Week 7 Storytelling: Sita in the Assembly

As Janaka walks away.. I am finally alone in the room with Rama. Oh Rama my dearly beloved.. Should I be angry with him for abandoning me while I was pregnant with his two twins? But somehow I cannot stay mad at him. Look at that handsome face... I love him.

However, the fact that he abandoned me was so heartless. How could he do this to me! Even after that fire test, he still couldn't trust me? What a coward for believing those rumors! He cared more about his reputation than loving me, but I am in love him.. oh why must I love Rama? I'll just pretend to smile so that no one sees the pain I am hiding. I will just smile.

I looked at Sumantra, Trijata, Rakshashi, and Lakshama and smiled. Then I see Hanuman all dressed in his finest clothes wearing the pearl necklace I gave him. Oh Hanuman! I couldn't help but smile so brightly. He looked at me and smiled back. His hair was brushed backed like a halo. That monkey sure knows how to make a good impression!

Finally, I looked up and there he was sitting on his throne... my love Rama. He looked at me and just stared blankly. In my mind, I was imagining Rama jumping off his throne and running towards me and then we would embrace each other ever so tightly but he didn't. He just sat there. What should I do to get his attention? Is Rama still skeptical about me living with Ravana?! It wasn't even my fault that I was kidnapped but he would never understand this! I must do something to prove my innocence once more.

Rama! Let me prove my innocence here in front of everyone! I cried. He looked at me and said "I give you permission."

In my mind.. I know that this isn't right. I have tested myself before but Rama still won't believe me. I love him so much so I have to prove my innocence. I wanted nothing more than to be with my love till the day I die, so I will call out to the Mother Earth.

"Mother Earth, if I have not been faithful to Rama, take me home and hide me!" I screamed. Then I started to hear the floor rumble and the ground was shaking vigorously like an earthquake.. She is here! Mother Earth is here!

The Beautiful Sita: Sita calling out for Mother Earth

Author's Note: I decided to make my story in Sita's perspective after her abandonment. I thought the topic of Sita in the Assembly would fit perfectly into the theme of my story. I want to focus the topic of Sita's painful feelings after Rama left her alone to raise their children. However, Sita still loves Rama and would always try to prove herself that she is innocent to win Rama back. I thought about changing the story into how much Sita hates Rama for leaving her but it wasn't really Sita. She was always loyal to Rama and is madly in love with him. So as sad as it is.. I made the story into how Sita would do anything for him to prove her innocence. She tried so hard to hide her painful feelings of the abandonment by smiling in front of everyone. She wanted to please Rama, knowing how much he cared for his reputation, she was willing to do another test just so that they could finally be together. That is all Sita ever wanted was to be together with Rama but somehow rumors and doubts had got in the way of their love. In the end, Sita does not blame Rama for leaving her although she should. Sita never once was mad at Rama.. only hurt by the fact that he would leave her.

Bibliography: William Buck Ramayana 1976

Week 7 Reading Diary B: The End of Ramayana

p. 374-432

Oh wow.. in my opinion I did not like how the book ended. I mean how could Rama abandoned Sita?! After all he went through fighting for her? He goes off and left her while she was pregnant with his two sons? Just because people are gossiping about Sita living with Ravana? It wasn't even her fault that she was kidnapped and took forever for Rama to save her. If anyone should be blamed it should be Rama! Although Sumantra believed that the result of Sita's banishment was a curse, it was still very wrong for Rama to abandoned his wife especially when she was pregnant. I thought Rama was depicted to be a hero? A self-respected man and one who truly loves Sita? I mean isn't that the reason he was fighting to get her back? Or was he more worried of how people will look at him? It seems to me Rama cared more about being king and how people value him then his love for Sita. I really can't believe Sita's abandonment is part of this book... Rama is supposed to be seen as a hero but willing to leave his wife just because of some gossip? I do not value the character of Rama and I don't think I ever had in this entire book. He was seen as a hero but the real hero of the story should be Hanuman. Ugh... this really frustrates me.. Poor Sita poor Sita.

