Blurb:

Arjun was one of the five Pandava brothers of the Mahabharat epic. He was born to Kunti and King Pandu with the energy of Indra, the leader of the gods. At a very young age he got acclaim for the sincerity and skill in archery. He was known for his steadfastness and single mindedness in pursuing his goals. He was instrumental in winning Draupadi in a contest for himself and his brothers as their joint wife. He also married Subadhra the sister of Krishna and Balaram and kept his friendship with them forever. Lord Krishna became his mentor and guide for the rest of his life.

He was known by different names or rather titles such as Phaalgun, Keerti, Paartha, Dhanajaya and so on.

Arjun serves as an example of a great human being, a dutiful householder, a loyal brother, a great warrior, a devout husband and a sincere devotee of God.

My Impression: India's most epic tale retold in a beautiful and simple manner.

Interview:

Q. How did rewriting Mahabharata happen?

A. Actually, I have been the kind of girl who never believed in God, religion and stuff. One day it so happened that I watched a television show relating to Mahabharata. Since that day I started going mad about this epic and eventually I felt like expressing the story which grew out of my thoughts...so that people may change the way I did

Q. Obviously lot of research has gone into it? How did you pick out the best ones you thought would go into your book?

A. Yes, of course a lot of research and reading has been done before I started writing on it...as the contents and information should be as accurate as possible.

And it's not really that I picked the best ones...out of the whole epic...each character have their own role and even if one would have been missing, the epic would have had a different story. But I chose the character as I liked it more than other characters.

Q. What are main differences you find in Foreign and Indian epics?

A. I'm sorry, actually I don't read foreign epics. I prefer to read Indian mythology over foreign epics. I'm more interested in Indian mythology and most of my researches and writings are on it itself.

Q. Did writing Mahabharata impact you in anyway?

A. Obviously it has done a strange magic on me. I have learned a lot about Indian culture and traditions. I have learned so much about history. And now I feel like doing research on them. I always wish to meet the characters of Mahabharata and I'm sure some day I will ;)

Q. Who is you biggest inspiration? and why?

A. I wouldn't give much importance to my character of the book, but my inspiration is Karna of the epic itself, not everyone knows about him. They think he is the villain of the epic. He teaches his followers how to keep secrets, trust, friendship and promises. He is the most tragic "hero" of the epic. I like him more than any body else in Mahabharata. Hats off to him.

Q. Is there any mythological author in today's list that you like? If so why?

A. Yes. I like Amish Tripathi. He brings the characters to life. I mean that's what almost every author does. But I have a very strange attraction towards his work. I recommend all the Indian mythology lovers to read his books. They are really worth reading.

Q. What was toughest part in writing this book?

A. For me writing the story was really easy and interesting. I actually felt sad when I ended this book. But the toughest part for me was actually writing bad and against Karna, knowing his ill fate and flawless actions, I had to write against him. As for my book, Arjun is the hero, and his only strong enemy is Karna.

Q. Is there anything in Mahabharata that you feel shouldn't have happened and yet happened? I think Panchaali's single statement "Son of a blind also a blind", indirectly turned out to be the reason for the great war. Don't you think she was really mean to Duryodhan?

A. I feel so many events that shouldn't have taken place. Firstly, Kunti should have told her sons atleast that Karna was her son. I do understand her situation but she directly became the cause for Karna's misfortune.

Then, Panchali's Vastraharan. I know she made a mistake but such a bad insult for what she did? Its not fair.

Seriously, Karna should have won the battle against Arjuna. Almost everyone has come to know that Karna did deserve the victory. Alas! Only if he hadn't gone though the curses :/

In the original text of Mahabharata, it's no where mentioned that Draupadi had laughed over Duryodhana and commenting over him. If she did it also, Duryodhana shouldn't have punished her so badly. Actually, this was just a fake reason. As you know, he hated the Pandavas. If at all his intention was to take revenge on Draupadi, he would have stopped after her insult. He wanted to rejoice the Pandavas downfall. So he bought up the idea of "the great war"!

You know about Draupadi, she wasn't like the rest of the women of those days. So according to her, and me from her pov, she wasn't mean at all.

Q. Today's generation kids and teenagers are more into Harry Potter or Fifty Shades but I find you different. What are your thoughts about this?

A. Yes. I don't know why I don't feel like reading today's fiction. Moreover, even if I try reading them, I fall asleep. But some are really good. No offense at all.

