“Sita Haran” – A Painting from the Ramayana Series by Rounak Rai
Myth, Metaphor, and Motion in a Folk-Contemporary Language
In his painting “Sita Haran”, artist Rounak Rai continues his signature Ramayana Series, portraying the dramatic abduction of Sita by Ravana — a crucial turning point in the epic. Yet this is no ordinary illustration. Through bold symbolism, flattened figures, and expressive linework, Rai brings a renewed psychological intensity and cultural resonance to this mythic moment.
The central composition is dominated by Ravana, with his ten heads and twenty arms, forcefully abducting Sita while riding an enormous swan-like creature. The unusual use of birds — particularly the red-and-white contrast — creates a surreal, unsettling effect, drawing attention to the violence and deception at the heart of the act. Ravana’s red wings suggest both power and danger, while the white bird carrying Sita evokes her innocence and purity.
Rai’s Sita is shown in a dynamic pose of protest, her arms raised, mouth open in a cry for help — “Shri Ram! Shri Ram!” inscribed repeatedly in the background, creating a haunting visual echo. The blue sky, heavily textured, enhances the tension in the scene, making it appear almost like a storm of fate closing in.
Aesthetically, Rounak Rai fuses elements of Indian folk art traditions (like Pattachitra and Bhil) with his own stylized grammar — sharp contours, frontal faces, rhythmic patterns, and symbolic distortions. His brush speaks of heritage, yet the message is strikingly modern: emotional upheaval, moral choices, and human vulnerability.
The handwritten Hindi text merges seamlessly with the visual story, not merely as explanation, but as an integral part of the artwork’s rhythm — as if the words, like the images, are crying out for justice.
With “Sita Haran”, Rounak Rai doesn’t just depict Ravana’s crime; he reclaims the scene as a psychological landscape, where motion, memory, and myth collide. This painting is a testimony to how traditional storytelling can find new power through an artist’s fearless and personal interpretation.
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