Week 15: Reading Feedback

Looking back on this semester there were several readings I liked and didn't necessarily care for. First of all, I really loved the Ramayana and all of the readings that went with it. Rama and Sita were some of my favorite characters and I loved following their story. For me, the Mahabharata was harder to get into. I felt it was more difficult to read, didn't seem to flow quite as well as the Ramayana, and for whatever reason just did not interest me as much. However, as a whole I loved this class. I thought that at times the amount of reading was a little overwhelming, but it was enjoyable most of the time. I liked that this class challenged me to become a better writer as well. Working full time, I'm always really busy during the week (especially when I have to travel). I managed my weeks by sometimes skipping one of the reading assignments and doing an extra credit assignment over the weekend when I have more time. For future students, I would recommend getting ahead of schedule as soon as you start the class. I realize that for many people, myself included, this is not really an option, but I imagine it would make all the difference.

Week 15: Reflections

I cannot believe the semester is finally ending. I have to say, this was a great choice for my final class as an undergrad. There's a lot to look back on from the last few months. I came into this class knowing nothing about the Indian epics and having absolutely no idea how to manage a blog. I think I improved not only my knowledge on the topic and ability to work on a blog, but also my witting skills and creativity. This class made me go out of my comfort zone a bit, which is a good thing. I was never much of a writer, and certainly not a creative writer. Each week I would see the fun, inventive stories my classmates would come up with and it inspired me to work on my creativity and come up with a better story for the next week. I think I successfully wrote some creative stories, and enjoyed doing so. That was my favorite part of the class!

Week 13: Reading Diary B

this week I chose to read the Divine Archer. I picked this story because it seemed different than most I have read, but just the name alone interested me because of one of my favorite stories I've written about the men having an arrow contest. I liked the style of writing from this author. It is kind of a shortened, somewhat poetic version of the Ramayana, my favorite epic. I think I want to write my story This week on Rama growing up. I love how in depth this version goes into Rama as a baby and growing up. I think this would be a great addition to my storybook because it could give a little back story on Rama and what went on before Rama and Sita united. This was one of my favorite stories!

Baby Rama (riversidetemple)

Divine Archer F. j. Gould (1911)

Week 12: Reading Diary B

I chose to read this story this week because I really love the Ramayana. I have come to love Rama's character, so I was immediately drawn to this story. I like that it's very focused on everything Rama is doing. The storyline is similar enough to some versions I've read in the past, but the style of wiring is very comfortable and easy to read, making it much more enjoyable to me. I want to focus on Rama and Sita for another story to add to my portfolio, except this time I want it to be a little more upbeat and happy. I loved my story based on Sita sings the Blues, so I think I'll enjoy this as well. I think I can pull a good excerpt from this story to twist into my own. I want to do another story that strays from the original plot quite a bit, so I can get creative. This will give me a good base to do so. 

Indian Storybook: Rama's Quest

Week 11: reading diary B

This week I chose to read Monro's writing on Rama and Sita. I loved the story I did about Rama and Sita earlier in the semester, so I was interested in doing another reading on the pair. I saw this reading had a love story, which is another reason why I was drawn to it. The only love story I have done so far is on Rama and Sita, and that story was not so lovey dovey, as it really focused on Sita being sad. This reading starts a little slow by giving some background information on what's going on. They explain how Sita was bestowed to Rama, and how it was decided that Rama would be the heir to the King. This story gives a little different perspective on Rama and Sita, which I enjoyed. I think I may want to write a sequel to "Poor Sita" using this story's different characteristics but sticking with the very modern approach I had taken with that story. I think this could be a great addition to my portfolio.



Rama and Sita Monro

Rama and Sita (Hanuman-Bhakti)

Portfolio Guide

Story 5: Kunti Says Goodbye
Kunti faces a difficult decision, and must choose between her life and her baby.

Story 4: Karna, You Are the Brother
Karna learns the dark secret that his enemy is actually his family.

Story 3: Who is the Strongest Man of All?
Drona holds an exciting tournament to determine the best warrior of all.

Story 2: Yudishthira Saves the Day
On a long, hot afternoon Yudishthira saves the lives of his brothers after a strange encounter with a mysterious voice.

Story 1: Poor Sita
An update on Sita and her rotten luck.  She cries out for help each time she stumbles, and eventually gets her way.  Inspired by the short film Sita Sings the Blues. This story is probably my favorite because it was the first time I got really creative with the original story and made it my own.

Week 10: Reading Diary B

This week I decided to read a modern version of the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata was much harder for me to get into, unlike the Ramayana that I breezed through, so I thought reading a modern version would be easier for me to relate to and further understand the plot and characters. The first section started off differently, but was very dramatic and descriptive when talking about the characters. I loved this because this is my kind of style of writing, and I think basing one of my stories off of this version will help me a lot. I loved the section talking about Pandu seeing Madri and finally feeling something. I think I will base my story this week off of this section.

Pandu and Madri (Wikipedia)

Mahabharata Dharma 2008

Storytelling Week 9: Who is the Strongest Man of All?

Who is the Strongest Man of All?




apple (wikipedia)





The heat was on. Drona had just announced the most exciting news anyone had heard in years. There was going to be a tournament against all the young men in the country to determine the strongest, most skilled warrior. Any and all men between the ages of ten and thirty were invited to compete, and almost everyone wanted to participate. It wasn't every day this sort of thing happened, so every man knew this was his one chance to prove himself. Drona even promised the winner would get a life-changing prize, but he would not reveal what the prize would be until it was won.




The men had only one week to practice, so everyone was stressed. How was one supposed to prepare for something this important in just seven days? They would need at least a month to practice all of their skills in order to feel fully prepared for such an event. They begged Drona to give them more time, but that was one wish he refused to grant. He told the men that a true warrior would not need to prepare as his talent would lie within him. He would hold practice for the men each of the seven days leading up to the tournament, and anyone was welcome to join.




Nobody slept that night. The men were so nervous and anxious and their families were too. Like Drona said, the winner's life was about to change. This was not just a tournament to prove one's worth, it was a chance to live a better life--the best life. They knew that by winning this tournament they would be know as the best, the strongest, the ultimate man. That accreditation combined with the winning prize was enough to make them sick just thinking about.



Day one of the practices was shooting practice. Drona told the men a true warrior knows how to properly shoot an arrow, so he had each of the men show him their form as he critiqued each one. He then had them practice several times shooting at a target. They must have shot 100 arrows within thirty minutes. Drona was unimpressed. "Do you all even know how to shoot an arrow? This is embarrassing! None of you will win this tournament at this rate," he said laughing.



