Chennai recently witnessed the launch of Footnotes to the Mahabharata, a powerful new collection of poems by acclaimed writer and academic K. Srilata, hosted at the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with the Prakriti Foundation. Published by Westland, the book presents a bold, feminist reimagining of the Mahabharata, one of India’s most revered epics.

Through poetic retellings, Srilata gives voice to the often-overlooked women and minor characters of the Mahabharata - figures traditionally relegated to the background of heroic male narratives. The poems span multiple perspectives, from Gandhari’s silent rage to Urvashi’s forgotten agency, creating a rich mosaic of alternate viewpoints.

“Just when you think you are all caught up, a new tale - or an old one, differently told - resurfaces,” reads one of the book’s defining lines, encapsulating the essence of her project. With lyrical depth and emotional clarity, Srilata offers readers not just a retelling but a reclamation - of space, story, and silence.

This work adds to a growing wave of feminist mythological literature, reclaiming epics not by rewriting history, but by listening closer to its footnotes.