Reading Notes: Ramayana (Part A)

First off, I found the PDE version of the Ramayana a harder to follow than I thought it would be. That being said, before I move onto Parts B or C I might be swapping this online version for either the Kindle or bound book version of R. K. Narayan’s Ramayana with the hope that a less stylistically varied reading might improve my comprehension. In my very choppy summary, I will point out the most prominent parts of the story's elements that pertained to either the plot, characters, themes, or styles.

The myriad of characters creates something of a maze when trying to connect family lines and their histories. The plot is very much propelled by these relationships, with any given action seemingly associated to the nature of and context of these networks. The main story surrounds the immediate and extended family of King Dasharatha. After divine intervention, his barren wives bore him children—the most adored of which is Rama, an avatar of Vishnu. Rama then weds Sita, who he fell for, wooed, and won over in two tests of worthiness. Within the stories of their courtship and wedding are themes concerning gender, which I expect to be expanded on in Part B. His new wife is most loyal to her marital commitment and accompanies him after he was denied his position as Prince and exiled into the wilderness for fourteen years. Lakshmana, his (half?) brother also chooses tag alongside them and suffer banishment.  Maharaja Dasharatha is left broken-hearted. He felt that these events that deprived him of his most beloved son was karma for killing a blind family’s only child. This theme of consequences shows up a couple of times, in this main story most notably but also as part of a minor story told by Vashvamitra about a sage, Gatama, his wife Ahalya, and the God Indra. After being caught for crimes of passion, they were punished harshly for their infidelity. This theme of fate, whether chosen or inflicted, is one that I intend to be ongoing throughout the Epic. So far, the PDE Ramayana has two most distinct styles: prose and poetry. The more poetic form was more fun to read-- something to think about for the re-writing assignment.

Bibliography:

Author: Various
Title: Ramayana
Source: Public Domain Edition, Web

(Image Source: Pixabay Stock Photos)

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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)

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Feedback Thoughts: An Appetizer for the Course

This assignment to do with feedback is a good appetizer to the course, pun intended. In fact, that is why I was compelled to complete this activity before “brainstorming for storybooks”—it seemed a good warm-up to think about the intersecting constellation of self-analysis, mistakes, and learning that goes into creative work. I also realized how so much of what I read from the articles I analyzed below related to the structure and teaching style of this nonconventional class. I am a strong advocate for mistakes as a catalyst for growth. My senior quote, in fact, was from a favorite non-fiction author of mine named Augusten Burroughs who makes memoirs about his life (literally self-reflection made available to a public market as a work of creative writing): “I, myself, am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.” I think I was greatly influenced by reading memoirs and other forms of nonfiction to embrace the beautiful variety of people’s lives. I think there is nothing more valuable to success or happiness than being both mindful and grateful for mistakes. As a class reliant on creativity, having self-awareness (in such a way that is in no way sabotaged by self-criticism, the obsession of perfection, or comparison) is a major component to success. The articles I chose below address how merciful self-analysis goes hand in hand with the tyrant of self-criticism that curbs creative enthusiasm. Learning how to help others cultivate this awareness involves feedback, so learning tips to participate in their process of making mistakes, learning, and creating in the most impactful, positive way is important.

“A Simple 5-Second Habit to Rewire Your HarshlySelf-Critical Brain” by Joel Almeida

I appreciate the prescriptive approach Almeida took in his article advertising the effects of a technique he calls “REBS” on mental health. “REBS,” or reality-based self-congratulation, is a ritual that when put to practice can transform your brain to be more positive and resilient in the midst of motivation fluctuation and minor setbacks. I love the idea of giving yourself grace when you’re not firing on all cylinders and celebrating the small stuff. The science behind self-care is essentially a maintenance plan to prevent rather than treat stress. His linked page of “45 Simple Self-Care Practices for a Healthy Mind, Body, and Soul” has 15 fixes for each aspect of our selves that need TLC to function at full capacity. It includes advice to punctuate your day with purposeful intersessions to bring balance back into a life made perpetually unstable due to society-driven priorities that put ourselves into disrepair. Some of my favorites include “activate [a] self-soothing system” for a body experiencing sensory overload, “use your commute for a “beauty scavenger hunt”” for a soul that is present and appreciative of all that is good around us, and to “pay complete attention to something you usually do on autopilot” to exercise a mind so often focused on too many things simultaneously. The author analyzes the figures to find a solution to silence the callus self-critic inside all of us. Some might see his method of REBS as a sort of stick and carrot cliché, but there is something psychologically and physiologically repairing about this sort of sympathetic pep-talk he promotes. It helps that Almeida not only uses himself and his healthy eating endeavor as an example, but he also dedicates the whole last half of the article on how to apply REBS to a variety of situations whether you’re a professional with a lot on their plate or just a person trying to improve their life one step at a time. The payoff of his method? “Instead of brooding over setbacks, you begin treating each setback as a springboard for small helpful steps, accompanied by self-congratulation,” someone with compassion for themselves establishes mechanisms of coping with and overcoming inopportune realities for more positive outcomes.

“Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work” by John Spencer

Everyone is uncomfortable in an unfamiliar environment, and it’s hard to be our best as a beginner in any context. Author John Spencer speaks about the complexities of self-doubt and its crippling effects on levels of confidence and by extension, execution of tasks made exponentially harder or impossible thanks to insecurity. Spencer does not boast as a professional, but his advice as an amateur is just as valuable as someone speaking from a level of comradery. He talks about how losing sight of our personal abilities and achievements is often spurred by comparison to others’ related skills and thus curbs creative freedom. Also, he voices his opinion of perfectionism as an overrated enterprise. Striving for an illusion of perfection drains the thrill of the wonderfully imperfect process of improvement. His observation that vulnerability is an asset denied by many made me realize how being passive to others about the truth of our feelings or situations only cheapens our relationships. So many of us are unwilling to meet each other in our depths, preferring relationships that never pass the surface. As social creatures, making ourselves recluses seems silly and sad and seems to serve no purpose. I love the attention he put on the concept of growth mindset we have already addressed and setting goals that are realistic and personally fulfilling. He also talks about the difficulties of bringing an air of experimentation to places strict and standardized. All of his ideas are so forward-thinking and encouraging. It seems that at the core, his advice could be narrowed down to something along the lines of letting your identity lead the way. I find it hard to believe that with his advice as an arsenal that anyone could suffer from self-doubt.

(My own mug features a quote quite appropriate for the topic of discussion; Image Source: Personal Photo)

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Week 2 Story: Consequences of being a "Con-man"

Mrs. Crain was well known to the small business owners in the tiny town of Lakeside as a stingy, shrewd, persnickety woman. Often when she would predictably find herself unsatisfied with a service or a product, she would not hesitate to haggle the person in charge with threats of humiliating the business in online reviews until her check was covered.

Her current target— “Mr. Crab’s Seafood Shack and Market,” a small eatery serving fresh fish, crustaceans, and shellfish, both a dining and market experience. As a way of increasing sales on a slow weekend, Mr. Crab started a limited time offer as could be seen on the tagline below his storefront sign: “All you can eat fish sticks Sunday starts today!”

The conniving woman wondered how she could cash in on such an offer. Mrs. Crane was more than a penny pincher or a couponer, Mrs. Crain always had an appetite for swindling her way into a savings.

Ding! The hostess looked up from her position behind a stand stocked with menus and silverware. She glanced up with a greeting and a smile, “Welcome to Mr. Crab’s Seafood Shack! Party of one?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Crain spit coldly at the chipper woman before she led her to her table seated by one of two bubbling tanks full of beautiful, exotic fish swimming and sitting beneath live plants which swayed elegantly with the movement of the water. The store was exceptionally small and quaint, with an assortment of potted plants along the walls and paintings of rolling field landscapes. These features, along with the fish and the soft music combined to create a relaxed, earthy environment.

Before long, an aproned man approached her table to take her order. He was a strong, middle-aged man, whose skin was a taut, shiny shade of sunburnt red. “Welcome in,” he grinned as he pulled his notepad out of the front pocket, “I see you are here to have at our new limited-time “all you can eat fish-stick Sunday, are you ma’am? As you can see, my business here has yet to pick up speed, but our white-fish fish-sticks are locally sourced, hand-breaded in-house and fried to perfection—a really popular classic!”

“Mmmm… Indeed I am,” she said, “you better be careful with a steal like that, unless there is some small-print I’m not aware of?”

“It is dine-in only, but we are delighted to offer our guests a bang for their buck!” he replied.

Before long, her first, then second, then a third plate of fish sticks were delivered and devoured. Mrs. Crain was growing full but her greed for getting the most for her money gave her an idea on how to circumvent the no-carryout policy for the all-you-can-eat dish. While the owner was off attending to other tables, she slowly started sneaking her plate’s contents into her purse and continued to request refills.

 After noticing his patron had put away an inhumanly possible amount of food, Mr. Crab started to grow suspicious. After a couple hours went by, other customers had come and gone but “ravenous” Mrs. Crain was demanding platter after platter until he had none left to offer.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry to say that you have cleared out our stock” said Mr. Crab, “Can I prepare your check?”

“What shoddy customer service! I suggest you compensate me the price of my meal or I will make certain your business gains a reputation for cheating your customers!” Mrs. Crain upturned her long neck with indignation, her mouth pursed into a scowl, holding her bulging bag to her body in her lap.

