C D DIVAKARUNI

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni ;Published by Harper Collins  Publishers ; Pages 359 ; Price Rs.599/-

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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni  is an Indian-American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program.

Her short story collection, Arranged Marriage won an American Book Award  and two of her novels The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart as well as a short story The Word Love were adapted into films.  Currently, Sister of My Heart, Oleander Girl, Palace of Illusions,  and One Amazing Thing are  being  made into movies or TV serials.

Mostly based  in India and the U.S., her books are noted  for their evocation of the  experience of immigrants from South Asia.

 They do have  forceful women characters . Panchaali recounts  the tale of the Pandavas in the book “The Palace of Illusions”. Another book “Before We Visit the Goddess” revolves round   the relationship between mothers and daughters over  generations.

According to Divakaruni our Epics  deal with the quintessence of  human experience — love, hatred, fear, nobility. They throng with remarkable  characters such as Ram, Sita, Krishna and Draupadi. They are not bound by time but retain their relevance even unto this day.

To the author   “women’s experiences are at once important, valuable and complicated. Additionally, throughout history, they have been marginalised”. So she places them at the  centre of her books. She remains transformed by such tales.

In a prefatory note, Divakaruni  makes three important points.

Sita may be the incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi but, having taken a mortal body, she is human, too , with human feelings. Two. Sita’s choices and reactions stem from courage—a courage of endurance, of moving forward in spite of obstacles, of never giving in. Three. The story of Sita and Ram is one of the greatest and most tragic love stories—not just in our Indian culture but in the world.

The volume  is  not only Sita’s story but of  the other women—major and minor-- of the Ramayana, and Divakaruni is effective in the re-telling of the tale.

The Ramayana, besides being a morality tale, is a love story at its heart — a tragic one, created by misunderstandings and boundaries of faith and fidelity. While this book is primarily about Sita, the voices of the other women of the epic —  Kaikeyi and Manthara — are given their due. Somehow, all these women require redemption by  Rama, or they attain  goal through him. Divakaruni  tackles this intelligently and endows  them  unique  identity and voices.The book  also has a close study of  Soorpanakha and Mandodari.

Divakaruni’s  narrative is admirably well balanced and passes no judgement. Sita  is considered to be an  immortal  character . Abandoned at birth and found and raised by King Janak, Sita the Princess of Mithila is blessed with powers to heal. Thus, she is revered as the Goddess. The story told in her own voice charts the course of her life- her love at first sight with Ram, their subsequent marriage, her life in her new home in Ayodhya, her feelings and desire for motherhood, her anguish in captivity, and finally the sorrow that arises out of Ram’s suspicion on her character.

Gods when they descend on earth acquire a human form- a form that is characterised by human feelings and emotions of jealousy, suspicion and betrayal. Sita mirrors the women in society who often remain in the shadows of a man. She speaks of her own feelings, her love for her man, the sense of duty and most importantly her self-respect. Sita  fights, agonises and succeeds in registering  her voice .

The book raises some pertinent questions. Sita undergoes an ordeal of fire to prove her chastity before she is accepted by Ram. But as a woman seduced by love, and unwilling to question the man, she forgives it all. Yet, when the man whom she trusted, the man she loved and forgave, banishes her away when suspicion grows stronger within him again, she must take a stand to say – “No more”.

 Blending in with the story are other characters we often hear less about- Urmila the doting sister, Kaikeyi misguided yet pulled by maternal love, Mandodari and the secrets she holds within and Soorpanakha the woman who becomes the main cause of the destruction of Ravan.

Our heroine, Sita, is wedded to the conscientious, justice-loving, ‘perfect man’, Ram. She is abducted by Ravan, rescued by Ram and then promptly abandoned. She proves her innocence, becomes the queen of Ayodhya and prepares to welcome her children when she is exiled from the kingdom. She gets depressed, but recovers enough to raise her twins as worthy beings. As she tries to immerse herself in her new life, she hears Valmiki’s Ramayan – a paean for the great King Ram.

But Sita is unhappy with this one-sided narrative. She has her side of the story to tell the world – “Sitayan”.

 “Everything was about to change again,” says Sita as she begins to write verses only she can do justice to. At this commencement, the reader’s heart exults, for Divakaruni and her women characters are a formidable pair.

In Divakaruni’s retelling of the folk epic, minor women characters come to life, claiming their own lores, redesigning and rephrasing them. The author delves deep into their selves and brings out  their beauty .

The author works calmly to banish some   prejudices . We are all human, with our distortions  just like Ram and Sita and their clan. No one ought to be adored or castigated  blindly. Individual  readers can empathise and digest the volume guided by their personal  experiences that have given them form. 

 Divakaruni’s  language is limpid, pleasant and conceals her  strength. She allows free scope for development of her numerous  characters. Sita is  a fierce conservationist, dutiful but bold daughter, protective sister, loving yet wilful wife, perfect helpmate, sensual lover, courageous fighter, skilled healer, learned counselor, strong mother, kind yet firm daughter-in-law, nurturer and adventurer. She revels in her own being, is mindful of pleasure and grief, of empathy and understanding, and is brimming with dignity for herself and for everyone else. She is the original feminist.

When Ram says, “In my kingdom, every man will have a voice, no matter how humble he is,” Sita wants to ask, “What about the women?” Another time, Sita debates in her mind, “Not all women are weak and helpless like you think.” In these subtle expressions, Divakaruni  gives expression to  the acerbic  masculinity that not only bothers Sita but also harms Ram.

Agitated at the unfair treatment of a woman, Sita asks, “Why should you be made to suffer for his sin? For being a victim? It was unfair.” Divakaruni’s rendition rightly raises pertinent questions on racism, sexism, inequality, casteism, and also on post-traumatic stress disorder, animal rights and so on.

She  weaves a web of mystery  administering jolts here and there . The abduction of Sita, for example, is very well-devised and chilling; so is Ravan’s death. The sustained and controlled fervour of her storytelling keeps all glued to the book .

The Forest of Enchantments is an eminently readable tale written in a majestic style.

P.P.Ramachandran

12/05/2019.