I thought the part of Hanuman showing his loyalty to Rama was intense. I mean he had Rama's name written in his bones and thought the bracelet wasn't valued enough.. I really admire Hanuman's loyalty. Hanuman is one of the greatest characters in Indian Epics in my opinion. Throughout the whole book of Ramayana, he had done nothing wrong besides being on Rama's side every step of the way and even until the end. I thought it was a little cheap that Rama would give Hanuman the ring that he was suppose to give Sita. After Hanuman ripped his flesh with Rama's name engraved in his bones, he goes off and gives him the ring that was meant for Sita? And oh yeah that he abandoned! I have very strong feelings reading the end of this book. It is clear that I do not like Rama's character even though he is the protagonist of the whole story.

The Mother Sita: Sita

Week 7 Reading Diary A: Rama defeats Ravana

p. 325-373

This section of the book is the final battle between Rama and Ravana. Rama finally slays Ravana and now Lanka is in the hands of Vibhishana! Hanuman and Sugriva had finally battled the demons and won and Rama sends Hanuman give a message to Sita. Finally Rama and Sita are able to unite. How exciting is that?!

I thought it was kind of sad when Ravana died and Mandodari cried because she loved her husband so much. Despite of all the bad deeds Ravana had done and was willing to fight Rama till death for Sita... Mandodari still cared for him. I noticed in Indian Epics women aren't recognized for the sacrifices they made. Most of the women in the book of Ramayana showed pain and sadness in these women. They are either depicted as sad and weak or manipulative like Kaikeyi. Now Agni the fire god is about to prepare the fire test to show Sita's purity in which she had to prove her innocence to Rama.

Rama's coronation was significant in the book. It symbolized his journey and bravery in the Ramayana. I thought it was pretty intense when Rama had to rush home so that Bharata wouldn't kill himself... I mean is it really necessary to kill yourself if Rama doesn't come back in time? That just puts more pressure on Rama and what if it took him longer to defeat Ravana and he couldn't make it at the designated time, then Aroydha wouldn't have a king? Honestly, I thought that was a stupid move of Bharata pressuring Rama to come back or he will commit suicide.

I thought the Pushpaka was interesting and symbolized the arrival of Rama's victory. Everything seems to be coming together after Ravana's death. Sita is preparing for the fire test and Rama is about to be coronated. The end is near!

Sita preparing for fire test: Sita

Week 6 Storytelling: Hanuman the Cat

"Lanka is so beautiful! Look at the white sand and freshly green hills. This place is absolutely gorgeous and the flowers near the bright blue rivers are breathtaking! I cannot believe that Ravana lives here but I must destroy it all! Ravana had abducted my best friend's wife and now Rama is devastated over Sita's disappearance. Ravana had ruin our lives and now I must cause trouble in his kingdom, but how would I do it without being notice? I need to find a way to reach Sita first! I have to tell her that Rama is looking for her and to not lose faith in him! I need to meet her so she can tell me what to do."

"Hmm.. I know I will disguise myself as a cat! If they see me, a cat roams free at night, and may explore wherever he is curious to go. I will begin to shape-shift myself into long-haired cat!"

*transforming into a cat*
Hanuman now realizes that he has turned into a cat.

"Oh wow, look at me! Look at my tail and my fur is so long! Oh and the vision! I can see better in the dark, this is amazing! Now, no time to waste admiring my beautiful self, I must go find Sita!"

Hanuman runs as fast as he can to enter Lanka but he was eventually stopped. Hanuman started to think about what it will be like if Rama and Sita found each other. The two would be so happy and all Hanuman wanted was for Rama to be happy.

"In my head I kept thinking about Rama and Sita.. oh how happy will they be when they find each other. I am running as fast as I can.. oh wait what is that in front of me? A woman?"

"You cannot enter me you little cat!" said the dark-haired woman. "I am Lanka and ruled by the hands of Ravana!" said Lanka. She kicked Hanuman. Hanuman was furious, this woman was not going to let him enter.

I cannot believe this woman just kicked me! I have to find Sita so I'm going to punch her!

Finally I have entered into Lanka, now where is Sita? I see Pushpaka and his fly chariot but where oh where is Sita?! I know.. maybe she is in Ravana's bedroom!

As Hanuman rushes into Ravana's bedroom, he was hoping to find Sita in there but instead she was nowhere to be found. He looked at Ravana's miserable wives...

"Oh these poor women.." he said. "But where is Sita?! Where is Sita?!"

