The Missing Queen

by Samhita Arni

It has been ten years since Ram's return from fallen Lanka. Ayodhya is shining. Ayodhya is prosperous. But darkness lurks at the heart of the victrorious regime. A pointed question piques a young journalist's curiousity: What happened to Sita? Where is Ram's absent wife whose abduction triggered the war with Lanka?

And so begins the journalist's search for the missing queen. Soon her investigation attracts the notice of Ayodhya's all-powerful secret police and its mysterious head, the Washerman. Forced to flee Ayodhya, the journalist makes her way through a war-devastated Lanka in search of answers.

In this stylish speculative thriller, Samhita Arni skilfully combines her love for mythology with riveting storytelling.

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2013

About the author

Samhita Arni has been interested in Hindu mythology since she was a child. She has written The Mahabaharata: A Child’s View, a version of another great Indian epic, which has been translated into seven languages and was named Book of the Month by the German Academy for Youth Literature and Media, and one of the Best Published Books of 2004 by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. It also won the Elsa Morante Literary Award (Department of Culture, Campania, Italy). Samhita has also written scripts for film and television and is currently working on a thriller based on The Ramayana. She lives in Bangalore, India.

Reviews

[KhepiAri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nameless TV journalist, dares to do the impossible, on national television she asks 'Where is Sita?' From then on the cat and mouse game of seeking the truth begins. Set in the city-state where Ram is the beloved king who is trying to bring Democracy. Ayodhya is an ever growing kingdom that ate up Lanka's resources after defeating Ravan. In it's omnivorous quest to be the shining example of development, many have been trampled.

Our journalist keeps discovering secrets and ends up connecting dots to the other side of the story. From queen to princess she meets them all in her search for Sita.

The book begins with Kaikeyi, within first three pages I was glued. But I resisted, I savoured this book for almost two months, I read it super slow because I didn't want it to end.

Every queen and princess has something to say; Surpanakha, Urmila, Trijatha. I badly wanted Mandodari to get her say too. I loved the history behind Black Shirts and LLF, because they resonate so much with conditions and histories of North East India, and Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh

I have a soft spot for Samhita Arni, her Sita's Ramayana and Mahabharata: A Child's View were intriguing and I love rereading them. The Missing Queen surpassed her previous storytelling in matter of language and political urgency. The book is definitely a retelling of Ramayana, but it's so much more! The book is so small and well written but also so well edited, the use of em dashes made me so happy. This is iceberg style at its finest, so many things are implied but never forced fed to the readers. Any reader young or old would understand what the author is trying to make us see through this story.

The book is a feminist story and a suspense novel that brings out the horror of mass denial and self induced cultural amnesia. It is also is an environmental story, as it keeps asking it's readers what is the price of development that we crave so badly?

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept is great, a retelling of the Ramayana from a feminist perspective set in the modern day, but it doesn't quite work for me in the execution. The thriller plot feels a touch forced and the mythological elements are sometimes an awkward fit with the modern setting.

[Viju · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is something about Ramayana that makes it less fascinating for me than Mahabharatha. However, interpretations like Blue by Sharan M and Asura (partially) made me get interested in the epic a little more because of their treatment of the characters as those with grey shades.

The Missing Queen is a book whose cover drew me to it at first, and then the premise when I read the blurb. Ramayana set in a modern day scenario without much change in the characters or the sequence of events is what The Missing Queen is about. It is no Sherlock mystery that Sita is the queen in focus, but the ease with which the author Samhita Arni fits in the events of Ramayana seamlessly with a few twists is indeed commendable. (Note that this is not in the form of how Shashi Tharoor's Great Indian Novel fits the characters of Mahabharatha in a different timeframe).

A quick read with some layered connotations and a little more!

[Raingirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had really high hopes from this. Considering that I had already read the authors another book 'Sita's Ramayana', I had thought this would be just as good.

It had started on a good note. I liked how it had a lot of modern sub plots, bringing in political and cultural references. But it was too much, and not explained enough. Its great to see someone putting in a womans perspective. Still I wish the author had put in just as much effort in giving some meat to the mens characters.

[Pooja Pillai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arni's idea of transposing the Ramayana onto modern times is not new, but she does it well, especially since she focuses on the question of why Sita left. However, the book could have done with more meat - most of the characters remain sketchy, we only have the faintest idea of the geography that Arni is operating in, and some very very important questions remain not just unanswered, but unasked.

[Shruti Buddhavarapu · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a weird book to rate. Shoddy, clichéd and really exasperating writing talent, but really interesting insight. 2.5 stars.

