#sitayan

[adventuresofbookland-blog]

Every coin has two sides and author Divakaruni takes the onus on herself to shed some light on the other(woman's) side of this famous 'coin' we grew up hearing about- Ramayana. The book is retold from Sita's point of view or as we call it- Sitayan. The book is humane and doesn't put any characters on pedestal-often how gods are. It's a story about struggles, various form of love and extents we go to for our loved ones-even if it means hurting them. For instance, Kaikeyi's filial affection for her son makes her do the worst things to him. Love is a compilcated emotion. It makes us gallant and feeble at the same time. Coming to our central character - Sita. In the original epic, we carry an image of her as this stoic person who's quiet most times. In general perception she is considered a quiet powerless and extremely patient character. Chitra B. takes us to explore this non-familiar sita who likes to joke around, is trained in self defence, knows how to balance relationships,is a competent decision maker among many other things. She's tested almost all her life and faces all the drawbacks valiantly. What's to love- Chitra's retelling that do not vilify men to redeem women. This diwali let's celebrate our sita along with our ram by enjoying this beautiful retelling of Ramayan. @divakarunichitra #diwali2020 #ramayana #sitayan #bookrecommendation #review #ram #sita #goodoverevil #lanka #ayodhya #booksofinstagram #bookblogger #epic #mythology #readersofindia #india #indiagram #indianbookstagrammer #indianbooks #indianblogger #bookishphotography #bookreader #readerscommunity #readersofig #goodreadschallenge2020 #goodreads #historicalfiction #bookclub #ramleela #ram #laxmipuja https://www.instagram.com/p/CHkPhHQA3RF/?igshid=1hmf5uumoq6ba

[comparatist]

6.4B cross-cultural literature notes on 'chandrabati's sitayan' talks about chandrabati's emotional impetus to write this sitayan. the emotional viscosity had become a stimuli to write the sitayan. it talks about how the feminist literature is being challenging to the aspects of absolutism, amplifying the voices of the marginalized, that had been shunned for ages lest they ask uncomfortable questions to the patriarchs and how much of a justice 'chandrabati's sitayan' does to it.

//the notes talk about female space, its implications and how patriarchy often through bizzare ways tried to stifle and control the vocabulary of female spaces. chandrabati efficiently foregrounds domestic relations, spaces catered by women in rural bengal, for her women-centric audience for the relatability aspect. i have not got the text yet on pdf, the professor is yet to provide that, since this is the first class.

['chandrabati's sitayan' too has problems of being a product of its time, being patriarchal].

[confessionsofanovelist]

I could see the men wouldn’t change their minds. Their belief in superiority of their own ways was deeply ingrained in them. The Forest of Enchantment by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a tale of feminism, hardship and every that has been wrong in the Indian society has portrayed since the dawn of the time. The Forest of Enchantment has been making the buzz for quite a while. As, I have always been fascinated with mythology, I was really looking forward to read it. I loved the retelling of Ramayana through viewpoint of Sita and how throughout the novel, we see her evolve. One thing that I felt after completing the book was the pain of Sita. Until the middle of the book, I felt that she often made decision with emotions, the decisions which were often foolhardy but more I found myself closer to the end, I felt that she did not deserve the heartbreak and pain that she was put through. She loved Ram and, he rather than hugging her chose to question her character. When every person knew she was pure, who was RAM to question her purity. Ram’s love and him being her soul mate brought more pain to her than happiness. @simran.lhgm Thank you for loaning me the book 😘😘 . . . . . . . . . . . #theforestofenchantments #chitrabanerjeedivakaruni #sitayan #summer2019 #readersofig  #bookstagram #iread #summerreading #indiansummer #storiesofindia #indianauthors #indianbooks #bookphotography #booksbooksbooks #indianbookblogger #indianmythology #ramayana #becauseofreading #bookaddict #bookfeature #bookgram #bookishlove #booksofig #bookwormlife #bookwormsunite #unitedbookstagram #welovebooks #igreads #epicreads #bookstagramindia (at Chandigarh, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1eZq4fjrnoVSm8HbfwgK3rwcmqDRozHTSpKhc0/?igshid=hy0o2ro5y35l

