Week 2 Reading Diary B: Mostly about Women

From Narayan's The Ramayana


Thoughts and Favorite episode:

• (Pages: 62-63) Jatayu
• I really like eagles, so I was drawn to Jatayu. I like how he displayed as the protector (of Rama and Sita) while they are in the forrest, I think of America when I hear eagle and I also think that America takes on a "protector" role in other countries (whether that is good or bad, I won't get political)
• So far, there have been a few women that have been displayed in a negative light (I know there have probably been males displayed negatively too, but the women stick out to me). Examples include pgs. 11-13 Thataka (a asuras and 'destroyer of life') is described as a monster and is not to be thought of as a woman; pg. 58 Kaikeyi (Rama's stepmother) is described as a snake, heartless, deceiving, and that she should die for her doings; and pg. 65: Kamavalli (Ravana's sister) is described as having a look of quality, but is 'really cheap and shameless.'
• On page 65 I think Rama should tell Kamavalli that he is already married (maybe there is a cultural difference here and they are allowed multiple wives), but that seems like a better reasoning than some of the reasons he gives her.

Rama rejecting Kamavalli. Source: Wikimedia

• My favorite part is when Sita gets angry and commands Kamavalli to leave. She seems so strong and independent here.

Favorite Quotes:

• Page 60: " In a world where we are accustomed to rivalries over possession, authority, and borders, and people clashing over the issue, 'Ours,' or 'Mine, not yours,' it is rather strange to find two people debating whose kingdom is not, and asserting: 'Yours, not mine.'"
• Page 63: "...'While I fly, follow me in the shadow of my wings.'"
• Page 63: "Again Rama was delighted by his brother's engineering and architectural genius, and entered his new home filled with a sense of wonder."
• Page 66-67: "This forest is full of such deceivers. She might well have been confessing this of herself-her own normal appearance being that of a demon with wild, matted hair, flame-coloured fang-like teeth, enormous stature, and a belly swollen with the meat and blood of animals she had gorged on..."