of art such as writing, music, roleplay, debates, drawing, photographs, theatre and storytelling,” says Anand. “Our goal is to make people discover a book through other art forms.”

Anand and Poorvaja will discuss Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Palace of Illusions at the workshop presented by Atta Galatta. The book is a nuanced take on the Mahabharata. “We selected this book as it is a gendered interpretation of the epic through Draupadi’s eyes. “Her insecurity and vulnerability, in spite of her status in Hastinapura, is more engaging when seen through a different eye. This is what we make our participants absorb and reflect upon. We lead them to think on different platforms to help them empathise with each character. We help gauge a situation comprehensively.”

“Through the two-hour workshop, participants can meet a community of book lovers and explore the what-ifs and whys,” says Poorvaja. In their previous workshop, the duo discussed RK Narayan’s Swami and Friends with a comparison between Swami and Rajam revealing how their background and families influenced their thoughts and how teachers viewed students in those times.

Speaking on how they chose the books for discussion, Anand says, “We have experienced educators and specialists who help us choose the books and design this programme.” Anand has worked in data science and technology for the past 10 years and is also a mridanga artiste and painter. Poorvaja has been in education and development for the last eight years. She dealt with curriculum design and facilitating participatory research activities for children and adults.

The Palace of Illusions will be discussed online with facilitators from Joy of Anubhava on May 31 from 11am to 1 pm. Call 080-4160 0677 / 96325 10126 for log-in details.