Author: Samhita Arni
Illustrator: Moyna Chitrakar
Sita’s Ramayana is not the first rendition of the Ramayana as seen from Sita’s perspective, but it is the most visually stunning. A collaboration between a young writer, Samhita Arni, and a Patua scroll artist from West Bengal, Moyna Chitrakar, the graphic novel has topped international bestseller lists for the past few weeks. The hype is certainly worth it for the stunning folk paintings that add depth and realism to the characters. However, the feminist retelling feels overbearing at parts as Sita sympathetically tells the story from a woman’s point of view. The novel opens with Sita pleading with the forest for shelter as she has been banished by the ‘world of men’. Her abduction is also instigated by a man’s violence: Lakshmana cutting off the demoness Supkarna’s nose. The heroic saga is transformed with the pain Sita goes through when Rama doubts her purity after she has waited for him on Lanka. This is a must-buy for plea it makes for hidden female voicesand the stunning visuals that accompany it. – Megha Patodi
Volume 1 Issue 6
