Mahabharata Episode 37: The Abduction of Draupadi

Draupadi Jayadratha

Draupadi Jayadratha

Jayadratha, the husband of Duryodhan’s sister Duhshala, sees Draupadi in the Kamyaka forest and is enamoured by her divine beauty.  Unable to control his lust, Jayadratha tries to abduct her against her will. When the Pandavas come to know of this, they chase Jayadratha to teach him a lesson that he could never forget.

A New Collection of Plays

Rajar Chithi O Anyanyo

Rajar Chithi O Anyanyo

Plays find their life on stage. They also die on stage, just when the curtains come down. Still plays live on the pages of text. That’s how it gets transported to different parts of the world, to different readers and theater enthusiasts, to find another life on stage somewhere in front of a new set of audience. With this hope, to reach out to theater and drama enthusiasts around the world, a new collection of my plays have been published – “Rajar Chithi O Anyanya” by Pratibhas a well-known publisher of Kolkata.  The book is now available in USA from Amazon (click here) and in India from books stores where Bengali books are sold.

The book consists of seven of my plays, some new, some not so new. The play “Rajar Chithi”, which I wrote on the occasion of Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary, is about an incident which stayed hidden in the pages of history  until I stumbled upon it by accident. Although the story depicted in the play is fictional, it is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to San Francisco in 1916 and the failed attempt to assassinate him by the Indian nationalists. The play was staged in New Jersey and now it is in production in India. Continue reading

Mahabharata Episode 36: The Story of Mudgal and Durvasa

Lord Krishna saves the Pandavas from Durvasa

Lord Krishna saves the Pandavas from Durvasa

In this episode, we hear two enchanting stories from the Mahabharata. In the first story, Rishi Durvasa grants Mudgal an eternal life in heaven. But Mudgal declines the offer in search of eternal truth.

The second story is more exciting. Pleased with Duryodhan’s hospitality, Durvasa offers him a favor. Duryodhan asks Durvasa to pay the Pandavas a visit to embarrass them. But Lord Krishna comes to the rescue and saves the Pandavas from the wrath of Durvasa. Listen to these stories by clicking the player below or download them on your smart device from iTunes.