Famous Last Words Week 12- Almost Done!

With the way my points are adding up, it’s looking like I will be able to meet my learning goals and finish up this class within the next couple of weeks. This semester has truly flown by! I am very pleasantly surprised by the wealth of knowledge I have gained about Indian culture through epic literature in this course. This week I think my best writing was in my storybook project; I had the opportunity to tell Amba’s story from a completely new perspective, and had a lot of fun with it! It has been great to get such detailed feedback from Professor Gibbs as I’ve continued working on this project. She definitely knows how to polish writing, and keeps her students on exactly the right track!

One of my classmate’s projects I read this week had one of the coolest webpage layouts I’ve seen… it really added a lot to his overall project! I think this is one area I could improve on. My blog for the course and my website for the project are both very simple and plain. Perhaps I might work on giving my blog site a “face-lift” for one of the extra credit tech-tip assignments!

In my other classes, my professors appear to be cramming in the last round of tests before Thanksgiving break! I know that after Thanksgiving break the semester will fly by, and finals will be over before I know it! Hopefully I can keep my head above water until then.

Outside of school, my family has been busy with exciting wedding plans! My sister will get married on New Year’s Eve, and we’ve had lots of fun planning and celebrating her at showers and parties these past few weeks. I cannot wait for the wedding day; I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off 2016!

(Image Information: personal photo of my siblings and I headed to a shower;

photo from November 2015.)

Storytelling Week 12: In Hiding

Arjuna understood that Urvashi’s curse would ultimately end up being a blessing. He needed an impenetrable disguise for this final year of exile, and who would ever believe that a woman teaching dance classes was actually one of the most masculine warriors of their generation? This was the eve of the first day of their last year in exile. Tomorrow, Urvashi’s curse would go into effect. Deep down, Arjuna knew it was all for the best…. But he couldn’t help but be a little nervous and anxious.

Arjuna had never even thought about what life would be like as a woman. How would he fit into this role? Would he like it? This wasn’t just going to be a day of playing dress-up; Arjuna would take on this alternate personality for an entire year. Would Draupadi still be attracted to him? Would she still love him? What if he fell in love with a man? What would people think about him once the year was up? Would Arjuna forever be mocked as the man who spent a year teaching dance?

These questions continued to cycle through Arjuna’s mind. He tossed and turned all night, afraid to fall asleep because he knew he would wake up a different person. He decided to get up and walk around. He tip-toed over to Draupadi’s bed, and began to stroke her beautiful hair. Draupadi awoke, and could immediately sense the uneasiness in her husband’s heart. She turned to him and told him before he could ask, “I will love you forever Arjuna, no matter what happens tomorrow.” Arjuna breathed a sigh of relief. He kissed her forehead and wept. What had this beautiful princess done to deserve so many years of exile? It wasn’t fair. As if she could hear his thoughts, Draupadi responded, “I count myself the luckiest woman in the world to have not one, but five brave and caring husbands. I would go through a hundred more years of exile if it meant I could spend just one more day with the Pandava brothers.” Arjuna smiled, and made his way back to his bed.

He felt himself drifting off to sleep. Draupadi’s warm words replayed in his mind and melted away all of his concerns of the future. His dreams that night were vivid and exciting.

Arjuna awoke in the morning feeling wonderful and giddy. She saw beauty in the world around her that she had never noticed before. The beauty of her surroundings, her loved ones, and all of her blessings overwhelmed her with happiness. The only way she could externally express what she was feeling, was to dance. Arjuna was excited for the year that would unfold before her. 

Urvashi curses Arjuna,

Author: Ramanarayanadatta astri, Date: acquired in 1965, Source: Wikimedia

Author's Note:
In my opinion, the most interesting portion of my reading assignment for this week was the year that the Pandava family spent in exile. I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to take on such a new and different identity. Specifically, I thought about Arjuna who would take on the role of a woman. I imagined that this would be intimidating and scary for him, and began to wonder what it would feel like the night before his "transformation" would occur. I figured an entire story could be created describing Arjuna's transformation alone.

Bibliography:
Mahabharta retold by William Buck and illustrated by Shirley Triest, 1973. Print.

Week 12 Reading Diary B: War Stories

For this reading assignment I continued reading Buck's retelling of the Mahabharata. This portion of the book focused on the famous battle scenes of this epic. In this retelling Sanjaya is the narrator, and describes all of the major scenes of the battle from a first-person perspective. Some of the main scenes include Bhsima getting hit by thousands of arrows and slowly dying. Also, the use of a trick to kill Drona (deceiving him and making him think his son is dead to catch him off-guard). Also, the battle between Arjuna and Karna- the two brothers who never had the chance to grow up together. One common scene throughout the narrative is the respect between the warriors, especially when the war first begins. Arjuna has a flashback of Bhishma playing with him as a child. Deep down, he loves and respects Bhishma, but at the same time he understands the importance and the necessity of the war they will fight against each other. I imagine these are complicated emotions to processes.

Duryodhana, however, continues to act like a selfish child throughout these scenes. I do not understand why such wise and powerful people such as Bhishma and Drona continue to fight on his side. This portion of the reading ends with Duryodhana hiding in the bottom of the lake, while his men are battling and dying for him- such a coward! I wish there was more of the story told from Draupadi’s point of view. She appears to be missing from the plot for the entirety of the war.

Arjuna and His Charioteer Krishna Confront Karna,

Author: Unknown. Date: circa 1820, Source: Wikimedia

Week 12 Reading Diary A: Noticing the Details

This portion of William Buck's retelling of the Mahabharata starts with the trial at the crystal lake and ends a little after the end of the Pandava exile. The questions asked by Dharma at the lake appear to be slightly different in each version of the story. In this version, Yudhishthira proved he understood the importance of wisdom, the danger of pride, and the power of contentment. It is always fun to read the dialogue between Dharma and Yudhishthira; it feels like reading through an old book of Indian proverbs.

Yudhistira and Yaksha,

Author: Ramanarayanadatta astri, Date: acquired in 1965, Source: Wikimedia 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Pandava’s last year in exile when everyone had their disguises. Particularly, Arjuna’s is the most amusing. In his year of womanhood he teaches the princes how to dance… so it was quite comical to see her shock when he later returned to her a very masculine warrior. Draupadi seemed to have the most trouble in her exile. Her beauty is truly a blessing and a curse. Men claim that they cannot control themselves around her, but once again Draupadi exhibits the utmost amount of dignity and bravely protects herself in all situations… even when her life is threatened!
Arjuna has the most unrecognizable disguise, however, after him would probably be Yudhisthira. Since Yudhisthira is famous for losing everything he owns in a dice game, no one would ever guess that the kingdom “dice master” would be him!
This portion ended with Duryodhana refusing to play nice with the Pandava brothers. He reminds me so much of a spoiled child in these scenes. I do not know how Karna, Drona, and Bhishma are able to stay loyal to him through it all.