Your writing has always transported me to another time and emotional landscape. It’s such a lovely coincidence that I’m currently reading The Palace of Illusions, and I’m really looking forward to finishing it (Draupadi has just learned of her prophecy), which made this feel even more resonant.

What I find most compelling about Mahabharata, is how difficult it is to clearly define heroes and villains. Even figures like Karna feel deeply complex like his role in Abhimanyu’s death, for instance, challenges any straightforward idea of Kshatriyas. It all seems to come down to interpretation, which is perhaps what makes these stories endure so powerfully and for a long time.