[atrashcanraccoon]

i'm haunted by this book it made me feel feelings

@chifuyuuuuuuu-simp suggested this book and i got amma to buy it (bc i'm broke) and i read the whole thing in one sitting and let me tell you- this book hit me in the right places.

now i'm gonna talk abt it and hope i don't fall into another rabbit hole of thoughts bc ffs this book MAKES SENSE.

kinda not spoiler free, emphasis on the kinda

the only spoilers are the things that happened in the ramayan (og)

fun fact: w karkidaka month (last month in the malayalam calendar) going on, my ramayan era is here and i'm thriving

so the concept of this book is fairly interesting and as someone who ADORES different interpretations of hindu myth (looking at you, meluha), this is spectacular. SITAYAN bro, it doesn't get any better than that.

sita as a character who has conflicts in her mind, who works like all of us do, who isn't made out to be an untouchable goddess is p awesome to see. she's like so fucking strong, mentally, physically and emotionally and it makes me wanna cry istfg- she's intelligent, resourceful and you can see the love and care she feels for everyone and for her husband, the most. she didn't deserve the agni pariksha or the second exile fr

there's this running theme of different types of love. it deals the way love is felt by different people, how people react when in love, what different meanings can love take on, all of this. it resonates within you.

the author makes sita an introspective character and her thought process is glorious. love makes you afraid. love makes you hurt others and/or yourself and it'll blind you as much as it makes you see things that others cannot. love is powerful and scary and it'll make you feel like you're being drowned in the deep end and then set aflame.

moving on

ram is duty bound, loves his wife, but he's selfless to a fault- he can't be selfish and he believes the same extends to sita, but while ram is still pleased if his subjects are satisfied (and he isn't), sita wants everyone to be happy and content by meeting in the middle. this is a huge point that's seen throughout the pre-second exile arc (your relationship includes you and your partner(s), please do not bring in random citizens into it- remember, communication is key)

LAKSHMAN (sorry, he's my fav) slays. he's devoted to ram and that extends to sita but their dynamics are intriguing. a protective younger brother and the older brother's wife- quite fascinating, if you ask me

urmila the real mvp, gives edwina sharma, bc sita is literally adopted and is amazing in general. supportive sisters bro i'm in love. the concept that she was in a 14 year long sleep instead of her husband is dope asf i've read it somewhere before

dasharath is a good king and a shitty husband. partiality isn't good, he does that only. four kids you have sir, you can't just give all your attention to one. three wives and he can't respect them equally pshh

kaikeyi is one character that i've been huuuugely invested in, considering her part in the whole 14 years of exile in the forest and all. she's a powerful woman, by herself and in the eyes of her husband. she's spoilt (?) and rather malleable opinion-wise- ergo manthara could formulate most of her opinion. kaikeyi was flawed and it showed, but somehow, it was alright.

hanuman is sooo unproblematic and i love him sm (both as a character and a god to be worshipped). he's literally called the perfect devotee and he's legit too good to be true vibes. he's my life and that's all that there is to it

the author stated in her a/n that she'd been heavily inspired by the adbhut ramayan than the considered og and by virtue of that, ravan and mandodari make it into the major character list

mandodari is a p important character in this book. she's a queen, through and through. she endures, she listens, she loves, she's lost and her spirit's taken so much but she's never truly broken, or atleast until the plot twist

like clint, i did NOT see that coming.

but like i said, this book makes a whole good lot of sense and PLOT TWIST, once introduced, is very easy to digest. once you've understood the whole scenario, the lanka arc gets a million times worse and you're stuck overthinking abt the why and how and what the bloody dingle bottom fuckity fuck ever

it's beautiful.

now to the main antagonist. ravan. he's so complex, makes me wanna throw him under a microscope and study his nuances. he's terrorised gods, he's humiliated and vexed them, including his half brother kuber. he's also a great devotee/follower of lord shiva, he's a scholar and one of the most intelligent people on the damn planet.

he was brought to his knees by greed.

the first time i found out abt ravan's entire story, i was shocked fr. i mean, someone this accomplished and he pulls off shit like this?? but then greed has the potential to be one's undoing and that's what happened. it's like watching a train wreck in slo-mo. gah the character is so fucking complicated and i love the way he's been written.

the whole 'ram-sita are incarnations of lord vishnu-lakshmi devi' and 'ravan and kumbhkaran being jaya and vijaya, the dwarapalakas of vaikuntha but reincarnated' is seamlessly added into the story in the forms of visions and dreams and it's amazing.

lanka arc is painful and hits you in the feels bc sita's stuck there, sad and alone and she's not given up like ma'am, hat's off.

the whole 'society's opinion is important' is all well and good and the way the author shows the effect of that in the lives of our main characters is wonderful and honestly, while reading that part, i thought i'll have more time before the dhobi makes ram rethink his decisions.

then the second exile arc arrives and everything's back to shit again.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY.

please talk to your partners, everyone.

if only ram had talked to sita, if only lakshman had succeeded in convincing his brother, if only, if only-

lav and kush are the only kids i like bc irl kids are a hard pass (i'll take toddlers and babies but 9 y/o and up? i'll giggle if they fall down)

they're the sweetest kids okay? they're precious, and even though they didn't know their dad or aunts or uncles or other family members in ayodhya, they had valmiki, they had the people in the surrounding ashrams and they grew up w their found family. it's really sweet.

then the ashwamedha yajna and subsequent drama.

ram was like "one more agni pariksha so that the people of ayodhya would be satisfied for good" and sita was like "i'm done, we're done, no more." she's done seeing women being blamed for things that aren't in their hands, she's done seeing all the struggles that women go through that could've been avoided had there been better circumstances created. she's done giving in and compromising.

she's been wronged against and she'd proved herself once before and in this situation, there are no winners.

sita in this part feels emotions viscerally and everything is INTENSE and dukh dard peedha and then she's just so angry and sad and the firewood kept around her starts to burn, the ground splits and she knows this is the last of her that anyone will see.

lav and kush were held back by their uncles bc i think somewhere, even they realised that sita needed to do what she did.

the last lines of the book slapped me and said poignant.

"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."

guide to wtv different language(s) i've used:

karkidaka month: karkidakam is the last month in the malayalam calendar during which people read the ramayan in their homes, it's going on rn i'm having fun

agni pariksha : trial by fire (like literally walk through fire to prove chastity and purity)

dwarapalakas of vaikuntha : according to hindu myth, vaikuntha is the place where lord vishnu resides and jaya and vijaya were two heavenly beings who guarded the gates (dwarapalaka is a gate-keeper) of vaikuntha- now their story is really interesting

dhobi : washerman

ashrams : group of hermitages

ashwamedha yajna : a ritual in the vedic period where a horse accompanied by a king's warriors would be released to wander for a year, if the horse is stopped, it is seen as a rebellion against the sovereignty

dukh dard peeda : dukh is sorrow, dard is pain and peedha is suffering (there is no english phrase that can give the same effect as this phrase in hindi- this is also a meme)

i didn't know i could write this much abt a book that i've read ONCE.

feel free to ask me abt shit and lmk if there's anything that's wrong? bc i really don't wanna spread wrong info sjhdjdjs

alr thankyou if you've made it till here, go read this book now <3

[amaverickpersonality]

I recently finished reading 'The forest of Enchantment' by Chitra Banerjee Devakaruni.

Since times immemorial, we have all read and heard about the great epic 'Ramayana' where the virtues of Shri Ram, as a man and king have been extolled. To be able to step out of this social and mental conditioning and write a book from the point of view of Maa Sita is really incredible. Since the book is about Sitaji hence 'Sitayan'.

In Sitaji, we come across a character with a variety of shades. An intensely lively, robust, energetic girl with also valour and courage, an important part of her.

Unlike her portrayal in 'Ramayana', where she is silent, sullen and a passive being, Sitaji has been presented as an intensely emotional woman, who can think for herself and able to distinguish between right and wrong. Despite her independence of thought and mind, she is patient and takes most of the situations in her stride. For example- her impeccable reasoning when Shri Ram is unwilling to take her to exile with him. She is able to convince him of the importance of her accompanying him with her rationale and justifications.

