#Seeta Devi

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[princesspierpaolo]

prapancha pash (1929) dir. franz osten

[naldibutnice]

Seeta Devi in Shiraz: A Romance of India (1928) Dir. Franz Osten

[byneddiedingo]

Charu Roy and Seeta Devi in A Throw of Dice (Franz Osten, 1929)

Cast: Seeta Devi, Charu Roy, Himansu Rai, Modhu Bose, Sarada Gupta, Tincory Charkrabarty. Lala Bijoykishen. Screenplay: Niranjan Pal, W.A. Burton, based on a story from the Mahabharata. Cinematography: Emil Schünemann. Art direction: Promode Nath. 

India would become one of the great filmmaking centers of the world, but the silent film A Throw of Dice, though one of the early classic films made in the subcontinent, was directed by a German, Franz Osten, who would be arrested in India in 1939 for being a member of the Nazi party. Osten was a prolific filmmaker who did much of his work in India, often in collaboration with actor-producer Himansu Rai, who plays the heavy in this story based on an episode in the Mahabharata. It's about two kings who fall in love with Sunita (Seeta Devi), the beautiful daughter of a hermit, Kanwa (Sarada Gupta), who has fled the corruptions of court life. When one of the kings, Ranjit (Charu Roy), wins the heart of Sunita, the other, Sohat (Rai), plots against him. He proposes a game of dice, with the stakes being each other's kingdom. Using loaded dice, Sohat not only wins Ranjit's kingdom and the hand of Sunita, but also tricks Ranjit into becoming his slave. But when Sohat's deception is uncovered, Ranjit's subjects mobilize and attack Sohat's palace. In desperation, Sohat leaps from a high cliff. It's a slight tale in the telling, but the beauty of the north Indian setting and the opulence of the palaces give the story a sumptuous frame. There's also a cast of thousands on display and a whole menagerie of tigers and elephants and other animals. 

[maralika09]

SEETARPANAM – A STORY – NAVARATRI, DIWALI AND SEETA

It is always nice to celebrate together. Diwali is such a great occasion, which brings happiness all around. Diwali or Deepavali is called the festival of lights. Each and every home and every street and road are lit up with lamps and lanterns. It is indeed a beautiful sight.

There is always a story behind every festival. The story of Diwali is related to Ram, the king of Ayodhya. It is believed that Ram along with Seeta and Lakshmana reached Ayodhya on this day after defeating Ravana.

This narration is an attempt to articulate some thoughts surrounding Seeta. If Dussehra  is the day when Ravana was killed by Ram, is there any connection between Seetaa and  Navadurgas?  If Deepavali is the day Ram, Seeta and Lakshman reached Ayodhya, and Diwali is also the occasion to worship Lakshmi, Is there any connection between Lakshmi, Seeta , lamps and diyas?

Enjoy reading

SEETARPANAM – A STORY – NAVARATRI, DIWALI AND SEETA

SEETADEVI AND NAVADURGAS

Seetadevi sat under the tree. She is in Lanka now. She had the intuition that she could meet Rama very soon

Seeta, the personification of purity was worshipping Maa Adiparashakti everyday. In those dark and desperate days, Seeta lit the lamp, with the name and form of Maa Durga.

Seetadevi decided to worship the nine pure yet powerful forms of Maa Durga. Maa Durga in the form of Shailputri, the beautiful young maiden daughter of Himalaya, came into her mind. Seeta immersed herself in the thought of Shailputri and meditated upon her and prayed to give her enough strength to pass through this miserable situation

The next day Seetadevi prayed to Maa Brahmacharini, a satwik form of Maa Durga. Seeta pleaded to this supreme mother who is the abode of all the living and non living, for forgiveness to any fault or mistakes by thought, words or deed, intentionally or unintentionally. Seeta immersed herself in japa   and meditated upon this satwik form of Maa Durga and prayed for her blessings

Seetadevi invoked Maa Chandrakhanta on the  third day. Maa Durga in this form is adorned with a crescent moon, who rides on a tiger, who wields weapons, and is holding japamala and lotus too. With one of the hands she protects her devotees and with the other she gives boons. Seetadevi prayed to this benign and  powerful form of Maa Durga.

Maa Kushmanda was the next form of Durga whom Seeta worshipped. This powerful benign form of Maa Durga rides on a lion and the power of entire universe exists inside Maa Kushmanda, like an egg. Seetadevi meditated upon her that day and night.

On the fifth day Seetadevi invoked Skanda Mata, mother of Kartikeya. With her son on her lap, wrapping her  hand around him with love, she rides on a lion. Seetadevi prayed to this wonderful form for protection and motherly love.

