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Sitayan
The Ramayana, one of the world’s greatest epics, is also a tragic love story. In this brilliant retelling, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel: this is Sita’s version.
The Forest of Enchantments is also a very human story of some of the other women in the epic, often misunderstood and relegated to the margins: Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, Mandodari. A powerful comment on duty, betrayal, infidelity and honour, it is also about women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men, as Chitra transforms an ancient story into a gripping, contemporary battle of wills.
While the Ramayana resonates even today, she makes it more relevant than ever, in the underlying questions in the novel: How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say, ‘Enough!’
The Forest of Enchantments is also a very human story of some of the other women in the epic, often misunderstood and relegated to the margins: Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, Mandodari. A powerful comment on duty, betrayal, infidelity and honour, it is also about women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men, as Chitra transforms an ancient story into a gripping, contemporary battle of wills.
While the Ramayana resonates even today, she makes it more relevant than ever, in the underlying questions in the novel: How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say, ‘Enough!’
364 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2019
1632 people are currently reading
21428 people want to read
About the author
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
62 books7,028 followersChitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. Divakaruni also writes for children and young adults.Her novels One Amazing Thing, Oleander Girl, Sister of My Heart and Palace of Illusions are currently in the process of being made into movies. http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books.... Her newest novel is Before We Visit the Goddess (about 3 generations of women-- grandmother, mother and daughter-- who each examine the question "what does it mean to be a successful woman.") Simon & Schuster.
She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.
Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.
She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.
Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.
She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).
Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.
Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.
She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.
Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.
She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).
Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,291 reviews
March 2, 2019
I have been hiding behind other books because this book has such rave and glorious reviews, but it failed to impress me. For a person, who is a huge fan of Mythology, and has read about 4 retelling of ‘The Ramayana’, this book felt fairly mediocre,
As I highlighted on my Instagram post, I had a few issues with this book. The first was Sita’s relationship with the other characters. This aspect which would have helped us build a better version of Sita in our minds was missing throughout the book. Lakshman treated Sita as his mother. and respected her. But that chemistry was lacking here because there’s barely any verbal exchange between them. Sita- the daughter of Janak, has been described as a kind-hearted, learned warrior, but the father who believed so much in her and gave her the position on the princess, is missing in action too.
Sita talks about love throughout the book and how each event shapes her understanding of love and that, love is about sacrifices and hard choices. The story is from Sita’s POV, Sita talks about a stubborn, determined and righteous Ram, and the book looks like its written from a position of pain rather than love. The writing was beautiful at places and felt like a drag at others, and I did feel that certain events were written in haste as Ramayana is a huge epic, and turning it into a novel can only be done by cutting down words and in some cases, emotions.
I loved the ending the most because that was the Sita, I expected from this book- kind-hearted but ready to stand up for herself because she is Goddess and she bows to no one.
As I highlighted on my Instagram post, I had a few issues with this book. The first was Sita’s relationship with the other characters. This aspect which would have helped us build a better version of Sita in our minds was missing throughout the book. Lakshman treated Sita as his mother. and respected her. But that chemistry was lacking here because there’s barely any verbal exchange between them. Sita- the daughter of Janak, has been described as a kind-hearted, learned warrior, but the father who believed so much in her and gave her the position on the princess, is missing in action too.
Sita talks about love throughout the book and how each event shapes her understanding of love and that, love is about sacrifices and hard choices. The story is from Sita’s POV, Sita talks about a stubborn, determined and righteous Ram, and the book looks like its written from a position of pain rather than love. The writing was beautiful at places and felt like a drag at others, and I did feel that certain events were written in haste as Ramayana is a huge epic, and turning it into a novel can only be done by cutting down words and in some cases, emotions.
I loved the ending the most because that was the Sita, I expected from this book- kind-hearted but ready to stand up for herself because she is Goddess and she bows to no one.
January 21, 2019
It is a story as old as the hills and as new as a fresh dewdrop clinging to a tender shoot growing on those very hills. A story we know by heart. Our heroine, Sita, is wedded to the conscientious, justice-loving, ‘perfect man’, Ram. She is abducted by Ravan, rescued by Ram and then promptly abandoned. She proves her innocence, becomes the queen of Ayodhya and prepares to welcome her children when she is exiled from the kingdom. She gets depressed, but recovers enough to raise her twins as worthy beings. As she tries to immerse herself in her new life, she hears Valmiki’s Ramayan – a paean for the great King Ram.
But Sita is unhappy with this one-sided narrative. She has her side of the story to tell the world – “Sitayan”.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaurni’s latest novel, The Forest of Enchantments, a modern-day retelling of the Ramayan, is a compassionate meditation on the thoughts and actions of its myriad characters, with Sita as a protagonist. Divakaruni, who has in all her works painted women as strong, relatable and inspirational characters, has transformed Sita’s image from a meek, almost servile woman to a rebel, warrior and trailblazer.
“Everything was about to change again,” says Sita as she begins to write verses only she can do justice to. At this commencement, the reader’s heart exults, for Divakaruni and her women characters are a formidable pair. This rebranding of Sita is not a unique effort. It has been attempted hundreds of times earlier, in books, movies and the arts. Indeed, a novel by Mallika Sengupta is titled Sitayan; Devdutt Pattanaik titled his reinterpretation The Girl Who Chose; and Amish Tripathi went further with his Sita: Warrior of Mithila. This repetition and overuse of Sita as a misjudged heroine might disinterest some readers.
But those who stick with Divakaruni’s rendition are in for a mellifluous treat. For the novel doesn’t only retell Sita’s story but also gives space and time to other women characters the tradition has chosen to overlook. We learn of Suanina, a wise and able leader who was Sita’s mother; Urmila, Laxman’s long-suffering wife; Mandodari, Ravan’s wife, brushed off as a demon; Surpanakha, Ravan’s sister, wronged by two men. Even Kaikeyi, Ram’s stepmother, almost always portrayed as a villain, gets her due interpretation as an accomplished charioteer. “Write our story, too,” the women characters say in the novel. “For always we’ve been pushed into corners, trivialised, misunderstood, blamed, forgotten – or maligned and used as cautionary tales.” In Divakaruni’s retelling of the folk epic, minor women characters come to life, claiming their own lores, redesigning and rephrasing them. The author delves deep into their selves and lays their beauty out.
If this representation of women characters is satisfying, the men are treated with equal thoughtfulness. Over the years, we have been trained to gradually dislike Ram, to question his ethics, blame him for everything that goes wrong with our protagonist. Conversely, there has also been an awakening of fondness for Ravan, his wisdom and respect for Sita. The author works gently to cleanse and remove such prejudices and biases. No one is entirely right or entirely wrong, she reminds us. For we are all human, with our quirks and fallacies, just like Ram and Sita and their clan. No one is to be blindly revered or reviled. We live as per our ideals, and they are only as correct or misguided as our eyes train us to be.
No wonder, then, that readers can only absorb the novel in the way that their own experiences and worldview have shaped them. Men and women, puritans and naysayers, seekers and the enlightened – there are traces of all perspectives, an attempt to examine the story from multiple angles, explanations and observations that are both compelling and riveting. A lot of it has to do with Divakaruni’s style – her fine web of gossamer words that mould to her will. With the lightest touch, her sentences morph into ideas, concepts and discoveries. Her language is as delicate as silk, pleasing to the senses, but also enduring in its strength.
Apart from the stylistic flair, one of her major strengths is her unravelling of multiple dimensions of characters. Sita comes across as a fierce conservationist, dutiful but bold daughter, protective sister, loving yet wilful wife, perfect helpmate, sensual lover, courageous fighter, skilled healer, learned counselor, strong mother, kind yet firm daughter-in-law, nurturer and adventurer. She revels in her own being, is mindful of pleasure and grief, of empathy and understanding, and is brimming with dignity for herself and for everyone else. She is the original feminist.
When Ram says, “In my kingdom, every man will have a voice, no matter how humble he is,” Sita wants to ask, “What about the women?” Another time, Sita debates in her mind, “Not all women are weak and helpless like you think.” In these subtle expressions, Divakaruni exposes the toxic masculinity that not only bothers Sita but also harms Ram.
Agitated at the unfair treatment of a woman, Sita asks, “Why should you be made to suffer for his sin? For being a victim? It was unfair.” This is a direct, necessary parallel with survivors of abuse and discrimination. To some, it will be as if the novelist is trying too hard to be politically correct and diplomatic. Be that as it may, Divakaruni’s rendition rightly raises pertinent questions on racism, sexism, inequality, casteism, and also on post-traumatic stress disorder, animal rights and so on. While the myths and dreams, symbols and forebodings are right up the author’s forte, there is at times a sense of excess. Several incidents and thoughts, though well-formed and admirable, are not always precise or even necessary. The first meeting between Ram and Sita, or Sita’s entrapment in Ravan’s gardens, take up entire pages, sounding repetitive and superfluous. This languorous style, though relaxing, has the danger of slipping into the lethargic.
Even then, Divakaruni maintains an air of mystery in the story, peppering it with tiny shocks here and there. The abduction of Sita, for example, is very well-devised and chilling; so is Ravan’s death. The sustained and controlled fervour of her storytelling keeps even the most skeptical among us hooked.
The Forest of Enchantments is a work of grace and kindness, of pluralities and possibilities. It is an experiment that makes us grateful to be living in this era of multiple truths and interpretations. This is the Sitayan we will give to our daughters, that they may imbibe Sita’s strength, and even more proudly to our sons, who will learn how a woman is to be treated, and how exactly not.
Originally published here: https://thewire.in/books/the-forest-o...
But Sita is unhappy with this one-sided narrative. She has her side of the story to tell the world – “Sitayan”.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaurni’s latest novel, The Forest of Enchantments, a modern-day retelling of the Ramayan, is a compassionate meditation on the thoughts and actions of its myriad characters, with Sita as a protagonist. Divakaruni, who has in all her works painted women as strong, relatable and inspirational characters, has transformed Sita’s image from a meek, almost servile woman to a rebel, warrior and trailblazer.
“Everything was about to change again,” says Sita as she begins to write verses only she can do justice to. At this commencement, the reader’s heart exults, for Divakaruni and her women characters are a formidable pair. This rebranding of Sita is not a unique effort. It has been attempted hundreds of times earlier, in books, movies and the arts. Indeed, a novel by Mallika Sengupta is titled Sitayan; Devdutt Pattanaik titled his reinterpretation The Girl Who Chose; and Amish Tripathi went further with his Sita: Warrior of Mithila. This repetition and overuse of Sita as a misjudged heroine might disinterest some readers.
But those who stick with Divakaruni’s rendition are in for a mellifluous treat. For the novel doesn’t only retell Sita’s story but also gives space and time to other women characters the tradition has chosen to overlook. We learn of Suanina, a wise and able leader who was Sita’s mother; Urmila, Laxman’s long-suffering wife; Mandodari, Ravan’s wife, brushed off as a demon; Surpanakha, Ravan’s sister, wronged by two men. Even Kaikeyi, Ram’s stepmother, almost always portrayed as a villain, gets her due interpretation as an accomplished charioteer. “Write our story, too,” the women characters say in the novel. “For always we’ve been pushed into corners, trivialised, misunderstood, blamed, forgotten – or maligned and used as cautionary tales.” In Divakaruni’s retelling of the folk epic, minor women characters come to life, claiming their own lores, redesigning and rephrasing them. The author delves deep into their selves and lays their beauty out.
If this representation of women characters is satisfying, the men are treated with equal thoughtfulness. Over the years, we have been trained to gradually dislike Ram, to question his ethics, blame him for everything that goes wrong with our protagonist. Conversely, there has also been an awakening of fondness for Ravan, his wisdom and respect for Sita. The author works gently to cleanse and remove such prejudices and biases. No one is entirely right or entirely wrong, she reminds us. For we are all human, with our quirks and fallacies, just like Ram and Sita and their clan. No one is to be blindly revered or reviled. We live as per our ideals, and they are only as correct or misguided as our eyes train us to be.
No wonder, then, that readers can only absorb the novel in the way that their own experiences and worldview have shaped them. Men and women, puritans and naysayers, seekers and the enlightened – there are traces of all perspectives, an attempt to examine the story from multiple angles, explanations and observations that are both compelling and riveting. A lot of it has to do with Divakaruni’s style – her fine web of gossamer words that mould to her will. With the lightest touch, her sentences morph into ideas, concepts and discoveries. Her language is as delicate as silk, pleasing to the senses, but also enduring in its strength.
