The Forest of Enchantments : Book Review

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Someone has very well said
‘Only a woman can understand a woman better.’
That’s the reason Chitra never fails in expressing the women side of the story and once again she proved this. She has re-written India’s epic saga, previously Mahabharata and now Ramayana, from a woman's perspective. In the patriarchal society, very few bother about writing emotional turmoil a woman goes through when she is being wronged.
Her writing style portrays a visual in front of the reader’s eyes. It’s always a delight to read her books, they have never disappointed me, and this one has taken a special place in my heart and is one of my favorites now.
When I was reading this book I was so mesmerised, I felt as if I am in that era. And all this is happening in front of my eyes. This is one of the very few books where I was waiting for the end but at the same time sad when it's ended.

Now I am eagerly waiting when Chitra will write about Radha who couldn’t marry her love Krishna, and what all women (Radha, Yashodha, Deveki, Rukmani) involved in this saga went through.
(Formatted this line, in the hope, someday this request reaches Chitra :) )

Plot
Now, Ramayana is a well known ancient saga, is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It’s being taught to a child from its pre-school days in India. Everyone in India is well versed with this epic tale of Hindu deities: Ram and Sita, a human reincarnation of God Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi. Not only in India, but it's also very well popular outside too as it lays the Ithasa of Bharatvarsh. So no need for me to tell the plot of the story over here.

Rather you must be thinking what’s different in this book, Ramayana has been re-written and re-told so many times so what is left out to tell.
And here comes this book, which retells this epic tale from the voice of women of this story: Sita, Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, Mandodari, Urmila and other not less important women: Vibhishan’s wife, Sita’s mother, Sita’s sister. Chitra has penned down the emotional turmoil they went through, what they were feeling when events were taking place. In this book, the main attentions have been given to the women of the story and that’s what made it looked completely different from what we had known about Ramayana until now.

As we all know, both Ram and Sita have taken on mortal bodies in Ramayana so they also have human failings like others human beings. They love, they grow angry, confused, they weep, they miss each other, they go through heartbreaks. Sita like us says things she later regrets deeply. At the other end, Ram cares too much what his subjects think of him and thus he becomes hostage to his desire to be the perfect king, which leads him into an action that will break his heart as well as his beloved’s.

Book started off in a correct tone. Valmiki shared the manuscript of Ramayan with Sita while she was living in her ashram after being exiled by her husband, Ram. Sita while going through the Ramayana was satisfied how each detail has been captured correctly by Valmiki, but was agitated and told Valmiki that he didn’t capture what she went through when she was alone in the darkness under the sorrow tree. Valmiki doesn’t know how she felt, her despair, he hasn’t understood a woman’s life, her desires, her negotiations wherein hope of keeping one treasure safe she must give another.
And it’s that when Valmiki asked her to pen down her part of the story which she named as ‘Sitayan.’

Instances:

