Kamadeva: Welcome to the show, Rama! So what's been going on?
Rama: Thank you, I am happy to be here. I need all the help I can get. And well... my love and I have been having some problems. She's very mad at me, won't talk to me, and I cannot find her anywhere!
Kamadeva: Why is she mad though? Did you do something?
Rama: Of course not! Well... I might have made her prove her virginity and faithfulness to me in front of the whole town by stepping into a fire and umm.. the second time I sent her away because I still didn't believe her.
Kamadeva: Oh goodness Rama!!!! Why did you do that? How do you expect her to forgive you? You have caused her so much shame!! Why didn't you trust your wife? Isn't trust the foundation of every relationship?
Rama: See, ol' Kama. That's where I made my mistake. I trusted other's opinions over my trust with my wife. Random people in the city doubted her faithfulness when she was held hostage by Ravana for so long. I messed up really bad. Now what do I do? I want to be talk to her and sort things out, but she's GONE!
Kamadeva: Well... we have a surprise for you! Behind this curtain is our special guesttttttttt, SITA!!!
(curtain opens)
Kamadeva: Welcome to the show, Sita! How are things going?
Sita: Things are very good ever since I got away from him (points at Rama).
Kamadeva: WOWWWW! Some shade THROWN here right on stage!!!! Let me hear your side of the story, Sita.
Sita: Well, Rama over here continually questioned my faithfulness to him. The first time, I was like okay, I understand. It's our traditional culture nowadays, and we need to respect it. Thus, I stepped into the fire and called upon the fire god, Agni, to prove my loyalty. I stepped out of the fire unburnt. I BURNED MYSELF FOR HIM. Isn't this enough proof? I thought this silliness will end, but a few years later, he had the audacity to SEND me into exile.
Rama: Heyy... I didn't kn--
Kamadeva: Rama, let's not interrupt Sita. You will have your turn soon to discuss. Continue, Sita.
Sita: Well, it was only after that I realized I was pregnant with twins, but it was too late to tell him. I ended up raising up the twins with Valmiki, who offered me a safeplace to live. I still kind of missed him, but I just can't get over the fact that he has no trust for me.
Kamadeva: Sounds like you guys have trust issues. Let's do this. So tell me how you guys met. Rama, go first.
Rama: WAIT! I HAVE KIDS? Sita, why didn't you tell me.....
Kamadeva: We will handle that later, Rama. Now start your story.
Rama: I remember back long time ago, I saw Sita in the garden. I immediately fell in love with her beauty. I was determined to marry her no matter what. When I heard her dad was having a contest to determine her husband, I just knew I had to win. I didn't only just win, I broke the arrow. I married Sita, and it was the best decision of my life. I fall in love with her more and more each day. Her wit and charm just captivates me so much I would never ever think about looking at another girl again. I got too caught up in other people's businesses and forgot why I fell in love with her in the first place. Even though it was love at first sight between us at first, over time, I really fell in love with her honesty and her ability to not hold anything back.
Kamadeva: Wasn't that a sweet story, everyone? Let's hear Sita's side.
Sita: Oh Rama. Well, I was in the garden in my palace when I met his gaze from across the field. He was just this handsome prince that I immediately fell for. When the contest came, I was just hoping that he would win. When he broke the bow, I laughed so hard. I love Rama so much. He makes me laugh every day, and I couldn't ask for anything more. When I am sad, he cheers me up. When I am happy, he makes me even more happy. I can never be sad around him. He makes me be a better me.
Rama: Awwwwww. Sita, I am so sorry for all my past mistakes. If you forgive me, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.
Sita: Hearing our story again brings me back to all the past times we forgave each other in the past. I should have understood your side more and how hard it is to be king. Let's not fight anymore.
(Rama runs over and hugs Sita)
Kamadeva: There you have it!!! The legenedary Rama and Sita are back together and now with their two kids. What did we learn today? We learned that trust and forgiveness are all part of any relationships. Remembering why each other falls in love is essential to rebuilding that long lost love that has been corrupted by all the problems that arise.
Author's Note:
I felt like Rama and Sita's story did not have a very happy ending. At the ending , in the original, Sita basically leaves the mortal world and dies. They never really resolved the conflict between them and that's why I thought it was important for them to have this talk. Also, I combined multiple stories within one. I talked about the story of how they met. It was truly love at first sight, and the competition for Sita's heart was determined by who can bend this all powerful arrow. Rama didn't only bend the arrow, he broke it.
Lastly, I included the story of Rama really testing Sita's loyalty to him during the years she was captured by Ravana. I made this story central to this storybook and the reason why they have trust issues and are mad at each other. Nothing in the original stories was changed. I just adapted their story to a format of a talk show! I wrote the story into kind of a script because in my comments, someone thought it would be cool to have it written like this because it has kind of a reality talk show vibe. Also, I thought it would be funny to add some jokes in there such as when Rama found out he had kids or when he tried to interrupt during Sita's talking. I also made Sita to be a stronger more powerful woman. In the Ramayana, she was kind of seen as fragile and didn't have a strong role.
Banner Photo: Ashoka tree flowers: Wikipedia Commons
-The Ashoka flowers have a special connection to Sita. Remember the Ashoka grove in Lanka where she was kept by Ravana.
Image: Orange background: Beauty Color code