Reading Notes: Reading B: Sita Sings the Blues

Why did they even try a sequel? 

I watched the second part of Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley for the reading. I had remembered that at the end of The Ramayana by R.K. Narayan, he had explained that there was a sequel to the story, but he omitted it because it was not very popular and considered not to be authentic (p.157). After watching the second part of Sita Sings the Blues I can see why the sequel is not popular, the storyline seems to take away traits from the two main characters. I could defiantly see many ways to retell the prequel. While I understand not every story can have a happy ending the way this story ends are not working for me at all. Sita does not seem like a strong woman who was able to endure being kidnapped but a foolish woman in love with a man who does not seem to love her back. Even the comical narrators point out that Sita "should not love someone who mistreats her." Then you have Rama who had already doubted his wife once, so Sita went into the fire to prove she was pure. When he questions her again, it is as if Rama does not believe and trust in his wife. He also has no faith in his religion because he does not think that his wife is pure even though she survived being in a fire with the help from some god. There are two ways I could go with a new story. First, I think the beginning of the story could be recreated to reflect a woman who has come to accept that her husband no longer loves her. When Rama questioned Sita purity for the second time, she will not cry as she is banished and keep pining away for Rama but leave with one final word to Rama. Another option is not to leave and or have Rama question her purity for the second time. I think some of the other gods could intervene to tell Rama how foolish he is being. I enjoyed the different storytelling and still think that the narrators were my favorite part, mainly when they talked about the animals' rights of the monkeys. They kept the story comical but all worked well together telling the story. I hope I can figure out a way to bring in some comedy into my retelling of The Ramayana.

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Image: Sita in the fire to prove her purity to Rama. Source: Wikimedia Commons by British Museum