Sita's Castle
Have you heard of the story behind this acre of land that cost billions of dollars? It was once the ground that the goddess Sita sat upon. She was the most beautiful princess around and was highly pursued by many. One day, the almighty Rama came across Sita. He knew it was love at first sight and was on the quest to make Sita his wife. Sita did not hesitate to accept his proposal. Rama bought Sita a whole castle; the castle was actually built right on this plot of land.
This is where Sita spent every morning getting ready and most of her free time. She loved her castle. Rama knew if Sita was nowhere to be found she would be in her castle. Often, Rama would come up to the castle and sit outside just watching Sita do her daily activities. He found Sita to be the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Seeing that the land is empty currently, it is clear that the castle had been removed. The reason for the demolition of the castle was due to a man named Ravana. Ravana was actually an admirer of Sita. He heard about her from his sister and instantly fell in love with just the thoughts and imagination of her. He wanted Sita to be his wife but was unsure on how to do so. There was a curse placed on Ravana, and he was not allowed to touch any woman unless they were desired by him.
He was determined to make Sita his wife, whether she wanted to be his or not. One morning when Sita was in her castle getting ready for the day to begin, Ravana showed up. He told her he was there to make her his new bride. She tried to explain to him that she was married and had no interest in him. Ravana kept trying to convince her to leave Rama. He told her he would give her all that Rama had to offer and more. He would cherish her forever and she could keep her castle that she loved so dearly. She cried out for her husband, but he had been away buying Sita a new pair of earrings. Ravana couldn’t get Sita to come with him, so he decided to take the whole castle with Sita inside along with him. He flew the castle and Sita to his homeland and told her she was trapped.
This is where Sita spent every morning getting ready and most of her free time. She loved her castle. Rama knew if Sita was nowhere to be found she would be in her castle. Often, Rama would come up to the castle and sit outside just watching Sita do her daily activities. He found Sita to be the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Seeing that the land is empty currently, it is clear that the castle had been removed. The reason for the demolition of the castle was due to a man named Ravana. Ravana was actually an admirer of Sita. He heard about her from his sister and instantly fell in love with just the thoughts and imagination of her. He wanted Sita to be his wife but was unsure on how to do so. There was a curse placed on Ravana, and he was not allowed to touch any woman unless they were desired by him.
He was determined to make Sita his wife, whether she wanted to be his or not. One morning when Sita was in her castle getting ready for the day to begin, Ravana showed up. He told her he was there to make her his new bride. She tried to explain to him that she was married and had no interest in him. Ravana kept trying to convince her to leave Rama. He told her he would give her all that Rama had to offer and more. He would cherish her forever and she could keep her castle that she loved so dearly. She cried out for her husband, but he had been away buying Sita a new pair of earrings. Ravana couldn’t get Sita to come with him, so he decided to take the whole castle with Sita inside along with him. He flew the castle and Sita to his homeland and told her she was trapped.
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| Here is Ravana taking Sita away. Photo Credits: Naukrinama |
When Rama returned to find the land the castle was on to be torn apart, he was confused. He made the castle purposely on land that was forever protected by his brother Lakshmana. He was to always keep his eyes on the castle especially if Rama was away. He immediately went to Lakshmana and asked him what happened to the castle. He said that Sita had requested that he go find Rama, and was to tell him to hurry home. Rama scolded Lakshmana and blamed Sita’s disappearance on him. Lakshmana felt terrible and promised that he would never let anything happen again to the land because he would always keep an eye on it, and would aid Rama in finding Sita for however long it took.
Months passed by, then years, and Sita was nowhere to be found. Everyone accepted that she must have been kidnapped and killed. Since then this land has been protected and has never been prone to any type of natural destruction. Although the times of Rama and Sita are way past the time of today, it has been said that anyone who decides to buy this land and build a home on it will receive protection for eternity.
