TV : Religion and Soul

Sita Sings the Blues - Reinterpreting the Ramayana

By Tom Thumb, Posted Oct 05, 2009

An incredible one-woman production.

Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues is quite astonishing.

The musical animation combines classic Indian art, 1920’s jazz songs, classic myth, modern irreverence and a personal unhappy love affair to give a new spin on one of the oldest stories in the world, the Indian epic, the Ramayana.

Paley’s retelling of the Ramayana was ironic enough to invoke the ire of the neo-fascist Hindus in India which is recommendation enough and brings a breath of fresh air to a stuffy classic. Rama as the perfect man and Sita as the perfect woman have long been sacrosanct concepts in India but in modern times the ancient story perpetuates the idea of the wife as the perfect doormat. Nina Paley brings this out with brilliant dialogue between the confused narrators and her understated wit in the animation accompanying the old jazz classics.

Sita Sings the Blues is a Funded By You production which means if you like Nina Paley’s film you can donate

Thank you, Nina.

Sita Sings the Blues Part 2

Sita Sings the Blues Part 3

Sita Sings the Blues Part 4

Sita Sings the Blues Part 5

Sita Sings the Blues Part 6

Sita Sings the Blues Part 7

Sita Sings the Blues Part 8

Sita Sings the Blues Part 9

Sita Sings the Blues Part 10

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Tom has been traveling non-stop since the age of 18 and co-founded Road Junky in 2004. Follow him @tomglaister

He’s the author of Hand to Mouth to India, an account of hitchhiking from England to India with no money and which will soon be rereleased by Road Junky Books.

Tales of a Road Junky featuring tales of breaking people out of jail in Delhi, selling fake Rolexes in Japan and other adventures in Israel and Brazil will be out later this year.

He also writes fiction for anyone who never really grew up and his latest novel is Bozo and the Storyteller – download the audio book for free or even buy a copy…