Swathi

“Were the stories we told each other true? Who knows? At the best of times, a story is a slippery thing.
Perhaps that was why it changed with each telling. Or is that the nature of all stories, the reason for their power?”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions

“The Tanzanian told her that all fiction was therapy, some sort of therapy, no matter what anybody said.”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Thing Around Your Neck

“... woman’s highest purpose in life is to support the warriors in her life: her father, brother, husband, and sons. If they should be called to war, she must be happy that they have the opportunity to fulfill a heroic destiny. Instead of praying for their safe return, she must pray that they die with glory on the battlefield... I promised myself I’d never pray for their deaths. I’d teach them, instead, to be survivors. And why was a battle necessary at all? Surely there were other ways to glory, even for men? I’d teach them to search for those.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions

“Like many Indian children, I grew up on the vast, varied, and fascinating tales of the Mahabharat.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions