Seetayana - The Untold Journey

Inspired by and dedicated to …

Netra: “Why did Seeta not fight with Ravana and escape from Lanka?”

Neeraj: “Why do we not have a Sitayana but have a Ramayana. After all, Ravana took away Seeta!(and not Rama!)”

Nandu: Why did Kunti have to abandon Karna. There are lots of Ammas who bring up their children on their own when Appas are not at home or travelling. (Though this is not directly related to Ramayana, the realization that Seeta was a single mother was inspired from here)

And others who have similar questions…

Acknowledgments

I was narrating the Ramayana to my 3-year-old daughter. She listened intently and asked “Why did Seeta not fight with Ravana and escape from Lanka?” This set me thinking… “Yes!! Why didn't she?” This prompted more questions – what was Seeta’s role in the Ramayana? How would it be if we were to hear Seeta talk about her life? Did she really go back to the earth like it is said in the story? Or was there a different interpretation? I have been brought up on Ramayana and Mahabharatha like a lot of my contemperories and have found it to be of invaluable use in my life. To answer the questions of my three year old, I re-read Rajaji’s Ramayana and Ashok Banker’s Ramayana Series. Rajaji’s Ramayana is a book, unparalleled in its simplicity and readability. Ashok Banker’s Sita is a warrior princess who fights along with her husband and who is his equal. I also read the translation of Valmiki’s Ramayana edited and published by Manmatha Nath Dutt. In this translation, Seeta has her voice, but it is still Rama’s story.  Sita’s Ramayana by Samhita Arni views Ramayana from Seeta’ perspective. It is an invaluable book. It answered the questions around, how Seeta must have experienced her life in the Ashok Vatika. The story starts with the Vanvas and finishes with the Uttar Ramayana. I have attempted to look at Seeta’s life from her Birth till her sons go back to their father. There would be overlaps and points of departures from the other Ramayanas. I thank all the people who have written the story of Rama and Seeta for their contribution to this story that I have attempted. As Freud said “I stood on the shoulders of giants to look farther ahead”. I am immensely grateful to these giants for allowing me to stand on their shoulders and look farther ahead. Writing this book has helped me achieve a closure on the question that has bothered me since I was a child “Is Seeta better or Draupadi?” I now realize that both had their parts to play and their choices created their lives.

Thank you Appa and Amma for starting me on this journey by catering to my ever increasing demands for stories. Special thanks are due to Ranga Mama and Kitta mama, my two uncles who have been my role model for using the lessons from the mythological stories in real life.

My husband read the first chapter and felt that I should write it rather than just talk about it. If not for his encouragement (in the form of swift kicks when I deserved it) this would not have seen the light of the day.

My cousins and friends who have given me different perspectives through our heated discussions are the reasons for this story becoming a reality in this blog. Some of them also kindly agreed to review my story and offered their feedback to make this story better.

A close friend of mine inspires the ending of the story. When I started the story, Seeta was going to be angry and bitter with Rama till the end. However, my friend’s story changed all that. She came out of an abusive relationship and found it in her to forgive the other person, at the same time, being compassionate towards herself and striking her own path in life. You know who you are!!! You are truly my inspiration for this story turning out to be so positive. Thank you!!!

Lastly and most importantly, this book is for you, Netra Kutti. Without you I would have never questioned the stories so much. You are the light in my life and I wish you fun in sculpting your life.

Preface

Aadho Rama tapovanadi gamanam hatva mrigam kaanchanam

Vaidehi haranam, Jatayu Maranam, Sugriva Sambhashanam,

Vali nigrahanam, Samudra taranam, Lankapuri daahanam,

Pashchaad Ravana Kumbhakarna madanam, Etad Shri Ramayanam.

Most of us have heard the Ramayana as children. There are, of course numerous versions of it, both published and unpublished - as told by our grandparents and parents. On the face of it, Ramayana is a simple story of good people. However, as you read and reread, more questions pop up.

On December 2012, a girl was raped brutally and left to die. A year later nothing much has changed. Everyday there are numerous women and horror of horrors children, who are raped, mutilated, abused, taken for granted and left to fend for themselves. That in itself is horrendous. But what got under my skin was that all this is done in the name of Seeta!!! “The girl deserved it”. “Who asked her to be out at that time in the night?”. “She must have done something to invite rape”. “Even Seeta was not safe”. Is that what we are doing to Seeta, using her name as a sanction? Is that what Seeta means to us? Do we even know what she is trying to tell us? To a lot of people Uttarakanda of the Ramayana is the story of Luv and Kush and the subsequent reunion with their father. However, to me, that is the story of Seeta, the independent woman who took care of her children without her husband. A single mother who refused to bow to the unrealistic wishes of the society. What is the meaning of “She went back to the earth?” Did the earth really explode and take her in? Is Ramrajya only for others and not for the wife? Was there another contributor to the Ramrajya – an Earthy woman who made the earth lush, green and habitable?

I am glad to be born in a country where, the story such as the Ramayana is open to interpretations and much writing. I am happy to be in a place where I have the freedom to make meaning of the story in my own individual way.

To the purists, if this version, is blasphemy, apologies!!! To the others, welcome to my world, the world of Seeta as I see it!!! The story of a woman, who grows, becomes independent and asserts her rights as a human being.