Draupadi's predicament

Draupadi sat in a corner brooding. It was exactly a month after the bloody war of Kurushektra and although she was in the victorious camp, the pandavas and their share of loses too. She ran her fingers through her hair, reminiscing about the spate of events. That was it. Her hair! They had turned into a mass of dry and rough stack of hay.

She had bravely taken the vow on that fateful day when she was dragged by her lustrous hair into the packed court of king Drishrashtra to avenge the disgrace that her hair suffered with the blood of Dushasana. Until then she vowed never to tie them. Years of neglect, dust and environmental harshness had reduced the once luxurious, shining and silky mane to a pitiable condition. She decides to discuss this issue with her husbands. After all, they were all mighty warriors and repectable kings in their own right. Will they not be able to find a solution to a problem so mere for their reputation?

The next day, she goes into Yudhistra's chamber. She finds him in a contrite and pensive mood, something that had become a regularity with him since the end of the war. After exchanging pleasantries, Draupadi places her problem before Yudhistra.

"Oh, Queen! I expected better of you. Of all the problems, you are worried about something so trivial?
I have other important issues to be sorted out. I suggest you get a nice massage with a good hair oil."

Draupadi was miffed and angered by the diffident and cold response. Hair-oil, huh? didn't she already know these solutions? Probably, it was foolish of her to expect empathy from her ever just and citizen-loving husband of hers. Blinded by fury, she stomped out of the chamber only to bump into Nakul. Nakul looked at her state in bewilderment and asked her the reason for her distress.

As Draupadi recounted the course of events, Nakul was unable to hide the smirk on his face. A handsome man himself, he felt amused at Draupadi's predicament. Sharp as she was, Draupadi was quick to catch the faint smile and chides him adequately.

"How dare you smirk at me, thus? Don't you dare rebuke a lady! You have already seen the consequence of such a misdeed in the recent past." ,  she hollered

Nakul, though a little vain, was a wise man. He knew better than to incur the wrath of an insulted woman. He was visibly chastened and wisely asked for forgiveness. Though, he was unable to provide any solution, he used his astrological prowess to pacify and mollify the hurt Queen.

"Oh, Draupadi, fret not. Your problems are to end soon. The glory and respect that your hair is worthy of will be restored very soon. Help is at the doors."

Draupadi calms down on hearing this and her spirits are lifted a little even. She goes back to her chamber to cool her heels. Discouraged by the responses of Nakul and Yudhistra, she goes back into a morose state as she is no closer to finding a solution. Arjuna would have been sympathetic and resourceful but as luck would have it he was away on an tour to the earth on an errand by friend, philosopher and guide, Krishna. Bheema would move mountains for her but again he was preoccupied with the cooking challenge that the neighbouring state had thrown.

"Is there no one who can understand my misery? No one who'd not belittle my problem and help me find a solution?", thinks Draupadi aloud.

"Oh, Sakhi! how could you forget me? I, who have stood by you in all your difficult times, did it not occur to you to think of me or am I not worthy of it?" , asks a sweet voice that is mixed with mischief and slyness.

Draupadi turns to see the blue cowherd, dressed in his trademark yellow dhoti and peacock feather tucked in his crown. His twinkling eyes giving away the masked seriousness in his question. Draupadi is about to offer her apologies and explain herself when Arjuna enters in with a packet tucked in his arms. He smiles and gives the packet to Draupadi, who is surprised and confused with the turn of events. Her mind running with questions of how did Arjuna come back early,  How come krishna timed his arrival with Arjuna?

She needn't have worried with Krishna around. As though, reading her mind, he steps in to answer her questions.

"Sakhi, I knew the cause for your worry and hence I had sent Arjuna to Earth to procure the solution. This packet contains the whole range of products by a company called Dove. They are experts in providing solutions to all kinds of hair problems. My ardent devotees on earth testify to their claims, so be assured of positive results."

Draupadi's joy knew no bounds as she had at found the miracle product -Dove that was to put an end to all her hair problems. She couldn't thank Krishna and Arjuna enough. Within a couple of weeks' use, she could see a visible improvement in the texture and health of her hair. In a couple of months, her mane was restored to their former glory and shine, one befitting a queen of her stature.

My attempt at fiction is a part of the contest ..and that was the end of my hair problems at Indiblogger

66 comments:

  1. :) bravo kudos..

