And one day she discovered that she was fierce, and strong, And full of fire, And that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears. - Mark Anthony
“Why did he do it, how could he do it? - I was so loyal and loving to him. He left me alone after impregnating me, what a fool - oh forgive me lord!”-Sita couldn’t help but think of her beloved Ram as she sat outside banished from Ayodhya. Her heart felt as blue as the sky, but she marched on looking for a land that she could call her own, looking for a place that she could make her home!
After traveling for several months through land and water, she stumbled upon a great wall of a ruined fortress. Nine months pregnant now, Sita decided to rest inside this abandoned fortress till she delivered.
After a lot of struggle and no help from any creature or being, Sita delivered two healthy children, a boy and a girl. As she held them in her hand, she decided that she was going to give them a life of dignity and happiness far away from the narrow mindsets of the Ayodhyans. She named them Lavina and Kushal, hoping they would grow to be pure of heart and clever of mind.
Curious to explore this fortress, Sita put her kids in a makeshift pouch on her back and set on an exploration. As she walked out of the fortress, she saw a land that was barren and destroyed. The sight of poor and hungry people, only a handful at that, touched her deeply. She sensed that a war must have destroyed this beautiful land.
As she walked further through burnt fields and broken houses, she came across a tree that brought back some old memories. As she went closer to the tree, she realized that she was in the once beautiful Ashok vatika, which had turned to dust and ashes - the tree almost at the verge of death. Never having traveled to Sinhala by land or even water before, Sita had unknowingly wandered off to a city, which was once known as the city of gold and had lustrous forests and fields. The sight of the magnificent city that now resembled a graveyard left her spirits crushing.
Even though a lot of people assumed that the people of Sinhala were terrible to her, Sita always cherished the friendships she formed with the men and women of Ravana’s court during her time here .
Brushing her thoughts aside, she strolled around to find a familiar face. After walking for a few hours, she spotted Surpanakha outside a house talking to a few men and women. She beamed with joy at the sight of her old friend and rushed to the house to talk to her.
The two friends greeted each other and were overjoyed to have met again. Sita was saddened by the state of the city and enquired what had happened. “The war left us half broken, but when Vibhishan abandoned the city to follow his love for lord Ram, the city completely crumbled. The war also left the once green fields of our city barren and food soon ran out, which pushed people to migrate. Leaderless, the city fell to plunging and looting.�, explained Surpanakha.
“I have been doing my best to keep things in control, manage food supply, and keep businesses alive, but I’m struggling to manage things alone. How do I rebuild my beloved city? You are from the magnificent Ayodhya, you would surely know!�, asked Surapanakha with a hope to find an answer.
“Indeed I do, friend. But not because I’m from Ayodhya, but because I am from Mithila, a city filled with lush fields and robust agriculture. You are from this great city, which was the home to many inventions in the past. Together, we can rebuild this city and make it self sufficient.� proclaimed Sita. During her time in exile with Ram and Laxman, Sita had made many friends. She was sure that if a message was sent to them or to Mithila, Sinhala would definitely get some help.
After Sita settled in a small hut with Surpanakha, they sat down by the river and carefully charted out a plan. After much thought and debate, she said, “Our priority is food, agriculture, and housing. Since most of the houses are destroyed, we will create a new kind of community housing, where all the people of Sinhala can stay together. This won’t just help us bring people closer, but also create a sense of communal responsibility within each one of them. Using the great Mahaweli river, we will once again turn this city into a green haven. At Mithila, we used several techniques to grow corps, both outdoors and indoors. We can create an indoor greenhouse, where the entire city’s food supply will be taken care of. Once we start to grow sufficient for the city, we can expand our centres and begin exporting to create a robust trade system within our economy, what do you think dear Surpanakha?” asked Sita with a sense of purpose in her voice.
Surapanakha, delighted by her friend’s enthusiasm, jumped with joy and got to business at once. With her knowledge about science and Sita’s knowledge about nature, in just a matter of a few years, the duo erected a city that no one could have ever imagined. It was no city of Gold, but it was a thriving selfsufficient city that ran with the spirit of community, self-learning, freedom of expression, and kinship.
Years passed by and the city continued to survive and thrive. Surpanakha married a loving man named Sudhir and started a family. Sita remained unmarried and managed the city effectively with sufficient help from her children Kushal and Lavina, Surpanakha, and the people of Sinhala. Sita’s children Lavina and Kushal grew up to be strong-minded, intelligent adults, who bought new areas of development to the city and established space observatories and research centres - structures that no one had ever heard of before. To celebrate the prosperity of their city, they also set up a vast entertainment centre, art galleries, and spiritual fields that allowed the people of Sinhala to indulge in new hobbies and activities and break out of the mundane.
