Wednesday, 21 January 2015
Sita's Sister presented by it’s author Kavita Kane
Set in the
backdrop of Hindu mythology, Kavita Kane has fictioned an alluring ode to
Sita's sister, Urmila.
This book is about Urmila. A lesser known character in Indian mythology,
who is mentioned mostly as Lakshman’s wife or as Sita’s younger sister. But the
book for the first time takes the reader through the happenings in the lives of
the four sisters & the royal family of Ayodhya from the point of view of
Urmila.
A woman of immense strength and conviction, stands out in this tableau
of tears and tragedy - Urmila, whose husband, Lakshman, has chosen to accompany
his brother Ram to the forest. She could have insisted on joining Lakshman, as
did Sita with Ram, but she did not. Why did she agree to be left behind in the
palace, waiting for her husband for 14 painfully long years? This novel aims to
tell her story.
Kane refers to Urmila who was wise beyond her years, she is this strong
lady who faces each problem coming her way very bravely. She speaks her mind
freely without being disrespectful. She doesn’t tolerate injustice. She isn’t
just a wife. She is a painter & a scholar. When Lakshman leaves her behind
to follow his brother into exile she is strong enough to overcome her pain and
continue living her life. While she certainly loves him she doesn’t waste her
life pining for him. While he is constantly in her thoughts, her life doesn’t
stop without him.
One does not need to know the background, one can enjoy the story as the
style is simple and easy on the eye. Closing the evening with reading from the
book, Kane certainly has piqued the interest of the audience and hopes that
there will be more to be captivated by.
Reported by Seema Chinchore
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Kavita Kane – A brief profile
.
A senior journalist with a career of over two decades, which
includes working for Magna publication and DNA, she quit her job as Assistant
Editor of Times of India to devote herself as a full time author. A self-styled
aficionado of cinema and theatre and sufficiently armed with a post-graduate
degree in English Literature and Mass Communication from the University of
Poona, the only skill she knows, she candidly confesses, is writing.
Karna's Wife is her debut novel, released in
2013 which was a bestseller the credit to which she gives entirely to the
protagonist Karna - the most enigmatic, popular and the most tragic character
in Indian mythology.
The second novel - Sita's Sister - to be out in December
2014, also deals with another enigmatic personality - Urmila, Sita's sister and
Lakshman's wife who silently braved tears and tragedy those fourteen years of
separation, living her own private exile. She is probably the most
overlooked character in the Ramayan.
On 19th January 2015 ; 6:15 pm, US Library, Poona Club
Urmila
of Ramayana, wife of Lakshman and one of the sisters of Sita, is the most
overlooked character of the epic. Without the support of Urmila, Lakshman could
have never killed Indrajit, the most formidable warrior of the
Ravana’s army and his favorite son. She is the only one who stays away
from her husband for 14 years.
But
Urmila cannot be ignored any more as Kavita
Kane‘s next book Sita’s Sister is about Urmila and Ramayana from her point
of view. The book is expected to be released by December, 2014.
Synopsis:
As
Sita prepares to go into exile, her younger sisters stay back at the doomed
palace of Ayodhya, their smiles, hope and joy wiped away in a single stroke.
And through the tears and the tragedy one woman of immense strength and
conviction stands apart – Urmila, whose husband, Lakshman, has chosen to
accompany his brother Ram to the forest rather than
stay with his bride. She could have insisted on joining Lakshman, as did Sita with
Ram. But she did not. Why did she agree to be left behind in the palace,
waiting for her husband for fourteen painfully long years?
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