Mr. Crab was a stand-up businessman who cared about customer satisfaction, so he comped her meal. Mrs. Crain was indignant, however, and insisted further: “What kind of restaurant rushes their customers?!”

“Is there anything else I can get you, then?” Mr. Crab asked, internally frustrated but adamant on maintaining his composure with this challenging woman.

Mrs. Crain looked to the tank on the far wall near the counter for the small seafood market. Greedy for getting as more, she persisted, “I demand your FRESHEST crab, TO-GO! I would rather make my own crab bisque at home rather than eat here ever again!” she barked loud enough to elicit the crowd’s eavesdropping eyes and ears. It was her pleasure to cause a scene.

Mr. Crab set her up with his best live crab, its claws rubber banded for its own and his customer's safety.

“Look at this,” she went on, “animal abusers as well!” she shouted, looking around to ensure that all customers were paying attention to her pejorative critiques. Just as she gained an audience, with her one free hand not handling her bag stuffed with fish sticks, she reached down into the container “free the crab from his restraints” as an act of manufactured saintliness. Before Mr. Crab had a chance to intervene, the crab’s free claw instinctively and immediately pinched Mrs. Crain who upon reaction dropped both the bag and the container holding the crab.

Thus, with the traumatized crab and the stolen fish sticks on the floor, Mrs. Crain was found out. Ultimately, being a con does not pay off as Mrs. Crain came to find when she was charged her dues and ended up empty-handed.

It goes to show greed and treachery are not worthy endeavors, and an attempt to tarnish another’s character you only reveal the contents of your own.

Author’s Note: As you may see on my previous post, I talked about my thoughts on the short story mine is based on,“The Cunning Crane and the Crab” of the Buddhist Jataka collection. While I liked the moral message of the original about karma and bad character, the concept of revenge on the crab’s part did not sit well with me. What I tried to do with my own story was to maintain this message that appealed to me and eliminate the element of vengeance while still making sure that the wicked get their just reward. In this case, the consequences for Mrs. Crain's ("Crane's") greed and gluttony was entirely self-inflicted. My intention was that the results preserved Mr. Crab’s virtue (and the crab itself in a more symbolic sense as Mr. Crab’s resistance to argue with this customer whether he was in the right to do so or not). A goal of mine was to create a more “friendly” fictional story without death and murder that was a little more imaginative than just mirroring the original.

Bibliography: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse

(Image Source: Needpix Stock Photos)

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Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

This first post shows my stream of consciousness, so bear with my long-windedness in this big block of text. I'm still trying to figure out how to "read like a writer" and focus on parts that best serve me when I go to rewrite my own version of the story. 

THE CUNNING CRANE AND THE CRAB

Source: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse.

This story is short and simple, but its elements of suspense and surprise give it complexity enough to keep the reader engaged through to the end. The setting is somewhat small, but the description gives a decent visual of two water features affected differently by the summer heat depending on the overhanging vegetation. Both the action and scene set-up are dialogue-driven, and the narration is very play-by-play. The characters are nameless and only identifiable by the type of animal they are which may be purposefully done but does make them seem a little impersonal and distant almost. I liked the line spoken by the crane to the fish in the first pond: “In this hot water you will all be boiled fish before long!” After reading the story and realizing his sinister plot pans out after all (with the fish, at least), this sentence stands out as a small bit of foreshadowing or irony. To avoid being cooked to death by the sun, (which, whether this concern is realistic is debatable) they are persuaded by their fear to believe in the crane’s trustworthiness. Then the crane essentially exploits their desperation through a situation he contrived himself— “the cunning crane” is right. In the weirdest way (please refrain from judgement) this reminds me of the premise of a series of scenes in the movie “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” (click for a 2.35-minute video of the scenes I’m referring to, it’s really quite charming and will transport you back to childhood). I guess in a sense, the Crane would be Pooh since they both let their hunger make them greedy enough to eat their entire inventory of food. In the crane’s case, this would be all the fish in the first pond, and in Pooh’s case, all the honey first in his house and then at his friend Rabbit’s house. This lead to each of their downfalls: the crane then consequently tried to trick the crab into the same fate as the fish, and Pooh not having been able to suppress his appetite got stuck in his friend rabbit’s door hole after he cleaned out his cupboard and was stranded and starved until he slimmed up so he could be pushed out by his friends. Meanwhile, if you’re unfamiliar you can see in the clip that Rabbit finds utility in Pooh’s behind in many funny ways, and in the end, you can see upon his rescue he is flung into a honey tree. Maybe my association between these stories proves I am a child at heart as I prefer the story model regarding morality, greed, and moderation that doesn’t have anything to do with death. Maybe I would reimagine this story somehow with the same message but more “friendly.” In fact, don’t Disney classics exist at all because they reinvent common mythological stories to suit young, sensitive viewers? This just occurred to me that the concept of this class isn’t unlike what the Disney empire was built on: recreating classics to entertain a desired audience. Excuse this tangent, I don’t know if it serves the purpose of this “Reading Notes” post. I did admit I love Disney, so maybe I can somehow let this stir some inspiration.