To mark the anniversary of this gigantic centre and forge new relationships and friendships with nearby kingdoms, the duo arranged for a massive festival, which would show the world about Sinhala’s new way of life and growth, all while inviting others to be a part of this great city! Many kings, queens, prince, princesses, and other folks travelled to Sinhala to be a part of this festival. Delighted by the invitation from his home, Vibhishan requested Ram and Lakshman to accompany him to Sinhala.
They reached the city after travelling for several weeks and were greeted by a magnificent sight of a city that was sprawling with vast structures, fascinating technology, and peculiar architecture.
They were astonished at how different Sinhala looked, but were impressed by how advanced the city had become. There were roadways that connected the city from under the ground and weird structures carried people from one end to another at remarkable heights in the air, staying put with ropes and wires. The water that people used to bath was treated in a facility and used to grow crops. It was almost like magic. The city was so vast, but resembled a close-knit community that moved together! Mesmerized by the city, they were eager to meet the king who had accomplished something no one could. Vibhishan, with the other two, rushed to the palace, only to find no palace at all, instead there was a vast complex that could house thousands of people - filled with peculiar buildings where people were eating, dancing, and chatting. In the place of Ashok Vatika, stood a lone tree that didn’t look like a tree at all and was passing some peculiar thing to the ropes above and the ground below. Instead of lamps and diyas, the city was adorned with some shiny material that seem to be triggered by this peculiar looking tree! The city of gold had turned into a city of lights! And oh so beautiful!
Just then, the announcement to commence the festival was made. Excited, the three decided to wait around the complex to greet the new king of Sinhala. But what happened next, shocked them to their very core. As Lavina and Kushal made the introductory speeches, Ram saw two women approach the guests and greet them. He was taken aback at the sight of Sita and couldn’t understand what she was doing here. He had exiled her many years ago and hadn’t seen or heard of her since.
Shocked and ashamed, he left the complex at once. Lakshman followed him, so did Sita. They soon learnt of Sita’s chance visit to Sinhala and how, together with Surpanakha, Lavina, and Kushal, she rebuilt the city that was destroyed by the ego of two men, who put the livelihoods of many at stake for something they both wanted and by another, who left a city in ruins to fend for itself. Ashamed Ram couldn’t bring words to his mouth and started weeping incessantly. Ravana and he indeed used violence to deal with the situation and cost many their lives and homes. In the name of duty, he threw Sita out of Ayodhya and never bothered to find out how she was or even if she was alive. All his life, he tried to live with his ideal principles, but never once saw how much he lacked them in his own life.
He fell on to the ground at once and looked at Lakshman and Sita and said, “Praise the lord and sing of his love But all he did was set his wife ablaze. Killed a thousands, got her home Only to kick her out again. Treated her as weak, Fragile and unequal. Sush. Hush. She’s a cheat Paid heed to all the gossips On the streets. Ram is Just, Ram is a saint, Ram just does, what all men must. Duty first, always first, Sita last, forever last. But look how wrong I was, Look how weak of thoughts. Ram’s regin, today, Comes to an end at last.” Saying this, he removed his crown and jewels, left it at the feet of sita and laxman and walked away to spend the rest of his life in exile.
About the Book John Heider said, “Learn to see things backwards, inside out, and upside down.” This story wouldn’t have been written if we didn’t begin to see things inversely. The story is based in Sinhala or the otherwise known Sri Lanka. However, it is not the Sinhala you and I know, but it is the imaginary city that was created in a classroom. For some it was Gokul, for some Paris, and for some others a city with no name. This inverse city, much like our own (in)sane cities, has stories to tell. Where is it? Who built it? Who lives here? What do people do here? - there are many questions one can ask to create a narrative of a fictional city. This story of Sita, Surpanakha and their Sinhala is a fragment of my imagination that took shape based on many such questions. “What happened to Lanka after the war?; Why did Sita kill herself?; Did Surapanakha and Sita become friends?; Did Sita hate Sri Lanka?; Was Ram really as righteous as everyone claims him to be?; Could Sita be a leader?; What if Ramayana were to end differently?; What if I inverse Ramayana?” Many questions, many answers - one piece of story. Hope you enjoyed reading it.
Illustrated & written by Jaishree Garg