Palace of Discussions

On 17 November, 2012, Sanchari Banerjee, Anubha Saggar, Ishan Mehandru, Isha Vajpeyi and Shidhanto Sen of class 11 went to Springdales, Pusa Road to participate in the 17th Rosalind Wilson Memorial Book Discussion. The novel chosen for the discussion was 'The Palace of Illusions' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

The event was well-attended by several leading schools of Delhi like Sanskriti, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, St. Thomas's School amongst others. It was moderated by Prof. N. Samantha, professor of English at Ramanujan College, Delhi University. The guest of honour was Mr. Soli Sorabjee former attorney-general of India.

The discussion focused on the author's view of Panchaali, and also addressed philosophical questions, like the difference between reality and illusion. Our discussion revolved around the character of Karna and how he influenced Draupadi's thought process. The participants also debated whether a 350 page book did justice to an epic of proportions such as the Mahabharata. The moderator raised the question of the aptness of the book's title.

The platform was then opened to the audience which also offered intriguing insights. We, book lovers lost track of the time and our teachers simply could not keep us from presenting our perceptions in the passioned discussion! The debate concluded that the Mahabharata with it's theme of revenge has not lost its relevance in the present war-torn world of terror and fear.

We thoroughly enjoyed the morning of animated debate and look forward to new and more opportunities.