Week 14 Reading Notes: Nine Ideal Indian Women: Sita, Promila, and Shakuntala, Part B

I thin it's cool that I get to read about other Indian women who are considered by this author to be the "ideal" women that women should follow.

The story of Promila isn't as interesting to me as Sita (I could be biased) but I will keep reading to see if I gain any greater interest.

I am a big fan of the dialogue that is used in these stories. It is perhaps my favorite component.

Maybe in the future if I am to write, I could use the type of straight-forward, yet still mesmerizing dialogue that is used in these stories.

I didn't expect Rama to be in this story, but I am glad because I really have enjoyed his character throughout the semester.

Domayanti's story seemed to be very similar to that of Promila and Sita. I am not complaining.

The summation of these stories could be concluded to equal something pretty similar to any of the individual female characters I have read about.

My favorite thing about this story is the way that it is laid out. It makes it very easy to read because the sections are so defined. 

                                  Picture I found on google when searching for Ideal Indian women. Link

Bibliography: Sita's Story. Link

Week 14 Story: The Fallen Kingdom

Once upon a time, there was a great kingdom in the heart of India. This kingdom was called Reyansh. People from far and wide would come to Reyansh in search of a better life. Reyansh was the most powerful kingdom that any people on Earth had laid their eyes on. Under the leadership of King Yahnu, citizens of Reyansh saw their kingdom flourish. That is, until it just didn't anymore.

As more and more people came to Reyansh, the kingdom's elite became more and more greedy. Citizens of Reyansh were already the most heavily taxed people throughout all of the land. At first, the people were okay with this because they were promised great protection by King Yahnu and his army. As more and more immigrants entered into the kingdom, King Yahnu issued more and more taxes. The elite of the kingdom thrived off of these taxes.

The normal everyday citizens became more irritated with the ruling elite, as they were paying more and more in taxes while the streets became more crowded and deteriorated tremendously. Few citizens here and there would bring up the unrighteous happenings, but there was never enough continuity for a serious revolt. But then came Yanshto.

Yanshto, a disowned son of a ruling elite in another kingdom, was a low class citizen himself. Yanshto knew what it took to bring people together for a common cause. He had seen his father do it plenty of times. He knew exactly what to say. Large crowds of low class citizens would gather from all around the city to hear the words of Yanshto. He would point towards the streets to show the degradation. He would then point to the golden castle on the hill, far in the distance. Yanshto made sure that the citizens knew where their money was going. It was almost time for a revolution.

King Yahnu heard rumblings about Yanshto, thanks to spies throughout the city. The king knew something must be done to end any chance of a revolt happening.

One night, while Yanshto was asleep, one of the king's guardsman broke into his shack and stabbed Yanshto. As he laid dying, his screams were heard. Neighbors of Yanshto quickly ran to the shack. The guardsman tried to escape, but he was tackled by followers of Yanshto. The guardsman was wearing an elite cloak, so they knew who he was and who sent him. He was hanged ruthlessly.

King Yahnu hoped to wake up to good news, but he received word that his guardsman hadn't returned. Meanwhile, the citizens were planning a full on revolution.

Hundreds of thousands of people from every direction marched the streets in route to the castle where King Yahnu lived. There was nowhere the king could hide. The people wanted revenge for Yanshto's wrongful killing.

The people made their way to the castle and began destroying everything in sight. So many fantastic monuments in shambles, windows bashed, paintings torn to pieces, and guardsmen brutally murdered. The people made their way to the once proud King Yahnu and showed no mercy. Over the years after the king's death, the kingdom would see many leaders and many revolutions. Reyansh would crumble.

Author's note: I have always loved the stories about great kingdoms. By far, the most interesting thing to me is thinking about what happened to the kingdom for it to not be in power today. Most of the time, there's never a direct reason, so I decided to make a story that had a sot of direct reason.


Cool picture of a castle I found online, that I would like to represent the fallen kingdom Link


Bibliography: Neogi. Sacred Tales of India. Link

Week 14 Reading Notes: Nine Ideal Indian Women: Sita, Promila, and Shakuntala, Part A

I immediately chose this book because I saw the name Sita. I think it is so cool how Sita has so many stories throughout all of Indian history.

Another intriguing reason I chose this to read was because I had thought about doing a storybook focusing on Indian women initially. 

One thing I think is cool is that Sita story is able to be experienced through many different periods of time. For example, the Sita story here is in a time period thousands of years ago, 

A fight for somebody's love always seems to be the go to for stories like this. I could possibly incorporate something like that in my upcoming story.

It is hard to keep up with some of these stories because I am not used to remembering names from a different culture.

Rama is my type of character I like because he has a truly good soul in every story he has found himself in.

My favorite aspect of all of the Indian stories I have read is the concept of loyalty and truthfulness. It seems it runs deep throughout most of the characters' morals.

                                  Picture I found on google when searching for Ideal Indian women. Link

Bibliography: Sita's Story. Link

Week 13 Storyplanning: The Fallen Kingdom

This week, I decided to plan for a story about a kingdom that was once great, but suddenly fell. I got this idea from the book Sacred Tales of India that I read this week. In the various stories, I kept coming across smany different names of kingdoms. I then started thinking about all of the kingdoms that we all have read about in the many history classes we have taken. All kingdoms come to an end, one way or another. I will tell the story about the fictitious kingdom of Reyansh.

