Radhika Deshmukh

As the author describes it's a different take of Mahabharat completely from Panchali's perspective. The complex and layered relation she shares especially with her brother Dhri, her 5 husbands, Karna and Krishna is beautifully captured. Not just that the book gives depth and humanizes almost everyone from Mahabharat showing not just their strengths but also their vulnerabilities and how it affects their choices and decisions. Panchali and Dhri's strong affection and sibling bond resonates with the reader. The unspoken relation between Panchali and Karna grows on the reader, by the end you start rooting for them to finally be together. The conversations between Panchali and Krishna creates a strong impact especially in the last few chapter. My favourite chapters would be Secret and last chapter Fire (the first and last chapter is named Fire and correctly so).