Discouraged, the men kept shooting. They had lost confidence knowing Drona did not believe in them. Drona stood above all the men, placed a plump apple upon his head, and proclaimed, "A real man would be able to shoot this apple right off the top of my head without even blinking, but you all are just a bunch of-" Drona's jaw had dropped to the ground and everyone fell silent. The apple upon his head had been pierced directly in the center of its flesh with a golden arrow. "Who... Who shot this arrow?" Drona said trembling.



"It was I... Karna," shouted a mysterious young man. The crowd gasped and turned to the victor. Nobody knew this man. Who was he? Where had he come from? You could hear the crowd bickering and arguing that he did not even belong here.



"Well, my son, you are our victor. Only a true man would be able to strike an apple upon my head without me even flinching or moving a single hair," Drona exclaimed. "Come, we celebrate you! The tournament is called off, men. We have found the ultimate warrior!"



Karna felt on top of the world. Drona presented him with his life prize of becoming invincible with a life-long supply of riches so he would never have to worry about anything in life again. Nobody knew who Karna was or where he came from, but they gained respect for him that day.



Author's note: This story was inspired by an excerpt of Nivedita's Mahabharata. I loved this scene because it reminded me of WilliamTell, and shooting an apple of the head of someone reminds me of the short old-time stories I'd read as a child. I really changed up the plot, so not much about this story is similar to the real one. First of all, Arjuna is a main character in Nivedita's version, with him being the one that shoots the apple. I wanted Karna to be the one that shines, since in my opinion he gets the short end of the stick throughout the epic. This scene is rather short in the original, so I really expanded on it here adding a backstory to why they were doing this and adding that Karna was granted all the riches, instead of being looked down upon like he is in the Mahabharata. I also wanted to portray Drona in a more positive, accepting light. He is so stern, harsh, and unforgiving in the original story, so in my version I wanted him to be more democratic. I wanted to get creative and tell my own version of the story, and I think I achieved my goal. I think this story will go nicely in my portfolio because it's very different than the stories I currently have, and I think it will be a nice contrast without being completely different. This was the first time I have ever really strayed far from the original plot, so I really enjoyed just making up my own story and telling the reader what I thought should have happened.









Mahabharata (Nivedita)

Week 9: Reading Diary B

This week I chose to read Nivedita's version of the Mahabharata.  I had seen the options for Nivedita's writing in the past weeks, so after doing a little research I decided it was about time I chose one for my weekly reading.  The story starts with the Pandavas and the Kauravas playing and learning how to shoot arrows.  They then meet Karna, son of a charioteer, who immediately becomes Arjuna's rival. I particularly like the scene where they boys are shooting and want a chance to shoot the apple and Drona is sure nobody will hit the target, but of course Arjuna proves him wrong and nails it.  Drona arranges a tournament between all of the boys, and once again Arjuna has proved himself to be the most skilled.  However, Karna sees Arjuna's talents and is determined to beat him in a duel.  In this story the Pandava boys are banished to the forest with their mother, Kunti. The Pandavas fight for Drapaudi, but are recognized soon enough.  This is definitely an abridged version of the story, but it is still very detailed and conveys the story great.  It was easier to follow along with than some of the previous reading, and I think I will be able to base a story off of my favorite scene with the apple target this week.

Pandavas (Wikimedia Commons)

Mahabharata (Nivedita)

Reading Plan

So far I have really enjoyed reading both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, so I feel like in the weeks ahead I would like to explore more alternative versions of the stories.  I feel like doing this will go well with what I have accumulated so far in my portfolio.  However, I thought I would spend my last week of reading doing something a little different.  I thought it would be fun to explore something a little different than just the two stories at the end of the semester.  This is the reading plan I have come up with:

Week 9: Nivedita's Mahabharata
Week 10: Kincaid's Indian Heroes
Week 11: Nivedita's Ramayana
Week 12: Monro's take on Rama and Sita
Week 13: Wilson's Indian Story Book
Week 14: Nivedita's Shiva

Shiva Monument (wikimedia commons)

Reflections: Looking Forward

So far this semester has been pretty hectic for me.  I work full time and this is my only class, so I am pretty removed from school.  I have also been out of town for work quite often, which has made it difficult at times to remember to keep up with my work.  I think moving forward my main focus is on switching up my schedule.  I have been notorious for waiting til the last minute and doing my assignments at the end of the day when I'm exhausted in bed and wanting to go to sleep.   I want to make myself switch to a weekend plan of finishing the week's assignments during the weekend, at least for the most part.  I think this would reduce a lot of stress and allow me to not have to worry about doing my work after a long day of work.  I think this plan should help me be much more successful, and possibly even allow me to get ahead.  In the next few weeks I hope to get the chance to work ahead so I can maybe even finish the course a little bit early.  I definitely feel more comfortable writing and have found myself getting a little more creative, so I am excited to see what my writing is like by the end of the semester! My main motivation right now is finishing this class with an A and becoming an official OU graduate. 

Graduation (Flickr)

Storytelling Week 7: Karna, You Are the Brother

Shikhandin, a warrior born a woman, but transformed into a man, sought Bhishma in battle.  Bhishma could not bare to fight a woman, even if she was a man now.  He refused to bring his A game and was not expecting much out of this encounter.  However, Shikhandin had every intention of battling Bhishma.  Within minutes of their battle Shikhandin struck him with multiple arrows and he immediately fell to the ground near his death.

Everyone was called to come visit Bhishma as he lied on his death bed.  Most visitors he wished to speak with one on one.  He had several visitors including all of the princes and princesses in the land, but there was one visitor in particular he knew he had to have a serious moment with, and he wanted this visitor to be the last to bid him farewell.  Bhishma called young Karna to come visit him before he passed, to tell him some news he would never be prepared to hear.

When Karna heard the news that Bhishma had summoned him his stomach was in knots.  He wondered what in the world he could have to tell him that was so important that he wanted it to be his last words on Earth.  Karna nervously walked to see him.  His jaw was clinching, he was profusely sweating, and a million thoughts were running through his head.  As he approached Bhishma lying in a pile of leaves, he took a deep breath and said, "to what do I owe the honor, Bhishma?"

Bhishma was weak.  He could not sit up, he could hardly talk, and his face was as white as snow.  "Come closer, boy,"  he said as he signaled to Karna to take a seat next to him on the ground.  "I urge you to make peace, my boy," he said, "I promise you, you do not want to fight Arjuna.  He is like family to you."

"Family to me?  I cannot stand the man and I am going to take him down!" Karna said angrily, "Why would you even suggest such a thing?!" Bhishma had tears in his eyes, and Karna knew it must be very serious.  "Tell me the news, Bhishma.  I cannot wait any longer, just tell me."

