Week 7: Reading Diary A

Malyavan and Shiva meet up at Trikuta Hill, where Shiva then takes Malyavan away.  He does not want him to be killed during the battle between Ravana and Rama. 
Jambavan fights against the demons that supported Ravana. When the two magicians Lightning Tongue and Thunder Teeth try to defeat him, they are killed by Hanuman and Sugriva.  Ravana is preparing for war, sending people as messengers to Rama.  At this time, his wife Mandodari tells him that she loves him.  She then encourages him to give Sita back to Rama before it is too late.  he ignores her and prepares for battle, drawing Kala's wrath. During the final battle, Rama and Ravana face each other.  As Rama cuts off Ravana's heads, they grow back quickly.  Rama and Matali are working together to defeat Ravana.  They look out for each other during the battle.  Finally, Ravana is slain by Rama.  After the battle is over, Rama gets a letter from Shuka, the messenger that Ravana had sent out.  It tells him he should take Sita back.  Rama calls Sita to him, but forces her to prove her fidelity to him.  She does this through a test of fire. The couple then heads back to end their exile and prevent Bharata from committing suicide.  They are accompanied by Hanuman, Vibhishana, Jambavan, and their followers.

Storytelling Week 6: Trijata's Loyalty

My name is Trijata.  My mistress, Sita, is greatly distressed.  I have been serving as her maid since the time that Ravana captured her and brought her back to the palace.  Though no one could tell at the time, she proved to be extremely loyal, as well as being extremely stubborn.  My lord, Ravana, originally assigned me to work for her in an attempt to win her over through kindness.  It did not work.  As time passed and his patience decreased again and again, he changed his tactics from kindness to terror.  The beautiful rooms that he originally placed her in were replaced with his personal gardens, meant to terrify her and break her.  He had her surrounded by demons threatening her with physical violence for refusing Ravana.  Through this all she refused to break, remaining faithful to her husband.  As I spent more time with her, I grew to respect her as a strong woman.  Though she does not make it obvious, she remained a strong woman and a devoted wife.  No other person would be able to follow their husband into exile in the forests for 14 years, living without the luxuries that she was raised with.
As I said, I grew closer to her, coming to care for her as if she was my sister.  Because of this, I do my best to protect her from Ravana's attempts of scaring her into submission.  The latest one, however, was difficult.  Ravana decided that Sita may choose to marry him if her husband is taken out of the picture.  To do this, he originally had his court magicians create an illusion of Rama's decapitated head.  He threw this at her feet, trying to convince her that he had defeated Rama and that no one was going to come and save her now.  She nearly fell for it, but a lucky mistake allowed her to realize that it was false.  He later tried to convince her that Rama was dead by showing her his body lying still on the battle field.  This was a very convincing argument.  Thankfully, I was able to help her.  I remembered that Ravana's chariot would not move if there was a widow on it.  This meant that the story being given to Sita was false.  Her husband was still alive.

I decided to take the story of Rama's illusioned death and tell it from the perspective of Trijata.  She is there throughout the story for Sita, even though she is only mentioned on occasion.  I felt that she may be able to give another view of the occurrences, showing how Sita reacted to Ravana's approaches and how it was received by him. 

(Image of a puppet Trijata; photo source Wikipedia)

• Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Week 6: Reading Diary B

Hanuman returns to Rama and tells him that he has seen Sita.  They have to go to Lanka to rescue her.  Rama and his army go in that direction, reaching the sea.  They cannot cross it, making Rama curse at it.  The Sea god tells him that one of the monkeys can make rocks float, allowing the army to build a bridge across the sea.  In Lanka, Ravana's brother Vibhishana tries to convince him to end the fighting and return Sita.  Ravana refuses, leading Vibhishana to seek refuge with Rama and aid him, though he will not fight against his people. Ravana begins sending spies into Rama's camp to find out what is going on.  Though he sends spies in twice, both times they are discovered and returned to him.  After that fails, he tries to trick Sita into thinking that her husband is dead, having his magicians make an illusion of Rama's decapitated head.