    I liked the story even the maharathi's use DOVE .. wah wah Nice.. I better start using it tooo


    all the best with the contest

    Bikram's

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    1. hehe, yes you must use it too :-)
      thanks, Bikram :-)

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  2. Replies
    1. Hey, Swati, thanks so much! glad you liked it. :-)

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  3. Hahaha.What an anticlimax to a brilliantly woven story.You are highly imaginative and brought out a great story.Best wishes in the contest

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    1. thank you so much, KP sir. Coming from a master story teller himself, this is a great compliment :-)

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  4. hehehehehe.... some predicament for Draupadi! :) you SHOULD win with this one! it's that brilliant!

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    1. hahaha...don't know, Purnima..some entries are really out of the world but it's ok. Am glad that you guys have liked it. That's enough of a prize for me. Thanks a lot! :-)

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  5. Uuuuumaaaaaa this is just toooo GOOOD !!! You are really showing signs of a pro !!! Mere ko abhi se autograph de dena :D awesome :)

    Tera bhai and ardent fan
    Arv

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    1. arvvvvvvvv...thank you mere bhai...haan autograph email karti hoon ;-)
      dhanyawad dhanyawad :-))))

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  6. Good one Uma .. Am sure yours must have been the most unique story amongst all the entries :) Very good thinking ..
    My sis started reading this from my blogger dashboard reading list where only the first paragraph was visible .. And she asked me 'Is this an extract from some book quoted in the beginning of the post?' and I said .. No, that's how well she writes :)

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    1. well, not sure about most unique, Aarthy. There are definitely better entries out there. As I told Purnima, am glad that my readers liked it. That's sufficient.
      And, am gushing and blushing at the last line. Thanks a ton! *goes away shaking her head in disbelief*

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    2. U r shaking ur head in disbelief here also;-S

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    3. @Nancy :-P the context is different, so the disbelief is different too :-P

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    4. Right...and I'm supposed to swallow tht*now Nancy shakes her head in disbelief*

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    5. ok, you can shake your head as much as you want..that way I'll hope you get your necessary neck exercises too :-P

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  7. Replies
    1. thanks so much, Priya! and welcome here..hope you see you around :-)

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  8. Haaah....this story is sooo COOOL Uma!!!!!
    U R going to win this one*wish I had thumbs-up emoticon to insert here*;-D

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    1. THANKS, Nancy!!! You make it sound so certain that am beginning to believe it too :-))))

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    2. Totally agree with Nancy :-)

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    3. Thank you, Bindu! Gosh you guys are making my heart beat faster now...I just posted this for fun, as an after thought..:-0

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    4. Bindu my dear friend...how have you been???
      Very pleased to meet u here....hmmmmm which reminds me, have to chk on a certain blog to see wht the bloggah's been upto...hmmmmm....

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    5. Been a good girl, Nancy :-) and glad to see you dropping by :D

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  9. Absolutely loved it!! More fiction please....

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    1. Thanks a big bunch, Bindu :-D
      I have always maintained that I lack the imagination and patience for a fiction..this could be a fluke, you see...

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  10. Very innovative, Uma! Wish you the best.

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    1. thanks a ton, Rachna! wishing you too the very best :-)

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  11. Woooow, Loved it totally.. Awesome creativity Uma! All the best :)

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    1. Thank U, Keirthana!!! Am so glad you liked it. :-D

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  12. Too good....brilliant plot and wonderfully presented :)
    You are surely going to win.
    Good luck for the contest Uma

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    1. Hey, Era!!! long time...how have you been??
      thanks so much for the good wishes, Era..:-))))

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  13. Lovely Uma, super like! You have managed to convey so well that the hair problem occupied minds of our queens and kings even back then. Images of queens, princesses, citizens trying various oils, other potions for hair, trading secrets and know-hows, comes to mind. And asking boons for long lustrous hair!! Ha ha, imagine now for some reason I am going to think Mahabharata, Draupadi and Dove all at the same time!!

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    1. thank you so much, Vibha! aren't we all obsessed with our hair? I assume the queens were no different, probably a tad more than us, coz they had the luxury of being pampered too :-)
      hahaha..Dove and Draupadi will make a funny pair indeed.
      Btw, I had commented on your recent post..wondering if it went through, coz I don't see it being approved :-0

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    2. oh, it's there Uma, do check again!

