I read Buck’s version of The
Ramayana this week and it really kind of changed me as a person. I read the
introduction in Narayan’s version and how he had chosen not to include the
ending where Sita is sent away and lives with the hermit Valmiki. I knew that
Buck had chosen to include it in his version, and honestly I was not really
looking forward to it. I saw it as ruining this perfect version of Rama that I had
in my head and I did not want to see my favorite character, Sita, suffer like
that. However, after finishing Buck’s version, I realized that I really liked
that ending. It gave me a lot of closure. It showed some real heartache that
lots of people go through every day. I also saw Rama as a more realistic person
now. I do not agree with his decision, and I understand now that he had not
lost his love for Sita. He did what he thought was best as a ruler, and I think
he also saw himself as a self-sacrificer who was doing what Fate wanted and
therefore he was staying on the path of Dharma. It was just so epically tragic.
And I also found a whole new layer to Sita with this ending. She raised two
boys without her husband, and instead of running back to her husband that sent
her away the second she saw him, she returned to Mother Earth. I loved that
ending. It was really sad, don’t get me wrong, but I thought it had such a
rightness to it. I learned a lot from this epic, and I think it has so many messages
that can be taken from it. I am glad I read the longer version, I thought it
added new depth and layers to the story that it did not have before.
Sita and Valmiki, from Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues
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