Rama and Hanuman's friendship: Best Buddies

Author's Note: I decided to make a story of Hanuman's experience as a cat. I did put a lot of dialogue and narrated a few sentences just to show Hanuman's thoughts. I thought Hanuman becoming a cat was significant in the book because he was clever enough to transform himself to get into Lanka. Hanuman knew that he would never be able to get into Ravana's lair if he remained his personal imagine so he thought a cat was a good disguise. In the book, Hanuman said a cat was able to roam free at night and can quickly move around. I decided to add some descriptions of him being a cat and how he was able to get pass Lanka. In addition to his experience, I added how important it was for him to find Sita. His mission was to find her and let her know that Rama is here to save her. Throughout the story I indicated the importance of finding Sita as well as him picturing what it wouls be like if Rama and Sita had found each other. I stated his thoughts in the beginning of the story how Rama was his best friend and the importance of their friendship. Throughout the story Hanuman was concentrated in finding Sita, he was loyal to Rama and knew what his mission was. For my picture, I noticed there were a lot of cat pictures of Hanuman and even though my story was about Hanuman as a cat I wanted to add a different picture. I found one of Rama and Hanuman and thought it was a good painting of their friendship so I chose that one instead.

Bibliography: William Buck, Ramayana 1976

Week 6 Reading Diary B: More of Buck's Ramayana

p. 270-324

Here comes Rama to the rescue! Finally after Hanuman's message and report back about Sita. Rama is angry and enraged. He wants to fight Ravana himself and bring back his love. This is another exciting and intense part of the book but now it is all about Rama. Throughout his journey to get Sita, Rama encounters a lot of problems because well Ravana is trying to stop him. So Ravana would ask help from his brothers and son to help defeat Rama and his army. Of course, all of them failed and Rama was able to win all the battles. Even Ravana's magicians and giant couldn't stop Rama.

The part of where Rama die was really intense, I mean how could he die?! He's the main character but Hanuman was able to save him and the others with medicine from the Medicine Hill. I mean.. how important is Hanuman's character? Without him everyone will still be dead and Rama would never be able to slay Ravana and get Sita back! Another important character was Ravava's good brother Vibhishana. He refused to help Ravana and tried to convince him to let Sita go but Ravana wouldn't listen and instead used his son and lost Indrajit. Poor Indrajit... I thought he was a good son for wanting to help his father fight. Although he tried to get rid of Rama and his army, he wanted to help his father. But it sure didn't stop Ravana from backing down the fight, instead he is even more angry and wants to fight Rama himself. Why doesn't Ravana just let Sita go?! He already lost his son.. but Ravana is so full of pride he cannot lose. It is pretty sad that Ravana cried when Indrajit died.. kind of revealed that Ravana has somewhat a heart? He did care for his son enough to cry about it and now he feels revengeful.

I think this is probably the most intense part of Ramayana. Rama is such a hero being able to slaughter all these demons and gods in order to get his love back, but without his friends he would have never succeed. I think that is one of the most important significance is "teamwork" without a team you can't do anything a lone. Without Hanuman and the others, Rama would never be able to slay Ravana's allies.

Killing of Indrajit: Rama slays Indrajit

Week 6 Reading Diary A: More of Buck's Ramayana

p. 219-270

This is probably one of the most interesting part of Buck's Ramayana because it focuses on the character of Hanuman. Rama had sent Hanuman to search for Sita and he had quite a few adventures while searching for Sita. First, Hanuman gets swallowed by the sea demon and what was interesting was that Hanuman was able to shape-shift into different animals. He turned himself into a cat so that he can free himself from the sea demon. The story goes on with Lanka transforming into Hanuman's character and him being able to find Sita towards the end and sends a message. Hanuman then goes and cause some problems in Ravana's household.

I thought this section of Ramayana was a spotlight for Hanuman's character. Not only did Hanuman showed his loyal friendship to Rama by helping him find Sita but he went through a lot of trouble in order to find Sita. However, the adventures Hanuman faced were interesting, he was a clever monkey, knowing that Ravana was angry for what he did in Lanka, he was able to break himself free when Ravana wanted to set his tail on fire. I also thought it was really sad when Sita cried when she saw Hanuman, she didn't think he was real because in a way she kind of lost hope Rama might be able to save her? Until she spot Hanuman, it gave her some hope back and she left Hanuman her pearl to let Rama know her whereabouts. I wished Hanuman could have figured out some way to save Sita instead of sending a message. Maybe like the two of them figure out a way to escape from Ravana's lair or like a smart plan to trick Ravana, but since the Ramayana focused on Rama. I could see the story was saved for the character of Rama and how "he" will be the one to save Sita. That was the main point of the story was Rama saving Sita.

