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.

Week 11 Storytelling: Savitri Outsmarts Death

Savitri was incredibly smart and kind. She always had been the smartest person in her class, ever since she was little. She would never admit to it or brag about it, but everyone knew. It was no different for her when she started medical school. She was among some of the brightest minds in the nation, but she still outshined all of her classmates. Savitri had always been single, and this was one purpose. She didn’t see the need for a relationship before she had established herself.  It was well known among her classmates that she wasn’t interested in romance.
In her third year of medical school, Savitri confided in her best friend that she might be ready to find love. Well, Savitri’s friend told a couple people… and they told a couple people, and after a few days the whole school knew that Savitri might be ready to date. Savitri asked a few boys out for dinner, and they were all very nice. However, none of the first dates led to a second. That was until she met Satyavan.
Satyavan was wise, thoughtful, and kind. He was unlike any man she had ever met. The two began going on dates almost every weekend. Before long, Savitri knew that she had found the man she would marry. As Satyavan started to realize that their relationship was getting more serious, he knew he had to be completely honest with her. He pulled her aside one day and sat her down in private to talk. He told her about the rare disease he was diagnosed with a few months before they started dating. Unfortunately, his doctors said he only had one year to live.
Savitri was devastated, but it didn’t prevent her from loving him. The two were married the following week and began their life together. Savitri dedicated her life to her work. She was working on a big research project- she hoped to find the cure for Satyavan’s disease. She had a sense of urgency that her colleagues couldn’t replicate- her intensity was unparalleled. She researched, experimented, and developed a treatment for animal trial within 8 months. The treatment was successful, but it would take many more months, if not years, for the FDA to approve a human trial. Savitri was running out of time, and Satyavan grew weaker with each passing week. Savitri knew what she had to do. It went against all of the rules, but at this point she didn’t care. She began administering the treatment to Satyavan in secret in their home on the day that his year would’ve been up. Slowly but surely, Satyavan began to rebuild his strength. His doctors were amazed by his progress, and claimed that it had to have been a miracle that saved his life. Satyavan grinned, and glanced over at his wife. “I couldn’t agree more,” he responded.
In the following year, Savitri’s treatment was approved made available to the public. Savitri and Satyavan went on to live a long and happy life together.

Illustration of a hypodermic needle,

Author: zeimusu, Date: Not listed, Source: Free Stock Photos

Author’s Note:

In the original story Savitri gets to take her pick of who will be her husband, and she chooses a man who only has one year to live. These details of the story have remained the same. However, this version of the story takes place in a modern setting. Instead of Savitri literally outsmarting the lord of death, she uses her smarts to prevent the death of her husband by creating a cure for his disease. 

Bibliography:

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

Week 11 Reading Diary B: Stories within Stories

As I continue reading William Buck's retelling of the Mahabharata, I find myself discovering new stories that are told within the plot of the epic. For example, the story of Savitri and Satyavan was new to me. It was told by Vyasa to the Pandava brothers and Draupadi out of inspiration for their love. Savitri could have chosen anyone in the world to be her husband, and she allowed herself to fall in love with a man who had only a year to live. They enjoyed their year together, and when the time came, Savitri somehow managed to negotiate/trick the lord of death into reviving her husband. As if that weren't enough, she also managed to restore her father-in-law's vision and kingdom. Draupadi is similar to Savitri. After her husband gambled everything away (including her) she received favor from King Dhritarashtra which drastically improved their situation.

Savitri and Satyavan,

Author: R. Varma, Date: between 1848 and 1906, Source: Wikimedia

Another story I enjoyed was the story of the part-deer-part-boy Rishyasringa and his love for Santa. Rishyasringa had a very strict father who kept him isolated from the world and its pleasures. In fact, Rishyasringa had never really seen other people before. That's why when he met Santa for the first time, he thought she was a boy! He hadn't even learned about women before! The story of their first encounter was so sweet, and his descriptions of his new friend to his father were so innocent. Since he didn't really know how to explain love, he merely said he wanted to be the closest of friends with him (her) for his whole life. I was so relieved and happy that the two ended up together and that, ultimately, the father was supportive.

I look forward to reading more stories within this story, and hope to finish this book within the next couple of weeks!

Week 11 Reading Diary A: Same Epic in a New Way

This week, I am continuing to read William Buck’s retellingof the Mahabharata. One detail in this version of the Mahabharata that was left out of other versions I’ve read/watched was Draupadi’s behavior in the dice game. In this version, she literally punched Duhsasana who attempted to un-robe her. I loved it.

Another story included in this version that I was unfamiliar with was the story of Nala and Damayanti. This was a fascinating love story filled with unexpected twists and turns. One common thread between the story of Nala and Yudhishthira is there inability to turn down a gambling challenge. This frustrates me when I’m reading. Their inability to refuse a challenge (aka their pride/ego/etc) somehow seems to justify their stupid actions. Basically, what I’m saying is, I don’t feel sorry for Nala or Yudhishthira when they lose all of their possessions in a gambling match. In fact, it makes me pretty angry at their character. If I was their wife or family member, I would find it very difficult to forgive them.

One thing that confuses me about the references to dice games in this story is, first of all, how Yudhishthira managed to lose every single throw and second of all how anyone can learn the “science” of dice. I find myself craving more details about the dice used… were they weighted? Did they have magnets in them? Was it an illusion? I think the answer to this question could make for an interesting retelling of the dice match in a storytelling assignment.

The ordeal of Queen Draupadi,

Author: Mackenzie, Donald Alexander, 1873-1936; Goble, Warwick, Date: 1913, Source: Wikimedia

Week 10: Famous Last Words

This past week was slightly busy with two tests in other classes. Luckily the tests were on Thursday. I prefer to have tests towards the end of the week. I would rather work hard on the weekdays than stress about tests over the weekend.

I was very pleased with the reading assignment I chose for this week. I found it easy to read, and looked forward to the time in the week I set aside for this reading assignment. I also enjoyed the illustrations included in my reading, they are beautiful and contribute a lot to the stories. I will continue reading this book for the next few reading assignments.

I think my best writing was my storytelling assignment for this week. I know a couple of families who have five or more kids, and I often hear people joke with them saying, “What, are you trying to create your own basketball team?” This silly joke inspired me to convert the Pandava brothers into a team of college basketball players. The story was fun, light-hearted, and easy to write! I think I could improve my reading diary writing by including some more details. I will try to take better notes this week!

Unfortunately I missed this week’s presidential debate. I was so busy studying for my tests and wasn’t able to carve out time to watch. Usually they play a replay, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch that this week! Also, this past week, I enjoyed celebrating Halloween. Even though Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday, I had fun spending time in silly costumes with my friends and family and passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. My roommate went all out with the decorations at our house. We had pumpkins, pine cones, witches, cobwebs, and caution tape all over our house. It was a lot of fun!

(Image Information: personal photo of my friends and I;

photo from October 2015.)