Voyage into Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Forest of Enchantments

Abstract

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is based on India’s most cherished lovelorn epic Ramayana.  This novel depicts Ram’s banishment of fourteen years and Sita’s life thereafter from her perspective. It also presents Sita’s deep-seated desires--her love for Nature. She was indeed the daughter of Nature who could feel their anguish as well as amusement. The forced banishment indeed had its ups and downs which even Ram and Sita could not escape. This paper deals with Sita’s life, forest life. It also engages with the other characters in the periphery. But the chief interest lies in the fact that how Sita, staying within the society, highlights the loopholes of our society- how women, through the course of their life, are subjected to racial discrimination in their own house, their society, and, most importantly, how men try to control their lives. Sita’s voice further speaks about the art of balancing the public and the private life which is very essential for the entire human race to follow. How Sita understands and analyses the different facets of love also provide a lesson for life to the entire human race is analyzed in this paper.