The idea is that the kingdom of Reyansh will be the mightiest kingdom of them all, until an uprising occurs. I'm not sure what the reasoning for the uprising will be yet, but I do know that it will ignite enough people to cause complete chaos. After doing research, I've decided that I will have the great king of Reyansh killed by the rebel group that is fighting the army of the kingdom. 

In regards to style, I am thinking that this will be told by a narrator who knows very well how much this went down. I'm hoping to make this similar to how a grandparent would tell a grandchild a story before bedtime. I could start out the story like "Have you heard about the great Kingdom of Reyansh that fell abruptly?"  

Characters:

There will only be two main characters in the story who may or may not have dialogue. I decided to only have the king and the leader of the rebel group because I feel adding other characters may dilute the story. The men will be opposing forces throughout the story. 

King Yahnu- He will be the great king who is trying to keep Reyansh together, but is eventually killed by the rebel group.

Yanshto- The leader of the rebel group. He gains much popularity throughout the kingdom and is able to convince people that an overthrow of the kingdom's elite is necessary.

                                          Cool picture of a castle I found online. Link

Bibliography: Neogi. Sacred Tales of India. Link

Week 13 Reading Notes:Sacred Tales of India, Part B

I believe this is the first Indian story that I have read that introduces the concept of a bride directly. This could be something that I include in my story for next week.

I think something cool that I had never considered before is the number of kingdoms that have been mentioned in all of the stories that I have read.

I like the concept of Yama, i may introduce that in a new story of mine.

The story The Goddess Who Devoured Elephants is intriguing because I am aware that many Indian people find various elephants so sacred. So I know why this could come off as such a crazy story.

The number of gods recognized in the Indian culture sort of reminds me of my mythology class that I took a few semesters ago.

The Slayer of Kangsa is a very cool story, as I like the idea of somebody powerful and evil being destroyed. This can be seen throughout every culture that produces stories.

Chand, The Unbeliever is yet another story I am a fan of because of the great explanations of what the various gods are capable of

                                        Cool picture I found that represents tales from India. Link

Bibliography: Neogi. Sacred Tales of India. Link

Week 13 Reading Notes:Sacred Tales of India, Part A

I like the beginning of The Divine Brothers because he immediately shines a positive light on one of the main characters (I'm assuming) in the story.

The story reads like it's a fairy tale and I'm not sure I liek that.

For my story this week, I think I will plan to do a fairy tale type story, but put my own twist on it and make it better.

The title of the "Snatched from Death" story immediately makes me think that it will be a breathtaking and action filled story.

I would like to know where they are getting the names of these characters. I wonder if they are really common Indian names.

I like the "Snatched from Death" story, as the original author's attention to detail is really impeccable and contributes enough to the story line that it keeps the reader engaged.

I'm intrigued as to what "Itu's Favor" will be about, as the title makes it seem as though somebody with high prestige will perform a favor that they shouldn't have to.

I like the idea of something spreading through a kingdom far and wide, and may consider that ideal for my next story.

Bibliography: Neogi. Sacred Tales of India. Link

Week 12 Story: Rama's Sleepwalking

Half asleep, Sita rolled over in bed. When she reached out to spoon with Rama, she only felt cold sheets. Rama wasn't there. She assumed he had to pee and thought nothing of it. Sita fell back asleep.

"I was worried last night when I didn't feel you by me," Sita said to Rama in the morning while they were getting ready for work. "But I just assumed you had to pee."

Rama replied, "Uh, I definitely didn't go pee. I slept straight through the night."

Sita decided to shrug it off. "I guess I was just dreaming," she thought to herself.

Rama and Sita experienced yet another boring work day at their mid-level, 9 to 5 office jobs. They went home, watched reruns of this terrible show called "How I Met Your Mother" on television, and ate dinner. After finishing the horrid show, they went to bed.

Sita and Rama both fell asleep very quickly. Then, like the night previous, Sita woke up to find Rama not lying beside her. She decided to get up and see what he is doing. Sita saw the bathroom light was off and Rama was not in there. She kept walking through the apartment to find Rama standing in the dark kitchen with their dog, Ravanese, in his arms.

Sita, worried, asked, "What are you doing?"

Rama ignored her, put the dog down, and went back to bed. Sita thought this was very strange behavior for her husband, but she followed Rama into the bedroom and laid down with him.

The next morning at breakfast, Sita asked, "What was last night about?"

"What are you talking about?" Rama replied.

"You were standing in the kitchen with the light off, holding the dog, and when I asked what you were doing, you completely ignored me and went back to bed!"

"You are crazy! I never went to the kitchen. I slept like a baby!"

The two ended their argument and went to work. The next night, after partaking in their nightly after work rituals. the two went to bed. This time, Sita was prepared to get proof of Rama's strange behavior. She placed her cell phone on the night stand.

