Week 14 Story: Sita: The Independent Woman

Sita: The Independent Woman

Sita got home from her long day of work and just slouched on her couch. She had been working hard for the last few months just to get her bills paid on time. Ever since her husband Ram had dumped her, she had had to move out of their apartment and find her own place. 

She still hadn’t forgotten about that day. Ram had dumped her in front of everyone at the hospital she had been working at then. He had asked her to move out of their apartment, as well as his life. She had cried for days on end after she had moved out.

Sita ended up moving in with a friend for almost three weeks until her friend’s roommate came back. She was lucky that she knew somebody who was moving out of that apartment building and she got his apartment. She continued working, taking double shifts so she could make more money. She considered herself lucky that her parents had raised her to be independent because she knew she would be able to make it on her own. 

When it had been a few weeks after their breakup, she found out she was pregnant. She was scared about what was going to happen. When she told her parents, they said they would support her completely. She hadn’t even told Rama yet but she knows it’s not going to go well. “Oh well,” she thought. “I’ll raise this baby on my own. I don’t need Ram.”

One day she went to one of her prenatal checkups and found out she was having twins. Ever since that day, she realized she was going to have to tell Ram now. She had gone to his apartment, their old apartment, and had a talk with him. At first, he was mad that she hadn’t told him when she had first found out. But nonetheless, he was ready to offer her any kind of support she needed. In that moment, Sita realized that she didn’t need him anymore. Over the past few months she had kept herself busy that she didn’t really think about Ram as much. 

Sita looked at Ram and said “Listen, I only came to tell you so you wouldn’t be blindsided one day if you found out from someone else. I didn’t come here to ask for your help.”

“But what about child support? You can’t handle two babies all by yourself with your salary,” said Ram.

“You don’t know what I can do now, Ram. I may have seemed dependent on you when we were together, but I have changed since then. I can and I will go through this all by myself. I already have enough support that I need from my family and friends,” said Sita. “Oh, and I want the divorce finalized now.”

And on that note, she left his apartment and his life. But this time, she left with her dignity intact and her head held high. 

Ram sees a pregnant Sita. Source: Youtube.

Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues. Nina Paley.

Author's Note: After watching Sita Sings the Blues, I realized how much I hated how clingy and dependent Sita was portrayed in the movie. I decided to write a modern day version of how Rama had exiled Sita even after she had gone through his Agnipariksha, the fire test, to prove that she was still pure. In this modern version, I wanted to give her a new personality and be independent, so I wrote about her having a job and being able to pay her bills all by herself. In the Ramayana, Rama doesn't know about Sita being pregnant until much later when he finds two boys singing about him. I wanted to change that up and show he does find out and offers Sita help, but she is independent and doesn't need his help.