Apart from the stylistic flair, one of her major strengths is her unravelling of multiple dimensions of characters. Sita comes across as a fierce conservationist, dutiful but bold daughter, protective sister, loving yet wilful wife, perfect helpmate, sensual lover, courageous fighter, skilled healer, learned counselor, strong mother, kind yet firm daughter-in-law, nurturer and adventurer. She revels in her own being, is mindful of pleasure and grief, of empathy and understanding, and is brimming with dignity for herself and for everyone else. She is the original feminist.
When Ram says, “In my kingdom, every man will have a voice, no matter how humble he is,” Sita wants to ask, “What about the women?” Another time, Sita debates in her mind, “Not all women are weak and helpless like you think.” In these subtle expressions, Divakaruni exposes the toxic masculinity that not only bothers Sita but also harms Ram.
Agitated at the unfair treatment of a woman, Sita asks, “Why should you be made to suffer for his sin? For being a victim? It was unfair.” This is a direct, necessary parallel with survivors of abuse and discrimination. To some, it will be as if the novelist is trying too hard to be politically correct and diplomatic. Be that as it may, Divakaruni’s rendition rightly raises pertinent questions on racism, sexism, inequality, casteism, and also on post-traumatic stress disorder, animal rights and so on. While the myths and dreams, symbols and forebodings are right up the author’s forte, there is at times a sense of excess. Several incidents and thoughts, though well-formed and admirable, are not always precise or even necessary. The first meeting between Ram and Sita, or Sita’s entrapment in Ravan’s gardens, take up entire pages, sounding repetitive and superfluous. This languorous style, though relaxing, has the danger of slipping into the lethargic.
Even then, Divakaruni maintains an air of mystery in the story, peppering it with tiny shocks here and there. The abduction of Sita, for example, is very well-devised and chilling; so is Ravan’s death. The sustained and controlled fervour of her storytelling keeps even the most skeptical among us hooked.
The Forest of Enchantments is a work of grace and kindness, of pluralities and possibilities. It is an experiment that makes us grateful to be living in this era of multiple truths and interpretations. This is the Sitayan we will give to our daughters, that they may imbibe Sita’s strength, and even more proudly to our sons, who will learn how a woman is to be treated, and how exactly not.
Originally published here: https://thewire.in/books/the-forest-o...
March 1, 2019
"I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves."
----Mary Shelley
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, an Indian best selling novelist, has penned an evocative and timeless tale of one of the greatest love story that our Indian mythology has ever given to us in the form of Ramayana in her new book, The Forest of Enchantments. But its not a retelling of our favorite mythology on Lord Ram, rather its told and primarily focuses on the life and time of Lord Ram's wife, Sita who is not just a Goddess who we all worship to, but a fateful woman with a heart full of only love and kindness journeying through a path of thorns till her death.
Synopsis:
The Ramayana, one of the world’s greatest epics, is also a tragic love story. In this brilliant retelling, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel: this is Sita’s version.
The Forest of Enchantments is also a very human story of some of the other women in the epic, often misunderstood and relegated to the margins: Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, Mandodari. A powerful comment on duty, betrayal, infidelity and honour, it is also about women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men, as Chitra transforms an ancient story into a gripping, contemporary battle of wills.
While the Ramayana resonates even today, she makes it more relevant than ever, in the underlying questions in the novel: How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say, ‘Enough!’
Sita, the daughter of Earth and King Janak's adopted daughter, was known for her healing skills with the help of myriad medicinal herbs, since her girlhood and before she became Lord Ram's wife. Her life in Mithila, her adopted hometown, was beautiful and peaceful until she met Lord Ram along with his younger brother, Lakshman in her Swayamvar, who not just won the challenge to marry King Janak's beautiful daughter, Sita, but also stole her heart and mind right from the very first meeting. Soon together they hit it off with their intense chemistry and immense love for one another. But soon her blissful years of married life comes into turmoil when she is abducted by Ravana and was imprisoned in his palace for over a year, until Ram and his army rescues her. Still the challenges don't leave her behind, and her real hardships begin thereafter.
An enthralling yet extremely heart breaking story told so poignantly from Sita's perspective that has not filled my heart with anger towards Ram or men of the society, but with love. The extent of Sita's love had no boundaries and that's the true definition of loving someone selflessly. Yes Sita's life was full of injustice done to her by her very own husband, whom she loved faithfully and deeply till her last dying breath. Even Ram too loved her in his own crooked yet ethical ways. This tragic love story is the central story line on which Sita's tale is based on. And the author did full justice to all the forgotten female voices of the epic mythological tale, Ramayana, as the author has also narrated the stories of Kaushalya, Mandodari, Kaikeyi, Sarama, Ahalya etc, besides Sita.
What I have forever resonated with Divakaruni's books is that her simple style of writing, easy context and extremely relatable prose with a gentle pace. Even in this book, too, the author has maintained her signature style of writing that can easily make the readers click with her story telling instantly. The evocative prose will make the readers' heart throb with the sensible emotions expressed by the characters. The underlying message is very loud and clear that the challenges faced by a woman now and then are pretty much the same. And that is the USP of the book!
The author has done full justice to Sita's character by bringing her alive through her imagination and knowledge. Sita's life story is so well described by the author that the readers can really feel getting into the skin of the Goddess herself and walking in her footsteps. The scenes come alive and so the wisdom which holds the power to awaken the women of our society and stand up against their injustices. Sita's character has so many layers, sometimes the readers will witness her someone extremely polite and kind and the next moment someone ready to fight like a warrior. Even the other women who were lost and forgotten, come alive through Sita's narrative which is bound to connect the readers with their plights too. Although the men of this book felt very one dimensional and typical.
Nevertheless, this is the story of all the women of Ramayana where some were seen as an evil character, while some as pure. But the author resurrected all of them and have paid respect and justice to their muted tales.
Verdict: A tragic and heart breaking epic love story told from the perspective of the Goddess Sita. A must read indeed!
----Mary Shelley
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, an Indian best selling novelist, has penned an evocative and timeless tale of one of the greatest love story that our Indian mythology has ever given to us in the form of Ramayana in her new book, The Forest of Enchantments. But its not a retelling of our favorite mythology on Lord Ram, rather its told and primarily focuses on the life and time of Lord Ram's wife, Sita who is not just a Goddess who we all worship to, but a fateful woman with a heart full of only love and kindness journeying through a path of thorns till her death.
Synopsis:
The Ramayana, one of the world’s greatest epics, is also a tragic love story. In this brilliant retelling, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel: this is Sita’s version.
The Forest of Enchantments is also a very human story of some of the other women in the epic, often misunderstood and relegated to the margins: Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, Mandodari. A powerful comment on duty, betrayal, infidelity and honour, it is also about women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men, as Chitra transforms an ancient story into a gripping, contemporary battle of wills.
While the Ramayana resonates even today, she makes it more relevant than ever, in the underlying questions in the novel: How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say, ‘Enough!’
Sita, the daughter of Earth and King Janak's adopted daughter, was known for her healing skills with the help of myriad medicinal herbs, since her girlhood and before she became Lord Ram's wife. Her life in Mithila, her adopted hometown, was beautiful and peaceful until she met Lord Ram along with his younger brother, Lakshman in her Swayamvar, who not just won the challenge to marry King Janak's beautiful daughter, Sita, but also stole her heart and mind right from the very first meeting. Soon together they hit it off with their intense chemistry and immense love for one another. But soon her blissful years of married life comes into turmoil when she is abducted by Ravana and was imprisoned in his palace for over a year, until Ram and his army rescues her. Still the challenges don't leave her behind, and her real hardships begin thereafter.
An enthralling yet extremely heart breaking story told so poignantly from Sita's perspective that has not filled my heart with anger towards Ram or men of the society, but with love. The extent of Sita's love had no boundaries and that's the true definition of loving someone selflessly. Yes Sita's life was full of injustice done to her by her very own husband, whom she loved faithfully and deeply till her last dying breath. Even Ram too loved her in his own crooked yet ethical ways. This tragic love story is the central story line on which Sita's tale is based on. And the author did full justice to all the forgotten female voices of the epic mythological tale, Ramayana, as the author has also narrated the stories of Kaushalya, Mandodari, Kaikeyi, Sarama, Ahalya etc, besides Sita.
What I have forever resonated with Divakaruni's books is that her simple style of writing, easy context and extremely relatable prose with a gentle pace. Even in this book, too, the author has maintained her signature style of writing that can easily make the readers click with her story telling instantly. The evocative prose will make the readers' heart throb with the sensible emotions expressed by the characters. The underlying message is very loud and clear that the challenges faced by a woman now and then are pretty much the same. And that is the USP of the book!
The author has done full justice to Sita's character by bringing her alive through her imagination and knowledge. Sita's life story is so well described by the author that the readers can really feel getting into the skin of the Goddess herself and walking in her footsteps. The scenes come alive and so the wisdom which holds the power to awaken the women of our society and stand up against their injustices. Sita's character has so many layers, sometimes the readers will witness her someone extremely polite and kind and the next moment someone ready to fight like a warrior. Even the other women who were lost and forgotten, come alive through Sita's narrative which is bound to connect the readers with their plights too. Although the men of this book felt very one dimensional and typical.
Nevertheless, this is the story of all the women of Ramayana where some were seen as an evil character, while some as pure. But the author resurrected all of them and have paid respect and justice to their muted tales.
Verdict: A tragic and heart breaking epic love story told from the perspective of the Goddess Sita. A must read indeed!
September 24, 2019
The story of Ramayana, its wonders and lessons are ingrained in our lives as Indians. It is a remarkable piece of literature, rightly an epic, a timeless legend. But as is the case with most ancient texts it is steeped in patriarchy and a sense of injustice and unfairness forver stains its otherwise holy pages.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni promises to undo the injustice, promises to give voice to the voiceless and neglected females of the legend.
"Write our story, too,” Sita hears the voices of the female characters of Ramayana “For always we’ve been pushed into corners, trivialised, misunderstood, blamed, forgotten – or maligned and used as cautionary tales".
Thus the prologue offers a lot of promise.
But does the book deliever the hefty claims?
No it doesn't.
I'm sorry to say ( sorry because I expected so much) the book offers no unique insight as is promised. It repaints Ramayana in the same colours, only the prose is poorer and the language far from engrossing.
The writing is banal and Sita's ponderings do not offer anything unique. No thought provoking insights into the happenings and the characters.
The writing seems hurriedly done, and the repeated conclusions that Sita keeps drawing about 'love' mar the flow of reading. Phrases like "So that's what love is", "Love does this to you.. " keep appearing every now and then, which honestly is poorly done and very annoying.
The writer has nothing new to offer through the voice of Sita. This is the same Sita of Ramayana - the dutiful wife, the loving mother, the selfless queen, the abandoned hermitess. What of her as an individual, as the woman she was? Nothing of the sort did I come across in this book except the fact that she was an excellent healer and trained in war skills but it is toned down to exude the sterotypical femininity.
I didn't find her voice empowering and inspiring. It's the same lamenting cry awash with sad tears and longing.
What is worse is that the injustice delivered by male characters be it Sage Gautam or Lord Ram or Lakshmana or even Ravana is kept veiled under the garb of their duty and morals. They are glorified and presented as noble men who can't be blamed for their actions however cruel or unjust they had been. The book fails here to call spade a spade.
Also the writer tries to add philosophical angles at times but it simply makes it sound more superficial and manufactured.
This book disappointed me both as a reader and as a woman. This is one of those few books I regret reading. The hype is seriously out of my comprehension as it is a very pretentious attempt at something that could've been groundbreaking and impactful.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni promises to undo the injustice, promises to give voice to the voiceless and neglected females of the legend.
"Write our story, too,” Sita hears the voices of the female characters of Ramayana “For always we’ve been pushed into corners, trivialised, misunderstood, blamed, forgotten – or maligned and used as cautionary tales".
Thus the prologue offers a lot of promise.
But does the book deliever the hefty claims?
No it doesn't.
I'm sorry to say ( sorry because I expected so much) the book offers no unique insight as is promised. It repaints Ramayana in the same colours, only the prose is poorer and the language far from engrossing.
The writing is banal and Sita's ponderings do not offer anything unique. No thought provoking insights into the happenings and the characters.
The writing seems hurriedly done, and the repeated conclusions that Sita keeps drawing about 'love' mar the flow of reading. Phrases like "So that's what love is", "Love does this to you.. " keep appearing every now and then, which honestly is poorly done and very annoying.