Hanuman also tells Rama that Sita remains faithful to him and that added more suspense to the story because now Rama is more determined than ever to rescue Sita. I really liked this part of Ramayana just because it highlighted the heroic deeds of Hanuman and the book revealed what a great character he was.

Sita wants Hanuman to send a message: Hanuman

Comment Wall

Leave Comments Here!!!

Week 5 Storytelling: Bharata Returns

The night was dark and the moon was bright as ever. Bharata was asleep at his grandfather's house peacefully until...

"Ahh!" Bharata screamed and woke up from his dream panting and sweating.
"What's wrong, my grandson?" said Bharata's grandfather Ashwapati.
"Oh grandfather, I had a terrible dream that someone died and I can't see who it was," said Bharata.

Ashwapati tried to comfort Bharata by telling him it was just a dream and that everything would be okay. However, Bharata could not sleep. His face was pale and damp with sweat. The nightmare was horrible. How could he go back to sleep? Suddenly, Shatrughna opened the door and his eyes looked beyond frightened.

"My dear brother! Someone has died but I do not know who! We must head back to Ayodhya now," said Shatrughna.

Obediently, Bharata packed all his belongings and so did Shatrughna and as they bid their grandfather goodbye, they were in a hurry to find out what had happened in Ayodhya. As they saw the city approaching, the brothers stepped off their horses and looked at the grand palace. Kaikeyi was sitting by the window and ran to her sons.

"Bharata! Dasaratha is dead and Rama is in exile," said Kaikeyi. She explained everything to her son and how she used her two wishes to make Bharata king. Rama had been banished for no crime he had done. Bharata was outraged by his mother's actions. "How could she be so manipulative?" he thought. "She wanted me to be king that bad she was willing to get rid of Rama and cause the king's death?!" he thought once more. "Okay, maybe she did not cause the king's death on purpose but Rama's exile and my father dead?! Her wishes have caused this to happen!" Bharata thought to himself. He knew that Rama was not her son and all she wanted were good things for Bharata, but how could she send Rama in exile? He had done nothing to her.

Bharata had always thought of his mother as a kind and gentle woman. He had praised her and admired her caring ways but this situation was different. Bharata had changed the way he looked at her. "This was exactly like my dream. My mother had used her two wishes and sent Rama into exile! I heard my father scream!" Bharata recalled from his nightmare.

However, Kaikeyi was still his mother and deep down Bharata really cared about her. His mother had always been there for him since he was a young boy. His father Dasaratha had too many wives and occupied his time with women and his throne. Bharata and Dasaratha did not have a connection like how he was with his mother.



Bharata watched his mother as she explained all the horrible deeds just so she could make him king. Bharata thought, "I cannot believe how evil she is! But did she do this all for me? All she wanted was for me to become king and have good fortune, but why did she have to do it in such an evil way?" he said. His mother was a kind woman and very caring to Shatrughna and Bharata. So what had gotten into her? He could never look at his mother the same way again. She had done him wrong and was not apologetic. She did not even acknowledge her responsibility for the king's death or regret what she had done. Maybe his father had done something wrong in the past and it resulted in karma. This was his father's punishment. Kaikeyi will soon get her karma too. She was selfish and wanted Bharata to become king instead of Rama. His mother would get her punishment. Now Vasishtha, the God of Brahma wanted Bharata to be king until Rama returned... He agreed but only for the sake of Rama and not his mother's wish. Bharata's dream came true... his father was dead and Rama's exile had caused everyone grief and chaos. He was disappointed in his mother's actions but it was too late to change back time. Now Bharata had to step up to the plate and become king until Rama comes back.

