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A review by shorshewitch
The Liberation of Sita by Volga
5.0
The Liberation of Sita by Volga (Popuri Lalitha Kumari) Translated from the Telugu by T Vijay Kumar and C. Vijaysree (5/5)
Some lost characters. Some untold stories. Amalgamated to show things to us that probably no one ever thought.
What happened to Surpanakha after Rama ripped her nose and eyes off for being in love for him? What happened to Ahalya when she slept with a stranger disguised as her husband, for which her husband cursed her for life? What happened to Renuka when her own son tried to behead her on the command of his father, because she just glanced fleetingly at a Gandharv? What happened to Urmila when her newly wedded life turned to shatters when her husband decided to leave her, to accompany his brother for Vanvaas of 14yrs?
"The Liberation of Sita" is a set of short stories, that answer all the above questions with wisdom and grace. The chapters are named,
> The Reunion
> Music of the Earth
> The Sand Pot
> The Liberated
> The Shackled
Each chapter tells us about one woman and her quest, and how through the wisdom attained through these quests she enlightens Sita in her own way, to liberate her from the shackles of her domesticity. Sita, a warrior herself, was abandoned by her husband, despite his love for her, because he had to stay true to the dharma, the politics of the Rajya, the kingdom. Some people in the past discussions raised a point that it was "mutual understanding" between the two. Could be. We don't know how it all turned out. But even if it was mutual, wasn't it Sita whose identity smashed to smithereens? Wasn't the distrust for her, the cause of trial by fire and the later abandonment? Dharma has always been a man's weapon, no matter how inconvenient, to justify everything.
I love the balance that Volga has maintained throughout the book. Not once is anyone blamed to take the blame off women's shoulders. Not once did she allow the women to play victims. Yes, it arouses deep empathy within us, but it doesn't make us pity any of them. Instead, Volga has shown how the women found their own liberation and identities through the events of their lives. The last chapter The Shackled is dedicated to Rama. About how entangled he remained in the politics, about how his own actions caused him so much anguish, about whether he will ever attain liberation! The entire book nurtures the essence of feminism and its values.
I strongly believe books like these need to be written. To tell us the untold stories. To help us understand various perspectives. This isn't exactly a retelling of the same character's story or the same epic. This is bringing about the little nuances in the epics, that we missed looking into because of the very nature and grandeur of the epics. While they told us only the main stories, such lost stories also deserve a good ear.
My favorite story out of all of them was the story of Surpanakha. How a woman who was treated with violence without provocation, was rendered ugly, managed to overcome her own definitions of physical beauty and pour all her love in the beauty of the nature around her! Oh what wisdom it is to become one with nature and love everything once again from the beginning!
Some lost characters. Some untold stories. Amalgamated to show things to us that probably no one ever thought.
What happened to Surpanakha after Rama ripped her nose and eyes off for being in love for him? What happened to Ahalya when she slept with a stranger disguised as her husband, for which her husband cursed her for life? What happened to Renuka when her own son tried to behead her on the command of his father, because she just glanced fleetingly at a Gandharv? What happened to Urmila when her newly wedded life turned to shatters when her husband decided to leave her, to accompany his brother for Vanvaas of 14yrs?
"The Liberation of Sita" is a set of short stories, that answer all the above questions with wisdom and grace. The chapters are named,
> The Reunion
> Music of the Earth
> The Sand Pot
> The Liberated
> The Shackled
Each chapter tells us about one woman and her quest, and how through the wisdom attained through these quests she enlightens Sita in her own way, to liberate her from the shackles of her domesticity. Sita, a warrior herself, was abandoned by her husband, despite his love for her, because he had to stay true to the dharma, the politics of the Rajya, the kingdom. Some people in the past discussions raised a point that it was "mutual understanding" between the two. Could be. We don't know how it all turned out. But even if it was mutual, wasn't it Sita whose identity smashed to smithereens? Wasn't the distrust for her, the cause of trial by fire and the later abandonment? Dharma has always been a man's weapon, no matter how inconvenient, to justify everything.
I love the balance that Volga has maintained throughout the book. Not once is anyone blamed to take the blame off women's shoulders. Not once did she allow the women to play victims. Yes, it arouses deep empathy within us, but it doesn't make us pity any of them. Instead, Volga has shown how the women found their own liberation and identities through the events of their lives. The last chapter The Shackled is dedicated to Rama. About how entangled he remained in the politics, about how his own actions caused him so much anguish, about whether he will ever attain liberation! The entire book nurtures the essence of feminism and its values.
I strongly believe books like these need to be written. To tell us the untold stories. To help us understand various perspectives. This isn't exactly a retelling of the same character's story or the same epic. This is bringing about the little nuances in the epics, that we missed looking into because of the very nature and grandeur of the epics. While they told us only the main stories, such lost stories also deserve a good ear.
My favorite story out of all of them was the story of Surpanakha. How a woman who was treated with violence without provocation, was rendered ugly, managed to overcome her own definitions of physical beauty and pour all her love in the beauty of the nature around her! Oh what wisdom it is to become one with nature and love everything once again from the beginning!