The writer has nothing new to offer through the voice of Sita. This is the same Sita of Ramayana - the dutiful wife, the loving mother, the selfless queen, the abandoned hermitess. What of her as an individual, as the woman she was? Nothing of the sort did I come across in this book except the fact that she was an excellent healer and trained in war skills but it is toned down to exude the sterotypical femininity.
I didn't find her voice empowering and inspiring. It's the same lamenting cry awash with sad tears and longing.
What is worse is that the injustice delivered by male characters be it Sage Gautam or Lord Ram or Lakshmana or even Ravana is kept veiled under the garb of their duty and morals. They are glorified and presented as noble men who can't be blamed for their actions however cruel or unjust they had been. The book fails here to call spade a spade.
Also the writer tries to add philosophical angles at times but it simply makes it sound more superficial and manufactured.
This book disappointed me both as a reader and as a woman. This is one of those few books I regret reading. The hype is seriously out of my comprehension as it is a very pretentious attempt at something that could've been groundbreaking and impactful.
Read
June 10, 2021Hearing a classic story retold from a new perspective is a refreshing way to broaden the ways we see the world around us. “The Forest of Enchantments” does this brilliantly, bringing new life to the stories of the women in an epic tale. The Ramayana is a story many of us know so well, and reading it from Sita’s perspective was a fascinating adventure.
January 26, 2020
The forest of enchantment
We know of many versions of Ramayana from folk artists and from celebrated scholars, and each author has taken the liberty with their own take. I grew up watching Ramanand Sagar’s doordarshan version and recently had an opportunity to read Devdutt Pattnaik’s Sita and Amish’s Ram, Sita and Raavan series. And I must say they were much better and well researched than this version by Chitra.
I am biased towards Chitra as a writer but somehow her Sita seemed childish, feminist teenager with a high sense of righteousness rather than the maturity and wisdom likened to a queen or a goddess. Her comments on the men’s world seemed to be the current populist feminist campaign against anti male establishment. She seemed to be proud of being a women but felt she had to always have a say as the representative of all women in a patriarchal set up, taking the role of a leader as the eldest daughter or daughter in law, rather than earning it with her wisdom and maturity. She claimed how she advised Ram and influenced all the good that she was doing and wanted to be appreciated and acknowledged for it. She also had a partial view on her parents set up and bringing up while always doubtful and less respectful of a similar set up in her husbands household. Which made some parts sound like a plot from Balaji’s TV soaps. The theory around Sita being Raavan’s daughter was inserted unnecessarily and tastelessly. Her love for Ram seemed like that of a teenager’s infatuation rather than that of real deep love where they understand each other without even saying much.
A lot of her words seemed measured and fake and contrary to her inner thoughts which was at the liberty and desire of the author rather than the character. The author assumed that Sita was unhappy and victim of her circumstances, and this self pity and victims card was the tone of her writing. Sita was reduced to an ordinary woman fighting against men for equality and justice but she failed to accept herself first. In an unfair world a woman can demand equality, but she will have to rise above the mediocre thoughts of a self pitying, self proclaimed feminist while crying for protection, love and honor from the men around her. The forgiveness and greatness which deified Sita into a goddess, are turned into petty self doubting and entitled character.
The prologue mentions how Chitra had been procrastinating this book but was eventually able to write it. I am disappointed and my advise would be that she should have taken more time to build the story and characters arch. She just took all the folk tales and weaved them around Sita, forcing them in the narrative as hearsay’s or random conversations.
Final verdict - don’t read! And I am not sure if I will read another mythological take by Chitra after this.
We know of many versions of Ramayana from folk artists and from celebrated scholars, and each author has taken the liberty with their own take. I grew up watching Ramanand Sagar’s doordarshan version and recently had an opportunity to read Devdutt Pattnaik’s Sita and Amish’s Ram, Sita and Raavan series. And I must say they were much better and well researched than this version by Chitra.
I am biased towards Chitra as a writer but somehow her Sita seemed childish, feminist teenager with a high sense of righteousness rather than the maturity and wisdom likened to a queen or a goddess. Her comments on the men’s world seemed to be the current populist feminist campaign against anti male establishment. She seemed to be proud of being a women but felt she had to always have a say as the representative of all women in a patriarchal set up, taking the role of a leader as the eldest daughter or daughter in law, rather than earning it with her wisdom and maturity. She claimed how she advised Ram and influenced all the good that she was doing and wanted to be appreciated and acknowledged for it. She also had a partial view on her parents set up and bringing up while always doubtful and less respectful of a similar set up in her husbands household. Which made some parts sound like a plot from Balaji’s TV soaps. The theory around Sita being Raavan’s daughter was inserted unnecessarily and tastelessly. Her love for Ram seemed like that of a teenager’s infatuation rather than that of real deep love where they understand each other without even saying much.
A lot of her words seemed measured and fake and contrary to her inner thoughts which was at the liberty and desire of the author rather than the character. The author assumed that Sita was unhappy and victim of her circumstances, and this self pity and victims card was the tone of her writing. Sita was reduced to an ordinary woman fighting against men for equality and justice but she failed to accept herself first. In an unfair world a woman can demand equality, but she will have to rise above the mediocre thoughts of a self pitying, self proclaimed feminist while crying for protection, love and honor from the men around her. The forgiveness and greatness which deified Sita into a goddess, are turned into petty self doubting and entitled character.
The prologue mentions how Chitra had been procrastinating this book but was eventually able to write it. I am disappointed and my advise would be that she should have taken more time to build the story and characters arch. She just took all the folk tales and weaved them around Sita, forcing them in the narrative as hearsay’s or random conversations.
Final verdict - don’t read! And I am not sure if I will read another mythological take by Chitra after this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2020
This book does not deliver what it promises. Or at least what I thought it promised.
I thought this was an alternate Sitayana or at the very least, Sita’s side of the story – her anger about the injustices, her rage about the misogyny and misbehavior. Instead it’s the same old story that Sita narrates and often it’s worse because she mistakes all the toxic acts of Ram for love, which is not all that different from what some people in society do. At least they are not touting it as feministic and contemporary.
First of all, Ram and Sita’s is a child marriage. It is a mythology set thousands of years back, which probably justifies it because child marriage was prevalent then. The whole concept of child marriage existed so that the in-laws have control over the bride and her life with her husband and his family, slowly indoctrinating the groom (and the bride) to continue their mission with the next generation and onwards.
I didn’t pick this book to read the same old garbage churned out to me with a new cover and “lyrical voices”. I kept waiting for the rebellion, the revolution or at least strong condemnation but that never came. I was utterly disappointed as I was reading it and deceived when I was done.
What was all that nonsense about love? Every time Sita had an opinion she had to whisper, do her acts behind the scene or wait for Ram’s permission. If he accepted her opinions it was love, if he didn’t she kept telling herself that that’s also love and that love sometimes means sacrifice. How come the sacrifice was always expected only from her and why didn’t she realize that?
Sita wants to bring her own helper after her wedding, but Ram’s father says no and she accepts because she thinks his reasoning that Kaikeyi got her own helper and that didn’t turn out well, so no girl will bring her own helper and that’s final, no discussion, is justified. No questions asked because that’s what love is.
Sita points out what Bharat brings up, after Dashrath dies. That Ram is no longer obligated to fulfil his promise to Kaikeyi. But Ram says no, so no questions asked because that’s what love is.
Sita convinces Ram to take her with him but somehow, even though she really wants Urmila to accompany them, she cannot do that because she needs the men’s permission. Otherwise, of course, who will protect her! Didn’t she learn martial arts? Couldn’t she protect Urmila and still take her along? No because that’s what love is.
Sita wants to have a child but Ram thinks it’s not the right time. Sita is frustrated but Ram says no, so no questions asked because that’s what love is.
The author claims that Sita has learned martial arts, but how come she never once uses it to help herself? Why does she have to wait for Ram to come rescue her, when Hanuman is clearly offering to free her? Why does she have to be the person that has not even seen Ravan’s face, only his feet, even though she was in his captivity for one whole year? Are women considered “good” and “chaste” only if they keep their eyes lowered all the time while idiots like Ram and Lakshman take turns to mock and mutilate Surpanaka just because she made passes at Ram?
Sita enables Ram’s nonsense of suspecting her, questioning her integrity and humiliating her in front of the kingdom, all under the guise of duty, righteousness and kingship. Worst of all, she thinks that’s what love is. Ram questions Sita if she slept with Ravan, doesn’t care what she says and asks her to prove her innocence. Sita feels humiliated but somehow proves her chastity. She is angry with Ram for putting her through hell, betrayed that he would demand such a thing. But he says that her virtue had to be above suspicion and that’s important for him. She miraculously understands and forgives everything. No questions asked because that’s not just what love is. That’s what True Love is!
She talks of Mandodari and her choice to wait by Ravan’s pyre for the rest of her life (which by the way is ridiculous - how long do pyres take to burn? 4, 5 hours tops?): “Could I have done it? I wasn’t sure if I was capable of such devotion. Of such total forgiveness for a man who’d betrayed my love, and who, in refusing my counsel over and over, had opened the gate for death to enter my home and snatch away my son?”
Stupid, stupid Sita, that’s exactly what you did too! Ram betrayed your love over and over. He not only refused your counsel, he didn’t even respect you as a living thing to seek your counsel, he made you go through hell and took away your sons. Don’t you see it?
She senses god saying to her “Ram has come to teach the men, but you have come to teach the women. The lesson you teach will be a quieter one, but as important.” – Why does it have to be a quieter one? Isn’t that what women have always been asked to do? To be quiet? Someone tell me how this is right and how can the author, in all good conscience, write this?
When a washerwoman’s husband suspects her of adultery, wanting to keep an eye on her, Sita calls that “twisted love”. Lady, wake the hell up. When a man wants to know where his wife is all the time and doesn’t trust her, that’s not twisted love, that’s not love of any kind.
She keeps calling Lav and Kush, Ram’s sons , even after he banished her to the forest and caused her insurmountable pain. Even in the end, to make her point, it would have been meaningful if she refused Ram her kids and lived a great life. Instead she hands over the boys, whom she painstakingly raised, to Ram and goes under ground.
Chitra Lekha Banerjee Divakaruni is right about one thing she mentions in her Author’s Note: “The truth was, I didn’t know how to write Sita’s story”.
She is right. She still doesn’t.
I thought this was an alternate Sitayana or at the very least, Sita’s side of the story – her anger about the injustices, her rage about the misogyny and misbehavior. Instead it’s the same old story that Sita narrates and often it’s worse because she mistakes all the toxic acts of Ram for love, which is not all that different from what some people in society do. At least they are not touting it as feministic and contemporary.
First of all, Ram and Sita’s is a child marriage. It is a mythology set thousands of years back, which probably justifies it because child marriage was prevalent then. The whole concept of child marriage existed so that the in-laws have control over the bride and her life with her husband and his family, slowly indoctrinating the groom (and the bride) to continue their mission with the next generation and onwards.
I didn’t pick this book to read the same old garbage churned out to me with a new cover and “lyrical voices”. I kept waiting for the rebellion, the revolution or at least strong condemnation but that never came. I was utterly disappointed as I was reading it and deceived when I was done.
What was all that nonsense about love? Every time Sita had an opinion she had to whisper, do her acts behind the scene or wait for Ram’s permission. If he accepted her opinions it was love, if he didn’t she kept telling herself that that’s also love and that love sometimes means sacrifice. How come the sacrifice was always expected only from her and why didn’t she realize that?
Sita wants to bring her own helper after her wedding, but Ram’s father says no and she accepts because she thinks his reasoning that Kaikeyi got her own helper and that didn’t turn out well, so no girl will bring her own helper and that’s final, no discussion, is justified. No questions asked because that’s what love is.
Sita points out what Bharat brings up, after Dashrath dies. That Ram is no longer obligated to fulfil his promise to Kaikeyi. But Ram says no, so no questions asked because that’s what love is.
Sita convinces Ram to take her with him but somehow, even though she really wants Urmila to accompany them, she cannot do that because she needs the men’s permission. Otherwise, of course, who will protect her! Didn’t she learn martial arts? Couldn’t she protect Urmila and still take her along? No because that’s what love is.
Sita wants to have a child but Ram thinks it’s not the right time. Sita is frustrated but Ram says no, so no questions asked because that’s what love is.
The author claims that Sita has learned martial arts, but how come she never once uses it to help herself? Why does she have to wait for Ram to come rescue her, when Hanuman is clearly offering to free her? Why does she have to be the person that has not even seen Ravan’s face, only his feet, even though she was in his captivity for one whole year? Are women considered “good” and “chaste” only if they keep their eyes lowered all the time while idiots like Ram and Lakshman take turns to mock and mutilate Surpanaka just because she made passes at Ram?
