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)

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Learning Challenge: Silent Films Speak Loud Truths

“Alike” by Daniel Martinez Lara and Rafa Cano Mendez

There is a lot to unpack in this nearly-silent short about parenting and finding your purpose in a stale, capitalist society. In this almost-entirely grey setting, protagonists blue man and orange boy stand out against their surroundings with their colors as well as their facial expressions and body language giving clues to their emotional states. You see many visual parallels between the boy and the man’s daily lives. At the start, you see a stack of books next to a stack of paperwork which represents the characters respective responsibilities that they take to their standardized work and educational buildings in the next scene. There you see crème-colored “school” and “work” buildings where they filter in with the other clay people to perform their standard tasks given by “the system.” It is at this point you see that the daily grind has done a number on the man who drains of all color until he is greeted by his orange-as-ever son in which he returns to his regular blue. It’s clear that the boy is captivated by the street performer who plays his violin under the lonesome tree but his interest is stifled and he is repeatedly pulled away. The curious little guy starts to resemble his father with skin fading into the bleak background. Until finally, at the conclusion they are seen embracing under the vibrant tree, colors bold as ever.

This is not the first time I have seen this short film, but it is as thought-provoking today as it was then. The premise of this video really reminded me of a favorite film of mine based on a book: The Little Prince. The scenes of the film adaptation that feature the actual story are actually also silent which is a coincidence. But that sure says something about how a visually implied message sometimes speaks louder than one accompanied by sound! It gives these films an air of mystery, like those that can "see through" the images are in on the "secret." In the same way that this short indirectly gives commentary on the effects of an imagination-less system on bright, curious children, The Little Prince also has a problem with societies boring standards that suppresses potential creatives. These stories show how important cultivating creativity continuously into adulthood is a necessary rebellion for maintaining joy and wonder when society so often sees these qualities as “unessential” as not being mechanisms for monetary profit. These daring shorts have the capabilities of starting a philosophical discussion about the changing priorities of our world as it mobilizes exponentially around us, leaving the dreamers and the thinkers in the dust of the doers. These sort of things that get my mind going about the “important things in life” enliven my nonconforming, anti-capitalist spirit to embrace the simple things.

(Image Source: Pixabay Stock Photos)

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Growth Mindset: How To Be an "Original Thinker" of Tomorrow by Adam Grant

“Original Thinkers” by Adam Grant

I often ping-pong between the two extremes of “panic monster” and “instant gratification monkey.” Adam Grant explores the procrastination habits of people to pinpoint the “sweet-spot where originals seem to live.” I relate in many ways to this speaker who claims himself a procrastinator who makes it his mission to take up the habits of his slow-to-start, successful peers after he bypasses a chance to invest in a booming online business after prematurely judging them for their lack of immediacy compared to their competitors. After some experimentation and surveying, he came to find out that his presumptions checked out—the “moderate” procrastinators were evidently more likely to come up with creative ideas. I hadn’t ever given much thought in the past to the parallels between some of our most iconic creatives. Grant’s observation that what tied Leonardo DaVinci and his famous “Mona Lisa” painting and Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was a mindset bent on revision was one I was unlikely to make myself. Neither was I aware that second-hand businesses are often more lucrative than the product or service of their predecessors, with what he calls “First Movers” failure rate at 47% and “Improvers” at 8%. He exemplified businesses like Myspace and Facebook to prove this statistic, but I imagine this video was made before the onset of “Snapchat” and it’s “improver” company, “Instagram.” I feel like this seems especially obvious to me now when I think of popular mobile apps—like OrderUp and then GrubHub of food delivery services or Tinder and then Bumble for online dating. Adam Grant gives the dreamers, doubters, and the slow-doers a category where they can all be celebrated.

(Image Source: Pxhere Free Images)

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Extra Credit Reading Notes: Ramayana (Part B)

This post is just for the sake of recording my thoughts on the Ramayana (Part B) since I had to postpone this reading this week, so this summary is somewhat late. I wanted to be prepared for Part C in the coming week, so to stay on track I wanted to evaluate the episodes for their stylistic, thematic, and plot choices.

With this week’s reading, I am starting to get a better sense of who the characters are. My identification skills as far as the secondary characters names and designations (demon, deity, God, etc.) are concerned is improving as well. The plot is starting to pick up and some conflict with the virtuous exiles with the cunning rakshasas has stirred up some controversy that I suppose is going to carry over into Part C. This theme of “good overcoming evil” and bad things happening to good people is one that I thought tiptoed into the territory of a moral message. I was also surprised to see that supernatural elements were so strong in Part B. At the end with the elderly woman, Shabari, it was suggested that clairvoyants predicted Rama’s meeting with her, fulfilling her “destiny.” This concept of predetermination really frames the events in a new light if it is to be supposed that the misfortunes upon Rama and his family serve some greater purpose or inescapable fate.