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  14. Brilliant. Loved it totally. What a combination. You are going to win it, I am telling you :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Jas for the lovely compliment!
      seriously, when I wrote this piece, I was hardly thinking about winning or losing..but now, my hopes are building :-0..*telling myself to calm down and not build castles in the air* :-)))

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  15. This is too good Uma. U beat all your earlier posts...
    lol...I loved it. I scrolled down first to know what u have written...wondered why mythology....
    very innovative....

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    1. wahhhhh! thank you sooooo much :-))))
      lol..I wasn't even going to participate, re..the day I posted was the last date for entry..aise hi this idea struck me :-0

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  16. Whatteee!! Loved it. Is there a place I can vote for it? So good, Uma!

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    1. Hey, Archana..thanks a million bunch! am so glad you liked it..
      If you are on Indiblogger, you can vote for me. So nice of you to think of voting, thanks again :-)))

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  17. When I started reading, I was like...wahts all this about Draupadi? Then I figured it was fiction. But I didn't see the "twist"at the end coming :) When does the contest end? I'll vote for u too!

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    1. lol..probably you thought I'd lost it..;-)
      thanks, Aparna! the contest has ended. Mine must have been those just-in-time ones :-) You can vote for it, though..:-)

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  18. No wonder Draupadi continued to become immortal Panchali( one who has five husbands). Thank you Dove:) Lovely imagination , Uma and best wishes for the contest!

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    1. :-) thanks a lot, Rahulji for the lovely comment and good wishes!

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  19. LOL!! This was wonderful :) :) I absolutely LOVED it!! I can't help chuckling :) :)

    BTW Have you read The Palace of Illusions? It is a wonderful take on the Mahabharat through the voice of Draupadi...

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    1. heheheh..thanks a lot, Divya..glad you liked it :-)))
      yes, have read the book..loved it completely :-)

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  20. Superbly written Uma...all the best for the competition!

    The narration was too good - simple and lucid.

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    1. thanks a lot, Me! This, coming from a person who writes good fiction herself means a lot to me :-)

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  21. Very well narrated!! That Dove ending was quite funny and unexpected.. :D :D Best of luck for the contest!!

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    1. thank you so much, Radhika! Am glad that this story has been liked by so many of you :-)

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  22. Awesome. The narration was impeccable. Well so now Dove can advertise that they exist since the time of the Mahabharatha :)

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    1. LOL..ya, since Mahabharata will be a nice tag line for them a.k.a Raymonds..thanks, Jayashree :-)

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  23. :)
    You can do fiction too! That was a cool story, Uma. Draupadi should be Dove's new poster girl. :)

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    1. haha..thanks, Divya! I liked the idea of the new poster girl..quite a revolutionary icon, don't you think?

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  24. Just loved your blog post :-) interesting :-)

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  25. Wow. This was innovative and interesting. Actually come to think of it, Dove and Draupadi together makes a lot of sense. Loved tge way you wrote this.

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  26. Hahaha! Funny story! Makes me wonder if Draupadi really had hair problems cos of her oath....!!!

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    1. Haha, Sreesha..come to think of it..if you do not tie or comb such long tresses, there will be hair trouble..at least in today's environment :-p

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  27. Oh My God! Really?
    That is some take for a contest! :D :D :D

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    1. Haha, Chicky..I hope you meant that in a good way ;-) :-)

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  28. Haha! Nice one Uma. I love writing fiction for contests. Puts me out of my comfort zone as we need to find a way to incorporate those links. You've done well. If it wasn't for the links at the end or the reference to 'hair' in the first para, it would be a greater take on the story.

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    1. I don't usually write for contests, Sid. This was a very last minute entry..on a whim. I'm glad to get a "done well" comment from you. I did hate inserting the links, but you know how it is with contests. It was one of the rules. Thanks a lot for reading and taking time to give constructive feedback, Sid :-)

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  29. There have been many myths about Goddess Draupadi, many are mis-interpretations, base-less. She is considered a grama devetha and kula devatha for many people. There are many shrines for Goddess Draupadi, spread in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. One of the shrines, where She is a Grama-Devatha and Kula-Devatha to many, is located in one of the small villages of Tamil Nadu.

    The village is named KONDAL, Mayiladuthurai Taluk, Nagapattinam District, Nidur P.O, Tamil Nadu. There are more details about Goddess and way to the shrine at:

    http://blog.thitherwards.com/draupadi/

    Draupadi Amman Thunai - May Her blessing be always on you all!!

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