FOREST OF ENCHANTMENTS

The Ramayana one of the world’s greatest epics is also a tragic love story. In this brilliant retelling Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel: this is Sita’s version. The Forest of Enchantments is also a very human story of some of the other women in the epic often misunderstood and relegated to the margins: Kaikeyi Surpanakha Mandodari. A powerful comment on duty betrayal infidelity and honour it is also about women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men as Chitra transforms an ancient story into a gripping contemporary battle of wills. While the Ramayana resonates even today she makes it more relevant than ever in the underlying questions in the novel: How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say ‘Enough!’