"Radha"- Her way

Krishna Dharabasi’s extraordinary novel Radha is a strong example of presenting mythical texts from a different perspective. He has completely changed the characters of Radha and Krishna as they are in the religious texts, challenging the traditional mores. Throughout ‘Mahabharata’, a Hindu epic, Radha has a minor role and she is portrayed nothing more than Krishna’s plaything but Dharabasi in his novel portrayed Radha as a brave, responsible and dignified woman. One of the novel’s strongest point is the way it explores the viewpoint of women, which Ved Vyas, the writer of ‘Mahabharata’ has totally ignored.
The novel begins with an incident where the author, Krishna Dharabasi, reads a headline in the newspaper, stating that an important archeological object has been unearthed during a dig in Kichakwadh, Jhapa. Dharabasi and his colleges hurry to Kichakwadh to find an ancient slate written in unknown characters. However they find an ascetic sage who can read those slates and from here on, the novel progresses into the realm of fiction.
Whenever we remember Radha from the mythical tales, we never imagine her without Krishna but Dharabasi has explored Radha’s life without Krishna. Through Radha and many other women like Dropadhi, Kunti, and Krishna’s wives Dharabasi has raised the issue of women independence. Dharabasi further illustrates the selfish nature of men through Krishna. The book shatters the sense of devotion the gopinis, including Radha, are said to have towards Krishna, even though he treats them merely as playthings and has no respect for them.
Dharabasi has also given practical reasoning to all the events not relying on the supernatural explanation of Mahabharata. He has emphasized on the bonds between love and marriage. Love has been compared to many things and thus, examined. The novel provides lessons for all those who need to deal with the obstacles that arise in love, the circumstances in which love should be taken further which is especially relatable to the young.