Whenever I read any Indian epic, I just feel- ",why wasn't I a part of these events, either good or bad, I don't care. " But I always feel I want to be in the story.

And no matter how many times I read them, I never feel bored. In fact, I'll be into the book more than the last time.

Q. What are the lessons do you think we should learn from the Indian epics?

A. Hmm...I would like to convey my readers that reading Indian epics is not at all funny. If at all you have been made fun of regarding this matter, don't give up. Follow your interests.

Our future depends on these epics, each may only learn a different thing by reading this. You never know what change you can see in yourself. But one thing I can assure you -the change you see can never be bad.

Q. Is there anything in your book you would want to change for the betterment?

A. Yup!! I would want to write the story better everyday. Till the end of my life I would write the story better and even after that, it could still get better. No body is perfect. There is one who is better than that other and this cycle is never ending. And an author can never be satisfied to the fullest even at his/her best. So to say, if I feel like changing today for betterment, again the next day I would certainly feel the same and this continues forever.

Q. What other stories are you working on? Can you describe them briefly?

A. I have already worked on the few important characters from Mahabharata, as I said previously, each character has its own role to play in fact I don't find Duryodhan evil at all. He followed his king duty and fought bravely till death.

Currently, I'm working on Quotes-which say facts about various things and which also suits some people for their situations. I'm also working on Did you know?- which tell true facts about things which you don't know completely. Then, I'm writing Bhagavad-Gita: as Krishna itself told to be the ambassador of his work and there are many who follow Krishna, so it's a dedication for them. Finally I'm also writing story on Bhumija - it describes the story of her life events..

Q. What are you likes and dislikes about Indian Mythology?

A. To say, there is nothing that I dislike about Indian mythology but to be frank, in the epic Mahabharata, I didn't like Krishna's character. He could have changed few events if he had wished to! And another one is the Kings marrying more than once. I mean can't they understand how the 1st marriage felt like?

Leaving these points, I like everything else about the Indian mythology!! :)

14. Why do you want people to read your story?

A. I want people to read my stories not because I want more views and likes. They should read it because it is so interesting and also important! You understand the values of your history and get to know the nature of the living beings! Not everybody likes it, but give it a try. I'm sure you will not hate it.

15. Have your parents seen your work? I hope they are very proud of you.

A. Yes of course my parents have seen my work. They do feel proud of me, but they don't encourage this much. They tell me to complete my education first and later see all these. But personally they like what I do very much, they just don't tell it out. If at all they say, I would be back again into this more than studies. That's really bad right?

16. Other than the epics, what other kinds or genre of books do prefer you read? and why?

A. Other than epics, I like mystery, horror and romantic books. Obviously, mystery and horror books are likely to be liked by most of us without a reason.

And also the romantic books, they give such a relief to your mind and heart and makes you feel a little happy. ;)

17. What are your current read and planning to read? (On and off Wattpad)

A. As I already said, I'm currently working mainly on Bhagavad-Gita and Bhumija. Secondly I'm working on Did you know? and Quotes. I'm a 12th grade student,  so I don't even get time to read story books. So don't have any plans to read any new books! :/

18. What is the best/ worst comment you received on this particular book?

A. The comments are as usual- awesome, great work, update soon, nice chapter.. etc... but the best comment I had received was through a personal message. She said, "you have a very bright future and there are signs which tell me you are going to become a great author someday. Your works are awesome. keep it up!" I really don't know whether this was a true comment or not but this enlightened and encourage me so much.

And the worst comment is actually not the world. Many have told that I can improve my writing skills and avoid mistakes, but that's all. I don't take them as worst or bad comments. I take them as suggestions for my betterment.

Q. Is there anything else you want to mention about our Indian epics?

A. Nothing more to mention about it. but shortly I would like to say that Indian epics are worth reading and surely it can change a person in a good way. You just need to have belief, hope, interest, dedication, love, confidence and trust on what you read.

20. What advice would you like to give to an aspiring writer?

A. As a writer, I would like to tell other writers -
Dear writers, Please don't write for the sake of writing and never copy from any of the story parts until very necessary. You are called a successful writer only when you discover your thoughts and pen it down. And never discourage other writers, it's really bad. Dedication is a very important ingredient.

That's all I can say right now. And I conclude by wishing my current and future writers Best of Luck for their further works and thanking jyothi89 for interviewing me. :)

-----------------------------------------------------------

Thank you Rushali7 for the amazing answers. And I am going to read your other works too. :)