Assertion of Individuality and Emancipation of Urmila in Kavita Kane’s Sita’s Sister

Abstract

Kavita Kane, the author, says, “If women have not been portrayed in a proper light, it’s because of misogyny and chauvinism which made us all myopic and did not allow us to see these women for their enormous strength and conviction.”

Sita’s Sister is about Urmila, the forsaken wife of Lakshman, who is also one of the precluded character in the Ramayana. Urmila is delineated as an impassioned princess who is in love, an exuberant bride and a desirous woman. She did not constrain herself on Lakshman when he was leaving for exile with his elder brother and sister-in-law as she thought that it would detract him away from his duties towards them. It is a re-creation of mythology and the revelation of the character of Urmila is beyond comparison. In Sita’s Sister, the writer has propitiously brought out the best she could to the character of a female then be it her role as a daughter, a sister, a lover, a wife or a daughter-in-law. All the roles have been taken up by a single and a strong-willed woman, Urmila. It would be very interesting to see how Urmila gave voice to herself and to others thus enriching her own individuality and emancipation.