We all have grown up listening to the stories of Ramayana from our grandparents. Every child hailing from a Hindu household must have heard how Lord Ram was an ideal gentleman, listening to his parents and saving her wife and friends in the hour of need. It gave people hope and used to spread positivity in the lives of people. With our nation stuck in such a pandemic due to coronavirus outbreak, the government is taking possible measures to make sure that people stay sane inside their houses.
Doordarshan's epic mythological shows of the '80s like Ramayana, Mahabharat are been aired on for the viewers who are quarantined in their houses. Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana is helping out the younger techie generation to understand the entertainment of yesteryear with an important story to learn at the same time. But, being a technologically advanced society, we do not shy away from expressing our heart out on social media, even if we are talking about 'gods'.
Ramayana with feminism: A modern tale by Twitter
The recent episode of Ramayana triggered a massive twitter argument over the negative character of Queen Kaikeyi. Netizens are hurling abuses for Kaikeyi and her maid Manthara for plotting against Lord Ram. As the argument continued, both the characters kept trending on Twitter. And then, the discussion took a feminist turn and the debate over feminism began. Some Twitteratis felt Ramayana did not mete out fair treatment to its female characters, others felt the storyline champions women's empowerment.
Tweets on Ramayana's Feminism
Some of the people were hailing about how we were progressive even back then. One of the Tweets read, "We were so progressive even 7000 yrs back, it's amazing. Sita was very intelligent & warrior woman. Kaikeyi wasn't only a warrior, she was Saarthi of King Dashrath in Devasur sangram, which was not at all an easy task. True women empowerment. #Ramayan." While other reads, "Seeing Ramayan today, I am reminded of first female drivers were from India. Kaikeyi and Satyabhama." Some people also called Kaikeyi the first lady of any combat.
But some of the tweets were filled with abuses and how one woman tried to drag another down, referring to Sita and Kaikeyi. One of the viewers tweeted, "Kaikeyi was a class b**ch, wasn't she? Asking for her son to be crowned king was alright, but sending Ram to exile was evil at a whole new level. Don't bash me, I won't take it back (sic)!" Another expressed, "Kaikeyi was the most unfortunate character in the entire epic. The poor lady loved Ram more than her own son, went to battle for her King, was also probably the most intelligent of the Queens & yet, in 1 moment of clouded thinking, she ruined it for everyone. What a beautiful lesson (sic)!"
Some called her a homewrecker while some addressed her as pseudo-feminist. The show which has just been started again few days back proved that even after so many years, it has the capability to become the talking point.
