Reading Notes: Tiny Tales for Ramayana Part D

 Lava and Kusha meeting Rama (Source: Wikimedia Commons) 

 

When I am reading, I always try to picture someone or something as a character. For example, I imagined Ravana’s brother Kumbhakarna as Snorlax because of his sleeping curse. I portrayed Sita as the actress Deepika Padukone or Kajol in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. I feel like Sita, and Kajol’s character have the kind of the same personality. I know they are not present that much in the Ramayana, but I pictured the couple Shiva and Parvati as Hrithik Roshan and P Aishwarya Rai. I love illustrating them in the setting of Jodhaa Akbar, a historic movie released in 2008. I don’t know why but I can’t picture Rama; he is just someone in my mind but not someone famous or something like that.

The attitude of Rama toward Sita really bothered me: he abandoned his wife just because of gossips and cared more about his reputation in the eyes of other people. Sita was here through ups and downs, but she is the bad guy. She was forcibly taken away and did not consent to this. Besides, she was pregnant, and Rama abandoned her knowing it. Even though she was with Valmiki, this did not prevent the fact that she was alone during her pregnancy, and Rama was not there to assume his role as a father. It is difficult to believe that Rama really loved Sita. Until the end of her life, Sita was loyal and loving to Rama. I find her death unfair and unjustifiable. 

 

Bibliography: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs