Sita by Toru Dutt

Sita by Toru Dutt

Three happy children in darkened room!

What do they gaze on with wide-open eyes?

A dense, dense forest, where no sunbeam pries,

Gigantic flowers on creepers that embrace

Tall trees; there, in a quiet lucid lake

The white swans glide; there, “whiring from the brake,”

The peacock springs; there, herds of wild deer race;

There, patches gleam with yellow waving grain;

There, dwells in peace the poet-anchorite.

But who is this fair lady? Not in vain

She weeps, - for lo! At every tear she sheds

Tears from three pairs of young eyes fall amain,

And bowed in sorrow are the three young heads.

It is an old, old story, and the lay

Which has evoked sad Sita from the past

Is by a mother sung……..”Tis hushed at last

And melts the picture from their sight away,

Yet shall they dream of it until the day!

When shall those children by their mother’s side

Gather, ah me! As erst at eventide?

Three happy children in darkened room!       

What do they gaze on with wide-open eyes?

In the first line we get a picture of 3 happy children sitting in a dark room listening to something. There is question thats being asked by the poet to the readers - what are the three children gazing at with their eyes wide open. What are they listening to that is so interesting that they are involved in it so much.

A dense, dense forest, where no sunbeam pries,

Gigantic flowers on creepers that embrace

Tall trees; there, in a quiet lucid lake

The white swans glide; there, “whiring from the brake,”

The peacock springs; there, herds of wild deer race;

There, patches gleam with yellow waving grain;

There, dwells in peace the poet-anchorite.

In the above line we get a picture of a dense forest. We also get a picture of how dense the forest is. Its so dense that there is no space for sunlight, the forest is covered with trees and its branches, even though its morning it looks very dark. There is big wild flowers on creepers that has grown around the tall trees, there is quite lake which is crystal clear, in that lake there are swans floating and making sound while they stop at intervals , there is peacock which is leaping in joy and a group of deer racing each other. There are patches on the land which are shining with yellow grains, all these things are making the forest a pleasant and peaceful place to live and the poet feels that its like a home for poets, like a religious recluse where they can spend time in solitary and  tranquility. 

But who is this fair lady? Not in vain

She weeps, - for lo! At every tear she sheds

Tears from three pairs of young eyes fall amain,

And bowed in sorrow are the three young heads.

After the beautiful forest is described the story now moves to another part where the story teller says that there is some beautiful woman sitting all alone in this peaceful forest who looks unhappy and she is crying and this is making those three children who are involved in this story cry as well. They have bowed their head in sadness. 

It is an old, old story, and the lay

Which has evoked sad Sita from the past

Now we get a picture of who the story is about, the story teller talking. Its an old story its a story of Sita of Ramayan that is being recalled from the past.

Is by a mother sung……..”Tis hushed at last

And melts the picture from their sight away,

Yet shall they dream of it until the day!

When shall those children by their mother’s side

Gather, ah me! As erst at eventide?

Now we know from the above line who is the story teller is. Its the mother of those three children who is telling a tale from Ramayana about Sita and struggle but when her children seemed sad and started crying after listening to this story she finishes the story in hurry as she is unable to see her children sad. But the poet says even though the mother wants those children to forget the story they would still remember it until the end of the day. Finally, in the end after finishing the story the mother gathers all her children and hugs them pacifying.

To understand the poem easily I have divided it into three parts.

In the first part the three happy children poet (Toru) is referring to is none other than Toru herself and Abju and Aru her siblings. All three of them are in a dark room and have their eyes wide open and are immersed in the story thats being told.

The second part of the poem mainly concentrates on the story thats being told and on the main character of the poem. The story is about Sita of Ramayana and her life in the dense forest after her husband Rama left her alone to survive. The story first explains the beauty of forest, the birds and animals who live there. Then the story talks about Sita who is crying alone in the forest and when those three children heard about it even they start crying for Sita. 

In the third part its revealed who is telling the story, its none other than Toru’s mother who had picked up an old tale from Ramayana about Sita which is a sad story about her hardship and those three children get emotional hearing this. Finally in end after telling the story the mother gathers her three children and pacifies them.  

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