Tara's Truce: Kavita Kane Recalls A Forgotten Sacrifice From Ramayana

‘Do we mean anything?’ Tara questioned hopelessly. ‘Are our desires, our dreams relevant to the course of destiny at all?’ Tara. Vali’s wife; Sugriv’s queen; the woman behind Rama’s curse. A person of extraordinary intellect, foresight and determination, Tara is a master stateswoman, both before and after she marries Vali and is crowned the queen of Kishkindh. But her wisdom and stature cannot stand in the way of destiny. Tara finds herself caught in a battle of egos between the two brothers and reduced to the victor’s trophy. However, in this time of conflict, she resourcefully restores peace and prosperity in the kingdom she helped build, even if it means sacrificing everything.

Kavita Kané, in her latest recounting of the Ramayana, narrates the tale of Tara’s truce—the compromises Tara made to fulfil her divinely ordained purpose, including marrying her husband’s killer.

Here's an excerpt from Kavita Kane's Tara's Truce



What do they want to glimpse? The funeral or the coronation, wondered Tara, sitting straight and stiff to the right of Sugriv. Sugriv looked appropriately solemn. Standing by his side was his faithful friend Hanuman, more a bodyguard these days, protecting his friend from a possible attack by Mayavi. Ruma on his left looked wretched, suffering the humiliation to which she must expose herself. Both sat like beautiful statues in the ongoing proceedings. 

Tara did not know what spirit of bravado entered into her. Did Ruma’s desolate face motivate her, or was it Sugriv’s obsequious righteousness that prodded her like the prick of a spear? She rose from her throne set specially for her and said a thing that surprised even herself. ‘I welcome you, O people of Kishkindh. It is a bitter sad moment for us, but a kingdom without a king is like a rudderless boat. Considering the situation, it is most appropriate that Sugriv,’ she paused taking a deep breath, ‘my brother-in-law, the brother of my brave Vali, and husband of Ruma, be named king…’

Sugriv felt himself flush with embarrassing anger, but Tara gave a sudden smile, relief flooding her face as she turned to look at him, her eyes glistening with triumph. Tara, by smartly announcing his coronation, had publicly refused to be his queen. 

‘I suppose I needn’t take a bridal veil now, need I?’ said Tara under her breath as she sat down again on the throne. 

She was watching his face and knew that her flippancy angered him.

Just then, a bellow shook the solemn silence of the hall. 

Her heart froze. She knew that sound. She looked at Sugriv and he looked at her.

There was just a flicker of doubt in his eyes that revealed to her that he was uneasy. Sugriv sprang to his feet, his face deathly pale. Tara could hardly find her voice. Vali, she whispered, a silent scream in her mind. The door burst open and Vali rushed in. He came to an abrupt standstill when he saw Sugriv with Ruma and Tara at the throne. Even from a distance, Tara recognized the red flecks of incoherent rage in his eyes. She saw Vali throw up his hands in mock surrender. His face went the colour of old ivory.

‘It’s all right, everyone, I am very much here, I am very much alive!’ Vali started, his forced jocularity not concealing the repressed fury. ‘I seem to be on time for this mock ceremony. So, you are now king, Sugriv?!’ 

Sugriv lunged forward, rushing down the steps, to greet his brother. He stood smiling stupidly, a blend of servility and horror in his eyes. 

‘Vali!’ he shouted eagerly. ‘You are alive!’ Tara’s heart swelled with joy. Relief and amazement grabbed her, binding her to the chair. What her rational mind had kept telling her was true; Vali was alive.

‘At last!’ she cried, with a gasp of relief. Tara rose from her throne. 

‘Vali, you are back!’ she cried with a widening smile touching her eyes, draining out the last vestige of sadness. Her heart was so full that she was afraid of bursting into tears. 

Only Vali, having barely heard her, had his murderous eyes still fixed on his hapless brother. Without taking his eyes off Sugriv, Vali strode into the hall, inciting a collective gasp of astonishment echoing through the high ceiling. Sugriv seemed paralysed, standing motionless, blinking at him without saying anything. Vali’s face was a mask of undecipherable emotion. The wave of joy dissipated fast, replaced by a wave of mounting horror. Vali is going to hurt Sugriv. Frantic to ease the situation, Tara moved quickly, stretching an imploring hand towards the enraged figure of her husband. 

‘Vali!’ She approached him with hasty steps, the sun in her hair, and her big, brown eyes alive with relief. 

‘I thought… We believed…something had happened to you!’ she sighed tremulously. 

‘But I knew you would come back to me!’ Vali stopped in his path, looked at her, and then walked across the remaining distance to take her in his arms. She peered up at him, her eyes bewildered. He stayed like that for a long time, holding her against him, so that she couldn’t move. 

Tara felt something inside her melting. She clung to him, brushing her lips against his skin. She did not want this moment to end, wanting to never be out of his arms. 

But he suddenly yet gently pushed her away, shaking his head as if trying to clear something from his mind. He stood tall and terrifying, his white, stony face expressionless as he gazed over her head to glower at his brother. 

‘Yes, I am alive! No thanks to you, brother!’ he growled.