Women in a country like India, want to be free to choose, vote, love, and decide their future in their own hands. Society blames our past as being responsible for tossing women into unnecessary roles and duties in societies. Nobody wants to be a fault, either solve a problem, but it is easier for such like minds to accuse anyone who will not throw back at them.
I find myself a book on the streets with a beautiful illustration of Goddess Sita herself clutching a palm leaf as if it was so dear to her heart. The book, The Forest of Enchantments, written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is an eye-opener to the lives of Indian women thousand of years ago, and the future teaching that can be given to girls early on age to thrive in this man’s world.
And here’s why I suggest this as a must-read for all. We know the Ramayana, good wins over evil, but could you think of the Ramayana from the perspective of Sita?
Yes, 1000 years ago women in that period could write and read duh. Though they didn't just spectate discussion from afar, they made their thoughts and actions clear in court. Girls were taught subjects similar to modern days economics, political science, medicine, and martial arts as they were skills came in handanytime. I mean even sex education was a part of their lessons (which most parents have avoided confronting). Marriages are not subjugation. Woman have the freedom to choose who she spends the rest of her life with (hence called swayamvar).Respect for women was the highest rule in society.That above is just a smitch of it.
So as the story goes, as she is found by Janak in the soil, she is raised by the king as her own with sister Urmila and stepmother. She is wedded to Ram who took her to Ayodhya. Later, Ram Sita and Lakshman are exiled to the forest for 14 years. Midway, she is faced with the consequences of her decision to be kind to a sage (surprise- it's Ravan) who kidnaps and takes her away to Lanka. After the battle of the century, there is a reunion. Suspicion lead to the split, the birth of Luv and Kush, and her owning up to charity and return to her divine mother.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has bewitching ways to put her thoughts into letters. “Girlhood was as ephemeral as a drop of water on a lily pad.” is just one of the lines from the book that have settled deep in my heart. She has given a true voice to a daughter, wife, mother, and goddess.
You are bound to correlate with her in each segment of her life. The captivating factor is that how alike Sita is to us, the posulations and reverie in love and turmoil. She’s intuitive, curious bold yet calm-minded, and stern. We all have a Sita is us, that guides herself through daily challenges.
The sisterly talks with Urmila will make you giggle, her romanticizing Ram in her dreams brings love to mind, her struggles in the gardens of Lanka resonate with you, her reunion with Ram contents you, and her falling into the Earth is a reminiscence to the cycle of life. All these emotions will run through you as you read the book. I am sure you people will love to read this.
These were my thoughts on the first read. So, what are your thoughts about the book? Do you guys think Sita could have had a better ending or this was destiny? Or was Ram all at fault? Leave a comment below and let me know.
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