On the sixth day, Seetadevi prayed to Durga Maa as Katyayani Devi, who rides on a fierce lion. She has a lotus in one of her hands which shows her kindness and love. Seetadevi meditated upon this divine form of Katyayani Devi who is adorned with beautiful ornaments.

Maa Kalaratri is a fierce form of Maa Durga. Maa  Kalaratri is the symbol of courage, power, destruction and auspiciousness. She destroys the evil and restores the balance. Maa kalaratri rides on donkey and has three red eyes, skull garland as ornament, and she carries various weapons too. Seetadevi worshipped Maa Kalaratri with complete devotion and respect on the seventh day and prayed for her blessings

The next day Seetadevi prayed to Mahagauri, who rides  an ox . The only weapon she has is a trident. On the other two hands she holds a damaru and lotus. She shows the abhayamudra with one of her hands. Mahagauri empowers her devotees and protects and shields them from evil. Seetadevi worshipped her intensely and prayed for her protection

On the ninth day Seetadevi invoked Maa Sidhidatri with utmost respect and devotion. Maa Durga in this supremely blissful form confers all supernatural powers on her devotees. She is sitting on a fully bloomed lotus and holds discuss and mace on two of her hands which shows her might and courage. On the other two hands she holds a lotus and conch which represents her beauty and purity. Seetadevi intensely meditated upon this auspicious form of Maa Durga and prayed for her blessings.

The next day was tenth day of Seetadevi ‘s tapasya. News reached her  that Rama had won the battle and soon she will be united with Rama. On that day she invoked Maa Vijaya Devi with utmost gratitude and humility. She thanked the supreme mother for giving strength and patience throughout. Seetadevi felt the days of darkness, ignorance, confinement, instability and uncertainties are over.

AGNISHUDDHI

Seetadevi who is the personification of purity herself, still wanted to do the ablutions., The ablutions with fire! 

Seetadevi entered the sacred fire pit without any fear. She burnt all the impure thoughts of ignorance. She offered it as the sacrifice to fire which burns everything. The sacred fire accepted all her offerings.

Seetadevi enjoyed the sound of flames moving up and down. She enjoyed the little crackling sound of sparks. She bathed on the sacred fire leisurely. The power of fire was on her will, on her command!

Energised by that sacred fire, Seetadevi stepped out of the fire pit glowing like a golden flame

The people gathered there were amazed to witness all these. Those who knew Seetadevi were aware of her siddhis. They had heard about Seetadevi’s commanding power over the elements. It is said that mother earth manifested herself infront of Seetadevi upon her command. That was Seetadevi! That much was her power!

DIWALI

In Ayodhya there was no place for negative emotions (tamogunas). People were always happy, peaceful, energetic, kind and prosperous. They had heard about the fierce battle between Rama and Ravana. They know that Rama is peace loving individual but he won’t run away if war is inevitable and he is invincible whoever his opponent be.

Now prince Rama and princess Seeta is returning to Ayodhya after years of exile. People of Ayodhya celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm.

News of Seetadevi’s tapasya and subsequent agnishuddhi reached much earlier than Rama and Seeta themselves.  All the women admired her. They just wanted to have a look, just wanted to see her with their own eyes. Seetadevi ensured her presence.  She sat and conversed with them. They couldn’t take their eyes off of her. While hesitantly  returning,  they invited her to their homes. They requested Seetadevi to come to their homes and energise and purify with her presence. Seetadevi promised to visit each and every home in the kingdom of Ayodhya.

People cleaned their homes, road to their homes, surroundings too. They decorated their homes with flowers and toran, made colourful rangolis wherever possible. They lit diyas in the evening and burst firecrackers at night. Those were the days of celebrations.

They imagined the gracious presence of Seetadevi in their homes, which was no less than getting a boon. Seetadevi’s tapasya and agnishuddhi became the topic of new and never ending stories in Ayodhya. It was the talk, if there were a group of people together, it was the theme of the story the grandmother would tell her grandchildren repeatedly, to which the children would like to listen to repeatedly.

Because she will be passing bythe way, lamps and lanterns were lit every nook and corner. The roadsides were decorated with colorful rangoli.   People expected, wished her to come or at least pass by their way. And it was Seetadevi who will never ignore their expectations and wishes.

As promised Seetadevi visited each and every home in the kingdom of Ayodhya, rich or poor, big or small, far or near. She walked through every road. They welcomed her with flower garlands and aarti.  To represent her command over the elements earth and fire, they lit earthen lamps in front of their homes.  People showered her with love. Out of love and concern, some elderly ladies scolded her for entering into fire and told her not to do it again. Some of them warned her not to play with fire. Some asked her whether she burned herself, and are there any burn marks on her. Seetadevi happily answered all their queries.

