When I first heard about “Sita Sings the Blues,” Nina Paley’s animated film based on Ramayan, I was surprised. I had never heard of this movie, which has offended the religious sentiments of thousands of devout Hindus in India. I decided to research the matter further.
I feel that one can forgive the artist for her rendering of Ramayan, especially when she says that she empathizes and identifies with the suffering Sita. Since she is obviously not a Hindu, one understands that she has simply accepted Ramayan as a mere legend sans spiritual values and has identified herself as Sita and her ex husband as Ram.
But the Hindu community, especially those who worship Ram and Sita, cannot stomach the fact that Nina has used Ramayan to express her frustrated feelings and to purge her pain of rejection. Nina, who was dumped by her husband via an email, was naturally going through a bad phase in life.
However, in the process of using Ramayan, she has committed unforgivable blunders, the chief of which is the faulty and erroneous presentation of this epic, which is considered holy among the majority of the people in India. She has presented an unforgivably wrong picture of Ram and Sita; and by doing so, she has stripped Ramayan of its spiritual worth. This is not only insulting to the Hindu community, but is also dangerous in the sense that it will give the wrong idea about Hindus, Hinduism, and Ramayan to the Western audience.
One also cannot forgive Nina Paley for making one of her commentators say that “the Ramayan is not as true a story as the Bible.” Lord Ram and Goddess Sita are true enough for millions of Hindus just as Christ is true enough for millions of Christians. This statement reflects Paley’s mistaken idea that Christianity is superior to Hinduism, which simply isn’t true. Hinduism was here even before the birth of Christ, has sustained millions of Hindus in the past, and continues to do so. So this statement simply cannot be tolerated and must be protested against.
Although one respects the artist Nina Paley and her right to artistic self-expression, one cannot accept the damage done to Valmiki’s great epic, considered divine and holy by the Hindu community. To put it shortly, nobody can destroy another’s work while creating their own. Paley has destroyed Ramayan while creating her “Sita Sings the Blues.” And, above all, no one has the right to hurt the religious sentiment of another.
I therefore protest against “Sita Sings the Blues” and request its ban and ask you to do the same.
More Information about “Sita Sings the Blues”
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