Storytelling for Week 2: Thataka's story

   Thataka was a demoness of great power.  She controlled fire and turned the once fertile lands into a waste land.  This was not always the case, however, as she was once a demigod. She was a gorgeous, willful woman at one point, before the loss of her husband drove her mad. 
   Growing up, Thataka knew that she was beautiful.  When she came of age, she married Sunda.  He was a chieftain that she had previously met.  Upon meeting, they had fallen deeply in love, deciding that they would one day get married.  Much to their joy, this desire came true.  Their union was then further blessed as they had two sons.  Thataka's two sons, Mareecha and Subahu, inherited great strength from their mother.  As her father was the demigod of valor, strength, and purity, they inherited a great deal of power.  Unfortunately, they could not control it.
   Though she knew that her sons stood to inherit power from her, Thataka was not expecting the amount that they received.  As such, she was not prepared to teach them how to control it.  While their powers grew stronger, the boys began to grow arrogant and prideful of their skills.  Sunda did not help this, as he thought that they were just acting as boys normally would.  In fact, Sunda believed that they were playing much of the time.  Because of this, he would often go out and join them in their activities.  These ranged from hunting down all creatures in the area, to ripping trees out of the ground in feats of strength.
   After a period of time, the saint Agasthya began to take notice of the destruction being enacted by Sunda and his sons.  He cursed the person who caused such harm, causing Sunda to immediately die.  When Thataka came to rightfully seek vengeance on the person who killed the love of her life, he cursed her and her sons to transform from demigods into demons.  Doing this stripped them of their beauty, making their appearances fearful to behold.  After this occurred, Thataka was abandoned to her own devices and her sons went to seek other demons.  As time passed she grew more and more bitter towards humans.  She destroyed the land she dwelt in and killed all who dared to attempt crossing through her territory.  It continued in this manner until she was slain by Rama.

(Image of Thataka facing Rama and companions; Image source Wikipedia) 

   For this story, I chose to retell the story of Thataka by giving more of her background.  I thought that she was punished harshly for the actions of her family, and I wanted to make her seem more justified in her response.  I felt it was unfair for her to be transformed into what was basically her opposite solely because she grew angry and wanted revenge on the person who killed her husband.  

Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 2: Reading Diary B

Rama was exiled by his step mother.    She changed from being happy and supportive of Rama's appointment as king to being completely against it.  She used the fact that the king gave her two boons to exile Rama from the kingdom to the forest, as well as to place her son in power. 
When Bharatha returned, he found that his father died from the shock of losing Rama.  He and the rest of the kingdom turned against the queen.  Her actions made them hate her and think of her as a devil.  Bharatha attempted to give the power to Rama, but he was refused and made the regent until Rama's 14 year exile ended.
Ravana's sister Kamavalli tries to convince Rama to marry her.  She believes that Sita has seduced him, not knowing she was his wife.  Though Kamavalli appears to be a beautiful woman, she is really the demon, Soorpanaka, that is trying to seduce him, transforming herself through magic.  She falls deeply in love with Rama, yet she is rejected.  She then tries to take him by force, attempting to kidnap Sita.  When this fails and Lakshmana protects Sita, Soorpanaka flees to her brothers to get them to defend her.  Her first brother, Kara, is defeated quickly.  She then goes to Ravana and makes him fall in love with Sita.  After plotting, Ravana kidnaps Sita with the intention of marrying her.

Week 2: Reading Diary A

Rama's Initiation

• First introduced to Viswamithra, the sage who becomes the mentor to Rama and his brother Lakshmana.  
• Dasaratha, father of Rama and Lakshmana, initially attempts to have Viswamithra take him on the voyage instead.  He is turned down and consents to his sons aiding the sage.
• The trio begins their journey to Sidhasrama, a holy area that Viswamithra wants to perform a yagna at. He teaches the boys different things as they travel.
• Thataka's story - This story seems to be used to show the destructive qualities of anger, particularly how it can take over and destroy everything.  It is also one way to explain the creation of the desert.
• Mahabali's story - When Rama was Vishnu, Mahabali took control while Vishnu was meditating.  After other gods came and begged Vishnu to retake control, he tricks Mahabali into granting him control of the land he steps on.  When he asks he is a small human.  After Mahabali grants this request, he retakes his form and takes the heavens and the earth back.
• Ganga's story - This seems to be a story regarding perseverance and hard work.  It also promotes loyalty to family.  This also talks about the origins of the Ganga river and the powers that the water carries.
• Ahalya's story - This was a sad story where the woman, Ahalya, was punished because she was deceived into sleeping with someone who took the form of her husband.  When her husband discovered this he transformed her to stone.  Rama's stepping on her released her from this curse and returned her to her husband.
• The next chapter deals with Rama and Sita glimpsing one another and falling in love at first sight.  Though she only saw him briefly, thoughts of Rama consume Sita, allowing her no rest.  When Rama manages a feat no one else has been able to do, stringing the bow of the god Shiva, he wins her hand.  The kingdoms then begin to celebrate and prepare for the wedding.