For them Seetadevi was none other than Goddess Mahalakshmi who bestows all the happiness and prosperity

Because Seetadevi is one of a kind and the people of Ayodhya were one of a kind, they were celebrated every year. They  are remembered time and again.

A VERY HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL OF YOU

[pratikshachandra]

Tried madhubani painting after a long time.

The key feature of this type of painting are the lines used. All the patterns used for decoration of the figures are made simply through the combination of different kinds of lines.

Madhubani paintings also known as mithila painting are a famous folk art style of India.

It derives it's name from the place of it's birth that is mithila in present day bihar.

Mithila is famously known for being the birthplace of devi seeta, the consort of Sri Rama.

[sigappurojakal]

Story of mother Seeta in Kannada: Kannada story symbol of love, courage and loyalty!Mother Seeta has the most important divinity in Hindu mythology. His role in Ramayana is important privately.Mother Seetamatha was the daughter of Mithila king and Sunaina Devi. She is called Janaki.According to Ramayana, Ram, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, got married as Seetamata's husband, and then she got married as a result of drinking Shiva's divine bow and fighting.When they went to help Rama in exile, the devil king named Ravana took her away, which started the fight between Rama and Ravana.During Ravana's invasion, she became famous for her love and trust between Mother Seeta and Rama. She refused to marry against Ravana's attack.She was tested fire to authenticate her purity. There she came out of nothing, her purity was certified by this incident.It has been found that the inhumane person seen to Rama is an important person due to the love of Mother Seeta.Seetamata is very loved by various poems in Kannada imagination.Kannada films, dramas, serials and films are good examples for Seetamata's story list.Introduction of Seetamata is described in different Kannada literature works.Her portrait is famous in many forms in Kannada literature.She has guided devotees through religion, compassion, and selfless devotion.The worship of Mother Sita is a proud moment for child's happiness, wealth, and the response of Durga culprits.Pictures of Ram and Seetamata are worshipped during the important worship of Mother Seetamata.The one who sees Sakshat Narayana in the role of Sita Mata is proudly considered to the devotees.Seetamata's story is described in several poems in various Kannada literary forms.Kannadigas show adoration to the extraordinary love and trust of Mother Seeta.The story of mother Sitamata is the reason to form the rules and guidance of society.Her constant sincerity in her lyrics are shown by the signatures that presented.Seetamata's exile along with Rama and Lakshmana describes the suffering and courage of exile.Mother Sita's capability in times of crisis gives people courage.The illegal path of her opponent Ravana describes the message of religion.Although the story of Ramayana is famous through many films, Kannada movies have shown it well.The story of mother Sita is a story of devotion, faith and courage.

[diioonysus]

beautiful women of the past (imo)

[vintagewoc]

Seeta Devi (1925)

[souravawasthi]

TM 26 • 🚩 जय श्री राम 🚩

[yesterdaysprint]

Seeta Devi, Anglo-Indian film star, 1929

[classicladiesofcolor]

[cobblestonestreet]

Renee Smith or Seeta Devi was active in the 1920s non talkie Bollywood movies.

[unmattata]

Seeta Devi and Himansu Rai in Prem Sanyas, a 1925 silent film directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai. It was adapted from the book The Light of Asia (1879) by Edwin Arnold, which was based on the life of Prince Siddhartha Gautama (i.e. the Buddha).

[shut-up-rabert]

This makes me so so soooo fucking angry I can’t be tamed. These people will fall to any level to make my religion look bad. Fucking shameless.

Now that some of my anger is out, lets get into this:

Shree Laxmi wasn’t given to gods, she isn’t a goddamn cattle animal like Kamdhenu, and the demons and gods respected her wishes as a supposed human being to choose either side. She chose devas, not because she was partial against the asuras, but because a) she’s the universal mother, she knows everything that goes on, including which side has bad intentions and which one will use her powers for the good, and b) she chose to be with her eternal Lover/Husband Shree Narayan, and since he was on the deva’s side (aka the good side), she was with them by default.

