We grew up listening to our parents and grandparents go on and on about it. We were woken up at 6 on sunday mornings so we wouldn't miss out on the wonderful show on Doordarshan. We were given all sorts of different versions of the epic. We were taken to temples weekly to pray to the idol of the god in the avataar of man. We would witness elders blessing the daughters of the family saying "May you get a husband like Rama!"
Yes, I am talking about Ramayana.
The Ramayana that ended with Rama rescuing Sita from the clutches of Ravana and them returning to Ayodhya, with Rama being crowned king. Happily ever after!
Content with the happy ending, we never bothered much to find out what happened after, did we? How ignorant were we. The story that made our beliefs what they are today is dismembered and was told to us in parts.
There was more to the happily ever after, which is a pregnant Sita being abandoned by her husband to live out in the woods. Why? Because being a righteous man was more important than being a good husband for the Mahapurush! And his righteousness lay in doubting the integrity and chasteness of a woman who left all her royal comforts for 14 years of celibacy and a life of exile!
Yes, I am talking about Ramayana.
The Ramayana that ended with Rama rescuing Sita from the clutches of Ravana and them returning to Ayodhya, with Rama being crowned king. Happily ever after!
Content with the happy ending, we never bothered much to find out what happened after, did we? How ignorant were we. The story that made our beliefs what they are today is dismembered and was told to us in parts.
There was more to the happily ever after, which is a pregnant Sita being abandoned by her husband to live out in the woods. Why? Because being a righteous man was more important than being a good husband for the Mahapurush! And his righteousness lay in doubting the integrity and chasteness of a woman who left all her royal comforts for 14 years of celibacy and a life of exile!
What he should have done is not giving a rat's ass to what other people say and show some faith in his wife. Yes, that would have been good!
Sita deserved every ounce of respect as an individual, as a fellow human being. Instead she was subject to a humiliating agnipariksha, out of which she emerged triumphant. Wasn't this proof enough of her chasteness? Sita, despite all her endurance and strength, remains a woman who must bear her fate with fortitude—an unchanging archetype. Her values of unyielding loyalty, steadfast devotion and unconditional love despite hardships hurled at her by a patriarchal system are seen as ideal attributes for the Indian woman.
She was forsaken by her husband because some common man commented on her integrity. Being in the position that he was, Rama could have shut them up in no time. Instead he chose to desert his wife. If a husband cannot stand up to his wife, I'm sorry but he can't be portryaed as the ideal husband.
She was forsaken by her husband because some common man commented on her integrity. Being in the position that he was, Rama could have shut them up in no time. Instead he chose to desert his wife. If a husband cannot stand up to his wife, I'm sorry but he can't be portryaed as the ideal husband.
I think blessing someone with a husband like Rama has become passe now, and that the girls would rather you blessed them with someone more relatable in the present, someone who'd not just make tall claims of love, but be a good husband and father!
