Against the Current: Sita and Her Foils in - Bad Request
Against the Current: Sita and Her Foils in - Bad Request Against the Current: Sita and Her Foils in - Bad Request
Hot-headed Lakshmana rudely reprimands Surpanakha and, affronted, she slashes off Lakshmana’s ears and toes with her fruit-knife. Bharati describes Rama as “[i]nfatuated by her heroic act.” Rama interprets Surpanakha’s act as courageous, is filled with desire, and asks her to marry him. When Rama demonstrated his prowess with Siva’s bow, he won Sita as bride; here Surpanakha demonstrates her prowess with a fruit-knife and Rama wants her as a bride. The scene prompts the reader to consider why one should fall in love with someone because he or she performed a violent act? By reversing gendered expectations, Bharathi makes visible the “macho” assumptions that drive the construction of Sita and Rama as the perfect couple. The satire lampoons the normative heroic “script” with its gendered expectations about capability with weapons and sexual attraction. Long before feminist writers began critiquing constructions of gender through portrayal of violence and sex, Bharati highlighted the process in this story. Ranganayakamma’s Marxist Interpretation The portrayal of a bond between Sita and Surpanakha appears as a theme in several Telugu short stories, among them one by Muppala Ranganayakamma (1939-). Among modern Telugu writers who have focused upon Ramkatha, perhaps none is as famous as this public intellectual noted for her Marxist feminist critiques of society. She has written 15 novels, more than 70 stories, and many essays dealing with gender equality and women’s role in the family. Most relevant to Ramkatha is her three-volume Telugu critique-cum-narrative of Valmiki’s Ramayana titled Ramayana, the Poisonous Tree. It includes both her own sarcastic retelling of many Ramkatha incidents, and extensive analysis and socio-political commentary. 28 This lengthy work, which has been reprinted multiple times since volume one first appeared in 1974 argues that Valmiki’s 16
Ramayana functions to justify a set of values that oppress women and lower classes. Unlike the other six writers analyzed here, Ranganayakamma’s first priority is didactic rather than literary; her main goal is to demonstrate that Valmiki’s text validates patriarchal economic and social oppression. Ranganayakamma’s earliest writing based on Ramkatha characters is a short story titled “It Happened Just Like This,” her interpretation of the mutilation of Surpanakha. 29 Even Ranganayakamma has conceded that, as a work of art, the story contains flaws, including lack of conciseness. 30 Yet, the short story has a special role in Telugu literary history, because writing the story began the process of eventually completing her three- volume work. As did Bharati in “Horns of a Horse,” Ranganayakamma’s story depicts Surpanakha as sympathetic to Sita and misled by Rama. 31 Ranganayakamma depicts the conflict between Surpanakha and Rama as one between forest-dwellers and city-dwellers. Surpanakha has chosen to live in the forest, even though her brother would have married her to a mighty army general, because she prefers the peace and quiet of the woods to the pomp and finery of the city. In contrast, Rama expects her to sympathize when he complains that he was exiled and must endure the hardships of forest life, when he wishes he could live in luxury at the palace. Despite their differences, Surpanakha perceives that he finds himself captivated by her, and she feels deeply attracted to him. With great sincerity, she confesses love for him but he tells her that he cannot return her affection because of his “eka patni vrata” (one-wife vow). In an example of Ranganayakamma’s humor, she has Surpanakha ask anxiously, “Is that some fatal disease that prevents you from loving women?” (This remark turns out to be wryly prescient, since he later mutilates Surpanakha and banishes his wife.) When Rama 17
- Page 1 and 2: 1 AGAINST/TAMRAM/feb,dr3,nn9may04 A
- Page 3 and 4: number of Indians assume that whate
- Page 5 and 6: or destabilize the gendered dichoto
- Page 7 and 8: while current fashion in Ayodhya ca
- Page 9 and 10: writing short stories and poetry in
- Page 11 and 12: disheartened her, but Ravana’s of
- Page 13 and 14: Ramu: What? Forfeit my hakku for a
- Page 15: anthology of Sanskrit animal fables
- Page 19 and 20: Ranganayakamma tells Ramkatha in a
- Page 21 and 22: own grievances man-to-man perpetrat
- Page 23 and 24: First, could Ahalya and her husband
- Page 25 and 26: wondering whether he made “[a] ju
- Page 27 and 28: outstanding writers offer depiction
- Page 29 and 30: 1 Pradip Kumar Datta, “VHP’s Ra
- Page 31 and 32: was born with Ravana sneezed in A.K
- Page 33 and 34: 29 “Illage jaigimdi” appears as
Hot-headed Lakshmana rudely reprim<strong>and</strong>s Surpanakha <strong>and</strong>, affronted, she slashes off<br />
Lakshmana’s ears <strong>and</strong> toes with her fruit-knife. Bharati describes Rama as “[i]nfatuated<br />
by her heroic act.” Rama <strong>in</strong>terprets Surpanakha’s act as courageous, is filled with desire,<br />
<strong>and</strong> asks her to marry him. When Rama demonstrated his prowess with Siva’s bow, he<br />
won <strong>Sita</strong> as bride; here Surpanakha demonstrates her prowess with a fruit-knife <strong>and</strong><br />
Rama wants her as a bride. The scene prompts <strong>the</strong> reader to consider why one should fall<br />
<strong>in</strong> love with someone because he or she performed a violent act? By revers<strong>in</strong>g gendered<br />
expectations, Bharathi makes visible <strong>the</strong> “macho” assumptions that drive <strong>the</strong> construction<br />
of <strong>Sita</strong> <strong>and</strong> Rama as <strong>the</strong> perfect couple. The satire lampoons <strong>the</strong> normative heroic<br />
“script” with its gendered expectations about capability with weapons <strong>and</strong> sexual<br />
attraction. Long before fem<strong>in</strong>ist writers began critiqu<strong>in</strong>g constructions of gender through<br />
portrayal of violence <strong>and</strong> sex, Bharati highlighted <strong>the</strong> process <strong>in</strong> this story.<br />
Ranganayakamma’s Marxist Interpretation<br />
The portrayal of a bond between <strong>Sita</strong> <strong>and</strong> Surpanakha appears as a <strong>the</strong>me <strong>in</strong><br />
several Telugu short stories, among <strong>the</strong>m one by Muppala Ranganayakamma (1939-).<br />
Among modern Telugu writers who have focused upon Ramkatha, perhaps none is as<br />
famous as this public <strong>in</strong>tellectual noted for her Marxist fem<strong>in</strong>ist critiques of society. She<br />
has written 15 novels, more than 70 stories, <strong>and</strong> many essays deal<strong>in</strong>g with gender<br />
equality <strong>and</strong> women’s role <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> family. Most relevant to Ramkatha is her three-volume<br />
Telugu critique-cum-narrative of Valmiki’s Ramayana titled Ramayana, <strong>the</strong> Poisonous<br />
Tree. It <strong>in</strong>cludes both her own sarcastic retell<strong>in</strong>g of many Ramkatha <strong>in</strong>cidents, <strong>and</strong><br />
extensive analysis <strong>and</strong> socio-political commentary. 28 This lengthy work, which has been<br />
repr<strong>in</strong>ted multiple times s<strong>in</strong>ce volume one first appeared <strong>in</strong> 1974 argues that Valmiki’s<br />
16
Change language