From:(Indian male name)

Hi,
just came across your site and saw your work on the Ramyana. Man im
blown away. i setup a studio (in Bombay) a few months ago to produce a
series for little kids.
i showed this to my crew and well they didnt get it. i had to
explain its a non indian perspective to things also from Sita's point of view
and not a static third person viewer perspective which we get in India.
after half a day of arguing i think they have seen the light and are
right now busy discussing the merits of your work (i am eavesdropping)-
they love the monsters.
anyway i think your stuff rocks.
look forward to newer stuff.
regards,

 

From:(Indian female name)

Hello Nina,
...I saw your Sita character
on a Artwallah web broadcast. I loved it so much I had
to find out the animator. I went to your site and saw
Sita sings the Blues. Pure genius! The Annette Hansaw
songs give such texture to the story! It's uncanny how
well you were able to mesh it into the mythology. I
was so immersed in the animations that I totally
ignored my friend on the phone.
She didn't like that.
Oh well. :)
I actually LIKE this Sita, compared to Sampoorna
Ramayana's Sita. Blech. All that woman did was whine.
I remember being 10, watching that series with my
family, and yelling words of motivation at that female
character from my sofa set.
"C'mon girl! You can scale that fence! You don't need
the monkey man's help! He's been sitting 3 feet above
YOU in the tree...listening to you sing!... For the
LAST 3 WEEKS, for crying out loud! How can you not see
him!?"
Ok I admit, I have my own unresolved childhood issues
about Indian mythology.
Anyhow, I just like to tell you what an awesome job
you've done!

ps How come your contact info was so hard to find?

Dear Ms. Paley,
I want to congratulate you on "Sita Sings the Blues." A friend of mine
sent
me the link and I thought it was amazing....

 

From:(Indian male name)

Dear Nina,
...I was L.A. a few days ago and had the
chance to see part of Sitayana at ArtWallah. I was truly blown away.
Just in terms of technique, I think it is spectacular, but there's much more
to it for me.
I've seen your FAQs online and that really helps. The guys at Badmash
are also big believers in your work.....

 

From: (Indian female name)
Date:Thu, 16 Jun 2005 13:50:16 -0400

Dear Ms. Paley,
One day when I went to my english class, my teacher asked me if I
had
seen this animation on the internet yet. He showed me the Sitayana.
He
told me that he had visited his favorite websites and read that it had
great
reviews. The main reason he probably showed it to me is because my
name is
Seetha, but spelled differently. I really loved it, so I showed my
parents
that night, and they loved it too. (My dad especially because he liked
the
music very much.) I think the way she is portrayed is very important.
Not
only are you remaining true to the Indian art by the way she looks,
it's a
new spin with a woman's point of view. With the music, you can feel
Sita's
emotions for Rama and see that sometimes love and devotion aren't
enough for
people to completely trust. I just wanted to congratulate you on a job
well
done. I'll be waiting for the next installments.

P.S: I don't mind that you called Rama a jerk... it's your own opinion.

 

From:
"Rajeev Prasad" <rp_29@hotmail.com>  Add to Address Book
Subject:
hello IMP about your own self.
Date:
Mon, 22 Aug 2005 15:39:10 -0500

nina,
i just read your attempt of earning bread and butter by saying any
bull*
about Ramayana especially Sita. more then that, you are trying to
compare
yourself with Sita. you know what i know it is typical of your race, -
anything for money. All great civilizations will put honor above
everything
else, while as yours will put money. coz if you have money you will
have the
chance to try to quench your thirst of all the materialistic things
around.
a great person (which you are not), when finds a great character/life,
try
to raise to that level.
whereas a low life/unworthy try to pull the great character to his/her
level
and attain his/her goals.
I am sure you are like any of your people, as any girl of your culture,
you
might have had physical relations with more then one man, before your
husband, and after him. and if you tell that was not love - you ONLY
loved
your ex-husband - let me give you a gem here - there is 2% sex in love
and
2%love in sex.
so going by your cultur's standard - you do not have great morals -
money
and comforts to body, are of supreme importance and you will do
anything for
that.
question: is your ex-husband jesus christ? like jesus-christ? that way
your
saying 'married to god' will be justified. so you are wife of jesus????
ex-wife.
first become equal to sooparnkha then talk about Sita.
- although cloths were invented millions of years ago - western
civilization
- especially females perhapes still do not know how to use them.....
:)

From:(Indian female name)
Subject:Finally a person who understands!! I'm an admirer of your Sita sings the Blues work...