Ravana continues to try to convince Sita that her husband is dead, hoping that she will turn to him for comfort in her time of sorrow.  At the same time, he is pushing Rama's attempts for a peaceful resolution away.  He wants war.  When war finally comes he tries again to trick Sita, though her aid Trijata helps keep her hopeful and devoted to Rama.  At the end of this section, Ravana is preparing to go to war after his son has been killed.

Week 5: Famous Last Words

This week has been stressful, as I have been working on catching up on readings for some of my classes, as well as preparing for major essays. At the same time I have also been enjoying myself by spending time with my friends.  I have also been working on getting to know some of my dorm mates better.  This week during classes I got back one of my first essays of the semester.  I was not looking forward to seeing how I did on it, as my teacher had been talking about how poorly some people had done, but I was relieved to find that I made a B.  Even though I was relieved, however, I was also disappointed that I had not done as well as I thought I had.  This paper certainly made me want to do better in that class. 
Right now most of my classes are focusing on issues that are going on around the world, particularly in regards to poverty and economic development.  It is interesting to see how my classes intersect, teaching similar topics, but it is also difficult. At times the class lessons blend together, making it difficult to separate one lesson from the next.  This makes it hard to concentrate on quizzes at times, as I have to focus to remember what each teacher has said and make sure I use the right one. 
Volunteering has been fun, although I really need to go more often. Playing with the cats has proven to be a major stress reliever for me, so I get to volunteer and relax at the same time.  Outside of that, I am currently looking for a part time job to fill my free time and give me something to do, as well as to help me make some extra money. I have been getting some applications, now I just have to turn them in and see about getting an interview. Hopefully everything will work out alright and I will be able to find something nearby that works with my schedule.
One movie that I saw recently was "The Edge of Tomorrow," featuring Tom Cruise.  It was surprisingly good. I would definitely recommend it. 

(Movie poster; Photo source Wikipedia)

Storytelling for Week 5: Surpanakha's Dilemma

Many years ago, there was a lonely woman who lived in the woods.  She had moved away from her family many years ago in order to find herself, hoping to find happiness in the solitude of the forest.  Unfortunately, while she grew closer to nature over time, enjoying the more simple things in life, she longed for companionship. After years of living this way, a family moved in nearby.  They seemed to be interesting people, so she decided to try to meet and befriend them.  When she went to introduce herself, she was struck by their beauty.  She began to desire to meet one of the men, Ray, almost immediately.  After spending some time with him, Sara realized that he was engaged to the lady that was there.  While Tina was beautiful, Sara did not believe that she and Ray were right for each other.  She grew closer to him and they became friends quickly.  Ray's brother Lane did not approve of the friendship, believing that Sara was trying to destroy Ray's engagement.  This turned out to be true, but he did not want her to come over and visit them even before this came to light.  Sara tried to befriend him, but he rebuffed her at every chance.  One day before she came to visit, Ray and Tina had a very bad fight, calling the entire wedding into question.  She thought he was cheating on her, while he believed she was only marrying him for his family money.  Lane tried to mediate but eventually had to leave to get away from it all.  Sara ended up listening to Ray vent about how little Tina seemed to actually care about being married, only wanting to talk about how fancy the wedding should be and how they had to have a lot of guests.  He then began to speak about how he was glad she was there for him.  Sara decided that it was as good a time as any to admit her feelings, so she did.  Ray rejected her, stating that he was already in a relationship, even if he was having issues at the moment.  What neither of the two knew, however, was that Lane had returned while they were talking and overheard the confession and subsequent rejection.  He was outraged that Sara, who he felt had intruded in their lives, even dared to speak about feelings to his brother.  In his anger he left the house and went for a walk, ending up by Sara's house.  He saw her car and decided to key his feelings about her into it.  When Sara returned home that night, already dejected from the rejection, she noticed that her car looked different.  She ignored it for the moment and went to bed.  When she woke up the next morning and saw what was on its side, it was the last straw.  She called her big brother's friend Chris who lived nearby, crying about it.  He was outraged and had her come stay with him while they waited for her brother to come and get her.  When Raoul shows up, Sara tells him all about Ray and Tina, making him fall in lust with Tina due to the description given.

