Week 7 Storytelling- Amba

There once was a college student named Amba. Amba was beautiful and kind, but beared a great secret. Amba was a lesbian, and she felt like she could not come out to any of her friends or family. Amba was in love with a girl named Priya. Their love was true and steadfast, however, very secretive. Amba’s parents were very traditional. They already had someone in mind for Amba to marry. He was perfect. His name was Bhishma. Bhishma was going to be a doctor, he came from a great family, and nobody could say a bad thing about him.

Amba’s parents arranged for the two to meet each other’s families.  A date was then arranged for the two to spend time together with a chaperon. The date was lovely- they started with a walk in the park, they ate pizza at a local bistro, and were concluding the afternoon with a trip to the movies. On their walk to the movies, Amba pulled Bhishma aside. They were far enough away from the chaperon to have a private conversation. Amba confessed to Bhishma that she had no desire to marry him, and was in love with someone else. Bhishma was noticeably saddened by this news, but, alas, he was a good person. He told Amba to follow her heart. He also told her that he would break the news to their parents that the two of them had decided to part ways. Amba was relieved by his understanding.

Whisper

Author: Alejandro Tuzzi, Date: 2015, Source: Pixabay

The next day, Amba explained the whole situation to Priya. Priya was annoyed to say the least. “You still haven’t told your parents about us??? Are you so ashamed of me?? I cannot be with someone who doesn’t know how to be honest. I can’t believe you would go on a ‘fake’ date with someone just to please your parents. This relationship is over.”

Amba was devastated. She couldn’t please her parents, and she couldn’t be with the person she loved the most. For some reason, she was most angry at Bhishma. If Bhisma was never in the picture, her parents would not have tried to set her up. Priya would not have gotten upset, and everything would still be normal. Bhishma was the root of all of her problems. And she would get revenge. She didn’t have anything else to live for- no Priya and no parents. She only had one desire that consumed her. Making Bhishma pay.

Author's Note: This week we re-read the Mahabharata in a new way. I chose to watch the movie version of this epic. The actress who played Amba did a wonderful job. She was so devastated by her circumstances, but also became so determined and passionate because of them. I wanted to express this character in a modern interpretation. I asked myself, how might a situation like this arise today?

Bibliography:

"Amba" by Sister Nivedita, from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists (1914). Web source: here

Peter Brook's Mahabharata (1989). Web source: here

Reading Diary B Week 7- Continuing with the Film

For this reading diary, I have continued to watch the film version of The Mahabharata. A link to this film can be found here. The plot picked back up with the Pandava brothers and Draupadi in exile. Draupadi impressed me in these scenes. She spoke frankly and confidently to Yudhishthira, and questioned his motives for the gamble. All of the brothers, including Yudhishthira, respected Draupadi and listened to her concerns even if they disagreed with her. This kind of effective and open communication is rare in many relationships today, and was certainly very ahead of its time for the time period during this story. I appreciated that scene.

Description: Illustrations from the Barddhaman edition of Mahabharata in Bangla, which were printed in wood engraving technique (7).jpg, Author: Maharaja Mahatab Chand Bahadur, Date: between 1820 - 1879, Source: Wikimedia

Amba made a brief re-appearance shortly after the Pandavas has started their exile. I was sure to pay attention in that part since she is one of the characters for my storybook project. Everyone recognized her name and knew her story, and they were all amazed at her determination. She was so focused that she didn't eat, sleep, or age. She barely stopped to discuss anything other than her mission.

Weapons were acquired "by both sides" in these scenes as well. Arjuna went out on his own journey to get a weapon- I appreciated how they only hit the highlights in this part. There were a lot of smaller (and not as relevant) stories/descriptions that could have been shown in the film but were left out. This was probably for the best because the viewers were able to streamline the plot a little bit.

The effects in the movie aren't "state of the art" by any means, but they aren't too cheesy either. The costumes for the demons, for example, weren't super realistic- but they were scary enough to get the point across! All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this film and think it will help me better understand all of the various characters.

Reading Diary A Week 7 Another Mahabharata (Online Movie)

This week I decided to watch the online movie version of the Mahabharata, You can find a link to this movie, here. When I was initially reading the online PDE of the Mahabharata, I was having a hard time keeping characters and lineages straight. I thought watching a film version of the story would be beneficial for me because I would be able to match names to faces. This helped me to keep everyone's stories and backgrounds organized.

I started watching the movie two nights ago, and was able to convince one of my friends to watch it with me! I think we both enjoyed it more than we anticipated we would. The plot really is so fascinating, and it is so interesting to see how all of the characters are woven together. I thought Draupadi's acting in the last scene, where her husband gambled her away, was the most impressive. You could see the desperation on her face, but also her sincere faithfulness as she called upon the gods for help. I think Draupadi was my favorite character in the film, I was surprised that they left out her whole story. What I mean is, they didn't show her previous life, and how she became destined to have five husbands.

It's hard to tell exactly who is the main protagonist in a story with so many characters, but I think Arjuna and Yudhishthira are probably two of the biggest stars. In my eyes, however. both of them have their faults. I think Arjuna was a coward to deny the challenge of Karna. Also, I think it was shameful that he let Drona go after Ekalavya, who had done nothing wrong, and ask for his thumb. Yudhisthira's fault is obvious- the gambling. I don't understand how his brothers and his wife were so calm and understanding as he gambled everything they owned away. I also don't understand why he "had" to accept the challenge.

Shakuni is Master of Dice Game,

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

I look forward to watching the rest of the film! I've noticed that a few stories are skipped over, but I feel like overall the film does a good job of hitting all of the highlights.