Author's Note: From The Ramayana, Rama had never built a castle for Sita. However, he did leave her for a portion of the day to be protected in the hands of Lakshmana while he went to go hunt a deer. That was when Sita thought her husband was in trouble so she sent Lakshmana to go help Rama. This is when Ravana took her. Since Ravana was in love with Sita and was not allowed to touch her unless she wanted to be his, he took her away on the ground she stood on. I decided to keep to the plot pretty much up to this point. I twisted the next part of the story and made "the ground" into the castle. Sita, however, eventually did return to Rama but he had a hard time accepting her back. However, in this story, Sita is never found and the land, therefore, is forever under Lakshmana's protection. I decided to use this picture because it portrays Ravana in a bad light. From my understanding of the story, he was a figure that was a demon. This picture helps imagine how scared Sita was yet also shows Ravana not laying his hand on her, though he really desired her.
Bibliography:
Narayan's Ramayana, By Kamban & R. K Narayan, 1972, Bizzell Reserves.
What really struck me about this story is how Ravana lifted and flew away with an entire castle. This is par for the course, considering that Hanuman the monkey once lifted an entire mountain. Ravana can probably lift an entire mountain range.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the Ramayana would have changed if Rama had started his own kingdom around this castle. Would this have been a violation of his father's promise? It would have been interesting to see if Rama's new kingdom and the kingdom that should have been his had come into conflict with each other and where each person's allegiances would have lied.
I think Ravana's trickery could be enhanced if you listed some of the things he promised Sita before kidnapping her. He could promise her mounds of jewelry, vast lands, and entire armies. Sita, being completely loyal to Rama, would, of course, reject all of these gifts.
Overall, I think this was a really strong story. I'd enjoy reading more variations on the Ramayana in this vein.
Whoa, what a neat twist on Ravana's kidnapping of Sita! The setting of a grand, sacred castle offers an entirely different feel than the thatched cottage in the rakshasa-ridden woods of the original tale. The way you leave it hanging, too, with the now empty grounds spiritually guarded by a rueful Lakshmana, no news of Sita ever found, is really sad. The castle seems like a really special place, of your own invention, too; I would love more detail about what goes on there--maybe what Sita does there in the daytime, how she and Rama pass their time. The more it feels like they have a full and beautiful life there, the more keenly the loss of it can be felt!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good story! The castle idea is ingenious and makes the story more like a fairy tale. I would have to disagree with grant though. The original story is more tragic because Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana are already suffering from their banishment,causing their love to be more important than if they had happier lives. That being said, I still enjoyed the story a lot.
ReplyDeleteFrom the start of the story, the reader immediately feels as if they are hearing a legend or folk tale, which makes it so exciting to read. It is creative that you got the idea of Sita's castle from only a vague phrase in the Ramayana about how Ravana took "the ground she stood on." Adding in the part about Lakshmana creating the castle adds an authentic detail, since Lakshmana is known as a gifted architect and builder.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting way to re-tell Ravana kidnapping Sita. I love your thought process that you explained in the author’s note, about twisting the “ground” into the castle. This was a great twist! The story flowed like a fairytale and I really enjoyed reading it. I do think it might have been interesting for the story to end with Sita and Rama reuniting since she was still alive. It made me kind of sad that he never found her!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed getting to read your story. I thought it was smart to stay somewhat relative to the actual story but still giving room to add your own manipulations. You did a fantastic job on this story. I really liked the idea of Sita being in a castle rather than just land. When the normal person thinks about a damsel in distress, they usually assume that they are trapped far away in a castle. Your story definitely brought back the love situation between Rama, Sita, and Ravana to its roots and I thought that was very clever. I also enjoyed how clear it was to read this story. I was never confused and you were very straight forward with your thoughts. I wonder what would have happened if Sita would have been successfully wooed by Ravana. After all, she is in a lovely castle with someone who is just trying to love her. I always wondered about that possibility, especially when reading the Ramayana. Great job on your story!