Bhishma put his hand on Karna's shoulder while looking at him in dismay.  "You mustn't fight Arjuna for he is your brother.  The charioteer was nothing but a foster father to you. You were the first born son of Kunti, but she had to give you away.  Arjuna is your family, and you can't kill family.  Please, do not kill your family." And with that Bhishma peacefully passed away.

Battle (Wikimedia Commons)

Karna was upset, but more furious.  Why would nobody tell him this until now?  Why would his mother give him away?  Was he supposed to feel differently about killing Arjuna?  Because right now he didn't.  He ran through the woods looking for the rest of the Pandavas, trying to find an explanation for the madness.  He finally came across none other than Arjuna.  Karna approached him, and for the first time he had the feeling like he could not be angry with him.  "Arjuna, we cannot go through with this battle,"  he said.

"What? You're chickening out? HA! I had a feeling you weren't as tough as you pretend to be,"  Arjuna said laughing.

"No..."  Karna said, "We can't go through with this because you... you are my brother. I was the first born son of Kunti, but she could not raise me at the time, so she gave me away.  Bhishma just told me this on his death bed.  His last dying wish was for us to end the battle and bring peace again."

Arjuna was silent for what seemed like an eternity.  "This is not possible,"  he said, "you are a savage, you are not my brother."  And with anger in his heart Arjuna turned around and struck Karna, instantly killing him.   He stood above Karna as he passed away, and realized what he had done.  "My brother," he wept, "I just killed my brother.  What kind of man am I?"  Arjuna lied there next to his brother Karna crying, begging for the forgiveness of the gods and his family.  He knew he had done a horrible thing.



Author's Note:  This reading came from Wilson's Five Tall Sons of Pandu.  I chose to base my story off of section 9 of this reading.  I stuck with the same general plot of the original story, but I knew I wanted to change it up a bit.  First of all, in the original story the Pandavas shoot the arrow that killed Bhishma, not Shikhandin.  I also made a bigger emphasis on Bhishma's death.  I wanted to make it seem that it was a much bigger deal, so I elaborated on his visitors.  I made the scene of Bhishma summoning Karna and breaking the news to him much more dramatic because I felt that it should have been.  I also changed the ending up a bit.  I decided I wanted Karna to see the light and decide he did not want to fight his brother.  In the original story Karna is still determined to fight Arjuna, they go to battle without Karna telling him they are brothers and Arjuna kills him.  I felt this story would be a great addition to my portfolio because it is dramatic like many of my other stories.  I love taking intense scenes from our reading and making them a little more detailed and dramatic.  


Five Tall Sons of Pandu

Week 7: Reading Diary B

This week I chose to read Wilson's shortened version of the Mahabharata.  This version was interesting to me because there are no gods, celestial powers, or anything like that which we have seen in the past. This version strictly focuses on the humans, which I actually liked.  This version felt more modern and real to me.  The story begins with Pandu being dead and his blind brother becoming king.  Drona begins to train Pandu's sons (the Pandavas).  Once Drona felt the Pandavas had been adequately trained, he organized a tournament between them and their cousins, King Dhritarashtra's sons. The boys are engaging in pretty harmless battles, some getting a little out of hand but Drona keeping everything under control for the most part.

We then meet Karna, who challenges Arjuna, one of the most talented, to battle.  Nobody knows this Karna character, and he cannot even identify himself or his heritage or line of family when asked.  A charioteer then comes sweeping in and Karna bows to him as his father, which makes many of the boys furious, particularly Bhima.  However, after this little episode the boys come to realize just how powerful Karna must be and that he really is a fair match for Arjuna.

One of the major changes in the plot Wilson introduced was the story of Arjuna and Draupadi.  In this version, Kunti tells her son that he should not have won the prize after the archery contest and that it should go to her eldest son, Yudhishthira, making him the husband of Draupadi instead of Arjuna.  The previous version we read had Kunti declaring that all of the brothers should share the prize, making all five of her sons the husbands of Draupadi.

There were a few slight little changes in how and why the Pandavas were sent into exile, but this section stuck pretty close to the original.  The are sent to be exiled to the forest for 12 years, with the 13th year being spent in disguise.  Draupadi joins them.

Arjuna (wikimedia commons)

I loved the scene of Bhishma laying on his death bed telling Karna that the charioteer was only his foster father, and that he was actually Kunti's first born child.  Bhishma pleads for peace explaining that Arjuna is his brother, so they should not go through with battling each other, but Karna does not really care.  He is still determined he is going to bring him down.  However, upon an intense battle between the two, Arjuna eventually shoots the deadly bow to kill Karna.  I will likely base my story this week on this scene because I think it will go nicely with my theme.  I like the really dramatic scenes of the stories we read so I can elaborate on them and make them even more dramatic.

The Five Tall Sons by Wilson

Week 6 Storytelling: Yudhishthira Saves the Day

Yudhishthira Saves the Day

It was a hot July afternoon.  The hottest day they had seen in almost ten years.  The brothers were thirsty.  It had been days since they had had enough water.  They thought they would get used to the forest after a while, but it had been twelve years and they were still miserable.  They were so tired, hot, and thirsty that their vision was blurred.  They could not see anything for miles.  They thought that there must be a pond of some sort near by, so Yudhishthira had one of the brothers use all of his strength to climb a tree to look for signs of water.  Just down the way there was a glorious, glimmering pond with birds drifting above it.  This was their saving grace.  Yudhishthira sent Nakula to check out the pond to make sure it was not a mirage or the heat getting to him. 

Nakula slowly crawled his way over to the pond, using every last ounce of energy in his body.  He approached the water and was near tears.  He had never been so happy to see water in his life.  As he knelt down to get his first taste he heard a voice coming from the water.  "Stop.  Listen to me and answer my questions before you drink from this water," the mysterious voice said.  Nakula was sure he was hearing things and that it could not possibly be the water speaking to him.  He looked around left and right, but there was nobody in sight.  He gulped down as much water as he could, and then immediately fell dead. 

Wondering what on earth was taking Nakula so long at the pool, Yudhishthira sent Sahadeva to the pond to check on things.  Sahadeva crept his way over to the pond, and once he saw the sight of the water he ran right toward it.  He too was greeted by an ominous voice demanding he stop and listen before drinking the water.  Sahadeva thought he must be dreaming, for nobody in their right mind would stop him from drinking water on this 105 degree day.  He gulped the water down as fast as he could, and then he too fell dead. 

Arjuna was next.  After two of his brothers had gone missing for hours, he approached the water angrily.  He knew something was up.  However, he was not as clever as he thought, because he too disobeyed the voice as he drank from the water, and then fell dead.  Bhima quickly followed the same pattern as well.  Not a single brother listened to the voice, and each and every one of them were now lying dead beside their beloved pond.  

