Week 7 Reading- Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition Part C

The idea of exile, like shown here with Pandavas draws a close comparison to the ramayana, which gets me thinking that maybe this is common in many indian epics.

The term "god" was used so loosely amongst peope that I kind of like it.

Another comparison to the Ramayana is cool to me because it now makes it even easier to read and follow along.

A battle for respect, and nothing more, isn't as common in these stories like it is in our stories nowadays.

Most important characters have a item or specific characteristic about them. I like this concept because it makes it easier to know them.

A disguise, like seen in many stories is something I could incorporate in my stories.

The urging of someone to fight, causing motivation is a cool concept that I could definitely use.

Making the appeals to Karna would be something very intriguing, as the unknown becoming known would seem almost to insane to comprehend.

The idea that family ties run so deep, is something I could use.

When a character warns of doom, it is almost always a foreshadowing of what is going to happen.


Bibliography: Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition


(from life in the forest. Draupadi and the Pandavas in the forest.)

Week 6 story planning: King Shantanu's Rage and Downfall

Plan:

 This story that I'm planning to write for next week is about King Shantanu. When reading the

Mahabharata, what stuck out to me was that King Shantanu's first wife abandoned him. I found this most interesting because he is a king and it's strange to think of a king being left. I've decided to make a sad story focusing on King Shantanu's mental state after his first wife left him, and before he found Satyavati. I think it is important to be able to capture a character's true mental state during a tragic event in order to fully understand what they are going through. While the Mahabharata doesn't focus much on the actual split between King Shantanu and Ganga, and more so on the child they produced, I am going to create a depressing time period between Ganga and Satyavati.

Style: The style for this story is going to be very dark, with a lot of King Shantanu's self dialogue with himself. In general, when people are depressed, they have a lot of self doubt. With self doubt, comes a lot of questioning that you do for yourself. We've seen throughout history, that no matter how much wealth or fame somebody has, they can still be depressed. This is what I plan on doing with King Shantanu. The king is all powerful and can do anything he wants, but none of the fame or power will cure his broken heart. 

Characters; 

Ganga: She will play a very small role in this story, as she will only be there for the beginning when she is leaving. This is because I don't want the reader to know what type of person she is, just that she left King Shantanu.

King Shantanu: The king will be the only main character in the story. He will spend most of his time alone, wondering why his first wife, Ganga, was the way she was. He will have a lot of self dialogue and depressing thoughts.

The King's aids; You will never learn their names but they will temporarily check on the King until he tells them to go away.

     (King Shantanu with his second wife after his first left him. (King Shantanu and Satyavati.)

: PDE Mahabharata: King Shantanu and Satyavati. (Link)

Week 6 Reading- Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition Part B

The family relations of characters, like thst of Vidura to Pandu, creates a sense of family bonding that I feel at times.

It's nice to see that Bhima and Hidimbi have a nice love affair unlike Rama and Sita.

A love story is something I would use, but I would necessarily include a good ending.

Five husbands at once is a bit much, no?

The idea of a previous lifetime is something I could look into more, and I am actually doing in my storybook.

A river stronghold is something I have mentioned in previous stories, I believe, I may continue to do so in future stories.

Another epic, and another exile. I'm starting to think I should include something similar in the stories in my storybook.

The lively and vivid storytelling style is something I definitely could do, but I think I would prefer something more dark.

                                                      (Kunti's escape. Kunti and the Pandavas escape.)

Week 6 Reading- Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition Part A

The idea of nobody on earth being cool enough to write something down, intrigues me.

Also, it seems to be a common appearance for a work to supposedly contain everything that is needed to be known for life.

i love the abundance of character in the Mahabharata. It gives th eability to create many different stories from scratch.

I predict that King Shantanu will be yet another victim of love, in which love will destroy him or cause him to do something stupid.

The creation of names in these epics is probably my favorite thing. You can tell almost everything about a character based on their name.

Seizing women in battle is better seizing them through a competition.

The author being in their own story is awesome.

Complex characters like Karna are cool. Reminds me of the word Karma.

While very different, the similarities to the Ramayana are definitely there. I like this because I was a fan of the Ramayana.

                                                   (Cool Arjuna statue. image source)

Week 5 Story: The Rakshasa that wept

Complete devastation. Everywhere. Dead bodies of villagers were laid across the entire countryside. Fires were raging on several huts and in fields spread out. The few survivors that remained tried to hide under or behind whatever they could find, praying and hoping that the deadly rakshasa was gone and wouldn't come back. 

