Title :
Sons of Sita
Author :
Ashok K. Banker
Publisher
: Wisdom Tree
ISBN :
978-81-8328-294-9
This story begins from a decade after Rama banished his wife
and over these years he never enquired about her family's whereabouts. The
Kingdom that he reigns now is far from being the ideal Ram Rajya. For reasons
unknown, he is strongly influenced by bad advisors and war-mongering ministers
Jabali and Bhadra, even to the extent that his two brothers Bharat and
Shatrughan are subjected to a trial for being on the wrong side of the law. But
it seems Rama has become immune, almost like a stone to the softer feelings
that a human possesses. Under the garb of dharma, he is in the process of
(almost) tyrannically conducting a Ashvamedha Yajna but actually using it as a
cover for a full-scale invasion.
Sita and
her two sons Luv and Kush live in the isolated corner in the ashram of
Maharishi Valmiki where she has effortlessly attuned herself to the duties of
the present. The twins are trained by their mother in the art of warfare and
they are growing up to become fearless and phenomenal warriors. Their paths
cross their father's when they capture the sacred stallion of the Ashwamedha
Yajna.
The way
Rama is portrayed in the book, he comes across as anything but the undisputed
hero or a godly figure. In fact, the narrative almost reduces him to a
lackluster character. Ashok K. Banker is
a great story teller, is an established fact now. Backdrop portrayal, depiction
of war scenes, building the crescendo towards the final confrontation are quite
interestingly handled. But twisting the setting and the proceedings to such an
extent that it makes the epic tale almost unrecognisable would surely leave the
readers unsettled. It actually reminded me of Amish's Scion of Ikshvaku, which
erred similarly. Trying to give mythological fable a contemporary
shine through fancy words and settings does little to redeem the authors in
these two books.
Though an
engaging read, the only part which impressed me in this book is how Sita sums
it all up during one of the concluding scenes of the face-off. "You failed
utterly. That is why you will always be a broken god. Revered and worshipped,
honoured and admired, but also doubted and despised. Each time someone speaks
of your great works and exploits, another will remind them of your banishment
of your wide and ask what god would do such a thing, and question your
divinity. Today you had a chance to answer them once and for all, to silence
those doubters, and you failed yet again. Now, for as long as your memory shall
live, you shall be adored as a deva yet doubted as a man."
After
reading this book, it is hard not to marvel at the way Devdutt Pattanaik
portrays Sita and how his Rama exemplifies all the virtues that any human
aspires to possess making him a truly anukarniy(to be followed) God . Devdutt's
Sita is a strong, confident character yet extremely understanding as she knows
she is as much a part of Rama as he is of her and anything otherwise can never
exist.
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