Ganesha: Welcome back everyone! As you know, we have a three part special with three very special people. Would everyone please give a very warm welcome to Kaikeyi!

*Audience cheers and applauds*

Kaikeyi: Thank you so much everyone! And thank you, Ganesha, for making me feel so welcome.

Ganesha: Absolutely no problem at all. I can imagine doing interviews is pretty difficult.

Kaikeyi: It is, it really is. When people hear one part of the story it is really easy to judge the other person. Luckily, I am here to finally tell my side. I’m sure that people have already made their assumptions about me, but hopefully they will listen to what I’ve got to say.

Ganesha: Well, Kaikeyi, as you know this show is very open and willing to listen no matter who is speaking.

Kaikeyi: Thank you.

Ganesha: I guess we can start wherever you feel most comfortable starting. No pressure whatsoever.

Kaikeyi: I guess I would like to start by saying that I absolutely love Rama as my own. I know it is really hard to believe, but I do. It is also essential to know that Dasharata gave me two promises for saving his life. Whatever I asked, he wouldn't say no. So, to begin, I guess I’ll start with the day I met Manthara. I hired her to help me take care of my son, Bharata. I immediately trusted her. She just seemed like one of those people who would never wrong you. But as Bharata started growing up, she became incredibly distant and aggressive whenever we came in contact. I have no idea why. It was completely out of the blue.

Ganesha: I bet you were very confused as to why she started acting like that. I know I would be.

Kaikeyi: I was. I had no idea why all of a sudden she was acting that way towards me. I knew she didn’t particularly love Rama, but I didn’t think she would project that onto me. I trusted her whole-heartedly.

Ganesha: So, after she started acting this way, what happened?

Kaikeyi: Well, Rama was to be crowned. We were all so happy for him. Who wouldn’t be? After that was announced I went to meet Manthara. She made us both drinks, but I noticed that my drink tasted a little funny. Next thing I know I’m out.

Ganesha: That must have been so scary.

Kaikeyi: It was. I didn’t know what was happening. I thought I was dying.

Ganesha: Please continue your story.

Kaikeyi: Well, I must have been out for a while because next thing I know Rama had been exiled and my son was to be crowned. I had no idea. While, of course, I would want the best for my son, I would never steal a great opportunity from someone I considered my own. On top of that, Bharata had to learn all of this new information from me. No one else was going to tell him.

Ganesha: Oh my, I think I see where this is going.

Kaikeyi: That is where it all really went south. Once Bharata heard what he needed to know, he instantly blamed me. He didn’t have a second thought about it. While it did hurt that my own son wouldn’t believe me, it makes sense. I looked very guilty. I had those two promises and apparently I used them for this.

Ganesha: How did you feel at that moment?

Kaikeyi: I felt broken. My own son renounced me; he didn’t want a single thing to do with me. I didn’t know what to do. I had nowhere else to go and it was all because I trusted the wrong person.

Ganesha: Poor girl. I wouldn’t know what to do either. I feel like throughout the whole thing, you handled it so well. If I had received a fraction of what you have, I don’t think I would have the same outlook as you.

Kaikeyi: Well, it wasn’t easy, not at all. It took a lot of reflecting and remembering that if people project at me, it’s because they have something going on in their lives.

Ganesha: Absolutely true. Unfortunately, we are almost out of time, but before we leave, Kaikeyi would you like to add anything else?

Kaikeyi: I would only like to add that if you hear a story, please make sure you get other sides. As cliché as it is, there are several sides to a story, and it is up to us to get to the truth.

Ganesha: Well, again, thank you, Kaikeyi for being here with us today! As usual stay safe, stay well, and be happy!

*Author’s Note: This story was incredibly based off of several stories from the Ramayana. I wanted Kaikeyi to be someone who was completely innocent in a situation that went horribly wrong for her. As you can see, that is exactly what happened. In my story, she was a person who just knew and trusted the wrong people, and for that she paid the price. She lost everything in the story of the Ramayana, and in my story she also lost essentially everything. I thought it was really important to include everything that happened originally because I wanted the same concept to be there. However, I included that she was unaware of what was happening the entire time and was unable to do a single thing about it. As unsatisfying as that is, sometimes that is what happens. Piggybacking off of that concept, that is also why she lost everything in this story as well. Sometimes we don’t get the happy endings we deserve, and we don’t get the apologies we deserve. It’s real life. I wanted my story to reflect real life. I am really proud of this story because it was really hard to write in that I wanted her to be happy and successful, but that was unrealistic.

The stories I used for inspiration were from The Ramayana PDE Version contributed to by several authors.