Yudhishthira was furious as he marched toward the pond determined to track down the brothers and get his water.  He approached the pond and saw the brothers lying there pitifully dead.  He wondered what they could have possibly done to get themselves in that situation.  He then heard the voice.  He was not to fall for the game this time.  Yudhishthira did what was asked of him.  He answered every question the voice had for him.   Yudhishthira was obedient and pleaded to the voice to not strike him dead as well.  After an hour of questioning, the voice decided he had enough, and revealed himself as the divine Dharma.  Dharma was the father of Yudhisthira, so it was no surprise that he was able to see past his tricks.  Each of the brothers were then brought back to life, and Dharma thanked dear Yudishthira for his patience and virtue.  The boys then kicked back and drank from that cool pond for three days straight, and they had never felt so refreshed.  Yudhishthira had saved the day.

Yudhishthira (wikipedia)

Author's Note: I chose the "Riddles at the Lake" section of our reading in the Mahabharata as a base for my plot in this story.  The story picks up with these brothers who had been exiled to the forest dealing with their pain.  I stuck to the story line almost perfectly, and made just a few minor detail changes.  I loved this part of the story this week, and immediately knew I wanted to re-tell it.  I chose it because I thought it would work in my portfolio nicely.  I wanted to make the story a little more dramatic, so I added details like it being overwhelming hot outside.  I also exaggerated how thirsty and tired they were to make the story more dramatic, which is my goal in most of the stories I have done so far.  I chose to very closely re-tell the story this week because this was very similar to the style of writing I did for my story Week 5, and I was pretty happy with how it turned out.  I may end up adding that story to my portfolio as well.  I like to take the stories and make them my own by adding extra detail and making them more emotional. I thought this story was a nice change from my first portfolio story, as that one was very modernized and this is more traditional.

Mahabhrata

Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).
http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/pde-mahabharata-riddles-at-lake.html
 

Week 6: reading diary b

This reading was the continuation of the Mahabharata that we began last week.  Picking up from last week, the Pandavas are in exile in the forest and are hearing many stories from interesting creatures.  Krishna visits them, which makes Draupadi get a little emotional.  She begins to cry out for their old lives in their silken robes and soft beds, and cannot believe this is what their lives have come to.  She declares that now is a time for vengeance, but Brahman assures her that being angry is just sinful and forgiveness will bring her happiness.  The Pandavas are now traveling toward the Himalayas, where they laid eyes on gorgeous gold and crystal palaces lined with jewels. They are finally reunited with Arjuna.  We now learn that Arjuna will have to face Karna in a "deadly conflict," causing everyone to be sad.

We meet Arjuna's father Indra next, who steals Karna's natural, celestial jewels hoping that this will give his son an advantage whenever they face in battle.  Karna argues with Indra though that he must give him something in return, so he gives him an "invincible arrow." The next part was one of my favorites, "Riddles at the Lake."  This was interesting because all of the brothers approach this pool of water, one by one, and the water asks them questions, demanding they answer before drinking the water.  None of them obey, and they each fall dead.  Finally, Yudhisthira listens to the voice in the water and plays his game.  Little did he know, Dharma appears and brings the brothers back to life granting them the ability to remain unrecognizable.  I thought this was a funny, clever little excerpt and I may want to base my storytelling post on it this week.

The Pandavas exile ends, and the war with Kauravas is nearing. Krishna does not want the war to happen, and attempts to make peace and do what he can to avoid it.  It is not working, and they are realizing they are going to have to fight.  Krishna will not stop, he even takes on his divine of Krishnu to work his magic.  Unfortunately, Krishna's efforts fail and everyone begins assembling for war to begin.  Arjuna is getting cold feet, and Krishna addresses him in a powerful, poetic scene encouraging him and preparing him for battle.

Krisha (wikimedia commons)

Mahabhrata

Week 5: Tech Tip

I actually used this tech tip for my week 4 post last week, and saved it to write about this week.  In my storytelling post last week I made a popular Justin Bieber song a big part of my storyline, and I knew I wanted to add a clip of the song in my post for those who had not heard the song to reference.  As I have mentioned a million times before, I am really not great at this blogging thing, and am not so tech savvy, so I had no idea how to do this.  After pulling up the tech tip and reading the directions, I realized how simple it was!  I couldn't believe it was that easy, I had thought there was no way I was going to ever figure it out.  I thought it really made my post stand out a little better than my older posts, so I was happy to have found that tech tip!

Week 5: Reading Feedback

This week marked the beginning of the Mahabharata.  I thought this week's reading started out a little bit rough.  I felt like I was getting so much information and background of the characters that I need to make a little map and note who was who so I wouldn't get lost.  I had to go back and re-read certain sections a couple of times.  So far I like the story, but it does not feel like it flows as well as the Ramayana did.  I was excited to read the Ramayana, and was never bored or confused.  I feel like so far this reading is a little more detailed and challenging, but I am hoping I will get more into it this coming week.

Mahabharata (wikimedia commons)

Week 5: Comments

I think that commenting on each other's blogs is an extremely helpful practice.  I have been loving receiving comments on both my stories and my introduction.  I really look forward to getting email notifications about comments because I appreciate the feedback of my peers.  I think that the feedback on my introduction is often more exciting, because it's personal and more engaging, I have found more people are willing to ask questions and relate to you on your introduction post.  I enjoy my storytelling comments for different reasons.  I love hearing what my classmates think about my story for the week.  I think the best comments are encouraging with constructive criticism.  I personally do not take offense to criticism, so I like when my classmates give me tips or advice on how to improve my story.  It is really helpful to get those comments because it makes me want to do better the following week.  I think I need to do more of this when commenting on others' posts.  A lot of times I just keep it short and sweet, and do not leave many tips for improvement, but i think it's really helpful to point out things out so we can all learn from our mistakes and get better and better each week.

Week 5 Storytelling: Kunti Says Goodbye

There was a new king in town, and he was a mighty powerful warrior with two beautiful wives, Madri and Kunti.  As Pandu came to the throne, he made it clear that he valued one wife more than the other.  Madri was Pandu's pride and joy.  He showed her off like she was a trophy, and he was so in love with her he could hardly keep his hands off of her.  He could only pay attention to her, and he often forgot he even had another wife.  Kunti saw the way Pandu would look at Madri and longed for a husband that would cherish her that way.  Kunti felt trapped and hated her life, but she could never leave and betray the king.  Every single day Kunti would think of what her life would be like if she left and started a new life of her own, but she could never muster up the courage to walk away. She was a faithful woman with the most pious of hearts.  Even though Pandu loved Madri much more than Kunti, he would still be very angry if she left him.  Having two wives made him more powerful, and Kunti brought a lot to the table when it came to ruling the people.