Rama and Bharata: (WikiSource) Bharata

Author's Note:
I decided to make a story about Bharata's return from his grandfather's house. I wanted to make the story in his own perspective by showing how outraged he was by his mother's actions. He could not believe his mother would be the reason for his father's death even though she would not admit to it. She basically tore the family apart and sent his stepbrother Rama to exile. Her selfish motives were to make her own son king. All she wanted was happiness for Bharata but she did not think of the results. Kaikeyi even explained her motives to Bharata but he could not accept the truth. I wanted to emphasize how in disbelief Bharata was because he always thought of his mother as a kind woman. He did not know she was so manipulative and sneaky just to make everything right for her. Most importantly, I added the fact that Bharata did not really want to be king and that the people of Ayodhya knew the crown was rightfully Rama's. However, due to Rama being in exile, Bharata had to step up and be king until his brother returned. I added the detail of how Bharata agreed to become king not because he wanted to but because Vasishtha, the priest told him to. Bharata had to think for the good of his people. I also wanted to emphasize the disappointment he had for his mother. He is uncertain of forgiving her even though Kaikeyi is his mother. Bharata respected Rama and so I focused on how Bharata agreed to become king until Rama returned towards the end of the story.

Bibliography: William Buck's Ramayana 1976

Week 5 Reading Diary B: Continuation of Buck's Ramayana

p. 162-218

This is probably the most exciting part of the book and such a cliff hanger after reading the last section of Hanuman. The chapter began with Maricha disguising as a deer to help Ravana capture Sita. I felt like Maricha was being manipulated by Ravana because his intentions were to leave Rama and Sita alone but Ravana would not listen. So then Ravana ends up capturing Sita by disguising as an old man. I thought it was really intriguing when Buck described the reason why Ravana didn't rape Sita. He was known to be a rapist and Buck added significant details of the reason why Ravana couldn't rape women anymore, it was because he was cursed and if he were to rape, one of his heads will fall off. So Ravana had to kidnap her instead.

Another interesting part of the book is the introduction of Hanuman and his birth. Hanuman was the son of Anjana but she abandoned her baby. I thought it was so adorable that Hanuman saw the sun thinking it was a mango and wanted to eat it. Does he only eats mangoes?

The death of Vali was a dramatic scene, when Rama stroke his arrow at Vali, his poor wife Tara couldn't bear watching her husband die and killed herself. I felt like in the book Ramayana, a lot of these women really love their husbands. Kausayla and now Tara, watching their husband die was really dramatic and painful for them. I feel bad for these women and especially Sita which I said several times throughout my reading diaries.

So then the story goes on finding Sita and trying to rescue her. Rama gives Hanuman a ring as a token to give to Sita when he finds her. I thought that part was really significant because the ring symbolizes the bond between Rama and Sita. The ring will let Sita know that Rama is safe and here to find her.

Rama gives Hanuman the ring: Hanuman accepts ring

Week 5 Reading Diary A : Continuation of Buck's Ramayana

p. 110- 161

The chapter starts off with Bharata returns and found out what his mother Kaikeyi had done in order for him to be the successor. Kausayla found out that King Dasaratha is dead and the news began to spread. Rama refuses to go back to Ayodha until his exile is over and Bharata agreed to rule until Rama's exile is done.

The story goes on with Rama's journey and how Shurpanakha (Ravana's sister) wants to marry Rama but he rejected her. I find it pretty disturbing that Laskashama had to mutilate her because she tried to attack Sita. I guess karma happens to those who are jealous. So after her being mutilated, she runs off and tell Lanka who then grabbed the demon army to attack Rama and Laskashama, which they ended up defeating. It's kind of strange that Shurpanakha told Ravana that Sita was the most beautiful woman and that is what urged Ravana to abduct her. I am not a big fan of Shurpanakha in this part of the book. She is kind of a snitch for telling Ravana what happened and is full of jealousy because she couldn't get Rama's attention. I could see why Ravana and Shurpanakha are siblings, they both want something they can't have and use force to obtain it. Poor Sita, she has done nothing so far in the story and gets attacked and abducted by people.

Shurpanakha trying to attack Sita: Shurpanakha

Week 4 Storytelling: The Death of Dasaratha

As I lay next to my beautiful wife Kausayla, I closed my eyes and slept for a short period of time. Then I woke up and remembered....

Kausayla gripped my hands, "My dear Kausayla, are you awake?"

