My thoughts on The Forests of Enchantments

Essay and Review on ‘ The Forests of Enchantments’ by Chitra Banerjee

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is the novel on Ramayana told in the voice of Sita, where she is at the heart of the novel. This book is also the justifying story of some of the other women in the epic, often misunderstood and disregarded by the margins such as Mandodari, Kaikeyi, and Surpanakhaa. This brilliant retelling deepens our understanding towards the original epic, and fills in the gap left by Sita's silent struggle throughout, for there has always been a disconnect between the truth of Sita, and the way the Indian culture thought of her.

Our common opinion about Sita is usually: a character playing the supporting role, meek, long-suffering and one who bears her misfortunes with silent stoicism. however, this book completely changes that which makes us realize how joyous her life was, and how agonizing a pain she went through later. It stresses the fact, that Sita may have been the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, but since she has taken on a human form, she is human too and has her human failings as well. This book, though may be an adaptation to an epic written in the ancient era, is ever resonant with the truths of society, and is a powerful comment on duty, betrayal, and honour of a woman’s struggle.

The read describes Sita’s powerful capacity to endure all the challenges thrown at her. She describes it as: ‘taking challenges thrown at us and dealing with them as intelligently as we knew until we grew stronger than them’. Though it may be thought that to relate and sympathize with Sita, the reader must hate the role Ram plays. But such thought is too simplistic. This book is a great meditation on the nature of love and brings new meaning to the old saying, " May you be like Sita." It describes Ram too, as the complex being he is but is forced to choose between his role of king and his role of husband and lover.

I urge upon the fact, that this book should be read without a thought and judgment on gender. For those that think that this book is another method of gender equality promotion, it is not. this read is meant to broaden our perspective immensely by balancing the Ramayana with Sita’s missing story. The best thing about The Forest of Enchantments is that it is provocative and written boldly. It is a very deep book that intrigues the reader to question the Indian methodology towards Sitashi’s life. This book should be read by anybody who has ever heard about the Ramyana or believes in it, for the epic remains incomplete and simply scratches the surface in the context of righteousness, endurance, and social customs