Power Women- A Journey into Hindu Mythology, Folkore and History

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The women in India's great epics compare favourably with the men-Draupadi, the princess with five husbands and a fiery temperament; Uloopi, who abducted the mighty warrior Arjuna; Satyabhama, who fought alongside Krishna to kill the demon Narakasura; Sita, who dramatically descended into the bowels of the Earth rather than return to her suspicious husband; Satyavati, whose greed set the stage for the Kurukshetra War; or Savitri, who achieved the impossible without picking up a weapon. Pushpa Kurup brings their stories and many others in this brilliant compilation of the powerful and intriguing women of our mythology. What enriches this volume further is the inclusion of a few lesser-known but equally significant women, such as Unniyarcha, the heroine of the vadakkanpaatu of Malabar; Kannagi, whose fury destroyed the prosperous Pandya kingdom of Madurai; or Sati Devi and Amba, who immolated themselves in their bid to achieve their mission.

From bhikkunis and sanyasinis to wild and wayward women, from daughters, wives, mothers and grandmothers to queens, warriors and scholars, the stories of these splendid women throw up many surprises and make for a fascinating read.

Pushpa Kurup studied at the Good Shepherd School, Stella Maris College and Presidency College, Chennai. She started her career as an LIC officer. After seventeen years of public service in different locations such as Pune, Bengaluru, Kozhikode, Tirunelveli and Thiruvananthapuram, she called it quits and began a long stint in the IT sector. As a faculty member, teaching soft skills to engineering graduates in Tata Consultancy Services, she spent some years doing what she really relished. Later, she joined Vitalect Technologies (India) Ltd as managing director, finally hanging up her boots in 2019 after having spent eleven years in that position.

She is widely travelled and enjoys teaching, writing, reading and music. Her earlier publications include Snow and Salt Water and Other Animal Stories, and Causing a Flutter and Other Tales. Her book Stars and Saplings: A Biography of Dr G. Viswanathan traces the remarkable journey of the founder-chancellor of the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University,Vellore, Tamil Nadu. She is currently working on the biography of a woman scientist titled Little Notes on a French Indian, due to be published soon. She lives in Thiruvananthapuram, India.

**Contents and Sample Pages**