I am not a big fan of the genre of mythological fiction. It is not because of the writing or the stories. It is because, for some reason, I find the idea of playing around with the characters and stories from our Itihasas and Puranas somewhat iconoclastic. I prefer their scholarly analysis than their creative fictionalization. But sometimes you come across a piece of writing that is a skilled mix of the two. The Liberation of Sita by Volga is one such book.
The author takes the character of Sita and re-visions her from the point of view of a woman, by putting her face to face with other side women characters in the Ramayana. Those meetings of Sita with women, namely Shurpanakha (the sister of Ravana), Ahalya (the wife of Sage Gautama), Renuka (the mother of Parashuram and wife of Jamadagni) and Urmila (the wife of Lakshmana) interwoven around events that actually happened in Sita’s life lead to a step by step liberation of Sita.
It is written in such a skilled manner of storytelling, often shifting between episodes across timelines, that it makes one believe that, perhaps, the final act of Sita going back to Mother Earth was truly an act of her liberation.
The book is structured as a set of stories, which are independent, yet interlinked. They are spread across different times in Sita’s life, right from her birth in Mithila, her Swayamvar, her Vanvaas with Ram, her captivity and release from Lanka, her Agnipariksha, her motherhood in the forest with Lava and Kusa, and eventually, her return to Mother Earth.
The stories capture her evolution in various roles as daughter, wife, daughter-in-law and mother, and her journey of being attached and being liberated from each of those roles. Her own deep love for Rama and Rama’s for Sita shine forth in the stories, and so does her character of being a free-spirited yet dependent, and adventurous yet dependable spouse, daughter and mother.
Clearly, the book is ridden with feminist themes. There’s no two ways about the fact that the author wants to write for women by highlighting Sita’s journey in the face of the various learnings she gets from other emancipated women characters. Each of these women, one might say, have been wronged, in one way or the other, by social norms and other male characters, be it their husbands, sons or lovers, due to either no faults of theirs or by minor misgivings that are overlooked for men all the time, and then unfettered themselves.
To that extent, the author is very successful in bringing those themes to light. The author has also done it without creating any real or imagined villains that are different from the actual epic. Perhaps, this keeping the Ramayana and its characters sacrosanct while still highlighting the issues that need attention makes it a piece of work that expands the readers’ perspective, irrespective of what background he or she comes from.
The tales of Ahalya (who was seduced by Indra who came in the guise of her husband Gautama) and Renuka (who was beheaded and brought back to life by her son Parashuram on the orders of her husband Jamadagni for having a gandharva in her thoughts) and how they are interwoven with Sita’s own predicaments make interesting reading. There is a fair bit of philosophy about life, identity, attachment, desire and liberation in these tales.
The story of Urmila, left high and dry when Lakshman decides to accompany Rama and Sita to the forest, is deeply unsettling, and, at the same time, enlightening. I found only Shurpanakha’s tale of overcoming the physical shortcomings of losing her ears and nose and then rising to tend a garden, and also finding a man who didn’t adhere to traditional concepts of female beauty a bit far-fetched and imaginative.
Towards the end, the struggles of Rama in trying to balance his Arya Dharma (duties as a King) and his desires as a loving husband of Sita are portrayed well, but end up being slightly tilted towards the feminist objective of wanting to highlight Sita’s predicament. Fair enough, this is not the Ramayana, nor is it a spiritual sermon but a literary pursuit; so, to that extent, certain creative liberties are, perhaps, to be taken.
Overall, this book was an interesting read for me, someone who doesn’t read such types of books. It is a bunch of interwoven tales masterfully crafted and skillfully translated.
It makes the reader understand the plight of Sita, and by that proxy, that of hundreds of woman, who not only need a voice, but liberation from the chains of roles and attachments that they inevitably find themselves bound in.
If you enjoy a tastefully developed recipe of mythology and a character’s philosophical journey woven into a feminist yet spiritual re-visioning of events, you will find it engaging.
***