In the PDE Ramayana, there were a lot of episodes that featured both a prose and poetry rendering of the story which was a great as I could potentially follow these examples if I were to emulate either technique. I’m still searching for favorite lines and quotes that I feel use particularly eloquent verse or any passages that create particularly vivid visuals. The PDE Ramayana I have found lacks depth as far as description goes since it it’s more informative than expressive. This is another reason why I would consider switching to the more novel-like Narayan version since I think reading imaginative, illustrative work better inspires than does a more flat, action-focused narrative. That said, there were episodes of the PDE version that I think turned up the visuals a notch. The scenes about the Maharaja’s funeral had more substantial descriptive language that appealed to the various senses: mentions of resinous incenses, singers chanting samas, shining cloth of gold and silver. A scene in episode 28 also has an impressive line that likens jewels falling off of the frame Ravana’s throne to tears of pain. This is one instance of metaphorical wording that stood out to me so far. It’s lines like these which catch my critical eye since I am trying to figure out what makes certain passages more successful than others.

Bibliography:

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

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Feedback: More Thoughts

The Feedback Gallery on Canvas is a great resource for comparing the types of feedback that is most productive for the purposes of this class. I find myself (1) asking questions and (2) showing appreciation for the details most often. Incorporating specific suggestions and helping my peers re-evaluate their work for weaknesses are things I will have to start trying in the weeks to come since I am doing my assignments all out of order and thus have completed all my comments for the week. I think I am a better reader than I am a writer but like they say, teaching is learning. By pointing out what could be improved in another’s writing, maybe and hopefully it will translate into my own work.

“Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?” by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman

I had a boss who was held in contempt by my coworkers who hated his proclivity for “micro-managing.” Some people felt he was “picking on them,” but he was a prime example of a leader rather than a boss. While it was easy to befriend the easy-going supervisor that wanted to befriend everyone, I was more compelled to earn the favor of the hard-headed and harder-to-please boss since his praise held more weight. Not only was there never a job he wasn’t willing to show you how to do himself, there was something special about getting even a half-positive evaluation from him. What Zenger and Folkman said in this article about people being worried about coming down on their employees too hard, it makes me realize the motivation behind my two bosses’ styles was the same— they wanted respect. Like the authors said of other managers self-assessments, some who felt “they just wanted to get it over quickly” and “they don’t pay me enough to do this job,” don’t want to be invested in a real way because they seem to not want to make enemies. In my experience, those who don’t care about a job would take personally and project back any criticism from a boss with a bad review. However, to earn due respect some balance must be had between busting butts and giving passes.

“The Trouble with “Amazing”: Giving Praise that Matters” by Jennifer Gonzalez

I’m glad I selected this article addressing the problems with unnecessarily hyperbolic praise. As an unapologetic people-pleaser, I am super guilty of using insincere superlative language when speaking to others. As a sensitive, insecure person by nature, I have an innate reflex of sparing others’ feelings in a way I would wish for myself. The story she shared at the start about her disingenuously peppy substitute instructor was so real and relatable. No one wants to be patronized by some pretentious, condescending person who can’t disguise their feelings of superiority when providing feedback. I liked Gonzalez’s point that constructive advice is somewhere between “Paula” praise and Simon Cowell criticism, for those familiar with the singing competition American Idol. To avoid “fluffy” feedback, Gonzalez says adopting more specific and actionable suggestions is often a springboard enough for a person to come away from a critique with something practical to put to practice the next time. This makes me reflect on my most memorable and admirable teachers since now I feel compelled to psychoanalyze them—were they prone to empty compliments? From what I can recall, my very favorite teacher was a bit of a flatterer but would conference with his students individually to edit papers which was always an anxious event since this was when he would pick apart your work and make you re-write it. My ceramics teacher, too, was what the kids today would call “savage.” We only had one wheel for throwing pots at our small, under-funded school which was for special projects—I earned this place with my declaration that I would attempt to make a thimble (the finger/thumb cover to prevent pricking yourself with the needle while sewing). Who knew this tiny thing would be so hard to make? With every attempt, my teacher would smash it and make me remake it over and over until I made a perfectly proportioned little cup for finger protection! Somehow, impressing him after several tries gave me more pride than had he accepted my first.

(Image Source: Pixabay Stock Photos)

Leave a Comment Feedback, Week 3