CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

was born in Calcutta and spent the first nineteen years of her life in India. She moved to the United States to continue her studies, getting a Master's degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, both in English. For several years she has been interested in issues involving women, and has worked with Afghani women refugees and women from dysfunctional families, as well as in shelters for battered women. Since 1991 she has been president of MAITRI, a South Asian women's service which she helped found in the San Francisco area. She has written several books of poetry, and her work has been included in over 30 anthologies. Her book of short stories, Arranged Marriage, which has won critical acclaim and the 1996 American Book Award, the Bay Area Book Reviewers and PEN Oakland awards for fiction. She has two published novels: The Mistress of Spices and Sister of my Heart. For twenty years Divakaruni lived in the Bay Area and taught at Foothill College. In 1997 she moved to Texas with her husband and two children, where she taught creative writing at the University of Houston. After a 2-year stay in California, she has returned to Houston with her family.
According to a UH press release, the Mistress of Spices is soon to be made into a major motion picture.

Bibliography

One Amazing Thing

2010





A group of nine are trapped in the visa office at an Indian Consulate after a massive earthquake in an American city. Two visa officers on the verge of an adulterous affair; Jiang, a Chinese–Indian woman in her last years; her gifted teenage granddaughter Lily; an ex-soldier haunted by guilt; Uma, an Indian–American girl bewildered by her parents’ decision to return to Kolkata after twenty years; Tariq, a young Muslim man angry with the new America; and an enraged and bitter elderly white couple. As they wait to be rescued—or to die—they begin to tell each other stories, each recalling ‘one amazing thing’ in their life, sharing things they have never spoken of before. Their tales are tragic and life-affirming, revealing what it means to be human and the incredible power of storytelling.





The Palace of Illusions
2008

   Narrated by Panchaali, the wife of the five pandava brothers,The Palace of illusions finally gives a woman's take on the timeless tale that is the Mahabharat. Tracing Panchaali's lie from fiery birth and lonely childhood,where her beloved brother is her only true companion;through her complicated friendship with the enighmatic KRISHNA; to marriage, motherhood and her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands most dangerous enemy - it's a deeply human story aout a woman born into a man's world...... 

"Divakaruni gives us a racy and romantic tale, the story of not just Draupadi and the God Krishna, but also of the most tragic hero in the whole wide world – Karna...." 




Queen  of Dreams
2004




In this novel, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni spins a fresh, enchanting story of transformation that is as lyrical as it is dramatic

“This story of an emotionally distant mother and a daughter trying to find herself transcends cultural boundaries. Queen of Dreams combines the elements that Divakaruni is known for, the Indian American experience and magical realism, in a fresh mix. The tale succeeds on two levels. She effectively takes the reader into an immigrant culture but she also shows the common ground that lies in a world that some would find foreign. The search for identity and a sense of emotional completion is not confined to small corners of the world. It is a dilemma that all readers can understand.” 





The Vine of Desire
2002

The Vine of Desire is a novel of extraordinary depth and sensitivity. Through the eyes of people caught in the clash of cultures, Divakaruni reveals the rewards and the perils of breaking free from the past and the complicated, often contradictory emotions that shape the women's passage to independence....... 

“Divakaruni is gifted with dramatic inventiveness, lyrical, sensual language, the ability to interweave many points of view with ease…The Vine of Desire offers many delight"










The Unknown Errors of Our Lives

2001 









In this collection, featuring tales set in India and America, Divakaruni illuminates the transformations of personal landscapes, real and imagined, brought about by the choices men and women make at every stage of their lives. The stories include "Love Of A Good Man," a tale of a happily married Indian woman who must confront her past when her long-estranged father begs to meet his only grandson; "Mrs. Dutta Writes A Letter," (selected for Best American Short Stories, 1999), where a widow living in her son's Calfornia home discovers that her old world ways are an embarrassment to her daughter-in-law; "The Blooming Season For Cacti," where two women, uprooted from their native land by violence and deception, find unexpected solace in each other; and the title story where an artist is faced with her fiance's past a week before her wedding must make an important decision. 





Sisters of My Heart

1999





“Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s account of family life in Bengal is warm and richly detailed. Hers is one of the most strikingly lyrical voices writing about the lives of Indian women today.” 




