Sita's Ramayana

This book is a visual treat. A book that finally makes the reader see a world of history through the eyes of a woman - for whom a war was waged. It is the voice of Sita and her narrative of all the events that led to her capture and freedom. But it makes you question - at levels probably we all never did. It is a must read for every child and specially every girl to understand an epic through the eyes of a woman - It is not about Rama as stories often have been told and retold. As an adult I enjoyed reading it to my child. The Patua art work is beautiful. Samhita has truly created a book that is a must have in our shelves.

Beautifully illustrated and an intelligent and insightful retelling of a story we all know only too well. Samhita Arni manages to talk about such a complex world so simply, its remarkable. Please read it and don't limit your understanding of Indian Mythology to its basest and most literal level. It's a great for kids as well

I'm a sucker for graphic novels especially mythological ones so I purchased this book but it was a very underwhelming experience. I found it to beVery childish and dreary. Have to appreciate the artwork though.

Firstly its rather overpriced ! I hoped it was a serious feminist perspective, but to doesnt really go down that path very much, raises rather superficial questions besides which its a rather run of the mill narration of the classic.Illustrations are very well done.Rather overpriced ..

Female retellings of the Ramayana always arouse expectations of subversiveness, and in that sense, this work fails to live up to the expectations. It is a rather simplistic retelling of the Ramayana from Sita's point of view, and although the writer could have explored many possible departures from the prevalent feminist ideas regarding Sita and the Ramyana, she chose to limit her scope to the usual and the familiar. What I really liked about the work are the illustrations done by Moyna Chitrakar, which provides the scope for exploring the folk within the genre of a popular literature: the graphic novel. However, the dialogic between the prevailing myth and the folkloristic adaptations could have been better explored, as except for one or two deviations, the story resembles the standard epic version. In a nutshell, nothing great.

Enjoyed graphics and story

My 11 year old son read this and thought the beginning was a bit boring but got better.

Interesting story line. Beautiful hardcover and presentation from front to back cover. Couldn't put it down when I began reading it!

Sita est sans doute la plus maltraitée des héroines du ramayana... On aurait pu s'attendre à un point de vue plus mordant, plus féministe également, il n'en n'est rien. L'histoire est simplement raconter du point de vue de Sita mais sans que ses émotions ne ressortent, tout reste très factuel, c'est bien dommage.

This graphic novel is an interesting retelling of the Hindu epic The Ramayana from the point of view of Sita, the queen of Ayodhya. The words are written by Samhita Arni, who as a child wrote an absorbing retelling of another Hindu epic: The Mahabharata: A Child's View. The colorful, dramatic, appealing pictures are by Moyna Chitrakar, a folk artist who lives in West Bengal, India.Sita is not known for being particularly active or assertive. In fact, her obedience and devotion to her husband Rama are legendary. Yet by focusing on Sita's point of view, this retelling has something to say about a woman's perspective on war and justice.The story begins at the end, with the queen Sita entering the forest and begging the forest to shelter her. The forest wants to know why she was banished from Ayodhya, and she tells her story.This retelling emphasizes Sita's compassion for other women, including those who are considered enemies by the men. She believes that Lakshmana's rash decision to cut off the demoness Surpanaka's nose is the cause of her (Sita's) abduction and the war in Lanka. "Violence breeds violence, and an unjust act only begets greater injustice," Sita says.When she is Ravana's prisoner in Lanka, Sita becomes close to one of her demoness guards: Trijatha, who, unlike the other guards, feels compassion for Sita. It is Trijatha who tells Sita the story of the war between Rama and Ravana.As much as Sita is overjoyed that Rama won the war, she still feels compassion for Mandodari, Ravana's widow, as well as for all the other "enemy" women. "They would be queens no more, and their people had met death on the battlefield-for what? For one man's unlawful desire. . . . It was such a high price to pay."The story also features a few other powerful females, including an apsara (divine female) who warns Hanuman about a sorcerer, and the goddess Chandi Devi.In the end, of course, even Sita's devotion to Rama cannot help her against the rumors that surround her because of her sojourn with Ravana. Sita finally makes a decision to leave Rama and return to her mother, the Earth.I have included this book on my online Gender Equality Bookstore.