The cord that ties

The underlying theme of The Sari of Surya Vilas is men chronicling the events at the time of the British Raj, while it is the women who are actually living it," says the London-based author Vayu Naidu about her latest novel on the sidelines of Zee Jaipur Literature Fest.

Beginning at the time of Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 in a small village in Tamil Nadu and progressing to the next century, the historical fiction traces the journey of a weaver's daughter from India to England, according the sari a pivotal role. "In the narratives emerging from Bengal and South India, women have traditionally occupied an important place," says Naidu. So, what the book underscores is that though women are being dismissed, the sari is a relic of those icons of identity of an old civilisation.

"The motifs on the sari — the rudraksh, peacock, lion, the elephant in musk — are hieroglyphics of a particular season and time in Tamil Nadu during festivals. Women pass it on from mother to daughter to always remind them that even when you go to the husband's house after marriage, this tradition remains your umbilical cord."

Naidu is a consummate storyteller. Her Vayu Naidu Storytelling Theatre Company promotes storytelling through theatre. She is deeply influenced by the ancient Indian tradition of oral storytelling, and explores, through exciting and dynamic performances, how the millennia-old craft can work in today's world.

Her previous novel, Sita's Ascent has been described as "rich, deeply moving and original work of fiction" in which she revisits the Ramayana to look at it through Sita's eyes. "While performing Ramayana all across Britain, Scotland and around the world — it reached its 2020th performance in Pune some years back — I felt Sita is telling me that no one has written her story. The lever to writing the novel is the oral epic. I start at a point where I was inspired by the Krittibas Ramayana. My book begins with the tremendous pain that Lakshman feels when he has to take Sita to the forest when she is pregnant and just leave her there. She is stripped off her title, jewellery and comfort."

Sita's Ascent is undoubtedly a creation of the feminist gaze. The other stirring women characters in her book are the ones that normally don't feature in a big way in the epic — Urmilla, Mandodari and Surpanakha.

There is a chapter on Rama looking at Sita and talking about her. "The novel also explores Rama's conscience: Why did he have to banish Sita despite the fact that he harbours deep love for his wife. He is torn between the role of a king and that of a lover and a husband. Rama is deeply hurt, and yet, he really can't talk about Ravana, though the latter is a stunning chap and was deeply in love with Sita."

Sita's Ascent was nominated for the Commonwealth Book Award. It's a novel that humanises the divine and explores gender dynamics from the perspective of the female protagonist.

Naidu leaves the story open-ended. "When Lava begins to narrate his life's story to his father Rama without actually naming him, the king is overcome with grief, especially when his son quotes Sita, 'What is love if love cannot weather all seasons'. At the very end, Sita turns away from Rama and looks for her true friend Hanuman."