Reading Sita differently

Anita Sivakumaran's book is part of the tradition of women using the old and familiar myths and legends to tell their own stories

In her book, Women and Power, A Manifesto, Mary Beard wrote, “When it comes to silencing women, Western culture has had thousands of years of practice.” She may as well be speaking about the East, where patriarchal traditions have managed to control and mute women’s voices for generations, through ridicule, societal pressure and violence.

Anita Sivakumaran’s book gives voice to a group of such women from myth and epic, women who were denied their say by their male storytellers. She writes about Kannagi, Ahalya, Kali, Sita among others, adding a modern twist to their traditional tales. 

Sivakumaran opens the book with a