She is able to compete with any modern, willful and independent woman character of today with her freedom of thought and action.

The fact that she has been depicted as way ahead of the princesses of her times, she has all the attributes of an emancipated woman. But not even once, does she argue with elders/scold the youngsters/try to impress her point of view upon others loudly. All she does is reason out with patience and courtesy.

Where on the one hand she goes through again parishka, on the other she chooses death over the same humiliation the second time, leaving her dear sons under the care of her husband, whom she loves and trusts with her children but not herself.

She reacts, sulks when faced with injustice but bounces back each time with double the energy, resolution and determination.

A true picture of a modern, liberated woman. Hats off to Chitra, the author for having penned down what she did- a truly woman centric portrayal of an age old epic.

#Sitayan- celebrating womanhood

[thevioletwords]

Enduring the challenges!

One of the mythological narratives- The Forest of Enchantments is authored by Chitra Banerjee and is an engaging tale of a strong woman living in the historic times, narrating the events of the epic tale of Ramayana as and when (and how) it was affecting her life.

This kind yet strong-headed woman, Sita is the embodiment of the goddess Lakhmi herself. She delivers various lessons of love as she journeys through her life in Ramayana. She is indeed the epitome of the soul of womanhood- enduring it all for the sake of love.

This book is an engaging compilation of various episodes in the life of Sita – the abandoned baby found by king Janak, growing up in every sense the perfect nature’s child who gently acquires the art of healing humans as well as plants; to emerging into a beautiful virtuous woman with whom god Ram falls in love with, at the first sight; to becoming the queen of Ayodhya and later, a goddess- teaching us a very significant lesson about love and forgiveness- the most important aspect of love, whose other face is compassion: is like the ocean. Unfathomable. Astonishing. Measureless.

Another interesting part about this book is how beautifully the author acknowledges every woman in Sita’s life starting from Sunaina, Urmila, Kausalya, Sumitra, Mandodari, Trijata, and even Kaikayi as well as Surpanakha.

This read takes us through the various emotional events like her abduction by Ravana, her sufferings at Lanka, her confrontation to the truth about who her birth mother was in the weirdest of ways, her struggles as a queen to the greatest king in Bharata and finally her dedication of self in Agri after the third Agni-Parisksha by her beloved partner!

It is indeed the Sitayan, over and above the Ramayana.

I would sum up the entire read with my favorite line from the book -

“Instead of consoling us, my mother spoke sternly. '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. '

I knew it was mostly to me that she'd spoken. 'Endure'. A word solid as a tree trunk. A good word upon which to build a life, I thought. I would learn it, and it would help me through dark times.”

I hope this book enchants you as it did to me!

Happy reading.

[mimis-bookshelf-blog]

I am a passionate reader of feminist texts. This is my first book to read in March for #femmemarch . Mallika Sengupta is an excellent author who perfectly captures my rebellious soul. Her novel Sitayan is an amazing retelling of Ramayana from Sita's perspective. Which retelling of Ramayana do you like the most? . . . #femmemarch #bookislife #bookstagramindia #bookstagram #bookshelf #mimisbookshelf #bookish #feminism #feministideas

[santoshunitednations]

ROAD SAFETY SEMINAR ORGANISED BY AN NGO SITAYAN MUZAFFARPUR SANCTIONED BY MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS, GOVT OF INDIA

[thevintageauthor]

I set quill to leaf. In red ink I began to write - in crooked, effortful lettering because it had been so long since I’d composed anything - the Sitayan. - The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni #illgrammers #featuremeinstagood #instadaily #ifight #beyou #womenwithavision #womenpower #graceandstrength #expofilm #herfadedsquares #communityfirst #visualauthority #nothingisordinary #tangledinfilm #portrait_society #blogger #followthelight #portrait #becute #allshots #agameoftones #simpleandbeyond #moodygrams #vagrantdiaries #booksofinstagram #writersofinstagram #bookstagammer (at Pune, Maharashtra) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzxTicwhx9r/?igshid=1lfa5snys4ww4