I decided to make the story appear more like a modern day drama, focusing on how Sara, or Surpanakha, really wanted a relationship and felt that Sita was bad for Rama.  It shows how Surpanakha may have viewed Sita as more than competition.  I also decided to change how Lakshmana reacts from him attacking and mutilating her to damaging her vehicle.  I tried to show a modern twist while keeping key plot points consistent, such as Rama rejecting her and Lakshmana hating her.  At the same time, I wanted to adapt the story so that Rama and Surpanankha had developed a friendship before she asked to marry him, rather than meeting him and deciding he would be a suitable husband.

(Image of log house; Photo source Wikimedia)

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Week 5: Reading Diary A

Kausalya, Rama's mother, has just discovered that her husband is dead.  The shock from losing his son caused King Dasaratha to give up on life.  He blamed what happened on the fact that he killed a boy when he was out hunting during his youth. When the king is found dead, messengers are sent out to Bharata, the son of Kaikeyi.  He returns from his grandfather's palace to find his family in ruins.
Bharata goes out to try to convince Rama to return and take the throne.  He is refused, as Rama intends to follow through on his promise to remain in exile for 14 years, along with Sita and Lakshmana. Bharata returns to rule in Rama's stead, taking his sandals with him as a reminder.
Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana continue to travel through the exile, meeting people including Asti.  He tells them stories and his wife gives gifts of jewelry and clothing to Sita.
They continue traveling and end up meeting Agastya during their last year of exile. He was a warrior who defeated the demon brothers Vatapi and Ilwala. He also lowered the height of the Vindhya hills.
The tiny Valakhilyas seek Rama's aid in wiping out the demons, including Ravana. Sita tries to stop him from giving aid.  Rama responds by telling her what the Valakhilyas have done. As he is telling her the story, she is kidnapped by the demon Viradha. The demon turns out to have been a deity that had been cursed.
Surpanakha shows up and decides that Rama needs to leave Sita for her. She believes that Sita is seducing Rama. She tries to have him marry her, but Rama refuses. She attacks Sita and is mutilated. Surpanakha then flees to Ravana and makes him seek revenge for her, as well as making him fall in love with the idea that she has built of Sita.

Week 4: Famous Last Words

This weekend was a lot of fun.  I got to spend time with my friends on campus, as well as go with a group of friends to the state fair in Oklahoma City.  While there were some difficulties, particularly regarding the fact that the ATMs all seemed to be broken, it ended up being a lot of fun.  The roller coasters in particular were amazing.  The only real downside was probably the fact that there were long lines for everything.  After going to the fair, my friends and I decided to go to the movie theater.  We saw the new film "As Above, So Below."  While the previews for the movie looked really good, the film itself wasn't impressive.  I would not recommend spending the money on it.  It was kind of disappointing that it turned out like that, as the plot had so many opportunities to take advantage of and failed to.  Overall, however, the weekend turned out well.
Outside of class, I am trying to apply for grad school.  It is difficult to do right now, as all of the deadlines show up at one time.  Getting recommendation letters is also hard, particularly because the grad school wants three of them.  I am both looking forward to, and scared of, applying to grad school and getting accepted.  I am looking forward to the possibility of staying in school and being able to see friends for a bit longer.  At the same time, I am not sure if everything will turn out well, or if I will be able to stay without scholarships.  Other than that, I am in a reading group for "The Lies of Locke Lamora."  I haven't been able to make it to all of the meetings for the group, but the book is amazing so far.  I would definitely recommend it. 