One morning Kunti was feeling rather ill and realized she had become pregnant.  She went far into the forest where she would give birth to a celestial son.  His eyes were fiery and fierce like a wild lion, while his body resembled an angry bull.  Kunti looked at her son in dismay, for he reminded her of how unhappy she was in her marriage and she feared that Pandu would never love him or let him rule the kingdom one day.  Panicked, Kunti felt the only thing to do was do let another family love her son.  She swaddled him in blankets and gently packed him in a cozy wicker basket.  She kissed her son goodbye and prayed that whoever found him would love him unconditionally.  If she was not able to love her son, she just hoped that someone else would be able to do it for her.  She prayed for a woman who was ready to be a mother, and who had the most loving and supportive husband that would raise the child as their own.  After many tears she said her goodbyes and walked away hopeful she had done the right thing.  It was the most difficult decision she had ever made, and she knew she would think of her son each day for the rest of her life.

Kunti Saying Goodbye

The baby had been on a long journey, and had peacefully slept the whole time he drifted down many rivers.  He finally arrived in Anga, where he would soon drift towards a wonderful woman that would end up taking great care of him.  Radha was an unusually stunning woman.   Her eyes were piercing and her hair flowed like a mermaid's. She was extraordinarily beautiful.  She was married to a wonderful man named Adhiratha who absolutely adored her.  Radha was his everything, and he had loved her for years and years.  The couple had wanted to have children since they got married years ago, but Radha was not ever able to get pregnant.  She felt empty, and that some part of her life was missing.  There was a hole in her heart that only a child could fill.  Radha ventured out to the stream and saw a baby boy wrapped in a blanket.  She immediately began to cry and wondered if her prayers had finally been answered. She embraced the boy and instantly fell in love.  From that moment on they were connected forever.  The boy was now her son.  As the years went by the boy grew and still had his fiery eyes and broad, muscular body. And these attributes helped him to become a successful warrior in Anga. He was so loved by his new family, and their love for him helped him grow and succeed in his life. They did not know it yet, but their son would one day become an influential leader of their land.  Kunti often thought of the boy she had given up that difficult day.  She wondered if he would be okay, or if he would find a loving home.  She hoped and prayed that she had made the right decision, and dreamed of the man he would become every single day of her life.

Author's note: I chose to base my story off of the excerpt in the Mahabharata titled "Kunti and her Son."  I liked this story because it was the first one in the Mahabharata to me that felt really personal.  There had been a lot of information and introduction up until this point.  I wanted to twist the story a little bit, so I went into more detail about how Pandu preferred Madri to Kunti, and this left Kunti feeling sad and desperate.  I changed the story making Karna Pandu's son, and Kunti not wanting him because Pandu did not love her.  I wanted to make minor detail changes to the story to make it more personal and interesting, but I stuck with a very similar story line.  I think this story will go in my portfolio well because I want to stick with stories that have a lot of emotion in them.  I liked how dramatic this story was, and I like adding detail to the stories to make them a little more dramatic.

Mahabharata

Week 5: Reading Diary A

The Mahabharata begins by introducing us the background of the story, explaining the author is Vyasa, who will be an important character throughout the story. We meet Devavrata, who the author explains will later be known as Brishma.  Brishma is a human, but has special powers- Vasus.  Next is the love story of Satyavati and Shantanu.  I enjoyed this one because I love love stories, so this may be a possibility as the basis of my storytelling post this week.  Vyasa is born and more detail is given about his importance.  Next, we learn why Devavrata was a named Brishma, and I was a little confused.  I re-read this part a couple of times.  So far the reading has been very detail oriented, and a bit of an information overload.   Brishma means "terrible" because of the vow that was taken.  I enjoyed learning about Kunti and her son, Karna and how he will also be an important part of the story.  Karna has "the eye of a lion and the shoulders of a bull."

This reading was a lot of information and I felt like I read so much and understood little, or forgot a lot by the time I had finished reading it.  I feel like I will definitely need to go back and read through it again before moving forward with the reading tomorrow.  It felt like it was moving a lot faster than the Ramayana, and I felt like we were introduced to so many characters that I need to go back through and make a little character guide so that I do not get lost along the way.

Brishma (Wikipedia)

Mahabhrata

Week 4: Tech Tips

As I wrote about in my last post, I had never used a blog before this class.  I am not the most technologically savvy person in the world, so I really had no idea what I was getting into when starting this blog.  I would see all of these amazingly designed blogs, and how no idea how these people were doing it until this week.  When I saw the tech tip about design, I knew it was the one I wanted to focus on this week.  While I did not improve it much (I still have a long ways to go) I decided to switch up my color scheme and go for a purple background.  Deep purple reminds of of indian culture and royalty, so I think it is very appropriate for this class.  I wish I had known before how simple it was to make little design changes like this.  I will definitely be making more changes and improving the look of my blog as the class continues!

week 4: Growth Mindset

This week I decided to do a growth mindset challenge, and the one that really grabbed my attention was the meme challenge.  I love memes, I never knew how to make one, so maybe I will do that portion of the challenge next week, but for this week I just wanted to browse some of the memes Professor Gibbs compiled in her blog.  There was one in particular that stuck out to me that I loved that was about getting out of your comfort zone. 

Get out of Your Comfort Zone

I loved this meme for a few reasons.  First of all, I love cats.  Because I love cats so much I was immediately drawn to this particular meme.  I thought the cats face was hilarious and it reminded me of my cat's reaction when getting a bath (once every 5 years, ha ha).  I also really loved this meme because I thought it was representative of how I feel in this class.  I do not consider myself a great writer, and I also came into this course knowing nothing about Indian Epics or how to use a blog, so this course has definitely been out of my comfort zone a bit.  However, it has definitely been a good experience for me working on things that I was not so comfortable with beforehand.

Reading Feedback

This week I chose to watch the film Sita Sings the Blues, instead of choosing a reading.  I was definitely happy with this choice.  It was such a nice change of pace to be given the option to watch a film instead of reading like every other week.  I feel like this gave us a nice little break, as well as put some faces to the names of the characters we have been reading about for the past month.  The film was easy to access, and when I lost my place on your directions of how to view, it was so easy for me to just google it and pull it right up on YouTube.  The film was split into two parts for our reading assignments, and I kind of wished there had been two films for each day because I enjoyed it so much I wanted to finish the entire film the first day, and was ready for another!

