S. Puja, L. Kavitha Nair

Grief, Anger, and In-between

Introduction

Grief, anger, and in-between. Reinterpret Śurpaṇakhā's grief and anger from Rāmāyaṇa using rasa-bhāva theory in Poile Sengupta's play. Reclaims her subjectivity, challenging traditional narratives & marginalized voices.

Abstract

Śurpaṇakhā from the Rāmāyaṇa, though she plays a pivotal role in the epic, is often neglected in the main discourse. The character’s exclusion from the central narrative typically positions her as the “other” and reduces her to a flat, villainous archetype. To bring her from the margins to the center, it is crucial to reimagine and reinterpret her narrative in order to reclaim her subjectivity. Thus, this paper proposes revising Śurpaṇakhā in Poile Sengupta’s play, Thus Spake Shoorpanakha, So Said Shakuni, through the lens of the rasa-bhāva theory. It moves beyond the aesthetics to view rasa as a transformative medium, shaping the character’s experiences. It investigates the factors that marginalize Śurpaṇakhā in the traditional narrative and how they instigate dominant sthāyibhāvas like śoka (grief) and krodha (anger), which, respectively, evoke karuṇa rasa and raudra rasa, shaping the character’s internal conflicts and agency. By redefining her emotional complexity, this study challenges traditional Rāmāyaṇa narratives and offers new perspectives on the emotional experience of marginalized voices.

Review

The proposed paper, "Grief, Anger, and In-between," addresses a highly pertinent and overdue subject within literary and cultural studies: the re-evaluation of marginalized characters from foundational epics. By focusing on Śurpaṇakhā from the Rāmāyaṇa, the study rightly identifies a figure whose pivotal narrative role is often overshadowed by her reduction to a flat, villainous archetype. The abstract clearly articulates the ambition to move Śurpaṇakhā "from the margins to the center," thereby reclaiming her subjectivity and offering a nuanced interpretation of her experiences. This approach promises to enrich our understanding of a complex character and challenges the dominant narratives that have historically shaped her portrayal. Central to this reinterpretation is the innovative application of Poile Sengupta's play, *Thus Spake Shoorpanakha, So Said Shakuni*, as a textual lens, combined with a sophisticated engagement with the rasa-bhāva theory. The paper's intention to view rasa not merely as an aesthetic framework but as a "transformative medium" shaping the character's experiences is particularly compelling. By investigating how traditional marginalization instigates dominant *sthāyibhāvas* like *śoka* (grief) and *krodha* (anger), which in turn evoke *karuṇa* and *raudra* *rasas*, the study effectively outlines a methodology for dissecting Śurpaṇakhā’s internal conflicts and agency. This nuanced theoretical grounding suggests a deep exploration of her emotional landscape, moving beyond simplistic categorizations. Overall, this paper presents a significant contribution to Rāmāyaṇa studies, feminist literary criticism, and potentially performance studies given the choice of the play. Its capacity to redefine Śurpaṇakhā's emotional complexity through a rigorous theoretical framework promises to challenge entrenched perspectives and offer vital "new perspectives on the emotional experience of marginalized voices." The study's stated aims and methods indicate a scholarly work of high originality and impact, poised to offer a fresh and insightful reading of a critically important epic character.

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