The fact that literal demons had more respect for her than our secular writer over here, *sigh*

The elixer was given to gods because it was to restore their powers? Like, you know, the ones that were taken away from them? Why the frick would the lord allow Demons to have elixir when he knows they don’t have any good intents? They are literally evil, and protecting against evil is like god’s whole job ffs🤦🏻‍♀️

Literally no one in Mahabharata except Shree Krishna is purely good, get that through your fucking thick skulls. That’s the entire point, you learn what you do from Ramayan and what not to do from Mahabharat. And the Hidamba Mata’s (aka the Danvi whose name you didn’t bother researching, great work 👍🏼) backstory is never discussed in detail, neither is Ghatotkach. For all you know, the pregnancy could have been hidden from him, atleast that’s what their first meeting shows. So if you plan on demonising sex, you proved no motive here.

“Ohh, Ravan never did anything wrong, bas kidnap hi to kiya tha akeli nari ka.” Is such a sad argument tbh, y’all literally see no issue with kidnapping and terrifying a women over your own sister’s lose character? What a shame. “He never touched her.” Social distancing se kidnap kiya tha kya bhenchod? He never touched her sexually you mean, not because he was a saint of a man, but because he was a verified rapist with a blue check. He had raped his own to be niece in law and was cursed by his nephew that raping another woman would lead to his death. He literally threatened to cook Devi Sita and eat her up if she didn’t submit. Another reason he didn’t touch her was because if he had touched her, It would be Jankiayan instead of Ramayan because she would fucking kill him before you all can blink.

“He humiliated her on more than one occasion” is a very sneaky way to say two occasions so that the number can be inflated, eh?

The first occasion: Calling her names so that she will submit herself to agni out of spite and emerge unharmed, which literally everyone condemned, including the loyal brother Lakshman who rebelled against his own brother (for whose wake he would pick up a sword against everyone , mind you) because he dared disrespect a woman like Maa Sita, and even Hanumanji who’s Shri Ram’s biggest, and I mean biggest devotee. Literally no one stood by Sita’s humiliation, and it was later revealed by Shri Ram that the act was staged by the him so that she can have an excuse to perform agni pravesh so that no lecherous person would dare point a finger at her in future. Even the shlokas say he did it so that no one would suspect his wife’s character. And before you say Shri Ram was “saving face”, one of his plus points as mentioned is that he doesn’t lie throughout the entire story, so think again. Y’all really think he spent the entire story worrying for her safety only to insult her in the end?

You think Seeta would have anyone humiliate her once and give them a chance for a second humiliation? Ohhh you dead wrong!

Second occasion: Shree Raghuvar sending Maa Sita to exile, which is a very infamously known interpolation denounced by many. So he only “insulted” her once and that too in a staged act. One of the shlokas he uses to coax his peers after agni pariksha is that a woman like her can never be denounced by him, and like I said, he never lies, sooo…… :P

Shree Ram decietfully killed Bali because Bali was a foe who could not be fought face to face? Do you even Know the story of Bali? Do you know he was such a bad guy he literally took his brother’s wife like she was property? Ugh, I can’t.

Guru Drona didn’t accept Eklavya not because he was “Tribal”, but because he had promised his loyalty to the Bharatvansh Clan. Had even Shree Krishna gone to him asking for training, he would have refused. Eklavya’s tribal background was never discussed in this context.

(Also sidenote to my followers but isn’t it funny how despite Eklavya having to lose his thumb Guru Drona’s boon to Arjun wasn’t fulfilled because he still couldn’t surpass Bhagwaan Ramchandra as the greatest bowman? Khaya piya kuchh nahi, paap sar chadhaya barah aana XD)

I mean, God really out to set a limit to hypocrisy now because the more I see these people the more I disagree with Modiji ki Hypocrisy ki seema hai. Agar hai bhi to ye namune kaise long jump krke laanhg rhe h unhe, oof.

[yoramkelmer]

Manorama, 1940s.

Manorama was born in Lahore in 1926 to a irish mother and a anglo indian father, as Erin Isaac Daniels.

Starting out as a child actress in the Lahore Film Industry in the late 30s, she had her breakthrough in “Khazanchi” in 1941 opposite M. Ismail and Ramola Devi. Another big success was “Khaandaan” in 1942, where she played alongside Noor Jehan and Pran.

Until partition in 1947 she was one of the most popular actresses in Punjab, and appeared in both hindi/urdu and in punjabi movies.

In 1947, she fled to India upon partition, and while she had some initial success in both hindi and punjabi movies, from around 1953 she was relegated to supporting/character roles, and from 1958 (at the age of 32) in mother roles.

She would then mostly be remembered in comedic villainous roles like in Seeta aur Geeta, and from the 70s on she would - together with fellow actors from her generation, like Veena - frequently appear in punjabi movies of the time.

Her last movie was “Water” in 2005, by Deepa Mehta.

She died alone and forgotten in 2008.