Storytelling Week 6- Brothers Face a Riddle

There were once five brothers with the last name of Pandava who were always competing with each other in sports. They loved to play football, soccer, tennis, and run in races against each other. The five of them had been like this for as long as they could remember. Sometimes the oldest brother would win, other times the youngest. Nobody really kept a long term record of who was the “most winningest” brother. It was all just for fun.

One day the brothers were at camp and had just finished a game of basketball when they came across a man sitting by a water jug. There were lots of water stations set up around the camp, so the brothers approached this one because it was the closest. The man by the jug said to them, “The first one to drink the water will not really be the first. It is a competition. Who will be the first to drink the water?”

One of the brothers named Nakula replied, “I don’t have time for your word games old man, I’m thirsty! Move over everyone. I’ll show you exactly who will be first!” Nakula helped himself to the water and immediately spat it out as if he had just drunk a bitter poison. The man looked knowingly at Nakula, and smirked at the remaining brothers.

Sahadeva was the next in line. He looked at his brother with sympathy and said, “C’mon Nakula, everyone knows the old saying ‘first is the worst, second is the best’. Therefore I will be the winner of the water if I am served second.” The man complied with Sahadeva’s request and served him a glass of the water. Similar to Nakula, Sahadeva also spat out the water in disgust.

This happened again for Arjuna and Bhima. Nobody could quench their thirst with the water from the jug. The boys were about to leave and find another place to get a drink, but the man stopped them and asked, “Yudhishthira, why have you not attempted to solve the riddle? Aren’t you thirsty as well?” Yudhishthira quietly responded, “There is an old teaching that says those who are first will be last and those who are last will be first. Therefore, I will wait to see if anyone else wants a drink before I drink.”

The man smiled at Yudhishthira’s wisdom. He responded, “I see no one else in line,” and handed Yudhishthira a bottle of water from behind the jug. The water was clean and refreshing. Yudhishthira only drank a small sip and then passed it around to his brothers. There was plenty to go around, and Yudhishthira was praised for his wisdom.

Water Pour Jug Pouring Liquid

Author: Not Listed, Date: 2014, Source: Pixabay

Author's Note: This story is an adaptation from the story about the Pandava brothers facing a riddle at the lake in our reading this week. I chose to make the characters more modern so the story would be more relatable. I added in the detail about the brothers being competitive so that the reader would feel like they know the characters better. Instead of dying by drinking the water, the brothers were simply given bad water. In both my version and the original story, Yudhishthira proves to be the most wise and patient brother, and is the only one who is able to answer the riddle. However, in this version the "wisdom" is taken from teachings of Christianity when Jesus preaches that those who are first will be last and vice versa.

Bibliography:

"Riddles at the Lake" by Donald A. Mackenzie, from Indian Myth and Legend (1913). Web source: here 

Reading Diary A Week 6- Keeping up with the Pandavas

Draupadi has to be one of the most interesting characters I have ever read about. Unfortunately, I got behind on my reading schedule last week and just now read about her this week. I think she could have been a cool character for my storybook project... but I went ahead and picked my three main characters last week. I might go back and add her in.

Five husbands, good for her! It's interesting to me that the culture has seemed to make an exception for her, and only her. Usually women who are with multiple men are scorned... I mean just look at how Rama treated Sita after she was kidnapped against her will by another man! However, Draupadi was apparently destined to be with all of the Pandava brothers, so she can get away with it.

Unfortunately the brothers lost everything they had. I have a feeling that if it was Draupadi placing the bets then things would not have gotten so out of hand, and they would not have faced exile out in the forest. She is definitely miserable in her exile, and wants revenge. However Yudhishthira is remaining relatively calm through the whole exile. He is portrayed as the "wise" or "cool-headed" one throughout this portion of the reading. This confused met because he obviously wasn't THAT wise when he was gambling away everything he owned. Honestly, I don't know how the whole family isn't incredibly angry with Yudhishthira. In the riddle story I guess he somewhat redeems himself. By using his "wisdom" he is able to avoid the temptation of the water and answer complicated questions about virtue. This revives his people, who had suffered death through their own impatience and misunderstanding.

2716_PandavaDraupadi.jpg

Photographer: Flickr user vaticanus, Date: Nov. 2007, Source: Flickr

Thoughts About Comments

Going back through the comments I've received on my posts allowed me to review some of the suggestions my classmates and instructors have made, and consider how they have been implemented in my writings. A lot of the feedback I've received has been positive, and most of the comments have been students telling me what they liked about my writing. Most students say they liked how I turned old stories into modern and relateable ones, and appreciate the integration of quotes from the original story. I have enjoyed comments from Professor Gibbs that have guided me to other resources or made recommendations for my future reading plans. This has allowed the course to become more "personalized" and has allowed me to focus on the areas of the reading I am most interested in.

