As early as the sixteenth century, the Ramayana is revealed through the eyes of two women with contrasting backgrounds, Molla – a potter’s daughter from Andhra Pradesh, and Chandrabati – a Brahmin’s daughter from Bengal. Through Molla’s lens, one can view gory, battlefield scenes, while Chandrabati’s focal point rests on the pregnancies of the key female characters, and also on how the heroine rather than the hero, is destined to destroy the villain ( in the Artwork “Female Gaze”). Sita is, in fact, given a more heroic character, originally in a Tamil folktale, and later in Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas. Thus, when the villain – Ravana is killed by Rama, yet another demon appears with a hundred heads or even a thousand – ‘Mahiravan’, and it is the heroine (Sita) who slays this new and greater villain (in the Artwork “Mahiravan Badh”).
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- Female Gaze: The heroine rather than the hero, is destined to destroy the villain.
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- Mahiravan Badh: The heroine Sita slays this new and greater villain.
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- The Bird-God: The mythical bird deity, Garuda, may appear green to the Sibsagar folk community of Assam, but to the Thais, it enjoys pride of place as the national emblem in flaming red!
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- Thoughts on Seduction: In the polygamous and polyandrous world of the Santhals, Sita is not only a seductress but is seduced by Rama, Lakshmana, and Ravana.
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- Everything is Maya: The Adhyatma Ramayana of the middle ages visualizes all events as divine allegory, and hence, in this version, only an illusion/maya of the heroine is abducted and not the real Sita.
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- Ramayana in a Fez cap: In Malaysia, the Wayang Kulit puppet theatre tradition that stages the Malay version of the epic, the ‘Hikayat Seri Rama’ is conducted by Muslim dalangs or puppeteers.
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- Birth of Sita: A Kannada folk song graphically describes Ravula (the villain) giving birth to the heroine through a sneeze.
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- Patron God of Kickboxing: Possibly the most powerful character in the epic, Hanuman, happens to be the patron god of ‘Muay Thai’ or Thai boxing.
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- Role Reversal: The Gonds have been performing Ravana Puja for decades and are among several other tribal and Dalit groups that glorify Ravana (the villain) as a symbol of bravery and sacrifice.
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- Poles Apart: When the tale provides the framework for a political setting, the hero is rejected and the villain is considered to be the true hero as was the case in Periyar’s imagination. Periyar (E.V.Ramasami) campaigned vehemently against Brahmanical Hinduism in South India.
About the Artist
Natasha Sarkar: ‘I have a wealth of stories to tell, and I choose to share them through the medium of art. Most people connect with visuals a lot more than they do with words, and this reality emboldens me to share varied perspectives on diverse subjects. If I were to see things as they really are, I’d cease to be an artist. The joy in crafting an experience that is both original and yet representative of the times is what I aim for through my creations.’
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