Storybook Plan: Tales of Twinhood

My Storybook this semester is going to center around the theme of twinhood. As stated in my former posts, I would like to use my personal experience as an identical twin to explore the trope of twins in Indian mythology. Instead of a Ramayana-focused project, I plan to do a story stemming from the Mahabharata epic as my research indicates that it includes a more complex network of twins both earthly and divine. I plan to examine twin identity through the heroes Nakula and Sahadeva, also known as the Pandavas, whose origin story is connected to the divine horse-headed Gemini gods called the Ashvins from ancient Indian tradition.

It is said that Sahadeva is the “brains,” as an intellectual, and his brother, Nakula, the “beauty.” This being said, as Professor Gibbs has brilliantly suggested, I plan to use Sahadeva as a narrator as I figure this would be an interesting perspective given how his assumed knowledge about the legends of twins in Indian tradition (the Ashvins/ Yama and his sister Yumi/ Yumana/Kalindi) would inform his point-of-view about his own identity and experiences as a twin himself. The twins of lore, the Asvins and Yama/Yumi are caught in contrasting archetypes in their roles as siblings associated with certain unique but related characteristics which plays well with the common theme of complementary/cyclical wholes. For example, the Ashvins are said to symbolize the sunrise and the sunset, and Yama and Yumi represent death/darkness and life/light respectively. As I have stated before, the concept of being two harmonious halves appeals to me more than two conflicting or contrasting entities. As one source by Kavita Kane has said, “…twins in our mythology are examples of deep bonded relationships, epitomes of sibling love,” a fundamental statement that I would like to be the undertone of wherever this project takes me.

We won’t be reading the Mahabharata for a couple more weeks still, so what kind of reconstructions will come from this story is yet to be determined. That is, I can’t say concretely any specific episodes I might end up writing until we start to read the Mahabharata. But if I were to assume a general three I would say: (Episode 1) About the Pandavas themselves, (Episode 2) The Pandavas and The Ashvins, (Episode 3) The Pandavas and Yama/Yami. So, I have some features chosen as far as my main characters go, and their psychological and philosophical influencers (that is, the trope of twinness in ancient Indian tradition through the twin deities I have aforementioned). I also know I would like to work with both prose and poetry with a more anthological approach rather than a narrative if possible. These technicalities are subject to change. Given the blueprint I have already, though, I feel like I am ready to dive into the material for weeks 5-6—bring on the Mahabharata!

Sources:

-        Twins in Mythology [Wikipedia]

-        Nakula [Wikipedia]

-        Sahadeva [Wikipedia]

-        The Asvins [Wikipedia]

-        Ashwini Kumars [Web]

-        Yama [Wikipedia /(In Hinduism) Wikipedia]

-        Yami/Yumana/Kalindi [Wikipedia]

-        “Two Much: Twins in Mythology- Kavita Kane’s Column for the Geminis” [Web]

(Image Source: Graphic made by me, Sumopaint Photo Editor)

Leave a Comment Project

Topic Research: Twins of Indian Mythology

The topic I am thinking of concentrating on is twins. Professor Gibbs confessed that no other student in the past has done a theme to do with twins which puts a lot of pressure on me, but I’m still compelled to use this topic since it is something I can relate to personally. Things I am most interested in researching as I prepare my project start with some introductory questions: (1) Why are particular pairs of twins important to Indian tradition? (2) What are some characteristics/qualities that trademark twins’ and their relationships to one another? (3) What moral messages can be identified through these twins individually or communally? (4) How has mythology defined twinhood? (5) Has the experience of twinhood been mystified or embellished or is the experience represented realistically? (6) What other topics (creationism/ motherhood/ karma/ nature) overlap with this theme? These inquiries may grow to be more complex as I investigate further, but they are important to me as I would like to make a storybook that both represents my identity as an identical twin myself as well as maintain the integrity of what twinhood means to Indian Mythology.

There are a few sets of twins important to the Indian tradition who I think would be fine subjects for my Storybook:

(1) Nasatya, Dasra (The Ashvins/ Ashwini Kumaras): According to Wikipedia, these demigods are divine horsemen (literally men with the heads of horses, apparently) who are devilishly handsome and are as close as can be. I learned that Nasatya is the god of health, and Dasra of medicine and are described as being symbolic of the shining of the sunrise and the sunset, “…appearing in the sky before the dawn in a golden chariot, bringing treasures to men and averting misfortune and sickness.” This page gives a lot of good information about where to find them in Hindu sacred texts (the Mahabharata and the Puranas) and also shares that there have cognates in Indo-European mythologies (the Greek Castor and Polydeuces, for example) which would be interesting to look into. It states that a woman in the Mahabharata, which I guess we are going to read before long, is given a son by each brother- the twins Nakula and Shadeva, who are known as the Pandavas. There are so many networks here in terms of both multigenerational twins, twins having twins, and twins being siblings to another set of twins. What most appeals to me is the fact that they are gods who have symbolic significance, which could be expanded on in an engaging way philosophically. Or maybe once I read about this relationship they had with the same woman, the one in which they had the Pandavas could be a place to start. I would definitely focus on either their birth or their sons’ birth.

