Indian Epics Fall 2019

Oof. That is all I can say at this point. I am currently writing this post in between classes trying to get back some of the many points I have already missed in this class. Even though I do not mean for it to be, this class often falls last on my priority list. It is definitely the most assignments in a class that I have this semester, even though none of them are difficult or too time consuming. I am a senior and am just now willing to admit that I have terrible time management skills. When something is not due, I tend to put it off until I have to do it. There was a moment last week where I went to the library with the intention on getting work done, but because nothing was actually due the next day, nothing got done. Each week I have missed at least one of the readings, and one week I even missed both. I say in my head that I am a slow reader so I never feel like I can read that many pages in hour or so that it says it should take. Rather than buckling down and actually doing it,...

Because I had a bit of a difficult time coming up with a plan for my storybook, I did some research on my topic and feel a lot better about what I have. My storybook contains three stories all from the lives of Kumbhakarna, the sleeping giant. I did quite a bit of research for my storybook introduction, so I have a plan set forth for the stories I want to do. For my first story, I want to tell the story of Vijaya and Jaya being turned into Kumbhakarna and Ravana. The main source I found was Wikipedia and it gives a simple yet still detailed enough account of what happened. The Wikipedia story allows for some interpretation about which brother was the one who influenced the other. The story also tells of the Four Kumaras  who are the cause for each of the gatekeepers turning into their characters from the Ramayana. They have the appearance of children which is why they were not allowed through the gate. Children are often tricksters so I can understand why they were not allowed t...

The Eighth Baby: They were very nonchalant about killing seven babies. It seems many of the characters follow a similar theme, with them being very nonchalant about death, yet extremely passionate about carrying on the family legacy. At first I did not think I was going to like Bhishma, but he quickly grew on me as he was sticking to his vow. Though all the things that followed because he stuck to his vow were a bit odd. The whole page about the fish smell and how a fish/human hybrid baby was born, except the only trait of a fish that she kept was the smell. It seems like for my own stories I could get a little more outlandish. I also laughed out loud whenever Vyasa said he needed a full year to prepare for sex. I had anticipated more of an emphasis on Vidura, but they chapter ended with the emphasis on the Padavas and the blind kings many sons So far this is very different from the Ramayana as so much happens in very few lines. Praying to gods seem to usually end with a powerful...

After reading the comments and thinking over it myself, my storybook plan was not much of a cohesive plan. I misunderstood that each story was meant to stand on its own, so that changed how I wanted the sotrybook to go. Below is my new plan for what I want to do for my storybook. I still want to stick to the dream aspect of Kumbhakarna. I want each story of his to be a different dream. These dreams will not be connecting to one another and one can be read without knowledge of the others. For one of the stories, I want it to be about him and Ravana when they were growing up. This way I can make my own story up, but also help tie it in to why Ravana started to become a villain and if Kumbhakarna is bad because he is bad, or because of pressure from his brother. For the next story, I want it to be about Kumbhakarna killing Rama and becoming worshiped by everyone around him. Even though I want to display Kumbhakarna in a positive light, I think this story plays along the fact that ever...

All of the gods were happy to see that Ravana was defeated and that Sita was returning home to Rama. After all Rama has went through to save the love of his life, they can finally live in peace. As the gods gathered around to watch the reunion of Sita and Rama at his house, Agni, the fire god, felt that something was off. Rama was not as excited as everyone else and Agni noticed. When Sita finally arrived she knocked on the door to see Rama answer. She began to come inside but Rama blocked her way. "Are you not excited to see me?" Sita asked. "You cannot come in because I do not know if Ravana has tainted you," Rama replied. Sita was not surprised by his answer. She turned around and left without saying another word. Meanwhile, Angi, along with the other gods, were watching this is confusion. Because of this, Angi went down to speak to Rama to clear this up. "Why have you turned away the woman you fought so hard to save?" Angi asked. Rama replied...

For my storybook, the hardest part for me will be sources. At this moment I only have the Ramayana I read, a comic book , and another book . I feel like that may not be enough sources. Because of the sources I have only containing the same story for Kumbhakarna and no real others, my plan is to make my own stories that center around Kumbhakarna's sleep. For specifically, I want to write about the dreams he has during his time of rest. One possibility would be taking other stories from around the Ramayana and insert him into them somehow. So he thinks that he has been a part of all of these stories but in the end he wakes up and finds out none of it was real. I just now thought of that idea, so I still have not decided whether I want to create my own dreams, or have them be other Ramayana stories. The main idea for this storybook would be to make them believe that Kumbhakarna could have easily fit in these stories, and are just as surprised when they find out it was all a dream. I...

(Sea of Dreams. Source: Pixabay ) Storybook

(T scene opens at the funeral of Vali. Only a few people are there. Angada (Vali's son) and Tara (Vali's wife) are standing over the grave. Only a handful of monkeys are standing behind them. Quiet sobs are heard from the monkey's, but Angada and Tara remain emotionless. Rama and Lakshmana are standing far from the crowd under a nearby tree as they watch from a distance. Sugriva stand on the opposite site of the grave from Angada and Tara with a piece of paper in his hand.) Sugriva: Growing up with Vali was difficult. Vali was strong. Unbeatable. I always knew he would be superior to me. Even so, I loved him and supported him. He would have became an incredible leader. While most remember him for his strength, few know of his moments outside of battle. When we were young, Vali and I were out on a hunt when we came across a small hut standing alone in the forest. I did not think anything of this, but Vali insisted something was off. We approach the house and knocked on t...