Congratz with this cartoon! I'm sure you'll receive a lot of compliments.
Being a woman, and Hindu, I've always thought of Rama and Sita as perfect individuals..... I still do. But I was always curious as to why people left the character of Sita out so much. She deserves so much more, and it's nice that you took her perspective into consideration. I agree that the Blues really does exemplafy your point on Sita's perspective-devoted, loyal, and perfect.
My only question is...do you really think Lord Rama is a jerk? I know some of us Hindus believe that part of the reason why he came to this earth was to show right duty. Maybe this mistake was just to show how bad human error is....maybe him throwing out sita really proved another point altogether, the point that !wow  look what i have done!look at this mistake! see how bad it is? don't do this!.....
But anyway good luck on the work and I really look forward into seeing the conclusion......if i knew animation art i would've so liked to do the Ramayana from Lakshmanna's p.o.v. lol... just kidding! Take care!
All the best!

 

From:(Indian name I'm to ignorant to discern the gender of)

Hi,
I came across your work on Ramayana today and found it
extremely funny and first rate!
I have only seen one clip and would like to see more.
Please let me know if you accept paypal donations for
this project.
May I host/mirror some of these clips on my website?

 

Date:Sun, 24 Apr 2005 00:01:03 -0700 (PDT)
From:"Ranjit Chaudhary" <ranjiboss@yahoo.com> 
Subject:The Sitayana : The Story.

Hi,
From the animation and also the character development
I could just guess 2 things.
1) You have learnt about Ramayana in a very wrong
sense and you have been portrayed the character of
Lord Rama in a wrong sense.
OR
2) You are trying to create a controversy by agitating
the hindu community and thus trying to gain cheap
publicity.
If case 2 is true please neglect this mail as it is of
no use.
If case 2 is not true then I would very strongly urge
you to find out the authenticity or applicability of
case 1 in your case. You have got the opinion that the
man who is supposedly soo smart, how could he doubt
his wife and ask her to prove for fidelity. How could
he send her to forest ? For this please look at the
Ramayana from the beginning, especially Rama's birth.
I am sure you would find the answer.
The animation was very good by the way. Keep it up.
Ranjit

From:(Indian female name)

Ms.Paley,
I recently visited your website on Sita. It is really interesting. However, you might want to revise the Sanskrit spelling of Sitayan in future.

From:(Indian name I'm to ignorant to discern the gender of)

I just found your Sitayana series from a mention at
Sepia Mutiny. I found it amazing - very creative and
fun. I grew up in a household where we talked about
Ramayana all the time ..but this is the best take on
the story I have ever come across..
Congratulations and keep up the good work!

 

From:(Indian male name)

hi
love your work on sitayana.
best wishes

 

From: (Western male name)

Hi Nina Paley,
My name is ______ and I really enjoy your work. I am a World History teacher at ______ High School in _____, Texas and I would really like to use your "Sita Sings the Blues" video in my class when we get to Indian tradition. May I copy it to DVD? I will be happy to make a donation-

 

From: (Western male name)

Hi,
 
I just watched your Sitayana.  It was hilarious and well done at the same time!
Congratulations!
 
I had girlfriend while living in Thailand and I am very familiar with the Thai version of the Ramayana.  You got all the important details right! 
1 Girl is drop-dead gorgeous.  Thanks for not making her an Indian beauty plump like a mango
2 Girl is kidnapped and must stay loyal while waiting for her man to rescue her
3 Lover finally rescues her but then has the gall to ask if she was loyal.  Thanks for showing her hurt feelings and his lack of trust
4 They forgive each other n makeup in the end.  But no god that comes down, kicks ass n says Knock it off!  Just forgive each other already!
Singing the blues was the perfect touch!  It is a unique marriage between cultures but hey!  it works!  My animation professor hates the Japanese version of Metropolis because they used Jazz which did clash with the story mood but here, in your case, Blues works perfectly!
Of course, you do realize that Blues singers tend to whine alot n blame everybody else for their own problems?   I really like the way Sita dances while singing.  It leaves one wondering same as Rama, 9 years is a loooong time....  Did she put out or not?
I also loved the animation.  Just wondering... Did you storyboard before you animated?  It really looks like you worked out the key poses clearly ahead of time.
1 The Donkey Kong look of Hanuman.  You must play Nintendo a lot!
2 The simple movements that blend well with the music rhythm yet define personality so clearly.  Did you study Charlie Chaplin?
3 The special effects of snow and fire.  Nice job with diagonally falling snow!
It was also funny for me on another level.  Several Indians girls attend my school, DeAnza College.  They always flirt.  I was only interested in one because she is skinny but so shy I couldn't even walk her to class alone.  She was also jailbait and moved to Michigan.  :-(   But it was nice to see another cute Indian girl! :-)
I'm going to share your art website with my friends and classmates.