ReplyDeleteYour story has a very interesting reading feel to it. It is a nit choppy with the sentences but it kind of makes me feel like I am on a tour and the tour guide just speaks in a way that is choppy! So, I wouldn't say its a bad thing! I also like that you have the picture in the middle. It fits well with the flow of your story. I do have just a couple of questions and notes as I read through your story! First, at the very beginning, is it just supposed to be a single acre of land that costs so much or are there supposed to be multiple acres? It reads as there only being one! I also think it is sweet that you took the idea of Rama leaving Sita somewhere protected and you turned that place into a castle for her. Very inventive! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI love the realty idea. I have also used some of the suggestions of different ways to start a story to write my own stories and they always turn out great, just as yours has. In your intro, I would change the wording of Sita's story to not say "into" and add the extra "into him" or just something that makes that more clear. I love that Sita is in the castle instead of the forest! Sita is a princess and should have never been put into exile! I also like that the realtor has created a meaning for the untouched land in this story. In Oklahoma, there are cities that say that a tornado will never tear through them because they have been blessed through Indian sacrifice and this part of the story really reminds me of that! In the end of your story, you changed it to where Sita is never found. Poor Sita! I wonder where she went to? Has she been with Ravana this entire time? Does the Ramayana just stop there, or does Rama go on without his love? Very cool how you changed it!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you retold this story from the viewpoint of a realtor. I hadn’t ever considered writing a story like that, but it worked really well. I also like that you changed Lakshmana guarding her for part of the day to guarding the castle that Sita was residing in.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few grammatical errors throughout the story, but nothing major. My biggest feedback would be to use some more complex sentence structures. You have a lot of simple sentences, most of which begin with either a name or a pronoun like he or she. It works with the simple sentences, but it doesn’t make for an incredibly interesting read, which is unfortunate with such a great story idea. Maybe just mix up the sentences a little or join them in some way. Just a thought.
I’m looking forward to reading your other portfolio stories this semester!
One of my favorite things about storytelling in general is just how each person is able to make it their own. When I first heard the story, I heard that Lakshmana used blessed rice to draw a line of magical protection outside the ashram. Others say that the ground itself was protected, and here it's a castle.
ReplyDeleteI like the approach you used, where you focused on an object and the story behind it, in contrast to most people who have done stories focused on people. I think you really did a good job with it and sold your readers on the value of the house, while also providing an entertaining and suitably dramatic story behind it.
If anything, I'd like to see a potential reunion of Rama and Sita. It's unfortunate that he never managed to find her; however, that also adds an air of mystery so I understand if it's best left up to us to decide what happened in the end.
Overall, it sounds great, good job!!
Hey Marisha! I really liked your story for your portfolio! I think that you did a great job being creative with your characters and adding back little details from the stories we have read so far this semester. I love hearing peoples’ different versions of how Rama wins Sita over so reading yours was great. I always suggest more dialogue between characters! I think that it could really add some great dynamics to your story and give the readers more input for how and what your characters are thinking. I also really liked your image for your different stories. I think that they do a good job creating an image for the characters to ‘act’ on. It also gives a great setting for readers to imagine your characters living in. Your Author’s note also does a great job explaining where you got your inspiration! I hope that you are having a great semester and I cannot wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me almost of the Harry Potter in that the sacrifice of Harry's parents protected him in the Dursley's home long after their death. The concept is really interesting and I"m glad you investigate it in this story! I'd love to hear a little more about the building itself... it is haunted by Sita? Does her spirit provide any kind of solace to those living there? There are so many possibilities!
ReplyDeleteHi Marisha,
ReplyDeleteI love what you did by telling the story as if you were a realtor. It added a fun element to a story that we all know really well by now! My favorite thing that you added was the little selling point at the end that if the person decided to buy the property, they will be protected as well! That would have sold me on the property haha!
I also like how Ravana could only put his hands on Sita if she wanted to and that in order to overcome this “curse” he had to take the entire castle. That was a creative solution to the problem.
You did a nice job staying close to the original story while adding personal flair and creativity. My only suggestion would be to play up the realtor’s voice. I would add things here and their to remind the reader that this is a realtor talking to potential clients. It’s clear at the beginning and end, but maybe something in the middle would tie it all together.
I really like what you have done to the story of how Sita was captured by Ravana. I read a short tale towards the beginning of the course a out a castle a boy built near a river for his wife and one day someone stole all of it from him. Your story reminded me very much of that but with a twist of the Ramayana in it.
ReplyDeleteMost of the people in the class have read the Ramayana but some may have read a different version. I suggest making your Author's note a little more detailed. Maybe explain that Rama and Sita are traveling with Rama's brother Lakshmana and that Sita is taken while they are away.
Other than that, great story! I really liked the part about the castle and how you incorporated it into your story. Good job!