Sita enables Ram’s nonsense of suspecting her, questioning her integrity and humiliating her in front of the kingdom, all under the guise of duty, righteousness and kingship. Worst of all, she thinks that’s what love is. Ram questions Sita if she slept with Ravan, doesn’t care what she says and asks her to prove her innocence. Sita feels humiliated but somehow proves her chastity. She is angry with Ram for putting her through hell, betrayed that he would demand such a thing. But he says that her virtue had to be above suspicion and that’s important for him. She miraculously understands and forgives everything. No questions asked because that’s not just what love is. That’s what True Love is!
She talks of Mandodari and her choice to wait by Ravan’s pyre for the rest of her life (which by the way is ridiculous - how long do pyres take to burn? 4, 5 hours tops?): “Could I have done it? I wasn’t sure if I was capable of such devotion. Of such total forgiveness for a man who’d betrayed my love, and who, in refusing my counsel over and over, had opened the gate for death to enter my home and snatch away my son?”
Stupid, stupid Sita, that’s exactly what you did too! Ram betrayed your love over and over. He not only refused your counsel, he didn’t even respect you as a living thing to seek your counsel, he made you go through hell and took away your sons. Don’t you see it?
She senses god saying to her “Ram has come to teach the men, but you have come to teach the women. The lesson you teach will be a quieter one, but as important.” – Why does it have to be a quieter one? Isn’t that what women have always been asked to do? To be quiet? Someone tell me how this is right and how can the author, in all good conscience, write this?
When a washerwoman’s husband suspects her of adultery, wanting to keep an eye on her, Sita calls that “twisted love”. Lady, wake the hell up. When a man wants to know where his wife is all the time and doesn’t trust her, that’s not twisted love, that’s not love of any kind.
She keeps calling Lav and Kush, Ram’s sons , even after he banished her to the forest and caused her insurmountable pain. Even in the end, to make her point, it would have been meaningful if she refused Ram her kids and lived a great life. Instead she hands over the boys, whom she painstakingly raised, to Ram and goes under ground.
Chitra Lekha Banerjee Divakaruni is right about one thing she mentions in her Author’s Note: “The truth was, I didn’t know how to write Sita’s story”.
She is right. She still doesn’t.
September 7, 2020
I think most of us must have seen the animated Ramayan movie that used to come on cartoon network (I think) and gotten mesmerised by the wonderful story-telling power of its directors. I love Indian epics and their re-tellings but I have always read/watched the Ramayan from a single perspective, how Ram saved Sita from the clutches of Ravan, the demon king.
This story was such a refreshing take not called as Ramayan but Sitayan and indeed it should be called so as it tells the story of the epic from Sita's point of view. What went on in her mind after being abducted by Ravan, the excruciating pain to be away from Ram, how she counted each and every minute till she could meet him again.
But this Sita is not the damsel in distress we might think her to be, she's a strong warrior and faces each and every difficulty with unparalleled strength and dignity. Today's woman can so relate to this book, and I am so glad I picked it up. The author has done such an amazing job penning this story in an intricate way that we can feel emotions of Sita on her each and every step.
I had already read this author's ' Palace of Illusions' and that book really resonated with me. This one also did not fall short of spellbounding me. Sita does not only talk of her own battles but also those of the other women characters around her– Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, two women who are said to be the root of all the evil that happened, Urmila- her sister who was married to Lakshman and was left alone when they left for their exile, Sunaina- her mother who instilled in her first lessons of composure and how to lead by example and many other countless important women who made fleeting appearances in Ramayan.
The end just broke my heart and I would not want to spoil it for you guys, obviously those who know how it all ends would've already read it. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves to read Indian epics. One more feather in her cap, I must say for Chitra Divakaruni.
This story was such a refreshing take not called as Ramayan but Sitayan and indeed it should be called so as it tells the story of the epic from Sita's point of view. What went on in her mind after being abducted by Ravan, the excruciating pain to be away from Ram, how she counted each and every minute till she could meet him again.
But this Sita is not the damsel in distress we might think her to be, she's a strong warrior and faces each and every difficulty with unparalleled strength and dignity. Today's woman can so relate to this book, and I am so glad I picked it up. The author has done such an amazing job penning this story in an intricate way that we can feel emotions of Sita on her each and every step.
I had already read this author's ' Palace of Illusions' and that book really resonated with me. This one also did not fall short of spellbounding me. Sita does not only talk of her own battles but also those of the other women characters around her– Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, two women who are said to be the root of all the evil that happened, Urmila- her sister who was married to Lakshman and was left alone when they left for their exile, Sunaina- her mother who instilled in her first lessons of composure and how to lead by example and many other countless important women who made fleeting appearances in Ramayan.
The end just broke my heart and I would not want to spoil it for you guys, obviously those who know how it all ends would've already read it. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves to read Indian epics. One more feather in her cap, I must say for Chitra Divakaruni.
October 17, 2025
یه ریتلینگ وفادار از حماسه رمایانه
اینجا از دیدگاه سیتا، یکی از خیل زنان "مظلوم" ادبیات هند، به داستان پرداخته میشه و عمده جذابیت داستان مربوطه به نثر لطیف دیواکارونی و شخصیت لطیف سیتا.
زنانگی سیتا -در قطب مخالفِ زنانِ ریتلینگهای ده سال اخیر- نشون میده چطور زنانگی بینیاز از وارد شدن به خصلتهای مردانه، میتونه قدرتمند و گویا باشه.
مظلومیت سیتا هرگز از منفعل بودنش نیست و برای همینه که نویسنده در ابتدا و انتهای کتاب دعا میکنه کاش مثل سیتا زندگی کنیم.
اینجا از دیدگاه سیتا، یکی از خیل زنان "مظلوم" ادبیات هند، به داستان پرداخته میشه و عمده جذابیت داستان مربوطه به نثر لطیف دیواکارونی و شخصیت لطیف سیتا.
زنانگی سیتا -در قطب مخالفِ زنانِ ریتلینگهای ده سال اخیر- نشون میده چطور زنانگی بینیاز از وارد شدن به خصلتهای مردانه، میتونه قدرتمند و گویا باشه.
مظلومیت سیتا هرگز از منفعل بودنش نیست و برای همینه که نویسنده در ابتدا و انتهای کتاب دعا میکنه کاش مثل سیتا زندگی کنیم.
February 20, 2019
It is seldom I rate a book 5 stars. But when I do, I ensure it is absolutely deserving of it.
.
.
The FoE is the tragic story of one of the most revered women of Indian mythologies - Sita. The queen who was tried despite her unwavering love and loyalty. The daughter who was abandoned by parents, and much cruelly, by the husband.
.
.
It's been a while I have read anything so absorbing. It is not just the epic saga that is overwhelmingly engaging, but equally beautiful is the writing. It is as though, the goddess herself was guiding the author's pen; for such a spell, as I experienced, can only be cast by the power of divine.
.
.
The only other book I'd read from the author was 'Oleander Girl' and I found it to be good; if not fantastic. So, with 'Forest of Enchantments', the preference just got notches up, and next on my list is
'A Palace of Illusions'. I can't wait to get my hands on it.
.
.
The FoE is the tragic story of one of the most revered women of Indian mythologies - Sita. The queen who was tried despite her unwavering love and loyalty. The daughter who was abandoned by parents, and much cruelly, by the husband.
.
.
It's been a while I have read anything so absorbing. It is not just the epic saga that is overwhelmingly engaging, but equally beautiful is the writing. It is as though, the goddess herself was guiding the author's pen; for such a spell, as I experienced, can only be cast by the power of divine.
.
.
The only other book I'd read from the author was 'Oleander Girl' and I found it to be good; if not fantastic. So, with 'Forest of Enchantments', the preference just got notches up, and next on my list is
'A Palace of Illusions'. I can't wait to get my hands on it.
June 12, 2021
The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a mythological fiction novel set in India during the time of Lord Rama. The book narrates the story of the epic Ramayana but from Lady Sita’s point of view.
One concern I have regarding the novel is its size and the subject matter it is trying to cover. Nevertheless, the writing style is beautiful. It is an easy read.
I soon plan to pick up "The Palace of Illusions" and "The Mistress of Spices" by the same author.
Read the detailed review of The Forest of Enchantments.
One concern I have regarding the novel is its size and the subject matter it is trying to cover. Nevertheless, the writing style is beautiful. It is an easy read.
I soon plan to pick up "The Palace of Illusions" and "The Mistress of Spices" by the same author.
Read the detailed review of The Forest of Enchantments.
March 6, 2019
I read Palace of Illusions years ago and was blown away by the beautiful writing, Panchali and pretty much everything that book was about, so, when I came to know that the author was coming up with The Forests of Enchantments which essentially is Sita’s story( Sitayan), I had great things in minds!
.
This book, is said to be about Sita, her hopes and dreams..... while we all know what happens in Ramayana what The story promises us is a side which is as important as that of The Male; this book though falls short of what it was hoping to achieve by quite a margin; Though we see Sita from when she was born, her relationship with her parents, siblings is peripheral at best, the incidents discussed about her early life seem to be a mere buildup for when she meets Ram; after marriage, she, time and again neglects others for Ram; her relationship with Laxman is stormy, they barely talk and while she thinks about the patriarchal facets of the society, we don’t get to read about any outrage on her part, or she merely feels it for a moment and is again swept away by thoughts of Ram.
.
Chitra’s Sita is self absorbed, spineless in places, fickle and selfish..... too saintly when it comes to ‘ENDURING’ and blind and obsessive when it comes to Ram; The Forests of Enchantments is a story of Ram the husband, not Sita. Read it to read of Ram through the eyes of his wife and nothing more!
.
This book, is said to be about Sita, her hopes and dreams..... while we all know what happens in Ramayana what The story promises us is a side which is as important as that of The Male; this book though falls short of what it was hoping to achieve by quite a margin; Though we see Sita from when she was born, her relationship with her parents, siblings is peripheral at best, the incidents discussed about her early life seem to be a mere buildup for when she meets Ram; after marriage, she, time and again neglects others for Ram; her relationship with Laxman is stormy, they barely talk and while she thinks about the patriarchal facets of the society, we don’t get to read about any outrage on her part, or she merely feels it for a moment and is again swept away by thoughts of Ram.
.
Chitra’s Sita is self absorbed, spineless in places, fickle and selfish..... too saintly when it comes to ‘ENDURING’ and blind and obsessive when it comes to Ram; The Forests of Enchantments is a story of Ram the husband, not Sita. Read it to read of Ram through the eyes of his wife and nothing more!
August 19, 2019
I have waited too too long to read this book. When the release date was first announced, I was full of joy only to realize it wasn’t coming yet in the US. I waited almost 6 months for the ebook to get to my kindle and I’m even more glad that I got to read this during our independence week.
The Palace of Illusions is one of my all time favorites and it was such a joy to read the amazing Mahabharata through Draupadi’s eyes. So, I was quite excited to see what the author would do with Sita’s story. And she definitely doesn’t disappoint. The writing is beautiful and lyrical and evokes that magical feeling of being a part of something bigger than us. We see both Ram and Sita, not just as incarnations of God in earth, but as human as everyone else, with flaws and prejudices and frailties. But I can’t deny that I struggled with the book at certain parts. The pacing is pretty inconsistent, with some parts being very deep and contemplative, while others just rushing through years of storyline. The languid pace at times almost made it feel boring and I wasn’t prepared for that. But I will also not deny that I’m biased and my general disinterest in the Ramayana may have affected my opinion of this story as well. However, it was actually refreshing to not read about the whole war and instead get a closer look at the consequences and devastation, especially how the citizens of Lanka were affected. I think I also expected to see a little more of Sita’s story after her exile and her relationship with her sons - which was quite heartwarming and wonderful to read about but I felt was too short and deserved more page time. But whatever my gripes and complaints, the absolutely brilliant ending makes up for a lot of it.
Getting a chance to deep dive into Sita’s thought process was a fascinating experience. We get to know her as more than Ram’s wife and see a bit more of her as a sister to Urmila and the daughter-in-law of Kaushalya - which also gives us an opportunity to know more about these women from the epic. Urmila is particularly someone we hardly ever read anything about, so it was awesome to get to know about her feelings for Lakshman and her suffering during the fourteen years of exile. The other two women whom we don’t even consider very important usually are given time here - Surpanakha and Mandodari. I particularly liked how Sita always questions the bodily harm that was meted out to Surpanakha and if it really was a justifiable response. Mandodari is also shown as a wise and intelligent queen but someone who can’t always check her husband’s worst impulses.