(State fair; image source Wikipedia)

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Storytelling for Week 4: Ahalya's Plight

     Ahalya was created as the most beautiful woman in the world.  Her beauty was so great that she attracted the attention of the god Indra.  Unfortunately for him, he was unable to talk to her or meet her before she was married off to the hermit Guatama.  This led Indra to obsess over the woman who caught his attention.  He could not forget about her, no matter what he tried to do to forget.  At the same time, Ahalya was devoted to her husband.  She knew that Indra had an interest in her, though she did not know the extent of his devotion.  Guatama also knew of Indra's attention.  He ignored it completely, believing his wife would remain faithful to him.  One day Indra appeared at Ahalya's home, disguised as her husband.  Guatama was away bathing, so he would not catch the duo.  Ahalya was able to tell that something was wrong.  Knowing that Indra was after her, she suspected that he was attempting to trick her.  Rather than turning him away, however, she went along with it.  When Guatama reappeared, he caught Indra leaving.  He cursed him, making him flee to ask Agni, god of fire, for help.  He twisted the story to seem as if he was doing something good for the gods.  By forcing Guatama to feel anger and curse him, he forced him to abandon his merit as a hermit.  Guatama's curse caused Indra to lose his manhood, though it was restored to him by Agni. Ahalya was punished more than Indra was, as Guatama took her beauty from her, granting it to the world.  This caused her to disappear, becoming invisible, though Guatama's anger was slightly soothed when she told him that Indra had taken his image and they were hermits living alone in the forest.  This made him realize that he had overreacted in his punishment of her, making him give an end to the punishment when Rama came to the forest clearing where Ahalya lost her beauty.
     I decided to retell this story to showcase the differences between this story and how it was told in the other version of the Ramayana.  Ahalya is still punished for her infidelity, though in a different manner.  Indra also is punished in a different manner.  Rather than being turned to stone, Ahalya is stripped of her beauty and becomes invisible.  Indra seeks refuge with Agni rather than hiding away until the gods go to Guatama and ask him to remove his curse.  One of the major differences in this story, however, is that Ahalya is actually aware of what is going on.  She knows that Indra is not her husband, whereas she was completely unaware in the other version.  I thought it was interesting how the different authors portray the same story. 
Buck, William (1976).  Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

(Ahalya; Image source: Wikipedia)

Week 4: Reading Diary B

King Dasharatha decides to make Rama his successor as king, rather than choosing one of his other sons, Bharata.  When Bharata's mother, Kaikeyi, finds out, she is initially happy for Rama.  That is, until her maid fills her head with the idea that Rama and his mother will make her their slave.  The maid Manthara gets Kaikeyi to use her two promises from Dasharatha.  She makes him promise that her son will be made king, as well as making him promise to exile Rama for 14 years to the forest.  Kaikeyi informs Rama that his father wants him to leave, prompting him to agree right away.
When Rama finds out what his fate is, he and Sita begin to give their things away. The charioteer Sumantra tries to convince Dasharatha not to send Rama away, but he fails as Dasharatha is incoherent with grief from the promise Kaikeyi demanded from him.  The citizens of the kingdom are all determined that they will follow Rama into exile.  When Rama prepares to leave, he requests that the people and his father do not blame Kaikeyi for her actions.  This does not really work, however, as the citizens all love Rama and were overjoyed he was going to be named their king.  Rather than allowing Rama to slip away, the elders of the capital force Rama to stay the night by having the river rise above its banks.
Once Rama and Sita manage to leave the capital and begin their exile, they enter the forest and meet the sage Guha.  He talks to them about his actions that led him to be in the forest.  As a man he would curse the priests of the god Shiva and kick the statue of the god.  Once he died, Shiva brought him back as he considered Guha to be the most devoted of all his followers.  Guha goes on to talk about Kaikeyi and Dasharatha.  Apparently she tried to get her husband to teach her how to talk to animals, although he was forbidden from doing this on pain of death.  Luckily he realized that her power over him through the two promises would not work in that situation.
The charioteer, Sumantra, was the person who brought Rama and Sita to the forest, along with Rama's brother Lakshmana.  He returns to the city and goes to talk to the king.  He is deeply grieving over the actions that have occurred.  He tells about how as a young man he accidentally killed a boy while hunting.  He found that the young boy was the sole provider for his blind parents, who asked to die with their son.  Because of his actions there, he believes he is being punished by having his son sent from him.  The next morning, Rama's mother Kausalya finds Dasharatha dead.

