Indian Epics Spring 2018

Edit: This story has been transferred to my Portfolio . Click  here to view the most up to date version.         All who knew Gria and Rahim were envious of their relationship. They seemed very happy with one another, and they were joyful for a time. But, shortly after Gria became pregnant with their first child, she seemed grave. She did not eat or sleep. Many thought it was due to a bad pregnancy. In fact, the child was stillborn. After this, Gria’s mood seemed to return to normal. Rahim was upset about losing the baby, but he was happy that he had his wife back. Many months after this, Gria became pregnant again. Once more, her mood plummeted and the child was born dead.         This cycle repeated for seven children total. Gria recovered fully after each loss, but Rahim grew more tired and depressed. He could not understand how his wife was so unaffected. After all, she was the one who carried the children inside of her for months.         When Gria became pregnant for an e

        The idea that Krishna was able to create people and cows from himself is very interesting. These were not just bodies either, they had personalities and fooled others into thinking they were real. This would be a scary thing to happen in real life or in another context. I could write about a town where people slowly disappear but return slightly different than before. Some being would be stealing the original people away and replacing them with beings made from his body.         Instead of Krishna taming a bull, I could write of a man befriending and earning the trust of a highly aggressive child. Maybe the child once suffered abuse or has social issues. The man would use similar techniques of friendliness and patience to win over the hesitant child.         Krishna's inability to marry Radha made me very sad. I'd love to rework this into a piece of my own. A similar concept would be a man having a job which would not allow him to have a wife. Maybe he was destine

        The king killing his sister's children to protect himself reminded me of the story of Ganga drowning her children, but not explaining why to her husband. I could combine ideas from both of these stories to create a new one. Maybe a woman kills her children because of a prophesy that the children will kill their father.         I love that Durga calls the king out on his sexism. I've written a story before based on Amba's life where a female protagonist is underestimated and gets revenge from a cruel man. I would definitely be fine with writing another story of women giving a proud and hateful man what he deserves. I could also flip the gender on this as well. After all, any person can be evil, not just men.         The idea of a demoness infiltrating a family and trying to kill one of the children residing there sounds like a great plot for a movie. I would love to write this in a modern, horror style story. From the perspective of the family, I could describe how

        Once, there was a young woman named Kumba who lived a very hard life. Her story begins with a man. He was very handsome and a king. He promised Kumba expensive gifts and his endless love. She of course adored him. They spoke of marriage and a future together. After a time, Kumba became pregnant. She did not worry because she knew her love would marry her and they would start their lives together. But, when she told the man of his unborn child, his expression was cold and stony. He told her he would have nothing to do with the baby and had her physically removed from his palace as she cried.         Kumba’s family was very proud and moral. They did not know of her affair or the child. So, she had the child in secret and hid her pregnancy from everyone. When the child was born, it could not have been more perfect. The little boy did not cry but smiled up at his mother right after birth. Kumba wept but knew the child could not stay with her. She brought the baby to an orphanage

        Kunti's story saddens me greatly. I've already written about a woman with a forbidden child in Star-Crossed Lovers , but I'm not opposed to putting a new spin on this story. I could write about a woman finding a man she loves and becoming pregnant with his child. His death, disappearance, or rejection could leave her vulnerable to criticism. She'd be forced, like Kunti, to give up the child. If she were rejected, I might also call upon themes from Amba's story. I had considered writing about her anyways, so it could be really interesting to combine these women's stories together into a new one.          I'm further impressed by Kunti's strength following the deaths of Pandu and Madri. I could work this into my idea before. Maybe my character is rejected by her lover, gives up her child, vows to get revenge on her ex-lover, takes over her kingdom, and starts an orphanage in honor of her lost son. This would continue the pious caregiver role

        First off, I really like the video format for these stories. It was sometimes hard for me to picture the stories as I was reading them. The reading was often overwhelming and I sometimes got confused about which characters were which.         I liked the concept of a son being reunited with his father. I'm imagining a story of a woman who runs with her child from an unhappy marriage. She dies years later and her husband would be reunited with their child. Or perhaps a man is sent to war, and when he returns his wife is gone, but he is left with their child and finds joy in this.         Bhishma had such loyalty for his father. I feel that our society is flipped. A parent would do anything for their child, but those roles are not always reversible. It might be interesting to write of a boy who works incredibly hard for his family. He would sacrifice everything, including his happiness, to ensure the safety of his family.         When I first read the Mahabharata, I re

        I'm happy with how this class is going so far. Originally, my schedule was planned for doing both readings on Monday, my story on Tuesday, blog comments on Wednesday, and project editing/feedback on Sunday. I found the readings to be too much for one day. Now, I do my readings on Monday and Tuesday, story on Wednesday, and everything else on Sunday. A lot of times I do my blog comments on Fridays, though. I've got these all set up in my homework app, so I've not forgotten to do anything (yet). I've not done any extra credit, but there's still time! I think I enjoy working on my project the most. It allows me to go back and reread my work and fine tune all the little details. Since everything has been going so smoothly, I'll probably just keep doing what I'm doing. If anything, I might try some new unique styles for my stories or lengthen my reading notes. Image Information: No Regrets, Source: Wikimedia Commons

        The feedback I've been receiving has been really helpful. I appreciate the suggestions and criticism. Everyone has been very nice, so I've not felt attacked in any way. Sometimes I have a hard time not going super in-depth on comments for stories. I know Laura will probably make wonderful suggestions for the person, so I usually try to keep my comments shorter. My method is to jot down any major things that stand out to me, good or bad, and end on a positive note. I've definitely seen some unique writing that makes me think about how I want to do my own stories.         I like the blog comments and it's really nice to meet everyone in the class. Comments on stories help me to see people's different writing styles. I find that these comments also help me to decide which stories of mine will become a part of my portfolio. I'm pretty satisfied with how everything is going for my blog and project. I plan to keep doing my feedback in pretty much the same way

        I have noticed that the readings for Indian Epics seem to be a lot longer than the ones for Myth and Folklore. They take me a lot longer, and it's harder to focus on individual story sections. My reading notes seem pretty efficient. I write up possible ideas for stories as I read and on Wednesday, I pick my favorite to write about. It's funny, because every week I tell myself, "Okay I have other things I need to do, so let's do the 300 word bare minimum." And every week it ends up being 700-900 words because I get so carried away with an idea.         So far, I'm pretty satisfied with my portfolio. If anything, I wish I could add more stories. I'm liking a lot of the things I write and feeling like the two weeks of revisions are not super necessary. This is definitely not a big deal, though.         I remember being frustrated when I found this picture. I was looking for a picture of a king, a man, not a chess piece. But, then I realized ho