Week 9 Storytelling: Drona Misunderstands

Bhima and Ashwatthaman were in the 5^th grade, and had been in the same class since they were in kindergarten. Bhima thought that Ashwatthaman had the coolest name when they were little, so he named his favorite toy elephant after him. Bhima took that stuffed animal with him EVERYWHERE. As Bhima got older, it became slightly more unusual for him to carry it around. His parents were starting to get worried that his classmates would tease him, so they took the stuffed animal away. They explained to Bhima, “We are taking your toy. We know you don’t understand why now, but you will thank us when you’re older. We can’t tell you where we’re taking him- it is going to stay a secret for now.” Bhima was upset to say the least; he felt like he had lost a friend.

Ashwatthaman’s dad, Mr. Drona, was walking into the school to pick up his son when he saw Bhima pouting outside of the classroom. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Bhima replied, “My parents said I’m not allowed to play with Ashwatthaman anymore.” Mr. Drona was shocked and appalled, “Why on earth would they make up a rule like that?” Bhima began to cry, “I don’t know… they just… they just… took him away. They locked him up somewhere, and they won’t tell me where to find him!” Mr. Drona’s annoyance now turned into intense fear. He thought Bhima’s parents had kidnapped his son.

He ran to the principal’s office and explained what Bhima had told him. Mr. Drona was frantic and sweaty. He was just about ready to call the police! The principal, however, seemed calm and collected, “Kids can have the wildest imaginations. Before we go accusing parents of kidnapping, let’s check with Ashwatthaman’s teacher to see if he’s okay.”

Sure enough, Ashwatthaman was safe and sound waiting patiently in his classroom to be picked up. Mr. Drona was just relieved that his son was safe. The pair began to exit the building when Bhima rushed up to them. Mr. Drona was about to scold Bhima for giving him such a fright. Before he could shake his finger, Bhima proudly lifted up a raggedy stuffed animal. “Look Mr. Drona! My mom said I could play with Ashwatthaman after school,” he explained. Suddenly things became a lot clearer to Mr. Drona. He patted Bhima on the head, and chuckled as he walked out of the building. 

Elephant toy,

Author: Pixabay user jarmoluk, Date: 2014, Source: Pixabay

Author's Note:

In the original version of the story, Drona is tricked into thinking his son died after Bhima kills an elephant who shares the same name as Ashwatthaman. I wanted to make the story a little more light-hearted, so instead of a real elephant being killed a stuffed animal has gone missing. Also, in my version of the story, although Drona thinks his son is missing, it is only for a brief moment. Here, Drona ends up realizing what Bhima really meant by the end. Also, in the original version of the story Bhima was intentionally being deceptive, while in this version the misunderstanding was an honest mistake. I've been babysitting and tutoring a lot lately, and have come to realize that kids can say the funniest things. I wanted to incorporate some of that childlike humor in my story. 

Bibliography:

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

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

Week 9 Reading Dairy B: Finishing Brook's Mahabharata

In this reading assignment, I finished Brook's film version of The Mahabharata. In all honesty this last portion of the film was probably my least favorite. The war scenes were kind of repetitive and exhausting to me. The effects used in the war scenes were also a little cheesy, but I think they were supposed to be more artistic than realistic.

I thought the film did a good job explaining Drona's internal conflict. He was secretly hoping that the Pandava brothers would win the war, but  he had already sworn his allegiance to their enemies. Unfortunately, in the midst of the war Draupadi plays less of an important role. She has few speaking lines in these scenes. Abhimanyu's wife is barely introduced in one scene during the war, but in the end the viewer learns that she is a pivotal character in the greater story of mankind.

I wonder if Arjuna would have still killed Karna if he had known he was his brother. I bet the entire war could have been avoided in Kunti had told the Pandava brothers that Karna was one of them. I also wonder what would have happened if Krishna wouldn’t have persuaded the brothers to play tricks and break the rules of war. It is as if he had a divine understanding of the greater good that would come from the Pandava brothers winning. I am kind of confused by the last scene where Yudhisthira is trying to find paradise. I might do some further research to try to figure out exactly what is happening during this part and what all of the people, animals, and settings he comes across symbolize. All in all I think the film did a really good job portraying the major themes, characters, conflicts, and lessons of the original epic. There were a lot of stories to cover, and the film did a good job including every detail that was important.

The Mahabharata, stage play by Peter Brook,

Author: Daniel Cande, Date: July 1985, Source: Wikimedia

Week 9 Reading Diary A: Finishing Brook's Mahabharata

For this week's reading assignment I have chosen to finish Brook's film version of The Mahabharta since I have already started it for the last reading assignment. A few parts stick out as favorites in this portion of the film. First, I thought it was a really emotional scene when Karna found out that Kunti was his mother, and came to the realization that he was about to go into battle against his brothers. You can tell that he was completely shocked. However, it was too little too late and Karna refused to change his mind about going into battle. Secondly, I liked the scene where some type of vision or ghost of Amba approached Bhishma after she had died and been reincarnated as a male warrior. I made sure to pay special attention to scenes with Amba since she is one of the characters for my storybook project. Amba's reincarnation as a male should help her complete her life's work: to kill Bhishma. However, in my version of her story I don't want Amba to be reincarnated as a male. I want to portray an Amba who was able to reach her goals fully as a woman. I also liked the part where Arjuna was about to go into battle, but had to stop because he was so disgusted by the thought of killing people he was related to. I think that scene forced the audience to put themselves in Arjuna's shoes and wonder what it would feel like to wage war on kin.

It is interesting to me that the author of this poem, Vyasa, is as much of a narrator of the story as he is a part of it. There are portions of the movie where he is acknowledged by the characters he is creating. This confusing idea that someone can be above and within a time frame at the same time is too abstract for a person to fully wrap their head around. Although Vyasa is writing the story, he is unable (or unwilling) to tell what will end up happening.

Vyasa,

Author: Ramanarayanadatta astri, Date: Not listed, Source: Wikimedia