What an irresistibly absorbing immersion in the pleasure and anguish of growing up passionate in a world of duty, where each comfort is hedged with a constraint and love unsettles every plan. Sister of My Heart may be alive with exotic detail but its emotions are very recognizable




The Mistress of Spices

1997 

The Mistress of Spices is unique in that it is written with a blend of prose and poetry. The book has a very mystical quality to it, and, as Divakaruni puts it, “I wrote in a spirit of play, collapsing the divisions between the realistic world of twentieth century America and the timeless one of myth and magic in my attempt to create a modern fable.”

A splendid novel, beautifully conceived and crafted.






Arranged Marriage

1995 

Arranged Marriage, Chitra’s first collection of stories, focuses on women from India caught between two worlds. The characters are “both liberated and trapped by cultural changes,” struggling to carve out an identity of their own.




Divakaruni not only conveys emotions with stunning accuracy, she also transforms the outer world—every room and article of clothing, every instance of snow, rain, and sunshine—into reflections of the soul










 For The Young Readers




The Conch Bearer

2003

Mythical, mystical — and impossible to put down, The Conch Bearer is literary fiction of the highest order. Action, adventure and magic combine in this compelling quest fantasy that whisks readers to a far away land and to a reading experience they won’t soon forget. The Conch Bearer is a feast for the senses with a multitude of colors, smells, sounds, and textures. It’s a feast of the emotions as readers feel fear, hope, joy, trepidation, sadness, and wonder — right along with the main characters. And it’s a feast for adventure-lovers – a fast paced story that races across contemporary India to a dramatic climax in the Himalayas.




Neela: Victory Song

2000




It is 1939, and 12-year-old Neela Sen and her family are preparing for the wedding of Neela's older sister. Neela knows her parents will soon be arranging a betrothal for her, too. She is far more interested in thinking about other things, including India's growing movement for independence from Great Britain. When her father is jailed following a march against British rule, Neela takes matters into her own hands and goes to Calcutta to find him. 

 




Poetry

• The Reason for Nasturtiums (1990)
• Black Candle (1991)
• Leaving Yuba City (1997)
• Indian Movie, New Jersey


 Anthologies 

• Multitude:Cross Cultural Readings for Writers (1993) 
• We Too Sing America (1997) California Uncovered: Stories for the 21st Century (2004)

The Palace Of Illusion : Kisah Cinta Sang Perempuan Api, Draupadi

Book by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

"Draupadi has five husbands - but she has none -
She had five sons - and was never a mother …
The pandavas have given Draupadi …
No joy, no sense of victory
No honour as wife
No respect as mother -
Only the status of a Queen …
But they all have gone
And I'm left with a lifeless jewel
And an empty crown …
My baffled motherhood
Wrings its hands and strives to weep".

Sebuah syair berjudul "Kurukshetra" ditulis oleh Amreeta Syam. Menggambarkan seorang Panchali (Draupadi), yang terlahir tidak diinginkan oleh ayahnya (Raja Panchala). Dia harus kehilangan kakaknya (Destrayumna) dan anaknya dan sakha (teman) terkasihnya, Krishna.

Syair tersebut tidak ada dalam buku namun dapat menggambarkan sekilas hidup Draupadi, tokoh utama dalam buku ini. Buku dengan judul dan cover yang menarik ini patut dikoleksi. Tidak hanya menceritakan ulang secara indah kisah Mahabarata namun juga menunjukkan peranan besar seorang perempuan dalam dunia yang didominasi oleh kaum lelaki. Dia dianggap sebagai pemicu perang terbesar di zamannya yaitu perang Kurukshetra (Bharatayudha) antara Pandawa dan Kurawa. Sebelum membaca buku ini, kita harus meninggalkan dulu cerita Mahabarata versi Indonesia (Jawa), karena meski inti cerita serupa namun tidak sama dalam beberapa hal. Misalnya dalam penamaan tokoh dan jalan cerita yang ada, buku ini menceritakan Mahabarata versi India, yang merupakan negara asli asal cerita tersebut.

