Sita Sings the Blues

I saw the premier of Sita Sings the Blues and enjoyed the movie from an artistic perspective of a woman connecting with a culture's sacred story. I too had connected with Sita and written an essay over a decade ago which now I have on www.sitayanam.com.

Hindus are sensitive about the portrayal because they feel there are not enough balanced portrayals of their culture. Many examples abound for Hindus in which the constant barrage of negative portrayal leads the common person in the mainstream to believe that the Hindu culture is a negative one, where oppression is the norm. Sita Sings the Blues is a brilliantly made movies, yet from an in-culture point of view it is at the edge. I hope the movie will create dialogues and lead to more in-culture contemporary viewpoints.

Through research, I developed an alternate viewpoint on Sita which I have documented on www.sitayanam.com. Today, many Indians and Indian Americans have not studied the original texts and base their knowledge on superficial Amar Chitra Katha understanding. I truly hope such a well made movie, where it is clear the Indian-American puppets don't know the story, will ignite all minds to know about the metaphorical beauty of what I call Classical Indian literature. Why call it myth and relegate it to "religion"? They are great character portrayals and epics in their own rights.

It appears, the academic institutions in the US are beginning to use these movies as an educational tool. It would be a shame if only Sita Sings the Blues was seen as the norm. My concern is that if children see it (as they did at the Children's Festival in New Yorkor if they are taught this version of the story of Ramayan only), they will come away with a one sided and somewhat biased understanding of the culture, if they are not given other in-culture view points. For the believers within the culture it is a sacred text.

I do hope these movies will create healthy dialogues in which a well balanced perspective gets understood by all. I am not for censuring works of art, but in also creating cultural narratives that, in contemporary style, create positive self image. Perhaps then the Hindu Indian Americans will also experience optimism in how they are perceived by the mainstream.

Sitayanam.....

1. Introduction

As I reflect, I see Sita, more than any other character, is an integral part of the Indian woman's psyche. At every stage of an Indian woman's life, her name is invoked. I find it amazing that one great epic written by a poet thousands of years ago has shaped and continues to shape and reshape the thinking of an entire culture. And, how certain aspects of a character have been emphasized more than others to suit the political and societal norms of the day. They have been understood or misunderstood to manage relationships through control and power. I have often wondered what the impact of Ramayan would have been if we had not canonized these characters and focused primarily on the Sita agni parikshay. What if we understood them as the flesh and blood characters that Valmiki was attempting to bring to life in his great poem! This reflection of Sita has taken me further along in my own quest of understanding Indian womanhood. In many respects I have come full circle. I was ambivalent towards Sita, then I rejected her, and now I have come to accept her as an Indian cultural icon. We can learn a lot from her character… Here I share my understanding of Sita .....

Next 2. Background

Click the chapters, preferably in sequence.

Sitayanam... A Woman's Journey... of Strength

Copyright - Anju Bhargava, 2000, All rights reserved


Chapters

1.
Introduction
2.
Background... How I got started....
3.
Sita Character
4.
Ramayan Analysis
5.
Advaitic Analysis
6.
Closing Remarks
November 1, 2009 6:41 PM