[Anusha Bathala · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was an element of suspense created in the beginning, which however dies out through the story as it turns out to be more predictable with every page.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was more a commentary on the Ramayana than a novel -- its strength is that the commentary is deeply insightful, highlighting the Ramayana's most intriguing ambiguities. However, as a narrative it falls short. The main character is only a vehicle to speed along the revelations, and the plot rushes from point to point, hardly pausing to worry about subtlety.

The descriptive writing was the strongest when describing Ayodhya as a shining dystopia, and the treatment of Ram was interesting -- the only point where the novel hedges in its otherwise strong revisionism. The story briefly touches on Ram's killing of Vali and considers the idea that this was unjust, but the idea isn't as fully explicated as other issues in the Ramayana -- most prominently, Sita's mistreatment and the slaughter of Lanka. Also, and suggestively, Rama is exculpated in the maiming of Surphanaka. We're left uncertain whether Ram was complicit in the actions of the spy network ostensibly serving him, or if he remains an honest exemplar of virtue, as pure as driven snow.

The novel returns again and again to the necessity of reckoning with the myths and stories that undergird our societies -- a message that has relevance well beyond the specific case of the Ramayana.

[Neha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently read Palace of Illusions and in that inertia caught on to this book.

The title - The Missing Queen and the plot describing the modern day Ayodhya both seemed quite intriguing. I was quite thrilled to pick up another book to gain new and interesting perspectives on the greatest mythologies of time.

Arni starts strong with a very illustrative description of how the modern day Ayodhya looks like. However as the plot unravels, the thrill of truly understanding what happened to Sita or what was Sita's story dies out. There is a lot of description of the political situations in Ayodhya and introduction of a lot of characters that sort of in my opinion feel forced into the whole plot.

After the chapter on Kaikeyi's interview I truly thought the book would bring a very different angle to Sita's story. Unfortunately, that part of the book is barely a few pages and I was quite saddened to see how it was still a very stereotypical portrayal of her and the consequences she had to bare.

Not sure the reason for a short novel, but I feel the author took a lot of time to set the plot and wrapped the crux within a few pages.

[Priya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like mythological retellings for the different perspectives they provide to the story we know. This one sets the characters of the Ramayana in the modern times and includes a quest by a journalist to find Sita after she disappeared from the palace and Ram's life.
But it seemed to me like the version of the epic put forth here, the questions raised, are too imaginative and turn the story on its head! It attempts to ask some pertinent questions about the status of the women of the epic but ends up giving some answers that, to me, seemed baseless and hence unsatisfactory.
One very prominent example is repeatedly placing the blame for the war that destroyed Lanka on the shoulders of Sita, making her the sole person responsible, as if she orchestrated the whole thing and her rescue should have never been undertaken at such a cost! While the question of whether so many lives should have been sacrificed for one woman may seem relevant in general, the intentions this retelling ascribes to her captor are unbelievable as they are totally unrelated to the story as we know it.
Many such things made this a disappointing read for me.

[Nadha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This retelling is a great introduction to the epic it's based off of. The story is modern but stays true to the major plot points, isn't long winded, and adds in a smidgen political commentary as well. It's a definite page turner and I'm looking forward to reading a more detailed version of the Ramayana soon

[Gayatri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting. But I had more expectations.

[M.M. George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept. I like the way Arni weaves in so many current issues into an age-old story and makes it believable.

[Dona Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Harsha Priolkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always had a love-hate relationship with the Ramayana. As a child I found it boring as compared to the Mahabharata which seemed colourful and intriguing in contrast with its huge cast of characters and fast pace. As a teenager, the boredom turned to disdain - for Ram, whom I found weak, for Sita who irritated me with her devotion to said weak husband, for Lakshman, who thought nothing of abandoning his blameless wife in favour of said weak brother...you get the picture! I was young and rebellious and the virtues of patience and sacrifice and the consequences of choice were lost on me.

Over the years, I confess I did little to improve my understanding of the myth and till today the Mahabharata remains my favourite epic, but with age and life experience, has come a semblance of understanding for the nuanced story that is the Ramayana. Ashok Banker's vividly reimagined interpretation helped the process, although by Volume 4, the repetitive style had begun to irritate. Still, the concept was original and I enjoyed having the god-like Ram of my childhood presented as a human, a prince and an extraordinary human no doubt, but still believable. He was flawed and I understood that.

Now, here comes another interpretation, although perhaps perspective is a better word, from Samhita Arni. Unsurprisingly focusing on the women in the epic, it tells the story of a nameless journalist in search of Sita. Such a clever piece of writing Sam! The essential skeleton of the epic remains but is reimagined in a more contemporary and relatable setting. Ayoydhya could be any city, Ram - every man, Sita - every woman. The story explores the consequences of war and power and how one man's truth is another man's falsehood. It struck me as particularly relevant given the times we live in!