Vali: This has been the easiest chapter for me to read so far. Rather than stopping every few lines because I got stuck on a word I could not pronounce or forgot what I just read, I was able to fully comprehend this chapter. What stuck out to me the most was the long monologues from Vali and Rama after Vali was shot. It was very endearing and emotional to hear both sides of the story. Vali trying to stay strong and defend himself at first. He did not want to seem like he was defeated fairly, rather he was shot out of nowhere. His anger for this was present in his speech. Rama came back and defended himself, for Rama does not do anything without good reason. He knew exactly what he was doing and had even thought about it during a conversation with Lakshmana. One thing that I noticed is that Rama did not mention his wife even after Vali brought her up a few times. Even though Rama is a god, I think that some of the reason Rama helped Sugreeva was for his wife. You can feel the emotion ...

The first article I read was " How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk ," and it was something that I felt I struggle with. When peer reviewing papers or giving feedback I often have to catch myself before saying something that makes me sound like a jerk. One of the opinions that the author gave was that if you put yourself on a level playing field as the other person, it will help you not sound as if you are superior to them. I also find myself questioning the stylistic choices of writers that I am giving feedback for and comparing them to my own. This makes me come off like I am saying that my style of writing is superior when that is not always the case. The author of this article also says that giving praise before and after criticism is not the best choice of action. Rather than giving what may be unsubstantial praise, explain why you are giving criticism. I would greatly benefit from putting this into action. The second article I read was " Why do so Ma...

For my storybook, Kumbhakarna makes a great character to play the main role due to the curse that he receives and my personal interests. The first story that I am getting information from is  Kumbhakarna: The Sleeping Giant , a comic book found in the OU library. This tells the origin of the curse and why Kumbhakarna has it. This is necessary to start my story and give background as to where his deep sleeping came from. For another source, I found a book titled Iliad of the East  that contains a chapter about Kumbhakarna. It tells of the giant who sleeps and a more in depth story than the comic could give. I think this would greatly helped by providing more detail on the characters of the story. I do not think Kumbhakarna is as bad of a guy as the stories make him out to be. This book would also provides the story of his time while sleeping. I think it would be a great idea to tell the story of a dream he had while asleep. The dream could be about how Kumbhakarna saves the ...

Day 1: Today I, Ahalya, decided to start writing a diary. There has been a lot on my mind lately and this was the only way I could get it out. If I continue to bottle it up any more, I am going to burst.  Day 2: It has been three days since I have returned to Gautama and he still continues to act as if nothing has changed. Typical man. Acts like everything is fine and dandy after turning me to stone for 16 years. He has not even said sorry! Day 4: Gautama asked if I wanted to go on a date in two days. Maybe he will finally apologize for turning me to stone after all those years. All I need is closure and I think I am going to get it. Day 5: Gautama told me to wear my nicest outfit. I have a few to choose from, but I think I am going to go with the red one. It was always his favorite. Day 6: The date was going so well and as soon as I thought he was going to apologize, he asked if i had any money to pay! HE FORGOT HIS WALLET. I am done. Day 7: As I was packing up ...

Rama's Initiation: The sage that appeared before the king is very mysterious and has yet to show what his motives are. For someone to ask another person to take two of their children away from them is a stretch that I am not sure many would have agreed. I could see why the king was hesitant but it still surprised me that he allowed it. Sages must be powerful beings or the king is inherently trying to repay a sage because a sage is what gave him children. Yagna = ritual sacrifice Thataka's Story: "A woman of demoniac tendencies loses all consideration to be treated as a woman." Rama becomes the hero of the world extremely quickly. I am assuming the actually story was much longer. I still have many questions though. How did the sage know? Do most sages know things like this? If so, then a most stories could start with a prophecy from a sage. Lastly, the brother was not mentioned at all in in this chapter.  Mahabali's Story:   This is another story o...

Today, people feel the need to constantly be giving feedback to one another. While this can often be a good thing, it can also be a negative thing. Good feedback would be constructive criticism, while bad feedback is just criticism. As a college student, I receive and give both forms of feedback. For me, I like constructive criticism. It may not make me feel good right away, but I generally take it well and try to improve. The thing I do not like, which is what I receive more than than good feedback is straight up criticism. This criticism is mostly about material things like the clothes we wear to the things we say. I cannot put full blame on everyone else though, because I even criticize people even when I am not meaning to. It is something we all need to be more aware of because criticism hurts.  One of the articles that I read was titled " Why Rejection Hurts so Much ," which talked about how the feelings behind rejection are mostly caused by ourselves. Personally, I h...

Topic 1: Ganesha As my last few blog posts have referenced, I am quite interested in Ganesha and the stories behind him. The main reason behind my interest is all of the questions I still have about him. Why does he have an elephants head is the most glaring one, but also what are his origins? According to Wikipedia , his origin story has been told in many different ways. This would be beneficial in telling my own story because there is not a set narrative for Ganesha, making it easier for my mind to come up with something original. Topic 2: Reincarnation As a child who grew up in a religious family, reincarnation has always been a taboo during conversations. As I have gotten older I have become more open to other religions around me and accepted that questioning is normal. While I still consider myself religious, looking at the aspect of reincarnation is something I have not been able to go in depth about. A story idea that came to mind when thinking about reincarnation is rathe...