Alex's Epics of India Blog

NOTE: Portfolio location --  https://sites.google.com/view/crayonandonand/story-two The casino smelled like Kevin's Gramma before she died of lung cancer — like the slap of new pinochle cards as they're shuffled; like the puff of the last cigarette in a pack of Marlboros; like a woman who bet on God instead of chemotherapy and lost. Kevin sat at the blackjack table, blood already thrilling through his veins. The dealer sent two cards across the table and they slid to a stop right in front of him. A Jack of spades, a four of hearts. "Hit me." A ten of diamonds. "You bust. House wins." Kevin played again. This time, a six of clubs and a seven of hearts. "Hit me." "You bust. House wins." He played again: "Hit me." "You bust. House wins." And again: "Hit me." "You bust. House wins." And again: "Hit me." "You bust. House wins." He played until he ...

In this section of the Mahabharata , I found the central conflict -- the games of dice against Shakuni -- to be infuriating. First that Yudhishthira did not object more to the use of Shakuni as a proxy by Duryodhana for the gambling, second that Shakuni very certainly cheated, and third that Yudhishthira did not have the self-control to stop gambling or the awareness to challenge Shakuni's improbable streak of wins. Also, that Yudhishthira was willing to gamble away his family bothered me a lot. The exile -- its length and its implications -- are very reminiscent of the Ramayana. The group of heroes leave for a period of some 12ish years and return to vanquish their enemies (but I guess I am assuming this is how the Mahabharata ends). I still find the even(ish) sharing of the narrative between the brothers, giving them each some time in the spotlight, is odd but nice, since we get to see each of the characters grow. Well, all but the twins. They seem to have been forgotten b...

In the first section of the Mahabharata , I was confused by the number of different names that appear quickly. It seemed that the Ramayana did not have such an immediately diverse cast of names. That said, I thought that the first section was interesting, and I saw some parallels to other, Western mythology. First, Karna being put in a basket and floated down the river was an interesting parallel to the story of Moses in the Bible; however, it is in reverse in terms of parentage: in the Bible a Jew (a common person) floated Moses down the river to be found by the Pharaoh's wife, while in the Mahabharata a royal woman floated Karna down the river to be found by common people. Also, the idea of stringing a bow as a way to win a wife through competition against other suitors came up again, like it did in both the Ramayana and the Odyssey . Interesting is that an archery competition followed the stringing the bow, which reminded me of the archery competition at the end of the ...

"So that's it, then?" "Yeah." "Let me get this clear, so that I can curse you properly before I die. You're dumping me after I was just proven pure by the gods, banishing me and our unborn twin children to the forest, and by all counts, leaving us to die. That's what you're doing." "It is the only logical course of action, Sita." "Alright, Spock. Logical how?" "You are the only one who has ever made be behave illogically, Sita. Chasing Maricha as the golden deer; leading an army agains Ravana when you could have returned safely with Hanuman; these are just two examples of how you make me behave against my perfect nature." "I don't make you behave any way. You're a big boy, Rama. And Hanuman should have waited up. He had too much fun razing the city, and he forgot to come back for me." "It was all for my glorification, Sita." "Tell that to the thousands of dead...

Notes as I watch: 1:00:28 -- Dang, Dave. That was a brutal breakup email. And wow, Rama. I know you're a king, but dumping your pregnant wife who was proven pure by a trial by fire because people are saying stuff about you? Make them respect you in a way that isn't banishing your wife and unborn child. This extension of the story, which wasn't in Narayan's Ramayana , is interesting. 1:06:31 -- Bedbugs? Yikes, Nina. And the animals in the second song after intermission are really sad, with all of them getting dumped. It's funny that Sita feels 'blue' considering that Rama is actually blue. Her sons singing the praises of Rama are sad and funny; I wasn't expecting the sudden musical number. But that they are being taught to extol the man who dumped them into the forest is sad. 1:10:56 -- I think the narrator's discussion of unhealthy reactions to bad breakups is another way to give the story some modern context, as a way to challenge what (probab...

Notes as I watch:  9:12 -- This animation style is hilarious, with the interpolation of realistic images onto the animation. The sexy nurse Kaikeyi got a giggle-snort out of me. Also, I love the narration. The narrators' unsureness with which they relate the story of Rama gives a pleasantly meta, relatable tone to the story as it is told. (I love metatexts! That's why I wrote the intrusion of myself as narrator into my last Storytelling assignment.) 14:35 -- I really enjoyed the Sinatra-esque song sequence. The song clashed tonally with the scene in a perfectly discordant way; despite their poverty and Rama's occupation killing demons, Sita sings happily about their love as they stand under a beautiful arch of blood spurting from demon corpses. I love absurdity! Satire! So good! (Sidenote: Where is Lakshmana?) 15:00 -- The contrasting animation styles of Nina and Dave with Rama and Sita give really good distance between their stories: the story of the modern couple an...

Please leave your comments here!! Thank you!! LINK to the Portfolio: https://sites.google.com/view/crayonandonand/home Rama says this Portfolio is worth checking out. Source .

