Short stories.

Contents 1. The five women (Panchakanya). 2. Kunti and the Nishadin (Kunti or Nishadi). 3. Souvali (Souvali). With the ancient epic Mahabharata as her source and the battle of Kurukshetra as a central motif Mahasweta Devi weaves three stories in which we visit unexpected alleys and by lanes of the traditional epic saga and look at events from the eyes of women marginalized dispossessed Dalit. Their eyes condemn the wanton waste and inhumanity of war. This Kurukshetra is not the legendary Dharmayuddha of the popular imagination but rather a cold blooded power game sacrificing countless human lives. How do the women's quarters of the palace a coulourless place of shadowy widowhood appear to five peasant women whose lives are no less shattered by the Kurukshetra massacre but who are used to dealing with trauma in a more robust manner. How does a lower caste serving woman brought into service King Dhritarashtra when his queen was with child view her half royal offspring and his decision to perform the last rites for a father who never acknowledged him as a son. How does an ageing Kunti living out her last yeas in the forest come to terms with her guilt over her unacknowledged son Karna. These tales brewed in the imagination of a master story teller make us look at the Mahabharata with new eyes insisting as they do on the inclusion within the master narrative of the fates and viewpoints of those previously unrepresented therein women and the underclass.