I love that Sam turns everything on its head and yet leaves us free to interpret, asking us only to question, to delve and to seek our own truths. As I read, I recognised the familiar characters but saw them in a new light. I became the narrator, searching for the truth as I saw it and yet what is the truth but perspective?

I'm lucky enough to have met Sam several times and as I read the book I heard her voice! This would be a great Book Club pick too. An enjoyable read and a quick one too! Finished it in an afternoon ☺️ If you like the Ramayana and even if you don't - Read it!

[Abhinav Agarwal · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A king's flaw and a society's decay. Engrossing book, though marred by an excessive in-your-face liberal ideology."

The book's protagonist in "The Missing Queen" is a feisty reporter living in modern day Ayodhya, shining Ayodhya, who cannot take no for an answer, and when granted an interview with Rama, the ruler of Ayodhya, a modern day Ayodhya that is trying to make the transition to a democracy, she just has to question Rama about Sita - the missing queen, who had left, or was asked to leave, several years ago in circumstances never quite made clear. This one incident throws our intrepid reporter's life into one tumultuous whirlpool of disarray that sees her stalked, imprisoned, freed by terrorists (the Lanka Liberation Front, mind you), transported to Lanka, face-to-face with a self-obsessed Surpanakha, a psychotic Vibheeshana, a once-proud state of Lanka now overrun by desperate prostitutes and lecherous vaanars, an establishment historiographer by the name Kambhan (yes), an oppressed vassal state of Mithila, Naxalites rebelling against a pillaging and rapacious Ayodhya, and more. Our protagonist is on the trail of Sita, while trying to escape from the villainous henchmen of the Washerman (the "dhobi") who seem to have sinister designs on the state, even as Rama is no more than a grieving husband and unwilling puppet in the hands of fate and the Washerman. The fast-paced narrative keeps the pages turning, and the short 179 pages arrive sooner than you expect.

Whether the book is admirable literary aspirations that want to test and stretch the boundaries of how far an epic can be taken, or whether it is the venting of liberal spleen, I leave to the reader.

Full review on my blog.

[Balachander · Rating 3 out of 5]

The missing queen attempts to set the events of the Ramayana in something resembling modern times and tells the tale of what happens next, to Ram, Sita and the rest of the characters after the original story ends. It also attempts to present a sympathetic view of the Lankans, Ravana and the rest while also painting a more vivid, feminist potrait of the plight of Sita, Soorpanaka, Kaikeyi and the other women of the story.(not having read the many versions of Ramayana , I am unsure of how original these attempts are.)
While doing this, it hints at events resembling those that befell the Sri Lankan tamils, at Indian tribals and naxalism, and an autocratic state bearing (at least to me) some resemblance to one in present day India. Does it succeed ? I am not so sure. My biggest grouse is that the story is a simple one, without much effort taken in placing the characters in a radically different setting but which still reminds one of the original characters. (Kalyug, the movie directed by Shyam Benegal, comes to mind.There might be other literary examples too)
Ram,Lakshman, Vali etc still remain Kings, princes etc. Politics still plays a major role. Kambhan, Valmiki etc become print journalists, biographers, certain events are retained with minor "modern" touches (Hanuman is said to have parachuted into Lanka). All names remain unchanged. There are few new characters - Sam Bhoo Kha I believe is one of them.

At the end of the day, sadly, despite an interesting premise, the missing queen remains an short experiment though still worth a read.

[Sayerhs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike Shashi Tharoor's The Great Indian Novel, the narrative in The Missing Queen does not directly transpose two timelines on each other. Instead, it raises questions about the ideas of progress and development, women as victims of war and reinforces (like all recent mythology retellings) that there is more than one side to a story, especially if it is history. The world that Samhita Arni's Ramayana is set in, needs no introduction; there is an immediate familiarity with the characters and the new time that they are placed in, at least for those who already know the Ramayana and Indian history. While it is inevitable that Indian readers would draw parallels between time and place of the book and India's relationship with people within and outside its borders, the same connections can be made with most other places with unequal "development" and war histories.

Aside: Reading Sita's Ramayana a Tara Books publication illustrated by Moyna Chitrakar, and also written by Samhita Arni, is a useful little window in understanding the author's train of thought in her current book.

[Abhaga · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This is not a episode of Ramayana set in modern world. The world of the book is apologetically anachronistic that takes some getting used to. In this world, there are phones, cars, television and there are also simian faced Vanar soldiers and Ram still wins Sita by breaking the bow. But once you get used to that, and ignore some of the very obvious allusions to modern world issues, there were some very interesting perspectives here. Unanswered, ignored questions that pop up as you place the story in a different setting. What happens to Lakshaman as the guilt eats him from inside? Why did the whole of Ayodhya kept quite as one washerman managed to get Sita exiled? How weirdly does the Ramayana story end - Sita makes a come back, conveniently hands over the sons and vanishes again? How did the Lanka war affect the society at large?