Sita Sings the Blues (Flickr)

Week 4 Storytelling: Poor Sita

Poor Sita

Sita was the most beautiful woman around.  Every man admired her and every woman wanted to be her.  Her beauty took the breath away from almost everyone that met her.  Sita was blessed with her powerful, handsome husband Rama, and it's safe to say the two were the power couple of the century.  They were always making everyone around them jealous with their passionate love for one another.  Sita did not know it, but her perfect life was about to take a turn for the worse.  

There was one man in particular that was desperate for the love of young Sita, and that was Ravana.  Although Ravana had wives of his own, none of them compared to Sita.  Ravana wanted the best of the best and it was clear that capturing Sita and making her his own, would be the only way to achieve this.  Rama and Sita were on their usual Starbucks run, when Ravana came out of nowhere and whisked Sita into his Ferrari.  Sita dropped her pumpkin spice latte as a sign to leave behind.  

Ravana held her captive in his castle in the Hamptons, and Sita wept for her love, Rama.  She was hidden in the basement, and the only way to cope with her blues was to sing. So, Sita sang "Where Are U Now," in hopes that Rama would hear her cry and find her.  

Where Are U Now?  (Wikipedia) 

Rama was anxious to find his beloved wife, so he sent his good pal Hanuman out on a journey to find her.  Rama knew Hanuman would likely have better luck, and he would be much safer this way.  It did not take long before Hanuman approached the Hamptons and heard the beat dropping in Ravana's basement.  He then heard Sita's angelic voice crying out, "Where are you now that I need you, Rama?"  Hanuman was too big of a wimp to go in the castle and fight Ravana and rescue Sita himself, so he leaf her there weeping and returned to Rama.  

Hanuman came to Rama with the news of where his wife was and Rama was furious that he went all the way there and came back empty-handed.  "What was the point of even sending you?" Rama asked him angrily. The Cowboys game had just started, and Rama was so not in the mood to go fight someone.  Nevertheless, Rama got up and went to rescue his wife.   Ravana had his castle guarded by flying monkeys.  Rama pulled up to Ravana's castle in his brand-new Harley and he could hear Sita calling for him, "Where are you now, Rama?"  He then got a rush of energy and effortlessly defeated all of Ravana's guard monkeys.   He ran to the basement, Sita hopped on the back of his bike and they sped off back to the city.  

The power couple finally returned home.  Rama took one look at his wife and told her to get out.  "You've been living with another man, Sita.  You've obviously been unfaithful.  You disgust me," Rama told his beautiful wife.  

Sita looked at him and said, "You're kidding, right?"  Rama told her he was over it and did not want a wife that wasn't pure and kicked her out.  Sita crawled down the street crying and began to sing her blues again screaming, "Where are you now, Rama? I need you the most."  

All but ten minutes later Rama realized that if he let Sita go, then she would quickly find another man and then he would no longer have the most beautiful wife in the world.  He could not possibly let another man steal her from him, and it hit him that kicking Sita out was the stupidest idea he's ever had.  He ran in the streets, calling out for Sita, begging for her forgiveness.  Sita heard her distant husband, but decided to make him suffer a little before forgiving him completely.  Sita hid and made Rama spend hours and hours searching for her before she finally came back home.  Poor Sita had been through the woods for her man, so she had to make him work a little to win her love back.

Author's Note:  This story was based off a section of the short film "Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Paley.  The film tells the story of the Ramayana, and I put a modern twist on the story to make it my own and appeal to my readers.  I loved this film and thought it was such a funny, clever way to retell the ancient story of the Ramayana, so I knew I wanted to use it as a base for my own story.  This section of the film tells the story of Sita and Rama.  Sita was taken away by Ravana who hoped to make her his wife.  Rama goes after her, but when he finally gets her back he shuns her because she had been living with another man.  Rama eventually forgives Sita and all is well--at least for the time being.   Throughout the film Sita showed her pain by "singing her blues," so I immediately knew I wanted to make her song a current pop song.  I took important pieces from the story told and replaced them with similar things that made sense in popular culture.  I made some slight changes to the plot such as the end where Sita makes Rama look for her everywhere.  I also added a lot of detail to the story where I thought it was lacking in order to make the story more entertaining.  

Sita Sings the Blues (Nina Paley)

Week 4: Reading Diary B

Sita Sings the Blues

Sita (Wikimedia Commons)

Part B of Sita Sings the Blues starts off on a rough note with our modern characters, Dave and Nina, breaking up.  Dave broke up with Nina while she was away in New York, and she was completely heartbroken.  Fast forward to our narrators, and they are now telling the story of Sita becoming pregnant and breaking the news to Rama.  Rama does not react very well, and the narrators bicker about what actually happened from here.  Rama shuns his wife and tells his brother to take her to the forrest and leave her there.  Sita starts singing her blues again, and at this point I feel like I have heard the same song over and over and over again.  The words are changing, but all of her "blues" sound the same to me.  They remind me of 1920's music, which is not a bad thing.  It feels like they've combined aspects of many different periods of time into this one short film.  The film begins to close as Sita is forced to prove her purity, and then once again sings of her love for her Rama.  Finally, we see Nina start to read the Ramayana and work on this lovely film.

One thing I noticed about the film is that they have multiple depictions of the characters.   This is something I did not really think about until the end of the film, and I noticed it with Sita's sons.  I really liked that they changed things up and displayed the characters in different ways.  I noticed three different animations of the characters, each so different and unique. I liked how at the end, the whole story was tied together and we understood the placement of the modern characters Nina and Dave in the film, as Nina begins reading the Ramayana.  I thought it was so neat that Nina Paley decided to base this character off of herself and make the story really come together.  I liked watching this film because it made me realize how many different ways the Ramayana has been and will be told.  It is interesting seeing the similarities and the differences in the two.  

Sita Sings the Blues  (Nina Paley)

Week 4: Reading Diary A

Sita Sings the Blues


Because we had a little more freedom this week, I decided I wanted to watch the film, instead of doing another reading since we have done so much reading up until this point.  I had enjoyed the readings, but thought watching the film would be a  fun way of getting a different perspective and actually putting a face to the characters and scenes.  I loved the animation of the film, I thought it was done so well.  My favorite animation was of the rakshasas.  That was not at all how I was picturing them while reading the story, they were much cuter in the film.  The story flowed pretty consistently with the original telling, at least the main components.  They went a little too quickly explaining all of the characters, and had I not already read the story, I probably would have been a little lost on who was who and who was related to who.  

