Divakaruni's retelling of Ramayana to be out in 2019

New Delhi : US-based author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni next novel a retelling of the Ramayana through Sita that deals with heartbreak, betrayal, fidelity and honour and transforms an ancient story into a gripping, contemporary battle of wills will be out in stores in 2019.

HarperCollins India has acquired the publishing rights for Divakaruni’s “Under the Sorrow Tree” along with those for her next novel. “Under the Sorrow Tree” is both a cautionary tale and a reminder of the powerful but often-forgotten female voice.

Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel, as she gives voice to many of the other women in the epic – often misunderstood and relegated to the margins: Kaikeyi, Surpanakha and Mandodari. The novel also deals with the struggle to retain power and autonomy in a world that privileges men.

It has several underlying questions: How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say, ‘Enough!’  “I have always felt that Sita remains an amazing and powerful character, much misunderstood through the ages. I hope to bring her complexities and strength to life,” says Divakaruni.

Diya Kar Hazra, Publisher Fiction & Rights Director, dubs Divakaruni as an unparalleled storyteller. “Chitra creates unforgettable characters. Her Sita is intelligent, spirited and wilful. She is brave when subjected to great injustice. She is forced, by her husband, to be a single mother; she is asked, over and over again, to prove her fidelity,” she says.

According to her, “Under the Sorrow Tree” will be an “incredibly powerful novel that will be particularly relevant to readers today”.