The narration is fast paced and the book feels like a tightly edited movie.

[Sadaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The giants of hindu mythology always unsettled me - political agenda was everywhere, and words of comfort, friendship and love always seemed a cover for alliance. This book offers a perspective, a heart-warming one, into the world of Sita. The Ayodhya in this book is a modern day one, and the bad treatment of women is not at all surprising, because even our real current day society has not progressed much from those days. Sure, we have our gizmos and technology and our clothing is different, but in our heads, we are still caged.
The telling of the story is quite paced, and the characters were all introduced at the right time. One or two bits of the story were a little too convenient and thus the missing star.
The end is quite emphatic and leaves you wondering about the whole point of it. Well-written.

[Arti · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Missing queen by Samhita Arni is the story set in Ayodhya ten years after Ram returns from Lanka. The setting is modern: Ram and Sita returning from Lanka in a Cadillac, malls, multiplexes, flat screen televisions, Ram doing a live TV interview, Hanuman giving a press Conference.

The book starts with Kaikeyi telling a journalist to do Sita'a story. In the course of finding Sita and doing her story, the journalist meets Ram (when she goes to interview him), Laxman, Angad, Lanka Devi, Hanuman, Urmila, Valmiki, Vibhishana, his only daughter Trijatha Devi, Surupnakha and finally Sita. She gets into trouble but manages to come out of it.

This book is from a different perspective. The washerman's revelation at the end was quiet a shock to me.

Overall, an enjoyable read.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought The Missing Queen was a fantastic novel and highly recommend it to essentially anyone looking for a good book. I read the Mahabharata last year and wish that it was fresher in my mind when reading this book. I now want to go read the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and this book all over again. The Missing Queen is a quick read (only 180 pages), but is nonetheless a thoroughly imaginative, relevant and compelling book. The author not only presents the classic Indian story retold in a modern setting, but also analyzes the original work and explores the idea that history is written by the victors. In addition, I appreciated that the book features willful, indomitable, and ever-curious female leads. I loved this book; you will not regret reading it!

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Missing Queen" by Samhita Arni is a modern examination of the themes and characters found in the Ramayana. Although a fairly short book the author narrates a complex and confusing tale set 10 years after the final events of the Ramayana. As a warning this novel will not be accessible or make much sense to anyone who is not familiar with some version of the original epic.

Set in the contemporary world Arni's tale uses the mythical events of the Ramayan as a backdrop to an exploration of modern day political and social dysfunctions in India and Sri Lanka. While focusing on the forgotten and unseen victims of global conflicts she also elegantly surfaces the violence and misogyny inherent in the original tale.

[Hamsini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was initially skeptical about reading of a Rama's Ayodhya with malls and 24*7 news channels, all that uneasiness was put to rest about a chapter or two into the book with Arni's skillful writing that negotiates the myth with core contemporary issues and debates. Democracy, freedom of speech, the media's role in society: these are some of the topics that are explored in TMQ, through the storyline of the Ramayana. I'm very glad I read this rather contemporary twist of the Ramayana. The Ramayana is not a story I enjoy as much as the Mahabharatha, but rebranded in a new avtar in modern day settings, I enjoyed every bit of it!

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a well-done, imaginative and interpretative re-telling of the epic from myriad other viewpoints and perspectives and the modernistic setting - which also serves the purpose of seeking to juxtaposition contemporary issues and problems in the narrative - makes it a very different and enigmatic read. Full marks to the author's imagination and handling for pulling off the seemingly difficult feat of updating an ancient tale to reflect present-day sensibilities and concerns...

[Janaki Murali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really liked the Missing Queen, by Samhita Arni, it showed her growth as an author and I liked the way she weaved a thrilling mystery around a mythological subject of Sita's banishment from Ayodhya. many analogies from present day politics made this a very interesting read. Congrats Sam.

[Parijat Bhattacharjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unconventional narrative of Ramayana. The narrative has been appropriated as if it has happened a couple of days back. It can be a bit difficult at times to follow through but Arni has portrayed the characters as if they were nothing but humans.

[Ananya Mandal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book in one day flat...loved the pace and the reimagining. Good read!

[Sukanto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a retelling of the Ramayana. It's a mirror into our current state of affairs. And how bad things can really become for the collective hopes of a populace. Very nicely composed work.

[Sadiq Kazi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okayish! Starts out well as an imaginitive, inventive retelling of the Ramayana...falters under its own weight of reinvention.