I also enjoy the comments on my introduction, and have enjoyed making comments on other students introductions. This allows the virtual classroom to feel more "real" and has fostered a greater sense of community between the students in this class. It is definitely less awkward to give constructive criticism on someone else's writing when you've already introduced yourself to them and have taken the time to get to know them a little better.

I have also enjoyed leaving comments on others students stories. My only worry is that I am too general or vague in my comments. I hope to work on being more specific in my feedback to other students in the weeks to come.

Week 5 Storytelling Kunti and Karna

There once was a teenager named Kunti. She had a spotless reputation and was set up for success. The world was her oyster! She had endless opportunities in front of her, and more resources than she could ask for. She worked hard in school, played sports, and had great friends and family. That’s why she couldn’t even bear the thought of what had happened to her. She kept imaging the look on her parents’ faces when she told them she was pregnant.

She couldn’t go through with it. Honestly, it wouldn’t be fair to her or the child. What did she know about being a mother? Would she resent the baby for changing the whole course of her life? She knew there were families out there who were so desperate for children, and she knew that she was in no way equipped to be a mom. Kunti was a small thin girl, and could hide the pregnancy fairly well at first with baggy sweaters and oversized t-shirts. However, as her belly grew, so did her worries. She knew she had to find the right family for her baby and fast.

One of her good friends, Jane, worked as a receptionist at the local fertility clinic. One evening Jane and Kunti passed a beautiful, yet disheartened couple at the movie theater. Jane greeted the couple, and they did their best to smile back at her. Jane turned to Kunti and said, “Sometimes the work at my office is the most rewarding work in the world. And other times, well… things just don’t work out.” Kunti realized the couple must have come in for treatment at the clinic, but were still unable to have a child. A light bulb went off in Kunti’s head. Kunti replied, “Uhhh…. I forgot I have to go home for something… bye!!” and ran out of the theater.

Kunti followed the couple at a safe distance. They walked all the way to their cozy home. It wasn’t much, but it was well taken care of. It wasn’t big, but Kunti could tell it was full of love. Kunti peaked in the window, and saw the wife sobbing in her husband’s arms. Kunti knew these people would be amazing parents to her son.

Towards the end of her pregnancy, Kunti couldn’t hide her belly any longer. She forged a letter from the “Society of Science-Minded Women” which said she’d been accepted to a three-month long conference in Washington, DC. Her parents gave her enough money for the trip, and Kunti set up camp at a small motel about an hour away. Finally the day came, and Kunti gave birth to her beautiful son, and named him Karna.

Kunti cleaned up the baby, and wrapped him in sheets from the hotel. She rushed to the beautiful couple’s home. She laid Karna on their doorstep, rang their doorbell, and hid. The couple came out, confused, but overjoyed. They knew this child was to be theirs.

Author's Note;

This is a story that has been told in many different ways and in many different cultures. When I first read this story, I was reminded of Moses being laid in the river by his mother. Various circumstances can lead a woman or a couple to adoption, and many happy families are created because of adoption. In this story, Jane takes the place of the river. She is the one who leads Karna to the family that is destined to raise him. The beautiful couple is obviously a representation of Radha and Adhiratha. I added more details about concealing the pregnancy that were left out in my reading. I left out exactly how Kunti became pregnant, because I wanted the story to focus more on Kunti and Karna.

Boon of Indra to Kunti,

Date unknown, Author: Ramnadayandatta Shastri Pandey, Source: Wikimedia

Bibliography:

"Kunti and Her Son" by Donald A. Mackenzie, from Indian Myth and Legend (1913). Web Source: here

Reading Diary A- Public Domain Edition of Mahabharata

This week I chose to read the public domain edition of Mahabharata that was provided by our professor. The names and places are hard to keep straight at first, but links embedded in the reading along with the audio version to follow along with help a lot.  As I was reading, I tried to keep an open mind to characters that could fit in to my storybook project for this class. Amba was probably my favorite character, although I realize that she is probably supposed to come off as evil and crazed to the reader. She was treated unjustly, despite her noble actions, and is seeking revenge against Bhishma. I look forward to finding out how the rest of her story unfolds. In my version of her story I might leave out the part about her having to be reincarnated as a man. This takes away from the power she already possesses in her womanly form.

Two other characters I found to be intriguing, although they would probably not make an appearance in my storybook, are Drona and Drupada. The two were friends growing up, but then Drupada essentially hurt Drona’s feelings when they got older by telling him he wasn’t good enough to be his friend any more. This apparently cut Drona so deep that he makes it his life’s mission to make Drupada eat his own words. In the end, Drupada is forced to accept Drona’s “friendship” but in reality the two are more like enemies.