Week 1: Storybook Favorites for Epics of India

The first storybook that caught my eye was Food and Culture.  I thought that the topic was an interesting way to focus on the Indian epics.  It first caught my attention because I didn't really see how the author could get this topic out of the stories that we will be studying.  The introduction does a very good job of explaining how the storybook is laid out and what it is presenting.  The fact that the author is focusing on the cities discussed in the Ramayana rather than stories from within it definitely made me want to keep reading.  The layout of the storybook was also well done.  The pictures and the background color add some detail to the page without overwhelming it.
The second storybook that I thought was interesting was Ravana: Even Devils Have a Past.  The title of this drew my attention and made me want to see how the argument was presented for Ravana.  I think that the introduction was well done.  It certainly made me want to read more of the storybook.  I also liked the color that the author chose for the background.
Finally, I was intrigued by Indian Horror Story.  This caught my eye because I like horror stories and have recently started watching the tv show "American Horror Story." I liked the way the author used the introduction as a way to start the story.  They make their introduction into part of the story rather than just using it to prepare the reader for what is coming. 
All of these storybooks were interesting.  I look forward to starting to work on my own in the coming months!

Week 1: Indian Epics Introduction

Hi!  My name is Elizabeth Illerbrun.  I am currently a senior here at the University of Oklahoma.  I am majoring in International Area Studies, but I do not have a focus on a specific region.  I am minoring in English Literature and European Studies. I worked as a journalist for the OU Daily last fall, writing for the opinion column.
I recently traveled to Italy and studied there for spring semester.  I lived in Arezzo and studied through OU, which kept me on track to graduate and still allowed  me to travel around Europe. I am graduating this December, which is really exciting.  At the same time it is hard as well.  I need to decide whether I will be continuing on to graduate school or entering the work force full time.  If I continue my education, I will hopefully be able to remain at OU for another few years.  Either way, it is hard to believe that it is already time to graduate!
This semester I am taking 4 other classes.  I am taking one English course to finish my minor requirements.  The other three classes are through the International Area Studies department in Hester Hall.  I am looking forward to meeting new people through my classes and hopefully doing well, while at the same time maintaining a social life.  One of the things that I have recently begun doing is volunteering at the Second Chance Animal Sanctuary on 24th Avenue.  It is a lot of fun, and I am able to work solely with the cats.  Right now there are actually a few kittens there.  They are adorable and they are so much fun to play with.

(Polo at the Second Chance Animal Sanctuary; My photo)

Week 1: Indian Epics Course Overview

I am really looking forward to reading the different interpretations of the Indian epics.  It will be interesting to read the two different versions of the Ramayana and compare them.  I want to discover the ways that the two authors adapt the stories and make them their own.  One of the things that I am looking forward to is creating my own storybook and adapting the stories to support the story that I am trying to tell.  It is fun reading different tales and seeing how they can be interpreted and used to convey a different message than the author was telling.

Week 1: The Wolf and the Lamb

     The young lamb Henry was frolicking in the fields one day when he spotted a wolf stalking towards him.  As it approached, Henry grew cautious and stopped playing, choosing instead to look around for someone else.  Unfortunately for him, the herd had moved over the hill and his mother was not in sight. This meant that Henry would have to figure out a way to escape with his life.  After all, wolves were supposed to be bad, and Henry had been told not to go near them if they came.  In fact, he was supposed to go to straight to his mother if he even saw one. By the time Henry was through thinking this however, the wolf had gotten far too close to even try to escape.
     Mr. Wolf started speaking to Henry when he got closer, making comments that made Henry really uncomfortable. He was also drooling and making soft growling noises as he approached.  First Henry heard Mr. Wolf accuse him of making comments about him in the past, but he hadn't even been born at that time!  When he told Mr. Wolf this, he got really upset and started saying he was stealing his food and water.  Henry wasn't grown up yet though, so he could not eat solid foods or drink water like the grown ups.  The more that Henry spoke however, the closer Mr. Wolf came to him.  After the last comment, Mr. Wolf was growling loudly and pounced.  The last thing that Henry saw was Mr. Wolf's teeth.
     Even though Henry was young and innocent, this didn't prevent Mr. Wolf from attacking him. Henry's naivety allowed Mr. Wolf to get close and attack, taking advantage of Henry's youth to kill him. Mr. Wolf didn't feel bad for doing this, even though he tried to make an excuse for his actions at first.  The moral of this story is that evil people will always find a reason to commit bad deeds.
     In the original version, the story is told more from a third person perspective, rather than from the lamb's point of view. It shows how the wolf is trying to rationalize eating the lamb. Even though the lamb is proving all of his arguments to be false, the wolf has already decided to eat him and will find any reason to kill him and justify it.
The link to the story is http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/townsend/1.htm

 

 (The Wolf and the Lamb, source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19994/19994-h/19994-h.htm#Page_43)

Week 1: Favorite Places - Barcelona

I had trouble deciding where my favorite places were, but I ended up choosing Barcelona.

I managed to travel to Barcelona after finishing my study abroad for the spring.  It was gorgeous! The weather was pretty good for the majority of the trip, although it would have been nice if it was warmer.  The people there were also generally very friendly.  I also loved it because the food was amazing!  There were so many things to do that there just wasn't enough time to do it all.  I hope to go back there some time in the future.

(Barcelona Panorama from Park Guell: Wikipedia)

After a long day, it was nice to relax on the beach.

(Barcelona Beach; My photo)

Test Post

I can't wait to start the reading assignments for this class!