Goddess Sita Mutates Indian Mythology into Science Fiction: How Three Stories from Breaking the Bow Reinterpret the Ramayana

Abstract

This article studies three distinct Science Fictional reinterpretations of (goddess) Sita – wife of Lord Rama – in Breaking the Bow, an anthology of (Speculative Fiction) stories inspired by the classical Indian epic Ramayana. These varied manifestations of Sita bear testimony to how Indian SF in English – while reworking gender and refracting mythology – science fictionalizes mythological being(s) to order to indict the ancient text(s) and the prevalent gender skewedness both. This article deliberates on the intersection of mythology, technology and gender in Indian SF, and decodes how these new avatars of Sita are geared primarily towards critiquingmisogyny, patriarchy and gender discrimination while using the vehicle of SF.

Keywords

• indian science fiction
• novum
• breaking the bow
• ramayana
• darko suvin
• mythology and science fiction
• sita’s descent
• test of fire
• regressions