The men in the book don’t get as much page time as the canon versions and I definitely didn’t have a problem with that. But it also gives us an opportunity to understand them more through the perspective of Sita, especially Ram. She loves him a lot and it’s evident, but she also never glosses over some of his flaws. She realizes that his need for perfection is not always right, and that some of his prejudices are uncalled for - but she also never truly confronts him about it all because she doesn’t want to make him unhappy. We as readers too understand that he is a good person but someone who is very much set in his ways, and while he does want to be perfect and establish a model kingdom, he loses sight of everything that’s important in his personal life for the sake of that perfection. While we also get to see Raavan as more than just an evil Asura King, I didn’t really feel much invested in his storyline.
But ultimately, this book is about Sita. The story goes into detail about her life before marriage and I thought the author did a great job showing us her relationship with her mother and sister, as well as an insight into her love for all things nature. I particularly enjoyed that the author made Sita a healer, who especially knows a lot about plants and herbs - which is canon divergent but still thematically relevant because we do consider her to be the daughter of the earth. We see her evolve as a wife, as a daughter in law, and later adapt to the life of a forest dweller - never complaining about her change in stature. She is content in her love for Ram and it really shows in every action and word of hers. But her plight after her abduction by Raavan and later her exile from Ayodhya are some of the most painful parts of the story, but I also marveled at her strength that kept her going. She really is the epitome of endurance and that came across very well.
There are many many themes that form the crux of this book and I’m not sure if I even absorbed them all. There is a lot of commentary (but mostly internal) about the importance of giving equal voice to both men and women, how striving for perfection in everything is not ideal nor feasible, nature and all its inhabitants are the responsibility of the leader and conservation is equally necessary as much as the welfare of the people, and most importantly - as much as it’s needed that a leader model righteous behavior for his subjects to follow, duty and responsibility towards the subjects is not mutually exclusive from the duty towards loved ones. But ultimately, the major theme of this book is love. The one thing that Sita does throughout the book is contemplate the meaning of love - and she discovers every version of it by observing the actions of those around her and also in the way she behaves towards others. From the love that consumes and leads to destruction like that of Dasharath and Kaikeyi, to the unconditional love of Urmila or Mandodari towards their husbands, we get to see and understand it in all its forms. But the one major realization that Sita arrives at which totally hit me with how relevant it is to our lives was that even if we love someone with all our heart, we can’t change their inherent nature or innate prejudices, we can only change ourselves and adapt to live peacefully with them. This is the reality for so many women even now and left me wondering what has truly changed for women in the millennia.
In the end, all I can say is that this book has its flaws just like the epic, but it’s still a wonderful and insightful read and I loved getting to know the story through a unique lens. If you like reading Indian mythological retellings or have loved reading The Palace of Illusions before, then this book is perfect for you. If you particularly have a soft spot for the Ramayana, I think you will really appreciate the perspective provided in this book. And that amazing ending - I just wish everyone gets a chance to really experience that.
The Palace of Illusions is one of my all time favorites and it was such a joy to read the amazing Mahabharata through Draupadi’s eyes. So, I was quite excited to see what the author would do with Sita’s story. And she definitely doesn’t disappoint. The writing is beautiful and lyrical and evokes that magical feeling of being a part of something bigger than us. We see both Ram and Sita, not just as incarnations of God in earth, but as human as everyone else, with flaws and prejudices and frailties. But I can’t deny that I struggled with the book at certain parts. The pacing is pretty inconsistent, with some parts being very deep and contemplative, while others just rushing through years of storyline. The languid pace at times almost made it feel boring and I wasn’t prepared for that. But I will also not deny that I’m biased and my general disinterest in the Ramayana may have affected my opinion of this story as well. However, it was actually refreshing to not read about the whole war and instead get a closer look at the consequences and devastation, especially how the citizens of Lanka were affected. I think I also expected to see a little more of Sita’s story after her exile and her relationship with her sons - which was quite heartwarming and wonderful to read about but I felt was too short and deserved more page time. But whatever my gripes and complaints, the absolutely brilliant ending makes up for a lot of it.
Getting a chance to deep dive into Sita’s thought process was a fascinating experience. We get to know her as more than Ram’s wife and see a bit more of her as a sister to Urmila and the daughter-in-law of Kaushalya - which also gives us an opportunity to know more about these women from the epic. Urmila is particularly someone we hardly ever read anything about, so it was awesome to get to know about her feelings for Lakshman and her suffering during the fourteen years of exile. The other two women whom we don’t even consider very important usually are given time here - Surpanakha and Mandodari. I particularly liked how Sita always questions the bodily harm that was meted out to Surpanakha and if it really was a justifiable response. Mandodari is also shown as a wise and intelligent queen but someone who can’t always check her husband’s worst impulses.
The men in the book don’t get as much page time as the canon versions and I definitely didn’t have a problem with that. But it also gives us an opportunity to understand them more through the perspective of Sita, especially Ram. She loves him a lot and it’s evident, but she also never glosses over some of his flaws. She realizes that his need for perfection is not always right, and that some of his prejudices are uncalled for - but she also never truly confronts him about it all because she doesn’t want to make him unhappy. We as readers too understand that he is a good person but someone who is very much set in his ways, and while he does want to be perfect and establish a model kingdom, he loses sight of everything that’s important in his personal life for the sake of that perfection. While we also get to see Raavan as more than just an evil Asura King, I didn’t really feel much invested in his storyline.
But ultimately, this book is about Sita. The story goes into detail about her life before marriage and I thought the author did a great job showing us her relationship with her mother and sister, as well as an insight into her love for all things nature. I particularly enjoyed that the author made Sita a healer, who especially knows a lot about plants and herbs - which is canon divergent but still thematically relevant because we do consider her to be the daughter of the earth. We see her evolve as a wife, as a daughter in law, and later adapt to the life of a forest dweller - never complaining about her change in stature. She is content in her love for Ram and it really shows in every action and word of hers. But her plight after her abduction by Raavan and later her exile from Ayodhya are some of the most painful parts of the story, but I also marveled at her strength that kept her going. She really is the epitome of endurance and that came across very well.
There are many many themes that form the crux of this book and I’m not sure if I even absorbed them all. There is a lot of commentary (but mostly internal) about the importance of giving equal voice to both men and women, how striving for perfection in everything is not ideal nor feasible, nature and all its inhabitants are the responsibility of the leader and conservation is equally necessary as much as the welfare of the people, and most importantly - as much as it’s needed that a leader model righteous behavior for his subjects to follow, duty and responsibility towards the subjects is not mutually exclusive from the duty towards loved ones. But ultimately, the major theme of this book is love. The one thing that Sita does throughout the book is contemplate the meaning of love - and she discovers every version of it by observing the actions of those around her and also in the way she behaves towards others. From the love that consumes and leads to destruction like that of Dasharath and Kaikeyi, to the unconditional love of Urmila or Mandodari towards their husbands, we get to see and understand it in all its forms. But the one major realization that Sita arrives at which totally hit me with how relevant it is to our lives was that even if we love someone with all our heart, we can’t change their inherent nature or innate prejudices, we can only change ourselves and adapt to live peacefully with them. This is the reality for so many women even now and left me wondering what has truly changed for women in the millennia.
In the end, all I can say is that this book has its flaws just like the epic, but it’s still a wonderful and insightful read and I loved getting to know the story through a unique lens. If you like reading Indian mythological retellings or have loved reading The Palace of Illusions before, then this book is perfect for you. If you particularly have a soft spot for the Ramayana, I think you will really appreciate the perspective provided in this book. And that amazing ending - I just wish everyone gets a chance to really experience that.
August 20, 2020
This is what Kaikeyi failed to see: it's not enough to merely love someone. Even if we love them with our entire being, even if we're willing to commit the most heinous sin for their well-being. We must understand and respect the values that drive them. We must want what they want, not what we want for them.
Ramayan is not only a mythological story, it is a major pillar of Hinduism. In today's India, where Ram Raajya is considered to be the ideal country, are we steering in the wrong direction?
You see, I never read the Ramayan. As any Indian kid will tell you, Ramayan was narrated by the older folks in the family and was also accessible due to various TV shows that aired about 30 years ago and still continues to be the inspiration of the small screen. So, the story, for those who heard it from their parents or grandparents stopped when Sita was rescued by Ram. Or even the cartoon version stopped right there.
What they don't tell you is what happens afterwards.
Love was full of contradictions. Sometimes the person you loved weakened you and sometimes he or she made you a stronger person. But under exactly what conditions did these very different changes occur?
I loved this adaptation of the story simply because:
1. This is Sitayan i.e Ramayan with Sita's POV.
2. Sita doesn't overpower Ram in anyway. She is in her own element, being the feminist that she is, sprinkling her charm and valour over every aspect of the story.
3. The writing is commendable. It weaves a beautiful picture, allowing you to travel along with Sita, all through her journey.
Pull yourselves together. Surely I've brought you up better than this? We come into the world alone, and we leave it alone. And in between, too, if it is destined, we'll be alone. Draw on your inner strength. Remember, you can be your own worst enemy-or your best friend. It's up to you. And also this: what you can't change, you must endure.
In conclusion: A great read!
Ramayan is not only a mythological story, it is a major pillar of Hinduism. In today's India, where Ram Raajya is considered to be the ideal country, are we steering in the wrong direction?
You see, I never read the Ramayan. As any Indian kid will tell you, Ramayan was narrated by the older folks in the family and was also accessible due to various TV shows that aired about 30 years ago and still continues to be the inspiration of the small screen. So, the story, for those who heard it from their parents or grandparents stopped when Sita was rescued by Ram. Or even the cartoon version stopped right there.
What they don't tell you is what happens afterwards.
Love was full of contradictions. Sometimes the person you loved weakened you and sometimes he or she made you a stronger person. But under exactly what conditions did these very different changes occur?
I loved this adaptation of the story simply because:
1. This is Sitayan i.e Ramayan with Sita's POV.
2. Sita doesn't overpower Ram in anyway. She is in her own element, being the feminist that she is, sprinkling her charm and valour over every aspect of the story.
3. The writing is commendable. It weaves a beautiful picture, allowing you to travel along with Sita, all through her journey.
Pull yourselves together. Surely I've brought you up better than this? We come into the world alone, and we leave it alone. And in between, too, if it is destined, we'll be alone. Draw on your inner strength. Remember, you can be your own worst enemy-or your best friend. It's up to you. And also this: what you can't change, you must endure.
In conclusion: A great read!
December 8, 2021
There were a few core things about the book that I didn't like.
1. The moral of endurance. While I agree with the meaning of endure and how it is also hard, I don't agree that just because women have been enduring for centuries, we should continue to do so. I hate that it's a moral for us to endure.
2. The entire concept of seeing the different types of love. Sita kept talking about the various forms of love and what it makes people do but it never actually added anything to her character. It was a writing style, I would say. It was annoying.
3. The pacing in this book was so bad. Time flew away and there would be no indication of it until a random sentence in the middle of the chapter. I'd have to suddenly reorganize the story in my brain. There were multiple chapters that spanned over the same timeline but they spoke of different things, so it was like "during this time, this happened for this thing" and the next chapter would say "during the SAME TIME, this happened for another thing." That was very annoying. I did not like the narration style.
The main point of the book was to highlight Sita, show things from her perspective and make her a whole person instead of a sideline character in Ramayan. But this book did not add anything to my image of Sita, other than "endurance". The whole point of the book failed.
This book gave Sita a better ending but.. it's not enough.
Overall, I'm not impressed. I liked The Palace of Illusions but I simply did not like this.
1. The moral of endurance. While I agree with the meaning of endure and how it is also hard, I don't agree that just because women have been enduring for centuries, we should continue to do so. I hate that it's a moral for us to endure.
2. The entire concept of seeing the different types of love. Sita kept talking about the various forms of love and what it makes people do but it never actually added anything to her character. It was a writing style, I would say. It was annoying.
3. The pacing in this book was so bad. Time flew away and there would be no indication of it until a random sentence in the middle of the chapter. I'd have to suddenly reorganize the story in my brain. There were multiple chapters that spanned over the same timeline but they spoke of different things, so it was like "during this time, this happened for this thing" and the next chapter would say "during the SAME TIME, this happened for another thing." That was very annoying. I did not like the narration style.
