Sita: The Real Wonder Woman

Last year one of the good things that lockdown had brought back was the re-telecast of  mythological shows like RAMAYAN and MAHABHARAT on the Indian Television. Never did I think that all of us will be watching Ramayana at 9 in the morning. 

So, in the new normal mornings were for Mythological shows but evenings were all about watching Hollywood series and movies. In all this I came across the movie Wonder Woman and it felt absolutely amazing to watch a movie having a female superhero. Don’t get me wrong, I love the likes of Batman, Superman too, but it's hard to relate with them but Wonder Woman, wow, she’s really something else! 

However, this raised a few doubts in my mind about Indian mythology. One of these is about the role of women in these stories. They are being portrayed and perceived to be playing side roles. But when I think about this, I feel infact in these stories women deserve a greater appreciation. They didn’t just shed tears and follow their fathers, husbands and sons, they exhibited subtle power and leadership qualities elevating their stature to role models.

We all love and are fans of Wonder Woman but do we know who the real wonder women are?

So here I am to tell you about Sita and why I feel she  is the epitome of great power and strength also why I feel "she should be perceived as the courageous women she was and not a docile women she is portrayed as."

• She made difficult choices

As a young bride Sita faced a difficult choice of choosing to live in the palace while her husband leaves for a 14 year exile or to accompany him to the forest. She takes the harsher decision and accompanies him in his 14 year exile as his companion friend and wife. While this is perceived and portrayed as her biggest sacrifice but what I see is how brave and courageous she was to make such a difficult choice on her own and that too at such a young age.

Followed her inner Conscience

"Kuch toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kahena” as the Hindi film song goes – “People will say something, talking is what they do” Sita acted on the basis of her inner guidance as she was able to separate out the essence from the background noise. Sita knew the consequences of her overstepping the Lakshman rekha drawn outside her cottage for her own protection, but she choose to do so anyway as she felt duty bound to give aid to a needy beggar who has come to her door. She basically choose to live by her values, not by fear. Even though the situation doesn't turn out to her benefit, she faithfully stood by her values.

• She choose her battles wisely

Sita greatly demonstrates the importance of carefully weighing the odds stacked in favor or against us while choosing our course of action. She has the choice to fly away back to safety on Hanuman’s shoulders when he finds her in Lanka. She knows doing so may ease her suffering but it will not help bring Ravana to the just end he deserves. So she refused hanumans offer giving Ram the chance to prove his valor.

Clearly Sita always made her own decisions and embraced them whole-heartedly. She had the courage to take responsibility for the outcome and she never let anyone blame her for it.

• She held her own even in adverse times

When Ravana kidnapped Sita, she could have easily given up on life and surrendered to her circumstances. But, she didn’t. She had the courage and determination to face Ravana with a smile and held her own in difficult times. She was indeed a fighter and one that maintained her calm in times of crisis. Isn't this what a true wonder woman would do?

• She was independent and self reliant

People, emotions, circumstances were part of her life NOT her whole life. Many young girls make 1 emotion, thought or person the focus of their life but these are supposed to be parts of our life not our whole life. She did not ‘flutter and die of a broken heart’ when Ram abandoned her, she didn’t jump off a cliff and commit suicide. She cried, was hurt but she stood up strong again and was one of the first ‘Single Mothers’ who raised capable twins on her own in a jungle.

• She fought for her dignity

Whether it was giving the agnipariksha or when it was time to return to Ayodhya after Ram came to know about Luv and Kush, Sita fought for her dignity and considered it to be better to be swallowed by mother earth than to go with her husband.

As a strong independent woman, she chose what she felt right and not what was expected from her. And this amazing quality of her makes her my wonder woman.

You may notice that this list is completely different from the docile, tear-shedding weak image that has been built of Sita and this is because she was not. Infact in my opinion

Sita was the  'hero' of Ramayana in the truest sense.

Sure, she did not fight rakshas with might astras, but she fought the hidden and subtle evils of society as the Goddess she was. And that's the sort of leading lady or 'Wonder Woman ' all our stories need, to inspire the next generation and correct the flawed imagery this generation has grown up with.