Sita Sings the Blues (Wikipedia)

There are two characters, Nina and Dave, we see in the beginning who live in San Francisco with their cat.  Their own, modern day story is being told in the background of the retelling of the Ramayana because Dave is being relocated to India.  There are three narrators that kind of bicker over the correct telling of the story the whole time, and make it really entertaining.  I love that it wasn't just a voice over of someone telling the story, they made it seem like if someone was to really try to just retell the story on the spot.  They were all so funny, which I was not really expecting.  I wished I had started the film earlier in the day so I could have just finished it all in one sitting, because I definitely did not want to pause it and wait to finish until tomorrow.  I was pleasantly surprised how fun and and well done the film was!  The first half closes with Nina visiting New York for a week, the narrators tell the story of Rama and Sita being taken back to Ayodhya after he seeks her forgiveness for telling her she serves no purpose to him because she had been staying in Ravana's house.  Sita then "sings her blues" at the very end of part one.





Sita Sings The Blues (Nina Paley)

Week 3 Storytelling: Hanuman and Sita

Hanuman was beginning to feel a little discouraged. It had been a long journey search for Sita, and he did not want to disappoint Rama and Sugriva.  He knew that he had to return with the beloved Sita, and he was not going to give up on his fight.  After leaving Ravana's palace with no sign of her, Hanuman gave himself a little break to sit and ponder his next move.  He waited hours and once he felt refreshed, he got back on his feet and made his moves toward the eerie Ashoka Grove.  He was sure to find her there.

Right as Hanuman approached Ashoka Grove, he saw the magnificent Sita in all of her glory.  His heart sank as he saw her surrounded by demons of all sorts.  These demons were no joke, they came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, resembling horses and pigs with demonic, mystical bodies floating around her. Hanuman hopped up in a nearby tree, trying to disguise himself as he looked down on the situation and contemplated how her was going to get past the demons to retrieve Sita.

As he got closer he noticed that Sita was with none other than Ravana.  Ravana was bribing her to stay with him, and to never think twice about Rama.  It was almost as though Ravana was attempting to hypnotize the queen in order to convince her to be forever his.  Sita was frightened by Ravana, sobbing at his first sight.  Ravana and his demons swore to Sita that if she were to leave, she would b slain and killed instantly by his vicious slaves.  Hanuman knew he had to step in.

Sita was nearly alone and Hanuman knew this was his chance.  He crept up slowly, easing Sita into his appearance while trying not to scare her.  She saw him and immediately was sure that this was a trap.  She knew that this monkey being had to be Ravana taken in a new form.  However, when she spotted the shining ring of Rama, and gust of relief came over her and she fell to her knees and sobbed.  She finally felt she may stand at chance of escaping her disgusting Ravana.  She was overly gracious to Hanuman and immediately felt a connection to him as her savior.

Her joyous reaction suddenly came to a halt when she replayed her interaction with Ravana and the threats he had given her should she decide to flee from him and not obey his commands.  She worried than even with the help of Hanuman and the powerful Rama, she would not be able to escape her fate of a gory death by Ravana's evil minions.  Sita did not want Hanuman to leave her side, as she felt more comfortable and protected with him near, knowing that he had the power of Rama behind him.  Hanuman planned to stay hidden in the tree to watch over Sita, while the conjured up a plan of safe escape for her, but little did they know their plans would soon come to a halt by the evil Ravana.






Author's Note:  In this reading Hanuman has finally laid eyes on queen Sita, and is deciding how to approach her.  The two have never met in person before, so Sita was not sure what to think when first seeing Hanuman.  Sita is apprehensive, and does not know whether to trust and follow Hanuman. I thought this particular could have been a little longer and more detailed.  Hanuman had spent so much time looking for Sita, I was expecting a little more from their first encounter.  The search for Sita had been built up for several readings before, so I really wished there was a little further description of their meeting.  Because of this, I decided to elaborate a little on what happened when Hanuman finally approached Sita. I combined a little bit of the back story and reading before, to elaborate on how Hanuman actually found Sita.

Wikimedia Commons: Hanuman Approaches Sita

References: PDE Ramayana
Ramayana Reading Guide

Week 3: Reading Diary A (Public Domain Ramayana)

In the third reading of Sugriva and Vali, I got a little distracted.  This was so descriptive and poetic, I had to go back and read it a second time to really get a sense of what was going on.  We have just met Tara, Vali's main wife, who is begging Vali not to go out and begin fighting Sugriva.  Sugriva is described as mighty and "sustained by Rama's forces."  I liked how this reading sounded very dramatic, and kept me interested in the story.

Vali is eventually taken down in the next excerpt by none other than Rama.  Rama was hiding while Sugriva and Vali began their battle, but he ultimately ended it.  I was saddened by the later description of Tara mourning the loss of her husband, and surprised that even Sugriva, who started the fight, was very upset over the loss of his brother Vali. Sugriva does not mourn for too long though, as he is crowned king.

They must wait for the rainy season to end to pursue their search for Sita, but they are getting impatient.  They have sent herds of monkeys and bears to search everywhere for Sita, and eventually run into Sampati, Jatayu's brother, who tells them stories of he and his brother and how he came to be where he is.

Hanuman is eventually persuaded to take the leap to exploring Lanka on his quest for Sita.  It does not take him long to stumble across Ravana's palace, but Sita is no where to be found.  Hanuman even mistook another for Sita, but was assured she would never be in the kind of position that this woman was in, so it could not have been her.  After waiting a while he arrived at the Ashoka Grove, and alas found queen Sita surrounded by she-demons.  I loved this reading because the story had been so built up to this point, that I was excited that they had finally tracked her down.

A lot is going on now, between Hanuman being captured, his tail being set on fire, them marching back through Lanka to try to get back to Rama and Sugriva, it is no surprise that Ravana is wanting to go to war with this.  Things are about to get interesting.

Wikimedia Commons: Hanuman Finds Sita in Ashoka Grove 

References: PDE Ramayana
Ramayana Reading Guide

Week 2 Storytelling: The Tale of Thataka

In the beautiful land that prince Rama lived, there was an evil witch named Thataka.  Thataka was no ordinary witch, she was the most gruesome, disturbing looking creature that ever lived.  Thataka liked to keep to herself unless bothered, so hardly anybody had ever seen her face in person, they had just heard the terrible tales of eerie encounters with her.

What most people didn't know, is that Thataka had a reason to be so angry.  When Thataka was young, she was always frightening looking, but she didn't mind.  It wasn't until she accidentally let her dark side come out and scare away a young princess, that she was banished from the land.  Thataka did not mean to scare anyway, she could not help that her appearance was frightening, but because she was so scary, she was told to never show her face again.  Ever since that fateful day Thataka had been the scariest, meanest, creature in the jungle.