Week 4: Reading Diary A

Introduction to the story done by the invisible demon warrior, Indrajit.  He speaks of the composers of the Ramayana, Vishnu and the sacred poet Valmiki.  It goes on to invoke different gods and goddesses prior to beginning the story.
The story begins as a story being told between friends. Saunaka requests that his friend Sauti tells the tale of the Ramayana.
Sita, Rama's wife, has been banished from the palace due to malicious rumors spread about her. At the time she is banished, she is pregnant with twins.  The poet Valmiki is called upon by the sage Narada to find her and aid her.  He goes on to teach the Ramayana to her sons after he is taught the story by Brahma.  The boys go on to perform it in front of their father.
The story of the Ramayana begins by talking about Rama's father, King Dasharatha.  It goes on to begin discussing Ravana and how he came to power. Vishnu becomes a human, Rama, in order to defeat Ravana. The king performs sacrifices in order to have sons.  When they are 16 years old, the sage Vishwamithra appears at the palace and asks for Rama's aid in defeating some demons that have been tormenting the sages. The story then begins to discuss the fate of the rakshasas and how they grew in power. It then talks about Ravana's origins. 
Ravana grew in power and began to start conquering those around him, starting with the yakshas and those living on Mount Kailasa with his father and grandfather.  Because of his actions he was cursed by Indra and by Shiva's bull.  He tried to conquer the Haiheya people but was defeated after his cowardly attack on their king, done while he was bathing, failed.  After this, Ravana went on to conquer even Death, or Yama, as well as the Sun and the Moon.  He went to war against Indra, defeating him when his son captured him.
Vishwamithra was telling this story to the king, asking for and gaining Lakshmana and Rama as his students.  He leads them against demons, where they defeat Subaku but fail to kill Maricha.  The mother of the demons isn't mentioned.  The story then goes on to tell how Sita and Rama were married.

Week 3: Reading Diary B

Hanuman walks across the ocean to Lanka. He then shrinks himself to normal size. He believes he found Sita, but discovers it is Ravana's wife Mandodari. He continues on to Asoka Vana, a gorgeous area that Ravana likes to retreat to. Here he finds Sita surrounded by rakshasa women. They try to frighten her into accepting Ravana as a lover. When she refuses both them and Ravana, Ravana storms off in a rage. Sita plans to kill herself until Hanuman reveals himself to her. When he sees her and leaves to tell Rama, he destroys Asoka Vana.
Hanuman lets Indrajit, Ravana's son, capture him. He does this so he will be brought to court and try to get Ravana to change his ways. Ravana is furious and wants to kill Hanuman, though his brother convinces him not to. Instead, Ravana sets his tail on fire. Hanuman escapes and sets the capital on fire before returning to Rama.
Ravana's council - Ravana's council tells him his actions have caused this. The giant, Mahodara, asks permission to hunt Rama and Hanuman and return with their heads. Ravana's brother Kumbakarna says things have gone too far to go back, recommending war. Indrajit seeks to bring the heads of Rama and Lakshmana to his father.  Ravana's other brother, Vibishana, goes against the others by saying it is Ravana's fault everything has happened. His words are ignored and he is mocked. Vibishana goes to seek asylum with Rama. Rama treats Vibhishana as the ruler of Lanka in exile, and Vibhishana gives Rama advice about how to attack Lanka.
Rama orders the sea god to allow him and his army passage to Lanka.  If he was refused, he threatened to evaporate the sea. The god agrees and helps Rama.
Ravana is now preparing for war. He seeks to trick Sita into believing her husband has been killed by showing her an illusion of Rama's head.  She does not believe him and continues to hope for Rama to rescue her.  Rama sends Angada to be a messenger to Ravana.  He destroys the palace tower when Ravana tries to have him captured.  Rama then brings his army against Ravana. Indrajit poisons Rama and Lakshmana, allowing Ravana to once again try to convince Sita her husband is dead.  The brothers recover, however, and Rama is aided by Hanuman to hurt Ravana and destroy his crown.
Kumbakarna, one of Ravana's younger brothers, comes to his aid and agrees to help fight against Rama, though he faults Ravana for acting out of lust.  Though he kills many of the monkeys, he is ultimately destroyed. Indrajit creates an illusion of Sita dying, causing many of the monkeys to despair. He is later killed by Lakshmana. When that happens, Ravana is finally realizing all that he is losing. He chooses to blame Sita, now desiring her death. Rama and Ravana plan to go to battle against one another. The giant Mahodara goes to attack Rama and is destroyed.
When Rama and Ravana go to battle against each other, Ravana sees bad omens that he chooses to ignore. Rama finally defeats Ravana, killing him and ending the battle.
Sita is brought to Rama after the battle, where she throws herself into a fire to prove her virtue. Rama would not allow her back into his home without this proof. Rama is informed by Brahma of his divine nature and granted a wish. He sees his father again and has him forgive Kaikeyi.
After 14 years of exile, Rama returns home and is crowned king.

