Interesting perspective!

It is always good to view the events through different sets of eyes / putting yourself in others shoes. This novel does exactly that by narrating the entire epic of Ramayana through the persona of Urmila - Sita's sister and Lakshmana's wife. This novel highlights the hardships of the family in waiting, the ethereal yet unbreakable bond of siblings and the choice of accepting and making the best of adversities thrown at you. Urmila is truly one of the strongest characters in Ramayana - easily neglected under the hype of exile stories and war. Enjoyed this story and the narration on audible.

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untouched aspect of ramayana

our history is enriched with warriors and women are no less than anyone else its just they are often less spoken less written..Mesmerizing writing by kavita kane

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Great Attempt

i am a big fan of Kavita Kane's work. This is one of her earlier books. Her books are always focussed on viewing the great epics through the eyes of the lesser known characters. This story is from the eyes of Urmila, Lakshman's wife. While the main story always centered around Ram, the character of Urmila was always a footnote. The author has turned this on its head and given her centre stage.

After a sedate start the book really picks up. i think it peaks during Ram's banishment where emotions run high, only to languish again. There are parts when the book just goes on and on about the same things. It felt like this plot had more fillers than necessary.

Having said that, it is a refreshing take on a great epic. A view from the sidelines I'd say. A good, quick and an efficient read.

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Loved it

Engrossing book from fresh perspective and vivid narration..definitely worth reading. it gets one hooked till the end.

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Great one overall

Good start and good characterisation for each of the four brothers and four sisters, which were neglected in the original one. But in some moments, the words and description are repetitive. The twist was completely unexpected and let the character widen more folds.
The objective of the younger siblings following their older ones(in story) was interpreted very wisely.
The priority order of ones in their loved ones was little off for me though.
overall had a good time

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beautiful story read ina mosy beautiful voice

loved the emotions in the narrators. felt as though the characters were moving in front of our eyes,a beautiful story from different perspective.

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Great book...

I was attracted by the subject already as Pov of such secondary characters from mythology is not very common in literature... this one met all my expectations... nicely written and well narrated...

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Ramayana from Urmila's perspective

kudos to Writer for writing about the events that would have happened in Ayodhya when we mostly follow the trio's journey.

Well written and performed, but sometimes it gets repetitive about things and sometimes you hear how Urmila is rather than perceiving that from her actions.
And Sita's character was somewhat not written to. it's full extent.

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Seeta’s Sister - A Book Review

A book review: 'Sita's Sister' by Kavita Kane
'Sita's Sister' and 'Karna's Wife' (2014), followed by "Menaka's Choice' (2015) and later 'The Fisher Queen's Dynasty' and 'Lanka's Princess' (2017), Kavita Kane gave readers women from Indian mythology; 'Ahalya's Awakening' being the final one in 2020. All of these are on my reading list now.
'Sita's Sister' is none else but Urmila, the daughter of King Janak and Queen Sunaina. She is the first-born of the couple; Sita, the elder of the two, being the foundling. Yet, Urmila never gets the title of the princess.
'The value of a moment gone and lived often lies in the strength of its memory,' says Urmila. She lives an extraordinary and eventful life leaving no place for pity. She carves her niche in the palace of Ayodhya after Lakshman departs for the 14-year exile. While Ram and Lakshman fight the war against Ravan, Urmila fought her battles around wishes, fate, patience, hatred and prayers in the palace and she is a clear winner here.
Kavita Kane brings out a Urmila who is a scholar of theology, an able administrator, a calm and poised queen, a skilled painter, an adoring wife, a forgiving daughter-in-law, a mature daughter and most impressively, the Urmila, who stands for herself and her sisters.
Kavita's Urmila meets us as a woman of substance when she questions the intellectuals of Ayodhya as to what a man's dharma is towards his mother and wife. Her Urmila has no resentment or bitterness though she is the one who suffers the most of her sisters.
She is a radical thinker. She is Ram's outspoken critic for sending a pregnant Sita to the forest and choosing his country and people over his wife. She asks why does Ram not address his people directly than making his wife walk through the scorching flames to prove her chastity.
An amazing Urmila leaves the reader in a daze.
In the end, I wished to know what becomes of our Urmila and her sisters. All we get to know is about the menfolk of Ayodhya. Can the author tell us?

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1 person found this helpful

Good

I've always liked reading books from the perspective of different characters. And one such book is the Ramayana where stories are told from the point of view of different characters.


This book is the story from Urmila's perspective. The book is wonderful and sad. Sita's bravery, sacrifice and difficulties are known to all of us. But reading the book from Urmila's perspective gave it a new light. A lot of unknown facts about her life are told and it is extremely well written. Her love for Lakshman, their separation, her beautiful paintings and her interest in gaining knowledge and of course her unique anger.

There is a secret of Kaikai revealed here that I had not heard or read in any version of Ramayana so far and it was fascinating. Also, this version of the story does not talk about Urmila accepting the sleep of Lakshman because he wanted to stay awake always to protect his brother and sister-in-law.

Overall, it's a fabulous book, really sad story and is recommended to all mythology lovers and those who like reading the story from various characters perspective

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