The two brothers were on their journey, when they came across a wild jungle.  There were beasts of all shapes and sizes roaming through this area, and the brothers were not sure how to handle this situation. Just as they were about to start making their way through, they spotted her.  Thataka in all of her glory, perched on a tree glaring at the brothers.

Rama knew he had to handle this, he grabbed his bow and struck her right in the left leg.  As an honorable prince, Rama did not want to kill Thataka, as she was still a lady, but he wanted to injure her enough to prevent her from causing any problems through there journey.  Once her leg was struck, she began roaring, causing the whole jungle to shake.  The brothers knew they were going to have to fight.

Wikipedia (Thataka)

Thataka began squealing and pelting the boys with rocks and whatever she could find.  She was ready to attack.  Rama did what he knew best and hunted the creature. With his bow in hand he took off towards her, striking her twice in each arm.  Rama thought he had taken care of her and the boys walked off, until she came back for more.

Lakshmana then ripped off her entire nose and face, destroying her entire being.  "There! Away, beast!"  He shouted victoriously.  Then Thataka beat all odds and took on a different form, being invisible to the naked eye, but her shadow creeped uncomfortably near the boys.  Rama had had enough, put his good boy sense aside, and shot her right in the chest, finally killing the wicked creature.

As if Rama was not already loved enough, he quickly became the land's favorite, most loved man and prince.  Only the toughest, most courageous could ever fight Thataka, and Rama and Lakshmana successfully tamed the jungle, bringing down its worst resident on their way.  The boys were officially heroes.  The sage gave kisses all around and brought the boys back to brag of how he watched the entire thing go down.

Author's Note:  This story is about the beginning of Rama and Lakshmana' journey with the sage and encountering this creature that is not totally explained, Thataka, and eventually killing her.  I loved this story, but I thought there was a lot of detail missing that could have spruced the story up a lot more, which was my goal in telling my version of this story. I decided to give her a little bit of a back story, a reason for why she was scary and evil.  I thought this made the already interesting story a little more interesting.  I chose this particular excerpt because I liked the story behind it. It showed valiance and success on Rama's part.  I thought the moral of this story would work well in my portfolio because I wanted to achieve a theme of overall hard work and success, and this story definitely shows that.  I chose the photo above because I thought it was a good representation of Thataka for the original story, I had wished there was a photo more representative of the story I told, but I did make some changes.

Bibliography: Thataka Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).

Week 2: Reading Diary A

Dasaratha was a mighty man who seemed to have everything he could ever want, including three wives, but he was not satisfied because all he wanted was a son--an heir.  In order to get this son they had to sacrifice a horse.  This was really interesting to me.  He ended up getting his wish, as each of the wives bore sons, but Rama was the special son.

I loved how descriptive these passages are.  It made it so much more easy to follow along as I pictured the story in my head.  I was much more entertained and even had a vision of what these characters looked like.

I liked the story of Thataka.  She seemed like such a scary creature, and it seemed as though she was not a real person, but more like a mystical creature.  Rama is again the shining star in this passage, slaying Thataka and being rejoiced as the prince.  It seems like there isn't anyone that doesn't love Rama.

I especially enjoyed the story of princess Sita, it sounds like the makings of any great rom-com.   The brothers were described as being so manly and handsome, and princess Sita seems to be so dainty.  This story made me laugh because it seems so cheesy, but that is my favorite type of story to read.  I loved reading more about what happened with Rama and Sita.  They eventually were set to be engaged and then even got married.  This was one of my favorite passages of the reading because I am a sucker for weddings!

Wikipedia (Rama and Sita with their Children)

References: PDE Ramayana
Ramayana Reading Guide

Week 1: Curation and Creation

I really enjoyed this particular assignment, because I love exploring new ways to gather information and browse the web.  I am completely obsessed with Pinterest, and have been for a couple of years now.  Most of my friends got sick of using it after a while, but I have never gotten sick of it.  I am on it for at least 30 minutes a day.  I love it for shopping, looking for recipes, getting work out tips, finding different art, and more.  However, I had never really thought of using it as a research platform for school.  I think this is something I would really like to try out, because I am very familiar with Pinterest,  and it would be an easy way for me to keep myself organized with whatever information I find.  I am a pretty organized person overall, but I definitely could use a little help with my computer because I am not the most tech-savvy individual.  That being said, I appreciated the bookmarking tip, I think that will be a great way for me to keep everything for this course together for easy access!

Wikimedia commons (pinterest logo)

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

Wikipedia: (Indian Elephant)

Elephant Storybook

This topic immediately caught my eye, because I absolutely love elephants! They have always been my favorite animal, so of course I had to choose this storybook as one of my favorites.  The title let me know exactly what is was going to be about, and I was not disappointed.  I thought the introduction was creative and instead of explaining what the storybook would be about, the author told a story that made the reader want to know more.  I loved that the background was pictures of elephants, and I thought the color scheme worked really well with the theme.  I had no problems navigating the site, and felt that this storybook would be a great one to reference when building my own.

Lord Rama Storybook

I naturally loved this storybook and was drawn to it because of the title.  I thought it was so creative for the author to twist this storybook into his own and merge the Indian Epics culture he had learned in the course, with his own culture here at OU.  The Introduction was great, and made me laugh.  The author was definitely thinking outside of the book, and his creativity paid off.  It definitely made me want to continue reading, and find out more about Rama and the Sooners.  

Indian Epics & Social Media Storybook

I really liked this storybook because it’s something I probably would not have thought to do.  I loved that the title is “@TheRamayana” to connect the social media theme the author chose. This introduction was different than most I had read, it was more concise and to the point.  I thought this was a great idea, and I definitely wanted to follow up with the stories and see what they had come up with.  It was easy to navigate, and helped me become more familiar with the topics. 

Week 1: Overview

Wikipedia: (Indian Epics)

Even though the class is just beginning, I am starting to get a feel for what this course might be like for the rest of the semester.  I was initially drawn to the mythology and folklore class, but once I read about this course, I found that it was equally interesting to me for different reasons.  I have no background in Indian epics, Indian culture, or anything of the like, so this is all very new for me.  I am fairly familiar with Indian dance, having studied it in a History of World Dance course here at OU, but could definitely use a refresher or two.

In high school I studied Latin for four years, and learned a lot about Greek mythology.  That was always my favorite part of the courses.  I was of course interested in the language, but I thought it was so fun to be able to take a break from translating, and learn about ancient myths. My interest in that is what sparked my interest in this course.  Although different cultures, I feel that these Indian epic tales will be equally as entertaining to me, if not more entertaining because it is all new to me.  I love learning about new things, so I think this will be right up my alley.  I am excited to see what the rest of the semester  brings.