(Image Source: Illustration by W. Robinson)

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Week 2 Reading Overview

Text Selection:

Though I was tempted by R. K. Narayan’s Ramayana, I think the PDE Ramayana online is most suitable for me at this time since it is available online for free. The side by side comparison chart makes R. K. Narayan’s Ramayana seems more streamlined with its modern style, but I’m hoping the convenience of the PDE online version will make up for it’s possibly more stuffy and confusing old-fashioned wording. Also having the audio, illustrations, and notes and links to supplement the material will likely be a useful aid. If in the future I decide to, I wonder if I can choose to switch sources if I happen to want to buy the R. K. Narayan Kindle version instead from Amazon online bookstore? I am an avid Kindle user as I have the app downloaded on my tablet, it’s simply the appeal of saving money during this early time in the semester when money is so sparse that I feel compelled to choose the free copy if it’s an option. One last curiosity concerns the differences between the versions of the Indian Epic—how do the various styles and authors impact the substance of the story? This question makes me wonder even more whether my choice now between the two is binding or if they’re similar enough to be interchangeable without issue.  

Comic Book Selections:

I refreshed the pages a few times until I found a selection that seemed most interesting to me. I settled on “Nala Damayanti: The SteadfastLovers” and “Urvashi: The Apsara Who Fell in Love with a King.” From what I read of their summaries, it said that they both are fairytales and from the sounds of them had very heartwarming themes to do with love and drama. I am a sucker for romantic stories, so these options stood out to me as something I would enjoy reading about. I also found a website with some sample pages from “Urvashi…” and a more thorough description of the events inside. I have never read a comic book (the most I have seen of comics is as a child tearing out the comic strips section of the Sunday newspaper so I could find my favorites—Peanuts and Zits, which I had both of in hardback books.) I have always equated comics as short and funny, so how something like a love story can put into comic-strip form I’m not sure but am interested in seeing if it’s something that I would be willing to look into for entertainment outside of this class someday.

Video Selections:

I watched a couple videos for several seconds as an introduction until I found two that kept my attention. Those two were “Sanskritin 60 Seconds | Epified” and “Jaya- An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharataby Devdutt Pattanaik,” though “Indian and Greek Mythological Parallels |Epified” came in as a close runner-up. The video about Sanscrit appealed to me as my major is very heavy on learning languages. Though I am by no means fluent in the two that I currently study, I still have a fascination for foreign studies which includes their language histories. The cultural significance of Sanskrit in both the 18^th and current centuries shows just how curiosity for the language has remained steady. The video was short but informative, and its draw-along presentation was charming—by .13 seconds where an example of this most elegant language was written out, I was invested in this video. I wish the English language didn’t have to look so graceless and unremarkable when written. My second choice, the video of an illustrative retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik was one of the last videos I sampled. I know we are going to get into the Mahabharata before long, so I was interested in this visual introduction. First, I love this sort of understated art- even simple snapshots like his drawings here can tell quite a story. I would love to come back to this video after the assigned reading in a few weeks to see if I can connect the drawings to what I remember from the Epic. I love this kind of artistic project. Just for good measure, I might say that the video about the Indian and Greek mythological parallels was enlightening since as part of my major these myths from antiquity (though I’m more familiar with Roman myths) are referenced frequently in my classes. I wanted to steer clear from using these as inspiration for my own stories based on the epics down the road since I wanted to instead challenge myself to take more unfamiliar paths in my writing, but in the end hints of these myths might make their way in either way. And of course, the illustrations to represent the characters was a favorite feature of this video as well.

Image Selection:

The image below I found through browsing the Indian Epics Images link on the assignment overview page. As I have already expressed, I love illustrations and for me, less is often more. While color has its place in art, sometimes a lack of color does better to emphasize the contents of the image. In this case, “Vishnu Slays Madhu-Kaitabha,” the image struck me as visually captivating with the halo around the subject’s head, the movement of the water, and the curious objects in the hands of the four-armed figure. I learned more about what this picture depicts on the linked Wikipedia page and learned that the decapitated bodies below represent the twelve seismic plates of the earth according to the legend. There is probably more to this story than shown, which makes the picture all the more interesting!

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

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