Lakshmi Pamuntjak's refreshingly beautiful Amba - The Question of Red is the story of Amba and Bhishma, with the Communist insurgencies of Indonesia post-independence in the background. The protagonists, named after the Hindu epic Mahabharata characters, are inspired from the actual characters of the epic themselves, and so is their love-fate. Amidst violence, riots, and death threats, the blooming of Amba and Bhishma's profound love story, layer by layer, emotion post emotion, is paced yet believable. The Mahabharata is widely read in the South Asian countries, and several folk tales have thus been told over the years. One of these folk tales quite popular in the Java islands is the forbidden love story of Amba, the princess of Kashi, and Bhishma, the celibate son of King Shantanu and Goddess Ganga. According to the Mahabharata, Bhisma abducted Amba and her two younger sisters, Ambika and Ambalika to wed them to his step-brother Vichitravirya. After learning t