The highest human virtue is to sacrifice self-interest for the welfare of others. This “giving with love” gives permanent peace. Actually, motherhood is all about giving and that is why it is so special.
-Yugal Joshi.
‘Boons and Curses’ is a stoic narrative by the author exhibiting the interaction between mournful Queen Kunti (the mother of the Pandavas) and revered mythological Hindu God ‘Krishna’ after the bloodbath following Mahabharata where brothers fought with each other. The grief-stricken Kunti seeks guidance and judgment from her nephew Krishna who provides her solace giving examples of various valorous women in Hindu mythology.
I prefer not to call the book a re-telling but rather the author tries to justify and provide wisdom about the sacrifices and the reasons why a woman may contemplate to fulfill her desires and ambitions through her children by telling the stories of royal, tainted, depressed, oppressed woman who strived to be steadfast in their nobility in the face of oppression from society, sons and daughters, parents and husbands.
Language of the book is simple, stories have a rational tone and you can start reading from any chapter and gain the positivity you seek. Recommended for mythological, historical, philosophical, fiction readers.
Bombay Reader 