My dear Arti,
First of all, I would like to apologise for the delay in my responding to your fascinating and detailed response. I had wanted to see the last Sunday's episode - where I assumed that they would show the transformation of Kaikeyi, which I wanted to discuss - but that came through only in part. I did not want to wait any longer and so here I am .
As regards Sita, she is as yet very demure and submissive, but perhaps you are right in saying that her portrayal will develop a stronger shade beginning from the
vanavas. Yes, she was unyielding and resilient during her captivity in Lanka, but I would attribute that to her
satitva and the strength she would derive from that. I meant 'strong' in the sense of being assertive, at least to some extent, in the manner of Kaikeyi. Draupadi was like that, whether her behaviour was appropriate or not at any particular point. This apart, I was greatly interested in the part @red, and your reference to the
adhbhoot Ramayana and Sita's
mahakali roop. I had never heard of this before.
About the costumes, thank you for attaching all those beautiful Ravi Verma style pictures; it made me feel very nostalgic for my nani's pooja room. I have no objections to the costumes for any of the four princes, for it is basically a dhoti and a
uttareeyam, or
angavastra, and it would have to be like that in any case. I love the breastplate like jewellery Rama wears, and Lakshmana's more understated
aabhooshan; and I like their
mukuts too. But not so much for Dasharatha or the rest of the kings, or the three queens. You see, in those days, they would have used only pure silks, brocades, cotton and muslin. Silk looks rich and has a dull sheen. That is what they used to show in the old 1950s mythologicals. Now here they are obviously using polyester fabrics that drape smoothly and do not crease much, but they are shiny and make the same colours, that would look very good in silk, look a bit gaudy. Then again, they are using sheer fabrics like georgette and nylon for the ladies, especially for their ghunghats, not muslin, and it looks anachronistic. But perhaps they need nylon fabrics for ease of maintenance, and have to make that compromise.
As for the
ekapatni vow that Lord Rama took, I know the story of the
kanchana Sita, which was used for the
ashwamedha yagna. I agree that with so many versions of the Ramayana prevailing in different places all over India, one could find a source for any
aeetheeham , be it the
manglik issue, the
ekapatni vow,or indeed anything else. You might have seen my reference to the version in the famous Tamil play,
Lankeswaran , that I have mentioned in my response to Kalapi above, and it would have interested you. I have visited the
sitaji ki rasoi near Nasik.
As for the
pratiyogita between Rama and Bharata, I loved your poetic description of it as being
between soul and mind...between spirit and shadow between sun and shade, where there cannot be a particular winner.It is clear that as Bharata is a amsavatar of Lord Vishnu, he cannot be behind Rama in any way. I was moved by the scenes between him and Rama last Sunday - his anguish at being forced to compete with his idol, his disturbing feeling of impending loss while leaving Ayodhya to visit his nana, and the eagerness with which he ties the shakti yantra on to Rama's arm - it was all so wonderful.
As for the reaction of the assembled praja to the verdict that Rama was the winner, while it is true that they would have all wanted Rama to win, it was also evident that they were prepared to accept Bharata when they thought that he had won. They were readily chanting Rajkumar Bharat ki jai! So I still feel that it would have been better for Guru Vasishta to have clarified the reason for Rama being declared the winner.
I fully endorse your assessment of Kaikeyi, but I will revert with my views on her character after I have watched the completion of her 180 degree transformation in the coming episode this Sunday.
Once again, I deeply appreciated your very thorough and very interesting response to my post, and I would like to thank you for it.
I send you my warm good wishes for a joyful Deepavali next week.
Shyamala B.Cowsik
Book Talk