The main point of the book was to highlight Sita, show things from her perspective and make her a whole person instead of a sideline character in Ramayan. But this book did not add anything to my image of Sita, other than "endurance". The whole point of the book failed.
This book gave Sita a better ending but.. it's not enough.
Overall, I'm not impressed. I liked The Palace of Illusions but I simply did not like this.
December 5, 2023
A woman's pain is her own.
October 22, 2021
3.75 stars
To be honest, it’s not right till the end that it really becomes “Sita’a Story”. The writing was beautiful, and I was engrossed throughout. But while we were promised the Sitayan, what we got was the Ramayana narrated by Sita. I wished there was a little bit more insight…
To be honest, it’s not right till the end that it really becomes “Sita’a Story”. The writing was beautiful, and I was engrossed throughout. But while we were promised the Sitayan, what we got was the Ramayana narrated by Sita. I wished there was a little bit more insight…
February 19, 2021
The Palace of Illusions is honestly one of my favourite books. For one thing, I believe it is a wonderful study of Draupadi, full of anger and fire but also as complex a portrayal of Indian Womanhood against the backdrop of war and revenge as has been put to paper. Chitra Bannerjee's portrayal of Draupadi is three dimensional, kinetic and not likely to be forgotten by those who managed to read this book.
Which is why it pains me to admit that I couldn't finish The Forest of Enchantments and it numbers among the worst books I have read so far this year.
This is supposedly a companion book , a "life of the Indian woman" to accompany the Palace of Illusions. It is also an infinitely more difficult task - this is a retelling of the Ramayan from the point of view of Sita and while Draupadi has been written with fire and temper, a gift to the author who wants to adapt her , Sita is an elusive figure - the few retellings, in an attempt to make her more "modern" and "relatable" have simply recast her as a warrior princess of sorts but who was Sita, what did she think and feel? These are questions even Valmiki didn't really bother to ponder - she is always depicted as Rama's better half, the reason for Ravana's death, the inciting factor for the destruction of Lanka - a female mac guffin with no personality. To bring her to life, in an authentic and respectful manner is no easy task and Chitra bannerjee fails at it while also making Sita seem like a horrific caricature of womanhood that really shouldn't exist on paper.
The first few chapters of this book are, to be honest, simply phenomenal. Divakaruni recasts Sita as a foundling with a mysterious history, a loving daughter to the king of Mithila - she weaves in hints fo supernatural forces at work, the awe in the eyes of her subjects and her facility with plants and herbs - it was a refreshingly different version of Sita, introspective and mature. There are hints that she is capable of defending herself but these are relegated to the background, more space being given to character development.
In the opening foreword, Divakaruni makes mention of the fact that she sought to flesh out Ram himself. Both Ram and Sita, however lack the personality of the other Avatar's of Vishnu and Lakshmi - they are parables not human beings, I must reiterate - and to actually humanise them requires effort. Divakaruni is unable to humanise Ram - he comes across as flat, off putting and alien - we never really get a barometer into his internal thoughts. Sita falls in love with him, a connection is made, and we know it is meant to be, but, beyond this there is really no depth to their relationship.
I was looking forward to this depth being established when Sita reaches Ayodhya but it is at this point that Divakaruni's control over plot, dialogue and character takes a huge leap off a cliff - she spends chapters upon chapters making Sita come across as a horribly manipulative woman, transforms the entire royal court of Ayodhya into a seedy den of poorly written Machiavellian Game of Thrones caricatures and spends an unhealthy amount of time sexualising Ram and Sita's relationship in a forced , unecesary and rather voyeuristic manner - it never seemed organic.
There is also the horrific reference to Manthara , Kaikeyi's hunchaback servant, as a "pet ape" - which I felt was deeply insensitive, and totally out of place in this day and age. Ram, Dasharath and Laxman are terribly flat characters who seem to lose what little definition they had in the earlier portions of the story, progressively subsumed by the horrfic prose, dreadful dialogue and constant failed attempts at courtly intrigue. Divakaruni needed a good editor to point out her tonal inconsistencies, but she seems to have found someone who egged her off the cliff into the abyss all good writers consign themselves to when they think they have nothing more to learn for their craft.
This was a deeply disappointing entry into Divakaruni's canon and it is going to take a while for me to wash the bitterness from my mouth.
1 Star on 5
Which is why it pains me to admit that I couldn't finish The Forest of Enchantments and it numbers among the worst books I have read so far this year.
This is supposedly a companion book , a "life of the Indian woman" to accompany the Palace of Illusions. It is also an infinitely more difficult task - this is a retelling of the Ramayan from the point of view of Sita and while Draupadi has been written with fire and temper, a gift to the author who wants to adapt her , Sita is an elusive figure - the few retellings, in an attempt to make her more "modern" and "relatable" have simply recast her as a warrior princess of sorts but who was Sita, what did she think and feel? These are questions even Valmiki didn't really bother to ponder - she is always depicted as Rama's better half, the reason for Ravana's death, the inciting factor for the destruction of Lanka - a female mac guffin with no personality. To bring her to life, in an authentic and respectful manner is no easy task and Chitra bannerjee fails at it while also making Sita seem like a horrific caricature of womanhood that really shouldn't exist on paper.
The first few chapters of this book are, to be honest, simply phenomenal. Divakaruni recasts Sita as a foundling with a mysterious history, a loving daughter to the king of Mithila - she weaves in hints fo supernatural forces at work, the awe in the eyes of her subjects and her facility with plants and herbs - it was a refreshingly different version of Sita, introspective and mature. There are hints that she is capable of defending herself but these are relegated to the background, more space being given to character development.
In the opening foreword, Divakaruni makes mention of the fact that she sought to flesh out Ram himself. Both Ram and Sita, however lack the personality of the other Avatar's of Vishnu and Lakshmi - they are parables not human beings, I must reiterate - and to actually humanise them requires effort. Divakaruni is unable to humanise Ram - he comes across as flat, off putting and alien - we never really get a barometer into his internal thoughts. Sita falls in love with him, a connection is made, and we know it is meant to be, but, beyond this there is really no depth to their relationship.
I was looking forward to this depth being established when Sita reaches Ayodhya but it is at this point that Divakaruni's control over plot, dialogue and character takes a huge leap off a cliff - she spends chapters upon chapters making Sita come across as a horribly manipulative woman, transforms the entire royal court of Ayodhya into a seedy den of poorly written Machiavellian Game of Thrones caricatures and spends an unhealthy amount of time sexualising Ram and Sita's relationship in a forced , unecesary and rather voyeuristic manner - it never seemed organic.
There is also the horrific reference to Manthara , Kaikeyi's hunchaback servant, as a "pet ape" - which I felt was deeply insensitive, and totally out of place in this day and age. Ram, Dasharath and Laxman are terribly flat characters who seem to lose what little definition they had in the earlier portions of the story, progressively subsumed by the horrfic prose, dreadful dialogue and constant failed attempts at courtly intrigue. Divakaruni needed a good editor to point out her tonal inconsistencies, but she seems to have found someone who egged her off the cliff into the abyss all good writers consign themselves to when they think they have nothing more to learn for their craft.
This was a deeply disappointing entry into Divakaruni's canon and it is going to take a while for me to wash the bitterness from my mouth.
1 Star on 5
July 17, 2021
3.75🌟 (rounding up).
March 3, 2019
'I forgave you a long time ago,' I say to Ram. 'Though I didn't know it until now. Because this is the most important aspect of love, whose other face is compassion: It isn't doled out, drop by drop. It doesn't measure who is worthy and who isn't. It is like the ocean. Unfathomable. Astonishing. Measureless.'
The Forest of Enchantments, I feel, has one of the most iconic closing lines ever. The book started with a slow and dull pace - full of an unfulfilled capability of being as iconic as its closing lines. Retellings are indeed a very risky arena to walk on. Having read an abridged version of Ramayana and devouring its episodes regularly as a child, I had a fair knowledge of this revered text. The novel, however, proved to be a really murky affair in its beginning and middle because of it. I was reading with the hope of finishing it as soon as possible and that's a horrible way of reading any work. Now I am glad that I didn't put it aside because its best parts revealed themselves in the end.
Sita, in the beginning, and the middle felt like a puny human being as compared to the other women characters the writer had focused upon in her work. She had a blithe disregard of everything except Ram. It was as if, this "incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi" with "human failings" had nothing else to be concerned about other than her husband. Her voice was too frail to reach my ears. The mystery and lyricism that was part of The Palace of Illusions seemed to be dwindling. It is later in the novel that it used all its energy and cascaded softly with a renewed vigour.
Keeping my reservations for the novel aside, this is really a very impactful and resilient work. The novel, for me, doesn't stand valiantly as a whole. It is the few strands that I am holding on to which made my journey truly worthwhile.
January 31, 2019
I read this fresh off of finishing Palace of Illusions, which I absolutely loved because of how honest and full of rage it was. This one, not so much. I still enjoyed it because I like the author's voice, but felt that while Palace of Illusions took risks and explored more with reference to interpretations, this was rather cliched. I mean, there's so many amazing reinterpretations of Ramayan now, with the whole asura-sura dichotomy being a reflection of the colorism and class debates, and there being more to Ravan's story than just a villain. I felt like the book did not explore enough in these regards and that was boring.
Also I just didn't connect with Sita enough as a heroine. Her anger was rather feeble in face of the injustices done to her. Idk. I like Draupadi better. She seems like a more relevant voice in today's time. Sita thinking of the rakshasis as ugly got annoying after like the 83rd time. That was something I lost patience with by the end of the book.
Also I just didn't connect with Sita enough as a heroine. Her anger was rather feeble in face of the injustices done to her. Idk. I like Draupadi better. She seems like a more relevant voice in today's time. Sita thinking of the rakshasis as ugly got annoying after like the 83rd time. That was something I lost patience with by the end of the book.
February 25, 2021
I would give 0 starts if there was an option.
One of the most messed-up version of Ramayana I've ever read. There is no character analysis of any of the major characters especially Ram and Sita. The author claims it as Sitayan which is not at all true. Writing a story is not equal to re-telling of epics.
I understand authors intention is to upheld women by telling about Sita's suffering. But when you write an epic you have to analyse characters, situations, age-era, social- political conditions, and reasons. There is nothing to portray what Ram was as a person and Sita was as a person, but just their actions and judgements on them.
This is not how epics should be written, not by defaming the original texts.
And readers should be well aware of the epics before they read and fall prey to these so called "re-telling of epics". As per this book neither feminism nor Valmiki Ramayan retain their authenticity.
This book is a joke.
One of the most messed-up version of Ramayana I've ever read. There is no character analysis of any of the major characters especially Ram and Sita. The author claims it as Sitayan which is not at all true. Writing a story is not equal to re-telling of epics.
I understand authors intention is to upheld women by telling about Sita's suffering. But when you write an epic you have to analyse characters, situations, age-era, social- political conditions, and reasons. There is nothing to portray what Ram was as a person and Sita was as a person, but just their actions and judgements on them.
This is not how epics should be written, not by defaming the original texts.
And readers should be well aware of the epics before they read and fall prey to these so called "re-telling of epics". As per this book neither feminism nor Valmiki Ramayan retain their authenticity.
This book is a joke.
October 16, 2025
ಮೊದಲು ಮೂಲ ರಾಮಾಯಣ; ಅಥವಾ ಅದರ ಕನ್ನಡ/ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ಆವೃತ್ತಿ ಓದಿದರೆ ಆನಂತರ ಅದರ ಬದಲಿ ಆವೃತ್ತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ರುಚಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೊದಲಿಗೇ ಈ ಮರು ಕಥನ ಓದಿದರೆ ಕಡೆಯವರೆಗು ಇಲ್ಲಿರುವುದೇ ಸತ್ಯ ಎನಿಸಲೂಬಹುದೇನೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.
ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಎಸ್.ಎಲ್ ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರ ಉತ್ತರಕಾಂಡ ಓದಿದ್ದರೆ ಚಿತ್ರಾ ಬ್ಯಾನರ್ಜಿಯವರ the forest of enchantmentನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ವಿಶೇಷಗಳೇನೂ ತೋರವು. ಇದೂ ಅದರದೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ರೂಪ. ನಿರೂಪಣಾ ಶೈಲಿ ತುಂಬಾ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದ್ದು ಬೇಸರವಿಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ಓದಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ.
ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಎಸ್.ಎಲ್ ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರ ಉತ್ತರಕಾಂಡ ಓದಿದ್ದರೆ ಚಿತ್ರಾ ಬ್ಯಾನರ್ಜಿಯವರ the forest of enchantmentನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ವಿಶೇಷಗಳೇನೂ ತೋರವು. ಇದೂ ಅದರದೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ರೂಪ. ನಿರೂಪಣಾ ಶೈಲಿ ತುಂಬಾ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದ್ದು ಬೇಸರವಿಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ಓದಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ.
October 6, 2021
Ughh!! Not in my wildest imagination had I thought how terrible this book would turn out be. (To be fair, my father had read this book a long time ago and told me he didn't like it; but I chalked that up to his generation not being fond of alternative perspectives. How wrong I was, and how right he was!)
In the beginning of the book, Sita makes tall claims of supplementing the Ramayan by writing the untold stories of the women in the form of Sitayan. But the book itself hardly tells us anything more than what we have already read over years in the stories of Ramayan. The author's descriptions about Sita's surroundings are generic, her feelings about everything that happened to her are random and unexplained, her role as an incarnation of goddess Laxmi is left unexplored. The only shocking thing was that Mandodari claimed to be Sita's mother. And apparently didn't tell Ravan that, knowing he planned to marry Sita. How cringe-inducing is that! Yikes!
And while we are on the subject of cringe, I felt that almost all of the intimate scenes (physical but also emotional) between Ram and Sita were full of cringe! I expected far more from an author of Divakaruni's caliber. There was nothing divine about them, only desperate and depressing! And I am not saying that because we are generally unaccustomed to seeing gods and goddesses as sexual beings. I am enough of a bookworm to have read lots of stuff about the said subject matter - why, the author herself even did a much better job with The Palace of Illusions, her book about Draupadi that had been ground-breaking and simply amazing!!
Another thing that annoyed me was the usage of modern lingo. "It is not healthy to keep things inside your mind"? Seriously? I understand that the author is writing an English novel, but did she really have to use millennial shrink talk between women of Satya Yuga? Also, why does she use the term "bride-price" for the more established and completely different in meaning "swayamvar"? Many such word usages made no sense to me. And I wanted to scream at the point in the book where Ram is "taken aback when Sita says that their child might be a girl" even when she "knows in her deepest heart that her child would be a boy"!! So much for giving a voice to silenced women!!
But not even the readers suffer as much as Sita in this novel. Not in the story, that she does, of course; but in the description of her personality. Sita comes across as a shallow, uninspired, fickle, egotist of a woman. Thus it is not only hard to be impressed by her, but also hard to pity her or empathize with her. Same thing with the other women in the book. In the guise of telling their untold stories, the women are just reduced to those playing petty kitchen politics.
SO SO SO disappointed with this book!
In the beginning of the book, Sita makes tall claims of supplementing the Ramayan by writing the untold stories of the women in the form of Sitayan. But the book itself hardly tells us anything more than what we have already read over years in the stories of Ramayan. The author's descriptions about Sita's surroundings are generic, her feelings about everything that happened to her are random and unexplained, her role as an incarnation of goddess Laxmi is left unexplored. The only shocking thing was that Mandodari claimed to be Sita's mother. And apparently didn't tell Ravan that, knowing he planned to marry Sita. How cringe-inducing is that! Yikes!
And while we are on the subject of cringe, I felt that almost all of the intimate scenes (physical but also emotional) between Ram and Sita were full of cringe! I expected far more from an author of Divakaruni's caliber. There was nothing divine about them, only desperate and depressing! And I am not saying that because we are generally unaccustomed to seeing gods and goddesses as sexual beings. I am enough of a bookworm to have read lots of stuff about the said subject matter - why, the author herself even did a much better job with The Palace of Illusions, her book about Draupadi that had been ground-breaking and simply amazing!!
Another thing that annoyed me was the usage of modern lingo. "It is not healthy to keep things inside your mind"? Seriously? I understand that the author is writing an English novel, but did she really have to use millennial shrink talk between women of Satya Yuga? Also, why does she use the term "bride-price" for the more established and completely different in meaning "swayamvar"? Many such word usages made no sense to me. And I wanted to scream at the point in the book where Ram is "taken aback when Sita says that their child might be a girl" even when she "knows in her deepest heart that her child would be a boy"!! So much for giving a voice to silenced women!!
But not even the readers suffer as much as Sita in this novel. Not in the story, that she does, of course; but in the description of her personality. Sita comes across as a shallow, uninspired, fickle, egotist of a woman. Thus it is not only hard to be impressed by her, but also hard to pity her or empathize with her. Same thing with the other women in the book. In the guise of telling their untold stories, the women are just reduced to those playing petty kitchen politics.
SO SO SO disappointed with this book!
February 13, 2019
I became a huge fan of the author when she wrote A Palace of Illusions and have been crushing over that piece and how real the mythological characters felt in her retelling. And The Forest of Enchantments is no exception. A modern day Sitayan, the epic told from Sita’s point of view, I fell in love with the story yet again and for quite different reasons this time.
The narrative takes us from the swayamvar of Sita where she finally meets Ram to the abduction by Ravana, and then to the part where Sita sacrifices herself after she is humiliated by her true love. It is a fresh perspective offered to us by the author compared to the age old narration of the epic.
Although I couldn’t help comparing this to A Palace of Illusions, I tried to write my review unbiasedly. The book dragged a little halfway through the narrative and I started losing my excitement over it but the pace soon caught up and it infuriated me to witness all the injustices done against a woman like Sita.
The world has always been cruel to women and have asked them to prove themselves time and again their chastity, their ability, their strength, their femininity. Yet the world is never satisfied with the results and that is evident through this retelling of Ramayana.
The narrative takes us from the swayamvar of Sita where she finally meets Ram to the abduction by Ravana, and then to the part where Sita sacrifices herself after she is humiliated by her true love. It is a fresh perspective offered to us by the author compared to the age old narration of the epic.
Although I couldn’t help comparing this to A Palace of Illusions, I tried to write my review unbiasedly. The book dragged a little halfway through the narrative and I started losing my excitement over it but the pace soon caught up and it infuriated me to witness all the injustices done against a woman like Sita.
The world has always been cruel to women and have asked them to prove themselves time and again their chastity, their ability, their strength, their femininity. Yet the world is never satisfied with the results and that is evident through this retelling of Ramayana.
January 22, 2019
Delhi Book Launch of The Forest of Enchantments
(Review to come later)
https://sassyshaina.wordpress.com/201...
(Review to come later)
https://sassyshaina.wordpress.com/201...
January 9, 2019
Read this review on: ablottingpaperforthoughts.com
How can a book leave you feeling lost. Is it that desire to read more of the same story because it was just that amazing or dissatisfaction because the book didn't take the course you wanted it to? Or perhaps it's a mixture of both. But then again, perhaps as a woman - the Ramayan always left me with that feeling of dissatisfaction for I had wanted the estranged lovers to be reunited, where Ram begged his wife's forgiveness.
I waited 7 years for 'The Forest of Enchantments'. The Palace of Illusion awoke within me my love for retellings of Indian mythology. Draupadi portrayed as a fierce woman. The ups and downs she faced through the course of the Mahabharata narrated in her strong voice was like dipping my toe in a pool of cold water, refreshing and thrilling. And so when I picked up the Forest of Enchantments, my heart raced with excitement at the prospect of another strong woman steeped in Indian mythology woven by Banerjee's skilled pen.
While the story was definitely interesting and brought about anecdotes within the Ramayan that even I didn't know, (astonished at the plot twist that takes place towards the middle of the story), I felt it didn't rise up to the level of The Palace of Illusions. Having said that, I do believe that everyone would have picked their favorite out of the two, and that wasn't actually any basis to judge the book on.
Sita was a beautiful voice to read. The book was narrated in lyrical prose, with luscious, rich imagery. The theme of nature and the forests stood out through the strong descriptions while at the same time melded effortlessly through the story. There were times when my toes-curled at the way the language wove the images across my eyes. The depiction of Kaikeyi as a tigress, Sita her back to Ravan, in her tattered sari sitting under the crimson flowered Ahsok Tree. However at the same time there were some scenes where the writing felt disconnected when scenes in the book jumped through time. But that too perhaps can be explained by the length of the actual Ramayan, being a hinderance.
What was intriguing was the range of characters of Indian women in the book. To me previously Kaikeyi had been a weak minded woman easily swayed by the persuasion of Manthara. But the Forest of Enchanments provided a delicious new depth to her, making her fierce and enchantingly so. A character I had previously adored from her crazed nature in the Ramayan was Surpanakha, who now seemed extremely dangerous, and made made my skin crawl at her behaviour.
While Banerjee mentions how the characters are Gods descendent on earth and in their human form have flaws, I felt like those were slightly forced. When Sita shows her flaws by desiring the golden deer who is actually the demon Mareecha in disguise resulting in her capture, it seems more like, as described by Banerjee, 'a fever', that comes upon her. The writing which described it as such, implied that her actions were more divinely ordained than her own. They were more the will of the Gods than the flaws of the female Sita being acted upon.
What I really loved about the book, was perhaps the ending. Before The Forest of Enchantments, I had skirted past the ending of the Ramayan before, anger flaring through me every time Sita, would in her grief, be clasped in the arms of the earth and ascend the heavens without any closure, any apologies from her husband. But Banerjee's ending was beyond powerful. They resonated with everything I believe in. The words Sita spoke in her gentle, calming voice seemed more stoic than simply suicidal. She questioned that which Indian women today in some regions today are still afraid to. The very idea of sexism has been stamped into our culture, dating back to ages and in a previous essay I looked down very harshly upon, both the Ramayan and the Mahabharata.
In Banerjee's Palace of Illusions, Drapaudi stoked the burning fire of feminism in my heart through her raging episodes and fierce demeanour. But Sita through the ages, has always been considered a tame, meek sort of figure - the doting wife, the accepting exile. But here, the pages bound in the beautiful pink and painted cover, Sita was depicted to me in a new quiet courage. She didn't stoke the embers that burn in my heart at every injustice and atrocity that Indian women feel, but rather sat between the flames, soothingly saying that 'This too will pass.' and when it does you as a woman will come unscathed. Banerjee's Sita taught me perhaps that part of being a woman that while existed as a nagging thought at the back of my mins, as a feminist I sometimes ignored. Endurance. The power to endure an injustice and change it through the course of time or using my own skills as Sita does many times through the book. At times the endurance that Sita portrays felt forced, the quiet courage that she sometimes never mentions out loud felt to me forced and at the same time, the endurance and courage sometimes came through extremely beautiful. Especially in the scenes under the sorrow tree.
And so, I end by giving this book four stars. For while I loved The Palace of Illusions, I moved away from this book lost, because it taught me that the tiny courage of endurance that every woman has is used in small ways everyday, something I had failed to see in the Ramayan that I had read ten years ago at the age of ten. It left me mulling over it, unable to start a pile of fresh books lying on my desk. And the last words taught me something about love and forgiveness, a feeling I am not too familiar with and yet made small goosebumps appear on my arms as I felt the power of the tremendous feeling I have yet to experience and the forgiveness and endurance it encompasses within it, if you truly feel it.
How can a book leave you feeling lost. Is it that desire to read more of the same story because it was just that amazing or dissatisfaction because the book didn't take the course you wanted it to? Or perhaps it's a mixture of both. But then again, perhaps as a woman - the Ramayan always left me with that feeling of dissatisfaction for I had wanted the estranged lovers to be reunited, where Ram begged his wife's forgiveness.
I waited 7 years for 'The Forest of Enchantments'. The Palace of Illusion awoke within me my love for retellings of Indian mythology. Draupadi portrayed as a fierce woman. The ups and downs she faced through the course of the Mahabharata narrated in her strong voice was like dipping my toe in a pool of cold water, refreshing and thrilling. And so when I picked up the Forest of Enchantments, my heart raced with excitement at the prospect of another strong woman steeped in Indian mythology woven by Banerjee's skilled pen.
While the story was definitely interesting and brought about anecdotes within the Ramayan that even I didn't know, (astonished at the plot twist that takes place towards the middle of the story), I felt it didn't rise up to the level of The Palace of Illusions. Having said that, I do believe that everyone would have picked their favorite out of the two, and that wasn't actually any basis to judge the book on.
Sita was a beautiful voice to read. The book was narrated in lyrical prose, with luscious, rich imagery. The theme of nature and the forests stood out through the strong descriptions while at the same time melded effortlessly through the story. There were times when my toes-curled at the way the language wove the images across my eyes. The depiction of Kaikeyi as a tigress, Sita her back to Ravan, in her tattered sari sitting under the crimson flowered Ahsok Tree. However at the same time there were some scenes where the writing felt disconnected when scenes in the book jumped through time. But that too perhaps can be explained by the length of the actual Ramayan, being a hinderance.