But Ravana wasn't done.

Ravana reappeared and searched for anybody he could find. He flipped over debris after debris from the destruction that he had caused earlier, and killed everybody he found on site. Body after body, Ravana didn't care. When found, most villagers didn't even try to run because they knew it was pointless. 

Ravana thinks he has killed all of the villagers until he hears a baby crying. He rushes over to the sounds of the crying to find a mother holding her baby. Ravana grabs the baby from the mother's arms and tosses it to the ground. He then takes the mother, snaps her in half and throws her limp body into the nearby river. Ravana approaches the baby on the ground where he left it, face down. He turns the baby over, but he suddenly stops.

As Ravana looks into the baby's eyes, it's as if he's trapped in time with no escape. In the eyes of the baby is the story of something very dark and sinister. It is Ravana's story, from beginning to now. All of the deaths, all of the disaster, all of the pain. All caused by Ravana. 

Ravana falls to the ground after snapping out of stranglehold of the baby's powers. He doesn't understand how he feels this way. He is a rakshasa, He isn't supposed feel bad about any of his actions. He thought his purpose was to destroy. Ravana begins to cry.

Suddenly, a very strong beam of light comes down from the sky. It is one of the gods. In Ravana's depressing state, he is too distracted to know what is happening. The god calls Ravana's name and begins to explain what is occurring. While the gods typically don't wish to intervene in many of the mortals' problems, they felt they had to do something. Ravana was wiping out people at an alarming rate. There seemed to be no purpose to his destruction. The gods decided to place a baby with eyes that can show a person's story in a village that was in Ravana's wrecking path.

It was a longshot, but what the gods hoped would happen, happened. Even a rakshasa can see the error in his ways.

                                               (Ravana before his demise. Link)

Author's note: I've always been interested in Rakshasas and Rakshasis, so I decided to do a story about one, but I also wanted to throw a twist in there, They are always thought to be very vicious, so I thought it would be cool to add a new concept.

Bibliography: Ramayana Online Public Domain Edition Link

Feedback focus

In terms of usefulness to me, I would rank the three categories in the folowing way:

1. Reading Out loud

2.Using a Timer

3. Copy-and-Delete

I am extremely surprised every time I read out loud how much it helps me retain the information of what I just read. It's always so helpful when I need to read something that is extremely important, like for an exam or something. Never before had I thought that this technique could be used in order to give somebody effective feedback. I think that's pretty cool. This is the reason I chose reading out loud as my number one strategy for giving effective feedback.

Setting a timer is something I had never thought about in regards to reading, but i think it's a pretty good idea. In a way, I think it could be good because it will give me a set amount of time that I know i will need to remain completely focused. However, for somebody like me, this may not be the best strategy because I may feel like I would need to rush the timer, haha.

Copy and delete is my least favorite category, but I still see why it may be beneficial to others. I think stopping every so often to write down a good idea or detail that you noticed could be a good idea in theory, but for somebody like me, stopping to write something down may actually hurt me. This is because reading and writing are two different things for me, and I would only be able to remember one at a time. 

                               (It is important to zoom in on what you find important. Link)

Week 4 Story Planning: The Rakshasa that wept

Idea for story: The story will be about the rakshasa named Ravana who has caused much destruction throughout his life. Ravana will end up killing a mother of a baby, and it hits him hard. In the eyes of this baby, he is able to see all of his past transgressions. Ravana finally realizes all of the pain and sufering that he has caused humans all over the land. little does he know that this baby was sent down from the gods who knew that deep down, Ravana had a good heart.

Possible styles for story: My plan for this story is to have a story that gives off a very dark and negative vibe. I don't plan on including much dialogue, and maybe none at all. It would be like a narrator telling the story as he/she looks upon what is happening. 

Another option I could implement is to include dialogue, in order to fully emphasize on the akr effects that I wish to portray in the story. For example, since I want the Rakshasa Ravana to experience a great deal of pain, adding some dialogue may help the reader fully comprehend how much pain he is in physically and emotionally. 

Characters:

Ravana: A very dangerous Rakshasa, and the main character of the story, who becomes very depressed after realizing everything he has done

Village people: Killed by Ravana. These people aren't important to the story, but are meant to display the amount of destruction thta Ravana causes

Mother of baby: Killed by Ravana, found cradling the baby that is sent from the gods.

Baby: sent down from the gods with magical eyes that show all of a person or being's wrongdoings. 

                                                      (Ravana before his demise. Link)

Bibliography: Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition, Link to reading

Reading Notes: Ramayana Public Domain Edition, Part D

A great pursuit of some sorts always intrigues me, and I may need to add some in my upcoming stories I will write.

Ravana's power of illusion seems like such an unfair power to have, but I like it.

Kumbhakarna's appetite is a funny aspect in the Ramayana, to me.

The inclusion of great weapons in the Ramayana increases the likelihood of other stories being able to spring out from within the Ramayana.

I'm more in favor of Rakshasas that have some sort of human aspect than I am Rakshasas that look completely strange.

A character as big as Ravana declaring revenge adds a very basic yet vital part to a story, and can make the overall story more interesting.

It almost seems as if Ravana is destined to destroy Lakshmana, but not quite.

The gods taking sides, and even helping a certain person, reminds me of my mythology class that I took where gods like Poseidon would intervene with mortal men.

Rama vs Ravana has a very David vs. Goliath feel to it.

Ravana's donkey head is something I'm not fond of. Maybe if it were something a little cooler.

I can imagine that a funeral like Ravana's would be a very large spectacle. This gives me an idea   where a character of great importance to many people could die, leading to a large funeral spectacle.

It is very easy to see Sita's love for Rama, and i think that's very cool.

A flashback, if you will, like one that Rama does where he mentions all of the characters who have been apart of their journey, would be a nice touch to end a very dramatic story.

Rama sending Sita into exile is something I never would have expected in a million years considering everything he did to rescue her previously.

                                             (Image depicting the death of Ravana, Link)

Bibliography: Public Domain Ramayana, link to the reading online.

Storytelling, week 3: Sita and Hiran

As the sun sets behind the trees, what was already a dark situation became even more grim. Rama is dying. His wife Sita sits by his side as he bleeds profusely, weeping. A vicious battle that lasted hours had occurred just moments ago. Sita knows that soon she will be all alone...that is, until the rakshasa makes his appearance again. Sita and Rama are no strangers to battles with rakshasas. However, Rama had previously always defeated them. Hiran was a different opponent. A 10 foot tall, dragon like creature with a pure gold covering, Hiran was able to defeat Rama with rapid and vicious slashes given by his fangs to Rama's mid section.

Rama is now dead. Hiran was fighting Rama for Sita. Neither Rama nor Sita knew why, but Sita knows that if Hiran would go to such great lengths to obtain her, that he will be back for her. Rama was able to give substantial damage to Hiran's arms, making it impossible for him to carry Sita away. Sita assumes that Hiran is flying to the Himmat river that many use for its natural healing powers. Unfortunately for Sita, it will be a short journey for Hiran, as he is one of the fastest flying rakshasas the world has ever seen. Hiran knows how badly he injured Rama, and that Sita will not be able to go far without him.

Sita feels hopeless. She is so distraught over Rama's death, she doesn't move. Sita stays by his body. She knows no matter how far she goes into the dense forest, it won't be far enough. No one will be able to protect her and Hiran will find her. The only question is, why does Hiran want her so bad? Why would he go to such great lengths to get her?

Sita, still weeping, hears rustling in the leaves above. Without a doubt, she knows it is Hiran to come and take her away. Hiran, completely healed from the magical Himmat river, reveals himself to Sita. Hiran grabs Sita away from Rama's dead body with his massive gold plated arms. Sita refuses to fight, as she knows there's no point. Rama is dead and she doesn't care what happens to her now.

Sita thinks that it seems as if they've been flying forever. Then finally, Hiran and Sita arrive at a very massive cave. Hiran sets Sita near the entrance and stares at her.

"I've been looking for somebody like you for a long time." Hiran said.

Sita, still in a bit of shock asked, "Why?"

Hiran began to tell a story about his past life. He was once a normal human, like Sita. Hiran was turned into this monster after drinking a mysterious potion that he was told would make him irresistible to women. He was fooled by a local merchant. The effects of the potion slowly appeared over a period of a few years until he was a full blown rakshasa. All Hiran wanted was a woman to make him feel like a man again.

"I will never be your woman!" Sita cried.

"You have no choice.You will live with me forever, and if you don't, you will end up like your husband." Hiran declared.

                                                           (Picture of Sita. Link)

Author's Note: What most intrigues me about Indian stories are the Rakshasa and Rakshasi becasue demon type creatures are very cool to me. I decided to do a story involving a Rakshasa named Hiran and a female character named Sita.

Bibliography: Link to Public Domain Ramayana online