In my sleep, I could barely hear my sweet Kausayla's words. Far in the distance, I hear a voice of a young boy. The boy cried out for me. He looked at me, "Why did you dagger me with your arrow?!" I couldn't bare to look at his face. I woke up and saw my Kaysayla holding my hands with tears in her eyes.

In my last mission, I helped Kaikeyi to convince the people that Bharata should be king. I originally wanted Rama to be the successor, oh Rama so brave and wise, he would surely fit to be the king, but what has gotten into me? Kaikeyi and Manthara had manipulated me to make Bharata the successor and force to exile Rama!Manthara was telling me the horrible stories of Rama and if he was king he would not only bring my people down but my family. Of course, I am worried. I am worried for my people and family; therefore, I had to do what was best and exile Rama, but as I look back I regretted everything. I should have never listen to Kaikeyi and Manthara and trusted my instincts in choosing Rama. I should have never taught Kaikeyi the language of animals. Why did I do it?! I knew it would cost me my life and now my wife is suffering. I am dying and I know it.

This dream that I had of the boy that I killed when I was a young man. I must tell Kausayla right now  and let her know my last words. I looked into Kausayla's eyes filled with tears and told her the flashback of the boy. As I was telling the story, she couldn't stop crying but I had to tell her. I love Kausaya so much.

I looked into her eyes and try to memorize the beautiful face. I could hear my heart beating slower and slower and then I spoke to my wife one last time....

"Queen, that whole crime now comes home to me. If Rama could touch me to live, but I have no other help. I cannot hear my own voice. My hand grows numb. I can hardly feel your hand, I barely speak. My death fast approaches. I have wronged my son, but he has done well toward me...Rama....Where are you?.... Rama..."

Dasaratha's sin of the boy he killed (Source): Dasaratha

Author's Note:This part in the book basically described Dasaratha's thoughts and his regrets when he was dreaming of the boy he killed. I pretty much just stuck with the original story but added more details of wrote some thoughts and feelings he had towards his wife.  I wanted to emphasize the regrets and sorrow for not making Rama the successor and how he regretted being manipulated by Kaikeya. I wanted the story to focus on Dasaratha's feelings and how much he loves his wife. Moreover, I made the ending scene more dramatic to emphasize sorrow and sadness and the pain Kausayla is going through when watching her husband die. I wrote the story in Dasaratha's perspective when he was about to die. I focused on his last thoughts and words to Kausayla and added some emotion to it with Kausayla crying. There is a little bit of anger towards Kaikeyi and Manthara in the context and regrets of not appointing Rama as his successor. The last paragraph are the actual words in the book of his last thoughts. I stuck with the original dying scene and just turned it in Dasaratha's perspective but in those few seconds before he told Kausayla his story. I also described his feelings toward Kausayla as he was telling her his story. 

Bibliography: William Buck, Ramayana 1976

Week 4 Reading Diary B: Buck's Ramayana

(pgs. 60-109)

This part of the book focused more on Rama than in the beginning. Buck really emphasized on Rama's bravery throughout the journey. Kaikeyi seems to be really annoying and kind of manipulative? She tried to convince that there would be disaster if Rama becomes king and but I guess it wasn't her fault since she was the servant of Manthara and her mind was being controlled. She was the reason for Rama's exile and Rama did oppose of it, even though he was nice enough to convince his father not to be angry with Kaikeyi. The actions of Kaikeyi does not bother me as much just because I'm not really a fan of Rama, even though the books are based on his journey and he is the protagonist and known to be the brave god. I don't like the way Rama treats Sita. I don't think their love is fair and he still doubts Sita's love when she has done nothing but loyal to him. Even though he saves her, he still questions her purity. I have talked about this numerous times in my past posts how I feel about their relationship.

The people in the city of Ayodha seemed really supportive of Rama during his exile, the animals were helpful and were a big part of Rama's journey. The death of Dasharatha was pretty sad and he probably feels bad for killing the boy. The ending part of was miserable and how he relates to the death of the boy to his son, although he could have died because he taught Kaikeyi the language of animals when he was not suppose to, so maybe karma on him? It was still sad that he died though, even though he was easily manipulated by Kaikeyi. This part of the story really emphasized the antagonist character of Kaikeyi. I actually enjoyed reading the bad behaviors of these characters.