 

From:(Western male name)

hey.
i just have to say that your cartoons are terrific. The first one I
came
across was some sort of person (dog, man?) chasing string to a klezmer
tune. Ah yes, Fetch, I believe (thank you internet). Anyhow
cartoonists'
props are few and far between, I thought I'd formally say thanks, and
your
stuff is great.
peace out

From:(Western male name)

Nina,
My daughter and I watched your Sitayana stories, and she (and I were
entranced. You do really beautiful work.
I authored them on DVD so a friend could watch them, and he loved them
as well. He thought that they told the story excellently....

 

From:(Western male name)

Dear Nina,
I saw one of your Sita shorts at the Artwallah Festival in Los Angeles,
and
was inspired to have a look at your web site.
The "Sita Sings the Blues" series is delightfully whimsical and
amusing, and
it is beautifully designed and animated. I enjoyed seeing some of the
Hindu
texts being presented in a light, entertaining way.
Regarding your commentary on the web site, while I appreciate that you
are
approaching the material from a Western, secular, feminist perspective,
and
while I share many of your social concerns, it is important to note
that the
Ramayana is primarily a devotional text. The various stories contained
in
its many versions are mainly meant to be understood in a symbolic or
mystical way. Some acknowledgement of that, for the sake of cultural
respect, might be courteous.
In any event, I wish you all the best with your beautiful work.

From:(Western male name)

Hi Nina Paley,
I just wanted to let you know I saw a link to your Sitayana films on Boing-boing.net.
They are just beautiful, fun, wonderful work! I can't wait for the next installments.
I am also feeling a bit guilty. I'll pay $9.00 to see some uninspired drek on the movie screen, yet I get to enjoy your scintillating creativity for free on your web page. That's just not fair! I would like to send you a donation. (I'm a struggling artist myself, so I'm not talking about a life changing windfall. Maybe just enough to cover your lunch bill.)  Do you have a PayPal account or some other remuneration opportunity?

From:(Western male name)

Dear Nina,
 
My friend, ______, sent me the link to your wonderful short film, THE SITAYANA. I loved it!
 
I have long been a fan of classic animation and the music of Tin Pan Alley and have always had a fascination for things Indian. You have brought all of these together in the most delightful way. I particularly love the design of the settings and characters. Sita looks like a cross between Madhuri Dixit and Betty Boop! And the choice of Annette Hanshaw for the soundtrack was simply inspired.
 
I certainly hope you will continue your feature project!
 

From:(Western female name)

Hi!
My name is ____, I was forwarded 'Sita Sings the Blues' by a prof
of
mine at the University of ______ where I am doing a
religious studies and applied ethics degree. I have a very special
place
in my heart for Sita also I have recently finished a rather lengthy
paper
on Sita which focuses on re-interpreting her role in the Ramayana, as
well
as a few ideas of my own regarding using the ethics of care (Carol
Gilligan, 1982)to show that Sita is more then just the ideal compliant
Hindu wife. Also something which didn't make it in the final cut of the
paper but which started a wicked debate at a religious studies
conference
I was just at, the idea that Sita was more or less edited out or took a
back seat in common Ramayanas (ie Sattar's, which was the main text I
used). Really when you think about it, Valmiki is the one to take her
in
and defend her to Rama in her final scene, Valmiki who only happens to
be
the author of the text (?!?!?...yah right).
I loved your 'Sita Sings the Blues', I think it hints at the different
version of Sita that I would like to see more of. I have sooo much I
want
to say about Sita's role in the Ramayana, and would like to know what
you
think about some issues, such as Sitas final scene: Suicide or "This is
last straw Rama! You blew it, I'm going home to mother, DON'T CALL!!"
(I'm
of the second opinion in case you couldn't tell).

 

From:(Western male name)

Dear Nina,
I saw the first installment of your "Sita Sings the Blues" on Badmash,
and had to tell you that I absolutely loved it. As both a student of
the Ramayana -- _______ was my undergrad advisor (I've forwarded
your site on to her), and if I ever get around to writing my
dissertation it will probably be on the Ramayana in Bollywood film --
and a musician in love with the blues, I always thought there was
great potential for a cycle of blues songs inspired by the characters
and situations of the epic, but never got around to it. But it looks to
me like you are definitely on the right track... keep up the great
work!

 

From:(Western female name)

Hello Ms. Paley,
I recently came across your Sitayana animation online and
I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed it. I'm a
student researching aspects of the Ramayana that affect
women and I thought it was interesting to find an American
women's (are you American?) version of it. It made me
wonder, where did you get your idea for it? I noticed on
your website that you've been to India. Did you discover
the Ramayana there?
If you have the time I would love to hear how you came to
making such a beautiful cartoon that depicts an episode
that has long disturbed many Indians.
Thanks for your time.