princess OF PASSION-STORY OF another MAITHILI
WRITE-UP ON "SITA'S SISTER" BY KAVITA KANE
Genre:           Revisionist mythology
Publishers:   Rupa Publications

Ramayana is replete with a host of complex,intriguing characters,which is probably why the epic easily strikes a chord.The light and darkness  within each person surface so naturally,with the depicted range of emotions too familiar to identify with.Unfortunately,there are several unsung heroes and heroines whose stories do not get the attention they deserve.

Kavita Kane brings out an outstanding portrayal of one such woman,relegated to the background when the world got too busy ballading the much-repeated core of the epic.Urmila,Sita’s younger sister,also entitled to be called Janaki,Vaidehi or Maithili as the only biological daughter of King Janak and Queen Sunaina of Mithila is every inch what her given name symbolizes.Urmila means a wave of passion,where the heart and the soul meet.She is indeed a cool wave of endless passion for life,uniting the sea and the shore.

Urmila was always wise,having had to grow mature beyond her years.The trucemaker skills she honed throughout childhood,being the emotional anchor of her sister and cousins,help her wonderfully at her in-law’s.She takes after her father’s sagacity, mother’s fiery outspokenness and is shown to be an extension of both her husband and mother-in-law in temperament and insight.Some legends say that she went into a deep sleep for the entire duration of the trio’s exile,taking over Lakshman’s share too,enabling him not to falter in his duties and even kill Indrajith in the war as only one who had not slept for years altogether could achieve the near-impossible feat.It fits well with the mainstream view when all one cares about is the ultimate outcome of good winning over evil.But it is not any less charming,what’s more,it’s infinitely more beautiful to see Urmila evolving into a greatly accomplished scholar during these years,refining her painting skills,voicing the rights of women when the men seemingly favour promises given to fathers and brothers over duty towards mothers and wives,expelling the pall of gloom that hung over the royal household of Ayodhya and binding the family together,building it up from where they hit rockbottom with love and solidarity,all the while protecting Lakshman with her undying love and prayers,invoking more power than the romanticized notion of the long slumber.In Shatrughan’s grateful words,she turns the cheerless,sorrowful palace into a home they yearn to return to.

What really steals the limelight at one stage is the startling discovery made about Kaikeyi, presenting her in an entirely new light. Her actions have mildly been redeemed by the faint,philosophical justification that she was merely catalyzing what was pre-decided. It won’t be surprising if the new theory or revelation takes the long-hated Queen to your list of favourites among women of substance.But this version is not going to be a downpour of goodness as the wily Manthara still spews scathing venom but makes one realize that negativity cannot be dredged up from the heart without consent.

Urmila may not have become the queen of her land,but Soumitra’s warrior wife,his enchantress Mila is truly a queen of passion,of a million hearts.