(2) Lakshman, Shatrughan/Lava, Kusha: I combined the elder pair of twins and the younger set of twins in one since they derive from the same story that we have been studying this semester: the Ramayana. It is interesting to me that twins are multigenerational in this epic. Creating a story that surrounds either both or either pair would be an interesting way to explore age dynamics within one family. Especially since it seems there is evidence that in the case of Lakshman and Shatrughan of what we multiples refer to as a “shadow twin” since obviously Lakshman had a more significant role considering his closeness to Rama, giving his twin brother equal opportunity to be my story is something I could potentially do. Lava and Kusha are the twin boys of Sita and Rama. Since the love story between their parents is so prominent, I thought exploring the relationships between the boys themselves and with their parents would be an interesting take on a story so centered around familial ties.

(3) Yama, Yumi/Yumana/Kalindi: In the video “The Greatest Twins | EPIFIED” the short summary states that “the twins are considered as a divine pair of creator deities. While Yama is known as the Lord of death and after-life, Yami, also known as Yamuna, is known as “The Lady of Life.” Back when we were brainstorming, it was this YouTube video that instigated my interest in the stories of twins in Indian mythology. Upon further investigation, I have found that this pairing is important to the religious text called the Vedas. It states on Wikipedia that these creator deities’ family includes two sets of twins, themselves and the “Ashvins” as summarized above, which I was surprised to find out. These twins of the dichotomous realms of death and life would be interesting subjects since I sense a connection could be formed between the main topic of their twinness and creationism which is so common to Indian mythology. There is something cyclical and harmonious about what they represent— life and death/ light and dark. This sense of complementing rather than clashing is something that I would love to draw on if I were to write about them.

In an important blog post shared with me called “Two Much: Twins in Mythology- Kavita Kane’s Column for The Geminis” an amazing resource that compares the cultural significance of twins since their inclusion in the stories of ancient times. “Unlike other cultures where twins are seen linked with magical and wondrous beliefs or sometimes even have negative references, twins in our mythology are examples of deep bonded relationships, epitomes of sibling love,” as Kane states in the article. This statement is so substantial and sets the tone for my understanding of these important pairs and will likely translate into how I will write my own story to maintain the integrity of the myths these characters are born out of. Another quote that speaks to me: “every set of twins in the epics are unique, not trapped in archetypes,” which gives me such respect for the authors of these myths as they recognized that twinhood is indeed a part of a twins identity but does not define it.

(Image Source: Needpix Free Images)

Leave a Comment Project, Week 3

Topic Brainstorm

I used the Project Topic listings to narrow down my Storybook topic selections. If I could find a way to marry one or more of my chosen themes into one project, I think the outcome would be really unique. The topics listed, along with some previous research we did of previous students’ projects, watching videos, and browsing my own blog helped me to pinpoint the common threads between those which interested me:

1. Creation Stories

I feel like choosing to do a Storybook project about creation stories would be an appropriate choice for this class. In my blog post about students’ past projects, I found that this cyclical “birth/death” theme of how the universe comes to be created and destroyed were common themes. This theme is very complex and philosophical, but I think within that realm some very compelling stories could result. I decided to watch the video “Hindu Creation Stories” as a way to be introduced to the subject in a short two minutes. This summarized Hinduism beliefs and noted that in contrast to most religions’ single story of creation at the basis of its principles and practices, Hindus have many stories to complement their understanding of infinite universes. In the first 10 seconds, an infographic of sorts shows three choices: a universe from a cosmic egg or man and then one fashioned from timber. I can see how a story could branch from such a flexible topic.

2. Women of the Ramayana

I watched the video “Powerful Women of Hindu Mythology |EPIFIED” to supplement the sources on the Project Topic Listings page. This video was a sort of crash course to important women like Arundhati, “known for the power of her chastity,” Lakshmi, “goddess of prosperity,” Kali, “fiercest mother figure and slayer of demons,” and Sita, “Loyal to her husband, kind to all beings, daughter of the earth”  just to name a few whose personality descriptions appealed to me. think it will be easier to choose which characters I want to focus on once I get a feel for who I like reading about most as the weeks go on. I also spoke in my post about previous students’ storybooks about stories to do with women in particular. This theme very much overlaps with number 1 and 3 of my choices, as a project or two I sampled showed.

3. Loving Couples of the Ramayana

It says on the Project Ideas page that the central couple of the Ramayana is Rama and Sita, and I noticed a past project or two devoted to these main lovers. That being said, maybe I would choose one of the other couples listed, I see there are some polygamous couples, and widowed couples finding new love— these might be interesting to bring some less prominent pairings to the forefront. As for the monkey world couple and the mermaid/man couple, I think I’m less inclined to choose the first option since the mythical creature of a mermaid has a little more intrigue and charm. Stories of romance are so timeless-- if I could make one with as much heart and drama as ones so cherished and loved I would consider that an enormous (and amorous) feat.

4. Twins

It was said in the assignment overview page to use whatever influence available to inspire a topic to focus on. As stated in my “Introduction to a Type A Idealist,” I am a twin myself. Professor Gibbs offered me some links about some twins who are part of the Indian tradition, including the twin Gods known as the Ashvins. She also offered me an example of a mother, Sita, who has twins Lava and Kusha- so maybe I could combine topic idea number 2 I listed above with this one. In addition, I watched the video “The Greatest Twins |EPIFIED” which gave examples of some other twins I could research further if I so choose. I noticed that not only identical but fraternal (boy/girl) twins were featured—while from my experience as an identical twin myself would better inform me in my writing about identical twin girls, I think choosing to have characters of different genders would be a creative challenge that would allow me to think about how this sex difference would impact one's identity. I would have to do some searching to see if I could find any previous students’ projects to reference that had a similar topic.  

(Image Source: Etsy)

Leave a Comment Project, Week 2