One could begin by verifying each of the Ramayanas (Valmiki, Dibbya, Adhattya and Jain) that Manoj Mitra mentioned as sources of his new play Bhelai Bhashe Sita. Or one could contemplate the production possibilities offered by its folk theatre form. Mitra’s reading of the play, conducted by Chandan Sen at the Bangla Academy during the Paschim Banga Natyamela, was greeted with queries about when it would be staged.

Or one could cherish the amazing experience. In Bhelai Bhashe Sita, Mitra dares to reinterpret ancient texts that have acquired religious significance and in doing so, the writer of Ashwathama, Takshak and Ja Nei Bharotey invites the audience to look at accepted “truths” differently.

He asks why Rama took so many weapons with him on exile and why if Panchavati was infested with demons so many sages took shelter there.

It is easy to detect the signs of a deeper conspiracy in Sarabhanga Rishi’s almost fanatical schemes of Aryanisation. Rama the conqueror, lover and husband is more attractive than the icon we are accustomed to. Laxman as the ruthless henchman who could easily leave behind Urmila is more believable than the loyal brother. Ravana as the bumbling superpower with ambitions of winning a seat in Heaven is only too familiar. If the bird brothers Jatayu and Sampati become symbols of the exploited millions, Sita breaks out of the virtuous shell imposed on her.

The critical moment lies in Sita returning in the bhela or raft, let off by the people of Lanka who failed to conquer her will. But her return endangers Rama’s carefully laid plan to conquer Lanka — can he afford to take her back?

But is this the truth? Isn’t it another version of a story? The truth lies elsewhere. By reinterpreting Ramayana, Mitra is asking us to look again at our own ideas of life, death, nature, love, relationships and expectations.