Week 3: Reading Diary A

Sita is abducted by Ravana. She was tricked by him into believing he was harmless and inviting him in.  He flies off with her and the eagle Jatayu tries to stop him.  He is murdered, dying right after he tells Rama what happened.
Rama and Lakshmana begin to try to find Sita. They travel to Kiskinda, the land of the monkeys, where they meet the exiled ruler, Sugreeva, and his helper Hanuman.
Sugreeva had a brother, Vali, who was blessed with great strength. He was the king until a demon came to the land. Vali pursued the demon into a cave to defeat him, but he did not return. Sugreeva was advised to cover the entrance to the cave in the off chance that the demon won. Vali won and found the entrance closed. He returned to Kiskinda where he beat Sugreeva and threatened him with death if he returned, taking his wife as his own.
Dundubi - A powerful demon that was defeated by Vali, who threw his corpse where the Sage Matanga was praying. This led to the sage cursing Vali.
Sugreeva and Hanuman said they saw Sita being carried off, then promised to help recover her.
Tara, Vali's wife, tries to warn him that Rama is helping Sugreeva. He ignores her, making her afraid to speak further.  Rama shoots Vali as he is fighting Sugreeva. While Vali lies dying, he seeks to shame Rama, who turns the argument on him. Sugreeva becomes king and makes Vali's son, Angada, his second-in-command.
Rama tells Sugreeva that when the rainy season ends, Sugreeva should come to his aid with an army. When the time comes, Sugreeva does not come. Lakshmana returns to Kiskinda to find him drunk.  Sugreeva vows to never drink wine again. He collects his army to go to the aid of Rama. Hanuman and Angada are sent south. Rama gives them a ring for Sita to recognize them. They are trapped in an underground city where they meet a fallen goddess, freeing her and escaping. They then travel further south to the ocean. They meet Jatayu's brother, Sampathi, who was crippled because he flew too close to the sun. His wings are healed by hearing Rama's name. He tells Hanuman they must cross the ocean to find Sita. Hanuman makes himself giant and steps across it.

Week 2: Famous Last Words

I believe that my best writing this week was with my storytelling.  I discovered that it is a lot easier to actually write if you are able to connect with the character you are focusing on.  This week I was writing about Thataka.  I was able to concentrate on her because I felt like she was mistreated and punished unfairly.  While I do not have any personal connection with her, the fact that her character actually made me feel for her allowed me to write about her.
In the future, I am hoping to use a wider variety of techniques in my stories.  One of the techniques that I liked was how Ryan used a running inner monologue to display what was going on in his story.  It made the reader see what Rama was experiencing as he did.
Outside of this class, I have been focusing on human rights issues in the majority of my other classes.  While it can be interesting to learn about at times, it is also depressing a majority of the time.  I wish the classes would present ways to help the less fortunate without making it sound like America and other first world nations should feel guilty for taking things for granted.  One of the things that I have noticed is the connection between humanitarian action and the way Rama focuses on helping those around him.
Outside of schoolwork, I have joined the reading group for "The Lies of Locke Lamora."  I haven't really gotten very far in the book yet, but I am looking forward to reading more of it.  I am also excited that Labor Day means we have a shorter class week.  I am already looking forward to the weekend so I can go shopping with some of my friends.  I am also hoping to see "Expendables 3" at some time in the near future.  Other than that, I am just hoping to do well in the coming week!

(Cover of "The Lies of Locke Lamora; Photo source Wikipedia)