The Indian Woman, From Myth to Modernity: Revisiting the Mythology of Sita
VIEW EVENT DETAILSJoin Asia Society Washington for an evening exploring the mythology of the goddess Sita. Sita is one of the defining figures of Indian womanhood, yet there is no single version of her story. Different accounts coexist in myth, literature and folktale. Canonical texts deify Sita while regional variations humanize her. Folk songs and ballads connect her timeless predicament to the daily lives of rural women. Modern-day women continue to see themselves reflected in films, serials and soap operas based on Sita's narrative.
However she is remembered, revered or written about, Sita continues to exert a powerful influence on the collective Indian psyche. In Search of Sita presents essays, conversations and commentaries that explore different aspects of her life. It revisits mythology, reopening the debate on her birth, her days in exile, her abduction, the test by fire, birth of her sons and, finally, her return to the earth, offering fresh interpretations of this enigmatic figure.
Join us for the screening of a short film made on the book and related issues concerning women in India, as well as a panel discussion that will unpack the mythology of Sita and to explore her indelible impact on our everyday lives.
Malashri Lal is a professor in the department of English, and the current joint director of Delhi University, South Campus. She has written and lectured extensively on women’s sociocultural positioning and women’s writing. Her publications include The Law of the Threshold: Women Writers in Indian English and the co-edited volumes, Interpreting Home in South Asian Literature and Speaking for Myself: An Anthology of Asian Women’s Writing.
Maina Chawla Singh, Associate Professor at the University of Delhi, has lectured widely at international institutions, including Cambridge, Oxford, Yale, Cornell and the Library of Congress. She was a Haddasah-Brandeis Scholar-in-Residence (2008) and Fellow at the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University (2009). Her recent book Being Indian, Being Israeli: Migration, Ethnicity and Gender in the Jewish Homeland is based on extensive fieldwork research and over 150 interviews conducted among Indian Jewish communities in Israel. She is currently Scholar-in-Residence at American University. Her two next research projects focus on "Migration Narratives of Indian Jewish Women" and "Political Engagement of the Indian American Diaspora."
Event Details
Asia Society Washington, The Cinnabar Room, Whittemore House, 2nd Flr., 1526 New Hampshire Ave, NW