The discussion begins with Vinita saying that Anand always gives space to people who are not recognized in the main narrative and asks about his thoughts behind ‘Women of Valmiki’.
“I traced what I heard and learned. The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas are a big ocean. Recently, I found that perhaps because of the influence of television, it has become more of a storytelling than a point of view. If you look in India, there are many versions of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Most of the oral versions are of subaltern versions. They give voice to those who have been defeated and sidelined including women, servants etc. Writing about them helps me to bring helps get out of this approach, and take us back to how these stories are traditionally told,” Anand replied.
He further added, “Of all the ages, women are the most oppressed. If you see, they are kind of put on a pedestal, which is the easiest thing to do – make them goddesses. But if you really look at the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. You see that women are post-modern in their approach.If you take the example of Sita, she is probably the first single mother in literature to raise her children to defeat a great warrior like Rama. Huh.”
As the discussion progressed, Vinita asked Anand whether he viewed the women in epics as submissive or enthusiastic, and whether it was difficult for him to match the dynamism of his latest book to modern sensibilities.
Replying to Vinita, Anand said that Ramayana and Mahabharata are stories of today. Making it relevant at all times is the beauty of storytellers. Moreover, according to her, there is not a single meek woman in the Puranas. They are not submissive characters, have a mind of their own, and are much stronger than any male character. His portrayal as humble is a very late medieval thing.
Vinita also recounts an old conversation between the two, where Anand tells her that the portrayal of Sita as a humble and submissive wife is a North Indian thing, which is not there in other parts of India.
To this, Anand remarked, “Ramayana has changed according to society. Maybe, the way Sita is portrayed has changed due to invasions. Sita is a woman of choice, who decides to go to the forest with her husband. , even when she refuses. She chooses to cross the line that Lakshmana draws around her to protect her. So she is not the humble Sita we see. ”
When Anand said that the concept of restricting a book to a particular genre is very Western, and there are many ways to look at the story differently, Vinita said, “There is a beauty in that flexibility. Don’t agree part, you can tell your story differently.”
Referring to her book, Vinita mentions that Neelkanthan brings together literal opposites – Sita and Soorpanakha – beautifully in the book in a scene when the former is being sent to the forest and meets the latter.
“It’s a fantasy, but there are versions where Sita meets Soorpanakha just before she meets him. What I was saying here is that ultimately there is no difference in how women are treated. This There is a meeting point between the two women, chewed up by the society,” Anand said.
Responding to an audience question addressed to both speakers, what priority should be given between religion, karma, or just being a woman when grooming daughters, Anand said, “Religion is not something that someone else has to decide. needed. If you are raising a girl or a boy, they should have the courage to choose what they decide to be their religion. It is their decision, not the society’s.”
“I believe we need props like heaven and hell and good and evil to teach our children values. It is more important to teach by example than words. When we raise our daughters and sons, we Whatever they want them to be, this is what we should be. The most important thing is to teach them values and let them create their own set of values and follow them,” Vinita said.
He also remarked that what he finds interesting in reading and reinterpreting various stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata is that we understand and appreciate different aspects of personality. Readers see the side they want to see, or what the storyteller shows them. In this sense the narrator is the creator of the mind.
The discussion ended with Anand talking about his latest audiobook released a few days back.
“It is the result of all the notes that I have taken over the years. In this, I am bringing various Ramayanas, and trying to show people what I am seeing in it. Through the book, I am trying to show that Trying to have different versions of our truth,” he said.
Watch the full interview here.
.