Role of Women in Nation Development (Book of Conference Proceedings of NIT Jamshedpur 2020) ISBN- 978-81-948050-4-5

Authors: Suchitra Rani Mahato, Rajiv Bhushan, Maninder Kapoor

Abstract: The Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic, is replete with mythological stories which depict the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas over the throne of Hastinapur. It is a man’s world where women are given no space to express themselves. Kavita Kane, an Indian author, brings a marginal character, Satyavati, to the forefront in her novel, The Fisher Queen’s Dynasty. The novel is a reworking of the traditional narratives of the Mahabharata. Reworking or retelling has always endured as an effective strategy to interrogate dominant ideologies and articulate resistant ideologies. The present paper tries to explore the journey of Satyavati from a humble fisher girl to the reigning queen of Hastinapur. It delineates the way Satyavati tries to overturn cultural stereotypes by moving out of the orthodox cultural frame in order to reverse gender roles. Satyavati’s voice is a female assertion of independence and identity determination. It is concerned with the marginalization, repression and subjugation of women. The paper tries to explore the significant role played by the protagonist, Satyavati in regulating the plot and the subsequent turn of events and incidents in the novel.

Keywords- Subversion, Patriarchy, Gender discrimination, Myth, Identity.