(Brave Rama) Source: Rama

Week 4 Reading Diary A: Buck's Ramayana

(pgs 1-59)

I really enjoyed how the story starts out talking about Indra, the invisible demon warrior. So far, Buck's version of Ramayana is more descriptive and detailed than Narayan's book. Valmiki is such a great character for rescuing Sita. I don't understand why Sita unconditionally loves Rama when he doubted her over gossip, exiled her when she was carrying his sons, and also in the previous book, testing her in the fire for purity. Valmiki then becomes a poet and reveals the story of Rama to his two sons.

Moreover, I enjoyed reading about Ravana even though he is the antagonist in the story. He went through a lot of challenges and battles. I liked how the book described how destructive he was and really emphasized the evil in him. Another interesting part of the book was the marriage between Rama and Sita. Although I question Rama's love for Sita, it seemed as though Sita is so happy to be with Rama. It was quite intriguing how the three brothers of Rama all married the women in Janaka's household. It was like Rama and Sita were destined to be together or the brothers are meant to be with the Janaka's daughters. One thing that caught my attention was Buck's description of Sita's beauty. It was almost like she was a delicate woman and a presence of innocence in her.

Overall, Buck's version of Ramayana is pretty different than Narayan. He focused less on Rama's character and talked a lot about Ravana, which I liked better just because I'm not a big fan of Rama"s character. Buck also did a shorter version of Rama and Sita's love, he didn't add much details to their connection which was a bummer.

(Ravana the 10-headed demon) Source: Ravana

Sita's Story from Ramayana: Styles Brainstorm

Topic: My storybook will be about Sita's point of view and her love for Rama However, perhaps adding a twist to how she is also caught in between a love triangle with Rama and Ravana. In the story, Sita would have to choose between the two and decide which one of them is right for her. I will base my story off of our book in class Narayan: Ramayana and also The Notebook novel. It will be a mix of both. Basically the plot and storyline of Rama's journey will be the same but then I will add how Sita is conflicted of who she wants like in The Notebook. Overall, I will make this into a love story but focusing on Sita's point of view.

Bibliography: 
1. The Notebook (wikipedia): Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks (1996), where Noah and Allie falls in love over the summer but her parents rejected them. She met someone else and have to choose.
2. Narayan Ramayana: The book in our class, the plot and characters will remain the same and will continue with Rama's journey in finding Sita from her abduction, but realized it wasn't a kidnap because Sita was willing to go with Ravana. R.K Narayan (2006).

Possible Styles:


Sita as the Storyteller: Sita was never recognized in Ramayana and so I decided to make her the main character and a love story revolving around her. She was in grief and treated by force with Rama and Ravana that I decided she should be the one to make her own decisions in the story. Sita would be the narrator and it will be coming from her perspective and how she feels between the two men.

Journey: I still like the part of Rama and Hanuman continue on their journey to find Sita; however, I might twist it up a bit and instead of Ravana kidnapping her, it would be her willing to go with Ravana. In the story, Rama would try to find her and win his love back after he realized she was the one for him. There would be animals in the story but they wouldn't be a big part in the story. I decided to focus the story on the three of them. (Rama, Sita, Ravana).

Rama and Sita's love at first sight: In the beginning of the story I want to focus on how Rama and Sita met and how they fell in love with each other, similar to The Notebook. It will be a summer's love and the two will find out how much they love for each other but eventually the parents forbid them and force Sita to move. Sita will then meet Ravana who is approved by her parents and decide who she wants from there. Sita comes from a wealthy family and her parents have a summer home where Rama lives and that is when they will meet.

Flashbacks: Another style I had in mind is Sita telling the story using flashbacks of her and Rama's memories. In way it is kind of like the movie Titanic where Rose talks about Jack. However, the whole story wouldn't be based on just flashbacks. I want to add Sita's memories of Rama while she was with Ravana and then realize in the end that Rama is the one for her. She will be thinking a lot about Rama and come to her senses. Instead of pleasing her parents to marry Ravana. In Indian culture, arrange marriages are pretty popular so I could possibly add how Sita's parents want her to marry Ravana, but in the end she went with her gut and chose Rama.

Rama and Sita's Love

Rama and Sita