As I finished the  Ramayana , I found a few parts of the narrative intriguing.  The first thing that sticks out in my mind is the honor of one-on-one combat, specifically the code which leads Rama not to attack his opponent when he is "in a faint" and therefore susceptible to being killed. This seems to underscore a deeply masculinist, tough-guy feeling about fighting -- that a 'fair fight' is the only kind of fight acceptable, and for things to be fair, they must be equal between the male combatants. On the contrary, I once heard from a police officer that no fight is a fair fight -- it's just a fight, and you've gotta do what you've gotta do to win. I subscribe to this view, but I still think that the ancient ideal of honor and how it's reflected in modern fighting etiquette -- no gouging eyes, no hitting/kicking the crotch -- shows that, throughout time, people (or at least men, who I can speak for) believe that to be incapacitated 'unfai...

NOTE: Portfolio location --  https://sites.google.com/view/crayonandonand/story-one Once upon a time, in the distant Kingdom of Almost-Humans, two young brothers lived happily together as princes, chasing each other around the castle grounds and racing each other home when their almost-human butler called them to dinner, careful not to trip on their tails. As the brothers grew older, they never concerned themselves with the line of succession--which one of them would become King of the Almost-Humans--until one fateful day when everything changed. "Hey, brother," the first and older almost-human prince said, "where are the carrots for today's feast? Father is planning to introduce me as his rightful heir to the throne of the Kingdom." The younger brother, who well knew how valuable carrots were to the succession announcement and ceremonies, had dug them all up the previous night, tied them into a tight bundle, and punted them into the forest. He shrugged....

In this section of the Ramayana , two episodes stick out to me as significant -- not because they are the most important or exciting episodes, but because they parallel epic mythic tradition found elsewhere in the world (spoiler alert: I mean Greece, like always). First, the confrontation between Sugreeva and Vali, ended by Rama, provides insight into ancient Indian battle philosophy. Vali, shot through the heart by Rama, calls out Rama for fighting with cowardice. "How could you, protector of all creatures, aim your shaft from your hiding place, like some mean hunter tracking a wild beast, instead of facing me in a fight?" (111). This philosophy -- the cowardice of archers -- reminds me of multiple instances in the Iliad,  and of one character in particular -- Paris. During the Iliad , Paris is constantly hiding and shooting at the Greeks in a cowardly way, and if he's not doing that, he's just running away from a fight. (Interesting that Paris, a coward and Prince...

I work as a Writing Assistant in the OU Honors College, and I had to take a full semester-long class which dealt largely in giving constructive -- not always positive -- feedback on writing. That said, I thought these articles were interesting and helpful still. Feedback should be mutual! Source . 1. Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset The important takeaway from this article is the list of five strategies to foster a growth mindset and give good feedback: (1) be specific (2) focus on what the reader is doing (3) focus on the process (4) make sure it can transfer (5) take yourself out of the feedback. These are all good suggestions, and putting them all together paints a cohesive picture of what good, constructive feedback is. As the one receiving feedback, I would really appreciate these strategies being followed. 2. Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise? One of the things that struck me about this article was that many ma...

I think that the most interesting topic for me to pursue is Death Stories. As I said in my earlier Topic Brainstorm post: " Other than birth, death is the singular uniting constant in the human experience, and consequently, the most universal theme in literature and life. To write about death is to write about life -- about what it means to be alive, because life is predicated on the looming certainty of death." I think that examining the concept of death -- especially what makes a 'good' or heroic death -- in Indian epic, as compared to Greek epic (thus examining the both the Eastern and Western viewpoints), would reveal a lot to me about how the Indian people contemporary with the composition of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata cope with death as an idea-construct. I think that my stories will center around Yama, the god of death, as narrator who greets the dying and examines whether he/she is 'good,' whether the death was 'good,' and what it m...

In this section of the Ramayana , Narayan describes the beginning of Rama't time in exile -- his encounters with his brother Bharatha (who had learned of Kaikeyi's deception) and with the demon Soorpanaka; his battles against Soorpanaka's fourteen commanders and against Kara; and his pursuit of Mareecha disguised as a golden deer. Narayan also recounts the great power of Ravana in occasionally funny ways, like when Ravana insults the moon. Also, Ravana reveals the ancient Indian conception of time -- the flow of seasons. When Ravana ordered the seasons to cease, "there was a complete standstill in time. Minute, hour, day, month, and year lost their boundaries. And mankind was lost in a seasonless confusion" (82).  I feel bad for Soorpanaka. Kinda. Source . At the beginning of this reading and in the middle were similarities to the ancient Greek epic the Iliad . As you can probably tell by now, I really enjoy finding parallels between Eastern and Weste...

In Part A of Narayan's Ramayana , I found the epic surprisingly accessible and therefore more interesting than I expected. Because the prose is written in a modern, easy-to-read style, I am able to connect better with the characters and get deeper into the story. The hero, Rama, is an instantly likable character who the reader or listener admires right away. However, he is very Mary-Sue-esque -- he is described as "perfect" and thus has no obvious flaws. The treachery of Kaikeyi does not anger him at all, and he goes along with it without fuss. Though he has been tricked by Kaikeyi to think that his father commanded that and was not forced by Kaikeyi, he still does not object to abandoning the throne and so much power to become a hermit. One episode I really liked in this part of the Ramayana is the section which describes the stringing of the bow of Shiva as the way through which Rama wins the hand of Sita in marriage. Thought to be impossible because of the str...