One day King Rama was forced to put his wife, Sita, into exile. She was sent deep into the forest and left to fend for herself. She had been dropped off from a boat on the side of a river, without knowing of her whereabouts. Sita is internally panicked and thinks to herself, "What am I possibly going to do now? I have no one to protect me, I have to find food and water, and somehow need to make shelter". This was also a hard time emotionally for Sita, considering her beloved husband had just kicked her to the curb like dust. As she rummages through the woods in fury and fear, she happens to run into a man to seemed to have quickly popped out of the bushes. This scared Sita half to death as she exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! Who goes there?". The man whom she happens to run into goes by the name of Valmiki, and responds to her gasp with a sincere apology, "I am so sorry ma'am, I had no intent on scaring you.". Sita, who isn't quite sure what to make of the situation says, "Who are you and why have you come to me?", and Valmiki responds by saying, "I happen to have seen you wandering through the forest, looking a little lost, so I thought I would come offer you some help". Not quite convinced, Sita says, "I am not lost, I am simply going for a walk, I do not need any help. I am an independent woman, capable of taking care of herself". Valmiki could see right through her facade, but understood that she was just scared. He said, "Okay, I will leave you be. I was only offering some help", as he walks away. As soon as he turns around to walk away, Sita knew she had made a mistake by turning down his help, so she calls out to him, "Wait! Don't leave! Please, I really do need your help. I have been sent into exile, and left to fend for myself". Valmiki was quick to turn around and offer her his condolences. "If you follow me, I will take you to our town. You can reside there for as long as you wish, we will make sure you have food, water, shelter and lots of laughs!" Sita was immediately relieved, and knew she made the right decision by accepting Valmiki's help. She then followed his steps to the town, hoping for a fresh start.
Image Information: Valmiki finds Sita.
Wikipedia
Author's Note: I choose to retell the story of when Valmiki finds Sita abandoned in the forest. I chose to add in some dialogue and to change it up a little bit in order to make it my own. Although I changed it up, I wanted to keep it along the same story line and for it to have the same backstory.
Buck, William. (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
I like how you chose this story to retell. This is one of my not-so-favorite parts of the book because I don't agree with Sita's exile but your version makes it seem more approachable. The added dialogue especially shows parts of both character's personalities, with Sita trying to remain an independent woman and Valmiki being helpful and sweet. I think Sita hoping for a fresh start is a great place to end the story, leaving the reader wanting to read more about her journey with Valmiki. Also, I had not seen the picture of Vamiki and Sita yet so it was a nice inclusion to see in your story!
ReplyDeleteI actually decided to retell the same story so it was cool to see another version of it! I definitely thought you captured the fear that she would have felt at being left alone in the forest really well! I like that we both chose to believe that Rama had good reasons for sending her away. I'm glad that she chose to trust Valmiki, but I think it was good that she conscious about it too! Good job on your story!
ReplyDeleteHi again, it was fun reading your version of Sita’s exile. I thought it was unfair that she got exiled, but your version made it sound better. You also did a great job of portraying Sita’s strength and independency when she was approached by Vamiki, instead of making her look weak and helpless without Ram always being around to protect her. Great work and I hope to reading more again!
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