A Heartfelt Letter to Sita: Reflections from The Forest of Enchantments
Dear Sita, How do you endure so much and yet have time to smile? And when I read about you in The Forest of Enchantments, I admired you and also felt sorry for you. Your love for Ram — it was so innocent, so infinite but life left no stone unturned to challenge it. I closed the book, and your time in the forest haunted me. You had escaped palaces and rules and expectations— you were freer than you ever remembered being. You and Ram, against the world — living for yourselves in this newfound life of your own making. I imagined you picking flowers, cooking, and walking with him through the trees; I pictured you smiling. For a while, it seemed like you truly belonged to yourself, didn’t it? But life, as it always does, took that tranquility away. It was pathetic the way you questioned Lakshman, who sacrificed everything to serve you and Ram. He never faltered in his loyalty, but your rage cut him deep. Even so, he never blamed you. How many hearts shattered in those moments ...