What was intriguing was the range of characters of Indian women in the book. To me previously Kaikeyi had been a weak minded woman easily swayed by the persuasion of Manthara. But the Forest of Enchanments provided a delicious new depth to her, making her fierce and enchantingly so. A character I had previously adored from her crazed nature in the Ramayan was Surpanakha, who now seemed extremely dangerous, and made made my skin crawl at her behaviour.
While Banerjee mentions how the characters are Gods descendent on earth and in their human form have flaws, I felt like those were slightly forced. When Sita shows her flaws by desiring the golden deer who is actually the demon Mareecha in disguise resulting in her capture, it seems more like, as described by Banerjee, 'a fever', that comes upon her. The writing which described it as such, implied that her actions were more divinely ordained than her own. They were more the will of the Gods than the flaws of the female Sita being acted upon.
What I really loved about the book, was perhaps the ending. Before The Forest of Enchantments, I had skirted past the ending of the Ramayan before, anger flaring through me every time Sita, would in her grief, be clasped in the arms of the earth and ascend the heavens without any closure, any apologies from her husband. But Banerjee's ending was beyond powerful. They resonated with everything I believe in. The words Sita spoke in her gentle, calming voice seemed more stoic than simply suicidal. She questioned that which Indian women today in some regions today are still afraid to. The very idea of sexism has been stamped into our culture, dating back to ages and in a previous essay I looked down very harshly upon, both the Ramayan and the Mahabharata.
In Banerjee's Palace of Illusions, Drapaudi stoked the burning fire of feminism in my heart through her raging episodes and fierce demeanour. But Sita through the ages, has always been considered a tame, meek sort of figure - the doting wife, the accepting exile. But here, the pages bound in the beautiful pink and painted cover, Sita was depicted to me in a new quiet courage. She didn't stoke the embers that burn in my heart at every injustice and atrocity that Indian women feel, but rather sat between the flames, soothingly saying that 'This too will pass.' and when it does you as a woman will come unscathed. Banerjee's Sita taught me perhaps that part of being a woman that while existed as a nagging thought at the back of my mins, as a feminist I sometimes ignored. Endurance. The power to endure an injustice and change it through the course of time or using my own skills as Sita does many times through the book. At times the endurance that Sita portrays felt forced, the quiet courage that she sometimes never mentions out loud felt to me forced and at the same time, the endurance and courage sometimes came through extremely beautiful. Especially in the scenes under the sorrow tree.
And so, I end by giving this book four stars. For while I loved The Palace of Illusions, I moved away from this book lost, because it taught me that the tiny courage of endurance that every woman has is used in small ways everyday, something I had failed to see in the Ramayan that I had read ten years ago at the age of ten. It left me mulling over it, unable to start a pile of fresh books lying on my desk. And the last words taught me something about love and forgiveness, a feeling I am not too familiar with and yet made small goosebumps appear on my arms as I felt the power of the tremendous feeling I have yet to experience and the forgiveness and endurance it encompasses within it, if you truly feel it.
Want to read
May 14, 2021HOW DID I NOT HEAR OF THIS SOONER. I actually saw this cover on the story of Mira Rajput Kapoor and for some reason, I saw the words 'The Palace of Illusions'. GOD, THIS SOUNDS AMAZING AND THIS COVER. 😍
February 24, 2019
For me, this is exactly what world is selling in the name of feminism. Except the understanding that characters in Ramayan were mortels and had craving, I could get very little out of this book. I recommend you watch something on Netflix instead.
October 27, 2019
This is a long review because I haven't had something strike me so viscerally as the Ramayana and, consequently, The Forest of Enchantments, in a long time, and I need to hash it out a bit. Some background:
I came to the Ramayana after hearing about it (and the Mahabharata, which I'll likely read next) in several Indian history books I've recently read. And also upon realizing the Ramlila, the drama of Ram and Sita and the battle with Ravana, was often featured in Hindi movies, usually appearing as background scenery or a cultural touchpoint mentioned in passing. Then a co-worker read the Ramayana to support her daughter who was studying Eastern culture and history in college. After hearing my co-worker talk about it, I decided it was time I finally read it myself. My co-worker had wondered which version of the Ramayana I would end up reading and specifically which ending my version would include. The version she had read had an ending that disturbed her, and she wanted to talk to me about it if mine ended similarly. Turns out my version was similar to hers--ending with Sita's banishment and eventual decision to prove her purity one final time by having Mother Earth swallow her whole. I understand there is some disagreement out there about whether the original Ramayana ended with Sita's banishment--some theorize this was a later addition not original to Valmiki's version. I don't know whether that's true, but what I *do* know is that the version with Sita's banishment is common and widely known and accepted.
My co-worker and I were both so upset by Sita's treatment throughout the Ramayana, we tried to reason it out--how Ram's constant distrust of her despite her never betraying him and her eventual banishment could be an example of this hero's (I hesitate to call him that--sure he defeated evil, but at what cost? Were his actions afterwords truly righteous?) true dharma, but we couldn't find any kind of justification for Ram that suited us--not without discarding our senses of justice and social equity. I tried to temper my response because I realized that the Ramayana wasn't necessarily intended for me, a 21st Century, modern Western woman. I tried to put my biases aside and think about the Ramayna with an open mind--more scholarly than emotionally. But I ultimately couldn't do it. If Ram is upheld as an ideal of righteous behavior, then men from all social levels were now justified in the mistreatment of their wives (women already at a disadvantage because of social gender inequities)--how is that dharma? No matter what, I could not see anything other than an innocent woman unjustly doomed, and with no redemption for anyone other than perhaps Lav and Kush who might, from their experiences, learn how to balance the role of ruler and husband/father better than Ram ever did. *This* is the story so celebrated for hundreds of years? The one that spawns several annual festivals and performances and appears over and over again in myriad forms of media. Why has it enchanted us so (I include myself--this review alone proves how much the Ramayana "got to me")? I did some research online to see if others felt similar to me, and that's how I came across "The Forest of Enchantments".
Here is a creative, alternative interpretation from Sita's point of view--a point of view which had been sorely lacking in my version of the Ramayana, in which Sita appeared as little more than a hollow, tragic puppet. At least until the moment when she said, as Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni so eloquently put it: "Enough!" I think it was that final spark of womanly defiance, pride, and dignity that made me feel there was more to Sita than I'd been shown in my translation of the Ramayana. That was the Sita with whom I could connect and empathize. Can I tell you how angry that gold statue of Sita made me? The one Ram made in Sita's absence so he wouldn't have to marry again in order to conduct the agni ceremony. Through his actions he demonstrated to his kingdom that the ideal wife is perfect, unrealistically beautiful, nontarnishable, unable to think for itself, unable to disobey, unable to be blamed for anything, ever. A real woman is simply too messy and difficult and complicated. I couldn't help wondering what would be the fate of real women in such a kingdom? I'm so glad "The Forest of Enchantments" was here to help me further explore Sita's story--to give her life and character the richness it deserved. I think her life's example was the actual lesson to be gleaned from the Ramayana--I think Ram, in the end, understood the fault of his actions--that he had erred and loosing Sita was the consequence of misplaced pride. True Ram devotees might disagree with me, but they've made their own peace with the Ramayana, this is how I've made mine.
When I think of Ram and Sita, I wonder how their story can be upheld as any kind of romantic ideal-- yes there were moments of delight, devotion, and love, but ultimately it was so full of disappointment, pain, betrayal, and tragedy. But then again, so was Romeo and Juliet. It should be no surprise that I never found Romeo and Juliet to be particularly romantic. Romeo was fickle, and despite their adamant proclamations, their love wasn't strong enough to withstand external conflict--the opinions and pressures imposed on them by others. Theirs is a cautionary tale, and that's rather how I've come to see Ram and Sita.
So thanks to Chitra for writing this version of Sita, where she gets some chance at redemption. She wasn't perfect, but she was real. I think if anyone demonstrates what a life in pursuit of dharma looks like, it's the Sita in this book. She walked a path of love and forgiveness that is truly the one worth emulating.
I came to the Ramayana after hearing about it (and the Mahabharata, which I'll likely read next) in several Indian history books I've recently read. And also upon realizing the Ramlila, the drama of Ram and Sita and the battle with Ravana, was often featured in Hindi movies, usually appearing as background scenery or a cultural touchpoint mentioned in passing. Then a co-worker read the Ramayana to support her daughter who was studying Eastern culture and history in college. After hearing my co-worker talk about it, I decided it was time I finally read it myself. My co-worker had wondered which version of the Ramayana I would end up reading and specifically which ending my version would include. The version she had read had an ending that disturbed her, and she wanted to talk to me about it if mine ended similarly. Turns out my version was similar to hers--ending with Sita's banishment and eventual decision to prove her purity one final time by having Mother Earth swallow her whole. I understand there is some disagreement out there about whether the original Ramayana ended with Sita's banishment--some theorize this was a later addition not original to Valmiki's version. I don't know whether that's true, but what I *do* know is that the version with Sita's banishment is common and widely known and accepted.
My co-worker and I were both so upset by Sita's treatment throughout the Ramayana, we tried to reason it out--how Ram's constant distrust of her despite her never betraying him and her eventual banishment could be an example of this hero's (I hesitate to call him that--sure he defeated evil, but at what cost? Were his actions afterwords truly righteous?) true dharma, but we couldn't find any kind of justification for Ram that suited us--not without discarding our senses of justice and social equity. I tried to temper my response because I realized that the Ramayana wasn't necessarily intended for me, a 21st Century, modern Western woman. I tried to put my biases aside and think about the Ramayna with an open mind--more scholarly than emotionally. But I ultimately couldn't do it. If Ram is upheld as an ideal of righteous behavior, then men from all social levels were now justified in the mistreatment of their wives (women already at a disadvantage because of social gender inequities)--how is that dharma? No matter what, I could not see anything other than an innocent woman unjustly doomed, and with no redemption for anyone other than perhaps Lav and Kush who might, from their experiences, learn how to balance the role of ruler and husband/father better than Ram ever did. *This* is the story so celebrated for hundreds of years? The one that spawns several annual festivals and performances and appears over and over again in myriad forms of media. Why has it enchanted us so (I include myself--this review alone proves how much the Ramayana "got to me")? I did some research online to see if others felt similar to me, and that's how I came across "The Forest of Enchantments".
Here is a creative, alternative interpretation from Sita's point of view--a point of view which had been sorely lacking in my version of the Ramayana, in which Sita appeared as little more than a hollow, tragic puppet. At least until the moment when she said, as Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni so eloquently put it: "Enough!" I think it was that final spark of womanly defiance, pride, and dignity that made me feel there was more to Sita than I'd been shown in my translation of the Ramayana. That was the Sita with whom I could connect and empathize. Can I tell you how angry that gold statue of Sita made me? The one Ram made in Sita's absence so he wouldn't have to marry again in order to conduct the agni ceremony. Through his actions he demonstrated to his kingdom that the ideal wife is perfect, unrealistically beautiful, nontarnishable, unable to think for itself, unable to disobey, unable to be blamed for anything, ever. A real woman is simply too messy and difficult and complicated. I couldn't help wondering what would be the fate of real women in such a kingdom? I'm so glad "The Forest of Enchantments" was here to help me further explore Sita's story--to give her life and character the richness it deserved. I think her life's example was the actual lesson to be gleaned from the Ramayana--I think Ram, in the end, understood the fault of his actions--that he had erred and loosing Sita was the consequence of misplaced pride. True Ram devotees might disagree with me, but they've made their own peace with the Ramayana, this is how I've made mine.
When I think of Ram and Sita, I wonder how their story can be upheld as any kind of romantic ideal-- yes there were moments of delight, devotion, and love, but ultimately it was so full of disappointment, pain, betrayal, and tragedy. But then again, so was Romeo and Juliet. It should be no surprise that I never found Romeo and Juliet to be particularly romantic. Romeo was fickle, and despite their adamant proclamations, their love wasn't strong enough to withstand external conflict--the opinions and pressures imposed on them by others. Theirs is a cautionary tale, and that's rather how I've come to see Ram and Sita.
So thanks to Chitra for writing this version of Sita, where she gets some chance at redemption. She wasn't perfect, but she was real. I think if anyone demonstrates what a life in pursuit of dharma looks like, it's the Sita in this book. She walked a path of love and forgiveness that is truly the one worth emulating.
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