Kelahiran sang putri,
Draupadi terlahir dari api pemujaan yang diadakan oleh Raja Panchala yang menginginkan seorang anak untuk membalaskan dendamnya pada Drona, teman sepermainannya sekaligus guru dari Pandawa. Pada hari terakhir pemujaan, keluarlah seorang anak lelaki gagah berkulit putih dinamakan Drestayumna. Namun menit berikutnya muncul seorang anak perempuan berkulit hitam yang diramalkan akan merubah jalannya sejarah, dinamakan Draupadi. Karena kelahirannya yang tidak diinginkan Raja Panchala, Draupadi ditempatkan dalam istana yang berbeda dari anak-anak ayahnya yang lain. Draupadi memiliki pengasuh (Dhai ma) yang selalu berusaha keras mengajarinya pelajaran menjadi seorang putri. Narmun Draupadi lebih tertarik pada pelajaran yang diajarkan pada Drestayumna. Alhasil, dia mempunyai pandangan dan pemikiran  seperti laki-laki, yang merupakan hal tabu untuk seorang perempuan.
Dibanding Dhai ma dan Destrayumna, Draupadi lebih dekat secara spiritual dengan Krishna, Raja Dwaraka. Krishna adalah teman dan penolong bagi Draupadi hingga akhir hidupnya, dia dikatakan seorang titisan Dewa Wisnu dan memiliki kulit hitam (kebiruan dalam budaya India) seperti Draupadi.

Sayembara,
Menginjak dewasa, kecantikannya yang unik dan magis menarik minat banyak raja. Dan oleh ayahnya diadakanlah sayembara untuk mendapatkan calon yang tepat. Sebelumnya ditunjukkan potret dari raja-raja yang akan ikut, semuanya mencerminkan penguasa serakah dan tua. Namun saat melihat potret Kurawa, Draupadi jatuh cinta pada sosok Karna, Adipati Angga dan sahabat baik Duruyana (Kurawa tertua). Krishna yang mengetahui segalanya, tidak menyetujui sikap Draupadi dan lebih menjodohkannya dengan Arjuna.
Namun dikabarkan bahwa Pandawa dan ibunya meninggal dalam kebakaran, sehingga satu-satunya kandidat yang dapat memenangkan sayembara tinggal Karna. Ketika sayembara berlangsung, semua raja telah gagal dan tersisa Karna. Meski Draupadi menginginkan Karna menang, takdir tidak menyetujuinya. Destrayumna maju dan menentang Karna, dalam situasi ini Draupadi memilih kakaknya dan menghina Karna. Peristiwa ini yang membangkitkan kebencian dalam hati Karna. Kemudian mucullah seorang Brahmana yang dalam waktu singkat memenangkan sayembara dan memboyong Draupadi pergi dari istana Panchala.

Pernikahan dan Perang,
Brahmana yang membawa Draupadi adalah Arjuna. Untuk mengalihkan patah hatinya, Draupadi menetapkan hatinya pada suaminya ini yang memiliki mata serupa Karna. Sesampainya di tempat tujuan, Bima, yang suka bercanda, bertanya pada Kunti, harus diapakan hadiah sayembara. Oleh Kunti, Draupadi dibagikan kepada kelima Pandawa. Inilah awal kemalangan Draupadi, dia harus menikahi Pandawa dan ber'perang' denga ibu mertuanya yang kurang menyenanginya. Menurut pengaturan Byasa, setahun sekali Draupadi berganti suami dan diberikannya ajian agar menjadi perawan setiap kali dia bersama suaminya yang berbeda.
Dia juga harus memenangkan perannya sebagai ratu dan istri utama dari sekian banyak istri suaminya yang lain. Sembrada adalah istri yang paling dia cemburui, karena dialah perempuan yang dicintai Arjuna, suami yang dia kira mampu menghapus pengharapannya pada Karna.
Selanjutnya, dimulailah perjalanannya menemani setiap pengasingan yang diterima para suaminya dan klimaksnya terjadi pada penghinaan yang diterimanya dan memicu perang Bharatayudha. Dan diakhir napasnya, dia mengetahui siapa orang yang mencintainya dan kepada siapa dia ingin memberikan cintanya.

 ***
Salah satu cerita yang tidak bosan aku baca berulang kali. Selain menonjolkan kekuatan seorang perempuan, cintanya pada Karna sangat menyentuh. Kedekatannya dengan Krishna juga menakjubkan dan cinta yang tidak bisa dia balas kepada Yudistira dan Bima. Tidak lupa, si penulis juga menceritakan tokoh perempuan kuat lainnya, Kunti dan Gandari. Tidak ada tokoh jahat atau baik yang sesungguhnya dalam buku ini. Kesemuanya memiliki takdir masing-masing yang membuat mereka menjadi karakter yang disukai dan dibenci.
Aku pribadi menyukai tokoh Krishna dan Karna. Karisma Krishna dan kemalangan Karna manjadikan cerita tidak hanya sekedar dongeng membosankan yang sejak kecil aku dengar.