Dronacharya as commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army,

Author: Ramanarayanadatta astri, Source: Wikimedia

Those were the three characters I was most entertained by so far, I look forward to seeing how the rest of this epic unfolds.

Storytelling Week 4- The Unforgiving Rama

Sita didn’t understand what she had done wrong. She and Rama had been dating since their freshman year of high school. Their relationship was perfect; she didn’t know it was possible to be so in love. Sure, they had gone through hard times. Rama’s parents went through a painful separation and then his dad died shortly after, but Sita stayed with him through it all. Then there was the situation with Sita’s stalker. Ravana started following Sita home after school when they were juniors. Rama couldn’t stand Ravana, and he tried to protect Sita as best as he could. Ravana wouldn’t mess with her when Rama was around, but Rama couldn’t be around her constantly. One afternoon, Ravana grabbed Sita and took her home with him. Nobody could find Sita for two days, but the police finally found her passed out at Ravana’s house after Rama continued to insist that they get a search warrant.

Sita couldn’t remember what had happened to her in those two days, but people at school started to guess what he could have done to her. Some of the rumors that were spread were graphic and embarrassing for Sita. At least she knew Rama was always by her side… or so she thought so. Rama was also embarrassed by the rumors, and didn’t act the same around Sita anymore. He treated her like she had been contaminated. He couldn’t bear the thought of that freak touching her. He also became paranoid that she might have been impregnated. He asked her one day, “What would I do with that animal’s child? Raise it as my own? Yeah right!” Sita was already having a hard enough time coping with those two traumatic days. She thought Rama would make her feel better, but he only made everything worse. In her eyes, however, this was just another obstacle they would overcome… she knew it would make their relationship stronger in the end, just like everything else they had gone through. She loved Rama with everything she had, and knew she always would. Rama, however, saw it differently. This had changed everything; he could not see Sita as the same sweet innocent girl he loved anymore. He needed a way for her to somehow prove she was the same to him. He obsessed about the status of her purity, and even convinced himself Sita might have developed feelings for Ravana. Sita wanted to move forward from the whole mess, but she didn’t know if Rama would allow that to happen. She felt guilty all of the time, but she couldn’t put her finger on what she did wrong.

Broken heart symbol,

Author not listed, Source: Wikimedia

Author’s Note:

I watched the movie, Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley this week for my reading assignment. In the movie, more emphasis is placed on Sita’s purity being questioned. Rama was obsessed with what other people thought of him, and couldn’t stand other people questioning the loyalty of his wife. I tried to think about what this might look like in today’s society, so I told the story as if Rama and Sita were high school sweethearts.

Bibliography:

"Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Paley (2008). Source: Youtube

Week 4 Another Ramayana Reading Diary B- Sita Sings the Blues

I am so confused by how this story ended! In the prose version of The Ramayana that I read for this class, the ending was completely different. In the book, Rama and Sita returned home and the story ended happy. However, in the animated movie, Rama rejects Sita AGAIN and sends her into the forest pregnant. So much for Rama being a virtuous man! Who would ever leave a woman when she's pregnant with their child (or children, in Sita's case)? This ending of the story makes me feel completely differently about Rama. Yet, somehow, Sita remains true in her love for him. It is Sita who is the truly virtuous human. In the movie version, Mother Earth swallows Sita back into her "womb" to prove that Sita has been pure the whole time. I loved how the movie started with Sita rubbing Rama's feet up in the stars, and ended with Rama serving Sita and rubbing her feet. I also loved the sarcasm hidden in the song the boys sang to their dad. Basically, in the end of the movie, Rama is made to look like a huge jerk who made a mistake and has mountains of respect for all of the wrong reasons. And honestly, I kind of love that angst-y tone against him.

I plan to do more research to figure out what the ending of the actual epic is. Since both of the versions I've read/watched are only modern interpretations, there could be some truth in both of the endings. It seems like in a story with so many characters, twists, and details, that a lot of information can get lost in translation. This movie has made me appreciate Sita even more than before! Not only is she virtuous, but she allows herself to be honored in front of everyone in the way that she knows she deserves. In the end of this movie, instead of choosing to end up with Rama, she chooses to let the world know the truth about her. Ultimately, the movie makes it appear that she is rewarded in the after-life.

I'm very impressed by the creator of this film, Nina Paley. Her creativity and subtle satire is smart and different from most other interpretations of this story. I enjoyed Sita Sings the Blues much more than I expected to enjoy a film assigned for a class!

Nina Paley,

2006, Source: Wikipedia