Sita: An Illustrated Retelling Of The Ramayana (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I never really liked the Ramayana. Reasons:1. I thought it was too righteous or glorifying the righteous2. I did not like the fact that Rama abandoned Sita3. I thought it did not have shades of grey like the Mahabharata.But let me tell you, that after reading this version, this retelling of it, I am blown, I am impressed! Particularly by Rama and his wisdom. I have now learnt to appreciate Hanuman much better. In fact, this story shows not just the love of a man for his wife, it shows love of an inspired soul towards the source of inspiration.Plus the book always has Pattanaik's trait of explaining the deeply intertwined mythology. And connecting the dots of various rituals all over India and threading them with Ramayana story. In this book, we also read about the Javanese and Sri Lankan rituals/origins/heritage sites. I loved particularly the verbal exchanges between Ram and Lakshman, Ram and Sita and in many cases, Hanuman and Lankites. I was happy to know that Rama too was in despair. He was normal like the rest of us. He was freaking out, he was losing it and the only reason why he was a much better individual is the speed with which he recovered from desperate situations. The way he turned the situation into something that can grow inspiration.As opposed to the tiresome, elongated, highly wannabe prose rich version of Ashok Banker, Pattanaik is clever with his brevity.Most of all, I appreciate the fact that the book showed whats actually evil. I did feel exercising control against the will of another is evil. That is certainly demonstrated well in Pattanaik's words. Sita particularly talks a lot about free will in a way that is difficult to compare with the world right now. The end is written in a way that doesn't spell distaste for Rama in your head, as is usually the case. Today Rama is slightly unpopular among urban audience because of what might be construed as chauvinistic and selfish decisions. Pattanaik brings forth the power of Sita to turn around this perception. "He is God, he can abandon no one and I am Goddess, I cannot be abandoned by anyone" is a perfect quote and note to start and end the book. In short, Pattanaik turned me into a Ramayana fan. I would say this is the best retelling of the story in modern times!Apart from all this, I like the art too. Devdutt Pattanaik cleverly puts in wonderful unique mural like art all over the book, which makes it more interesting to read. I loved the way the publishers have dealt with the book as well, its design, its art, everything. I think Mr Pattanaik has managed to industrialise and perfect this style of re-telling our great mythologies. A different perspective on Ramyan. As a child I always felt that Mahabharat was a more complex and interesting epic. But after reading The book of Rama and this one my perspective has changed. The Ramayan sure did have it's complexities. The perfect king was not the perfect man, again a question of perspectives.Mr Pattanaik's books give us a wider perspective of our tales and a better understanding of the thoughts that went behind these epics.Thank you sir for writing these lovely books for this generation!
What do You think about Sita: An Illustrated Retelling Of The Ramayana (2013)?
the book is pretty good and I love his style of writing... but I still prefer Jaya over Sita...
—BaronVonMunchausen
It was alright, not that great. The same retelling of the story.
—Serena
Bad Bad Bad!! Don't waste your time.. No stars!!
—Emman