Like clockwork, Sita woke up in the middle of the night to find Rama not in bed. She grabbed her cell phone and started recording. She walked through the apartment until she found Rama standing in the dark living room. Sita noticed that the window was open, but she didn't think much of it. Rama had probalby opened it to let fresh air into the apartment last night. Sita stayed quiet, as it seemed Rama didn't know she was there. With his back to Sita, he picked up the dog that was sleeping in his doggy bed right under the window. Without hesitation, Rama threw the dog out of the window of their 30th floor apartment.

"What have you done?!?" Sita screamed.

Rama, completely unaware, awakens.

"What the hell, why am I in the living room?"

Sita, crying, says, "You just threw Ravanese out the window!"

Rama was beside himself. He didn't understand. He fell to his knees and wept.


Author's Note: After reading another story about Rama and Sita, I decided to writ eanother one of my storeis about them. I like the idea of husband and wife drama, and Rama and Sita fit that pretty well, in my opinion. I got the idea for sleepwalking from a conversation I had with my girlfriend.

Bibliography: Monro. Indian Gods and Heroes: Rama and Sita. Link

                                               Sleepwalking man. Link

Week 12 Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha, Part B

prince Siddartha's characters could definitely be mocked in a way that I could use in my story for this coming week.

I've never thought about dividing a story like this to make it seem like chapters almost, but I could still do this with a very short story. It just might be weird.

A dream that a character has is a very intriguing concept to include in a story, as it could contribute to the foreshadowing that so many of the stories we have read portray.

I also like the idea of a character searching for the truth about life. This is because it is something that affects every person, whether a character in a story or a real person. We all want to know the truth about life.

The relationship with parents seems to mean so much more than that in the stories we read today. I believe this is because it is a reflection of how different times were back then.

I've just realized how much of an emphesis is put on the weeping of characters. It seems as though even the most powerful characters are shpwn to have a sensitive side.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of these stories is the actions of those close to the main character in the story. A lot of the time they will turn their backs on the main character.


Bibliography: Herold. The Life of Buddha. Link

                                                                Picture of Buddha. Link

Week 12 Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha, Part A

The description of a magnificent city, like that in the King Suddhodana annd Queen Maya story could be a very interesting way to start a story.

"The kings knew that the Gods were speaking" is a cool way of explainging the introduction of fake gods into a story.

Siddhartha's birth being its own story only shows how important it is, and gives me idea for a birth story I could do.

A prediction or premonition of sorts could be essential to the core story.

 As much info I have retained about the Buddhist religion thanks to this class, I am surprised I haven't implemented a temple into one of my stories.

Meditation could also be used in my next story. Maybe a character meditates and enters a new realm or something. Just an idea.

Marriage is an mazaing piece of symbolism that could spice up any story.

Bibliography: Herold. The Life of Buddha. Link

                                                                Picture of Buddha. Link

Week 11 Storyplanning: Rama's sleepwalking

The story I am planning to write for Week 12 is Rama's sleepwalking problem. This week I read another story about Rama and Sita. I feel Rama and Sita are always good characters to write about because they can represent the normal wife and husband that we think of today, especially with the problems they face. Like they have in many of the stories we have read about them, they will find a way to overcome this obstacle. Sita will have to convince Rama that he does sleep walk. She will find out that Rama does crazy things in his sleep, and even becomes violent.

The style I am planning to write is going to be more vivid than what I am accustomed to writing. I may somehow give this story a bit of a dark twist. I'm hoping to be able to make a very crazy story out of the sleepwalking. I believe I can convey Rama's sleepwalking in a way that produces some very weird and crazy things.

There will be three characters in this story: Rama, Sita, and their dog Ravanese...

Rama: He will be in denial for a while and Sita is going to have to convince him that he actually sleepwalks. Once he finds out that he does actually sleepwalk, he will be terrified of himself.

Sita: The wife of Rama, first discovers Rama sleepwalking and doesn't think anything of it. Over time, crazy things begin to happen and she is scared of Rama.

Ravanese: Rama and Sita's dog. He may or may not become a victim to Rama's sleepwalking.

 Sleepwalking man. Link
Bibliography: Monro. Indian Gods and Heroes: Rama and Sita. Link

Week 11 Reading Notes: Indian Gods and Heroes: Rama and Sita, Part A

I initially chose this story to read because of the title. Rama and Sita have interested me greatly ever since reading the Ramayana.

Also, I had forgotten that I had written a story some weeks ago that involved Rama and Sita.It would be cool to see any similarities, if any, between Rama and Sita in this story and in mine,

iI'm noticing that I'm not remembering any of these names from the Ramayana beside Ravana, lord of the Rakshakas

I would much rather read the public domain Ramayana than this,  as the reading is a bit slow and more complex.

I would probably never do writing like this, as it reads like what I would consider the Bible.

I'm a big fan of how Rama was portrayed in this part of the reading. He was a very wise person in the story, much liek he was in the Ramayana.

One idea I could use for my next story is to include more descriptive language, but not so much that it becauses draggy and too complex.

A draing from the book. Link

Bibliography: Monro. Indian Gods and Heroes: Rama and Sita. Link