1. While Sita went with Ram and Lakshman to exile, Urmila (Lakshman's wife and Sita’s sister) was insisted to stay in the palace so as to take care of mothers. Sita thought of her sister as the unsung heroine of this tale who played the tougher role: 'to wait and to worry'.
2. Ahalya’s story how she was wronged by sage Vashishtha, and to make him realize his mistake, she took a pledge never to say a word again.
3. Even in today’s times, it holds true what Sita’s mother said to her while Sita was leaving Mithila : ‘..Be kind and courageous, not to tolerate wrongdoing are good qualities but, unfortunately, not the one's society values most in a woman. If you want to stand up against wrongdoing if you want to bring about change, do it in a way that doesn’t bruise a man’s pride…’
4. When Sita dreamt of Kaikeyi banished to her anger chamber, she realised where Kaikeyi failed: ‘…It’s not enough to merely love someone. Even if we love someone with our entire being, even if we are willing to commit the most hideous sin for their well being, we must understand and respect the values that drive them. We must want what they want, not what we want from them..’
5. When Mandodari revealed her dark secret and her suspicion, a mere chance which could be even true, to Sita which moved her as well me as a reader, to the core. As that dark secret brought a new angle to the story.
6. And then a twist in the tale that how Mandodari got a blessing from Ram to never become a widow. What happened to Mandodari when Ravaan died or did Ravaan ever die. Read the book to know the twist.
7. And also Mandodari cursed Ram to go through same heartbreak that he caused her to go through and may his life becomes ash at his most joyous moment.
8. After saving Sita from Ravan, Ram rejected Sita for dharma and asked Sita to prove her innocence and Sita for her dignity decided to throw herself in fire then Fire God himself came and proved her innocence  to everyone. And later Ram said to Sita what ever he did was for the virtue of the queen of Ayodhya and it’s not that he doubted her love and loyalty for him.
9. It’s an interesting story of how Ram, Sita, and Ravaan were connected. Why did Ravaan grasp Sita’s foot while dying and what vision Sita got at that time.
10. Urmila prays to Lord Yama for her death when Lakshman went to exile and Lord Yama impressed by her meditation came to her and gave her a boon which saved her from this misery of living alone in the palace as well helped her husband during his exile. Now to know what was that boon, read the book.
11. What happened when Surpanakha took the face of Shanta, Ram’s sister, who came to meet Ram and Sita after they have come from their fortune years of exile was a new revelation for me.
12. When Ram planned for another Agni Pariksha for Sita in his court, Sita refused the same and stood up for the dignity of complete womanhood, to save other women from the burden of proving their innocence even when they aren’t guilty. That’s the most touching part, what all she said to Ram in the court is an answer for every husband every man who questions or judges the woman even when she is not guilty.

In this. book, Chitra has brought upon Nature Of Love which can be summarised as below:

• ‘In a moment, it can fulfill the cravings of a lifetime, like a light that someone may shine into a cavern that has been dark for a million years.’
• ‘Even the strongest intellect may be weakened by love.’
• ‘The more love we distribute, the more it grows, coming back to us from unexpected sources.’
• ‘When we demand love, believing it to be our right, it shrivels, leaving only resentment behind.’
• ‘Love’s magic- the giver gains more than the receiver.’
• ‘Love can make us forget our own needs. It can make us strong even when the world is collapsing  around us.’
• ‘Love can kill. Sometimes, it can kill instantaneously.’
• ‘Once mistrust has wounded the love, it can’t be fully healed again.’
• Love makes you not want to think too much. It makes you unwilling to question the one you love.’
• ‘Love makes us back down from protesting as we are afraid of displeasing our loved ones.’
• ‘Love is entangled with expectation. The stronger the expectation, the more our anger towards the loved one if it’s not fulfilled- and the less our control over ourselves.’
• ‘Love clouds our eyes and doesn’t allow us to see what’s right in front of us.’
• ‘When we love someone, it doesn’t matter what we discuss; it is all fascinating.’
• ‘Love is the strongest intoxicant, the drink of deepest oblivion.’
• ‘Love-no matter how deep- isn’t enough to transform another person: how they think, what they believe. At best, we can only change ourselves.’

Lines I liked the most:

• ‘All will be clarified at the right time.’
• ‘Remain true to yourself- and to your heart. Be courageous and remember, even the blackest night must end in dawn.’
• ‘Anything that makes us forget our true selves is a trap.’
• ‘It’s important to speak your mind to the person you are going to marry.’
• ‘Sometimes our ill-luck has consequences that bless others.’
• ‘Choose your battles.’
• ‘What you can’t change, you must endure.’
• ‘Where love and sorrow bind people together, goodbyes are not so easy.’
• ‘Bad news is like an infection, needing only air to carry it everywhere.’
• ‘How ironic that the joyous times we like to hold on to are the most fleeting while the saddest ones clutch at us, refusing to let go.’
• ‘Paradoxical power of mind: When we control it, it’s our best friend, but when we allow it to control us, it becomes our worst enemy.’
• ‘Forgiveness is more difficult when love is involved.’
• ‘Guilt exudes negative energy.’
• ‘No one can take your dignity away from you. You lose it only by your own actions.’
• ‘Endure as we do. Endure your challenges. Endure - It means taking the challenges thrown at us and dealing with them as intelligently as we know until we grow stronger than them.’
• ‘Every darkness is edged with light.’
• ‘Guilt keeps us from seeing things that are otherwise as clear as a cloudless sky.’
• ‘Balance duty with love. It can be done.’

Rating: 4.5/5