Reading Week 15: The Ramayana, Part F

Wow, the last reading is already here. Can't believe how fast these 15 weeks have flown by. I decided to spend my last reading by continuing the Ramayana. I have really enjoyed this reading and it has been fascinating getting exposure to things I wouldn't have if I didn't take this course. I liked the part where Rama curses the ocean. Cursing the ocean - an example of something I wouldn't have read if I wasn't in this class.

Rama curses the Sea: (Blogspot)

Bibliography: The Ramayana by William Buck (Link)

Week 15 Reading: The Ramayana Part E

This week I continued reading The Ramayana, and it is starting to get very weird (which is always more fun to read). Some of the things talked about I will reading and think to myself 'what just happened.' I love the obscure characters and series of events, I never know what to expect. I liked the part when the mountain Mainaka hides under the ocean in fear of Indra, but then comes out to give Hanuman a chance to rest. This was a very interesting part of the reading, and I enjoyed getting exposed to this version of the Ramayana.

The Ramayana: (Wikipedia)

Bibliography: Ramayana by William Buck (Link)

Reading Week 14: The Ramayana, Part D

Sita gets abducted!! Best part of the reading right here. It reminds me of when Daenerys Targaryen gets taken by the Dothraki. It was smart of her to drop down her jewelry to the monkey's beneath her so they would know exactly where she got taken. I like this idea of getting kidnapped and am going to try to incorporate this in a story during the semester. I am liking this other version of the Ramayana as it is very exciting. 

Daenerys Targaryen: (Flickr)

Bibliography: Ramayana by William Buck (Link)

Reading Week 14: The Ramayana, Part C

This week I continued reading the Ramayana into part C. I liked the part when Bharata goes with an entourage to go find Rama. This reminds me of a story I wrote when King Dasharatha goes with an entourage of nine men into the forest. It is cool seeing how all the stories are tying together and relating to each other. For my project post this week I am thinking about including something different about Rama.

Rama: (WikiCommons) 

Bibliography: Ramayana by William Buck (Link)

Reading Week 13: Ramayana Part B

The opening part of this reading was very surprising, and I liked it! In my stories I have always tried to thrill the reading and take turns they were not expecting. When Dasharatha plans to make Rama his successor, I thought it was just going to play out normally and Rama would be the next King. But Kaikeyi uses two promises that Dasharatha owes and Rama doesn't only not become king, but he gets exiled! I thought this was a very good twist.

Bibliography: Ramayana retold by William Buck (Link)

Ramayama: (WikiCommons)

Reading Week 13: Ramayana Part A.

This week I read Buck Ramayana. It was weird seeing Sauti tell the story of the Mahabharata because we have already read that this semester! It was very cool seeing King Dasharatha in the story again, because I have included him in a story in my portfolio. In this story, he prepares a sacrifice to obtain sons. In my story, and went to fight the ten headed monster to get sons. I liked the reading this week, and am looking forward to reading B.

Bibliography: Ramayana retold by William Buck (Link)

King Dasharatha: (WikiCommons)

Week 12 Reading: Seven Secrets of Hindu Calendar, Part B

This next part of the video focused on Narayan. I thought it was really interesting how when Narayan sleeps, the world has no form and no identity. This shows the type of power he has, and that was really cool. I think this is what I will write about in my story, and maybe somehow fit in the elephant from Reading A. I thought Part B was a better video than part A, and I will focus more on it in my story this week.

Bibliography: Seven Secrets of Hindu Calendar (Link)

Narayana: (Wikipedia)

Week 12 Reading Notes: Seven Secrets of Hindu Calendar, Part A

This week I chose to watch Seven secrets of the Hindu Calendar, Gods and Goddesses. I'm not sure if I was the biggest fan, so for next week I might try and find more comic tales. But, it was interesting to watch about the different Gods of Indian Epics. I remember reading a student's storybook about the elephant, so it was good to see where that came from. Maybe I will incorporate a God into my next story, but we will have to see how I begin brainstorming.

Bibliography: Seven Secrets of Hindu Calendar (Link)

Elephant God: (Pixabay)

Week 11: More Jataka Tales, Part B

What another great week of reading. I really enjoyed reading the Jataka Tales, it was very different and interesting. I especially likes the part with the elephant and the dog. I would never had thought to put these two animals together, but it turned out to be really cool. I discussed in my last reading notes that I wanted to incorporate some animals into my next story, so maybe I'll make them two random animals. Great read.

Bibliography: More Jataka Tales by Babbitt (Link)

Elephant and Dog: (Wiki Commons)

Week 11: More Jataka Tales, Part A

This week I read More Jataka Tales, and I enjoyed it just as much as last week. Last week I read Jataka Tales so I thought it would be a good idea to continue that reading. I really liked the story of the Stupid Monkeys. I have yet to write about animals as my only characters, and this upcoming story I am thinking about doing so. It would be fun to have animals talk to each other and I think I could come up with something to write about. I enjoyed this reading and am looking forward to Part B.

Bibliography: More Jataka Tales by Babbitt (Link)

Monkey: (Pixabay)

Week 10 Story: The Casino

A long hike up and over the Himalaya's was the only thing Chase expected over the next month. He and two of his other friends were trying to get to the other side of the mountain range to lead back the tribe they had recently acquired. Although Chase had no horse's or weapons for these men, he thought they were valuable enough to bring back to their village, Bakbeph, and deal with the missing pieces later.

It was a brutal winter and the men began to struggle on their trip. Chase and his two closest advisors, Carter and Luke, started to have death on their minds. They continued the long trek and began to see the summit of the mountain. On that summit, they saw very bright flashing lights. When they came closer to the lights, they could see the word 'Casino' enlightened in the snowfall. Without question, Chase lead his men into the casino.

He took a seat at one of the blackjack tables, attempting to win some money for him and his two advisors. All of the dealers in the casino were Raksasha's and were very intimidating. The Raksasha's main job was to kill anybody who tries to leave the casino without paying their debts. However, they did not know Chase's intelligent skill at blackjack.

He began to play hand after hand, without winning or losing much money. Chase then started to speculate his trip and realized that without more gold, they had no chance of survival. Chase went all in. He pushed all of his gold onto the table for one hand of blackjack. The dealer then dealt, and Chase had two 9's.

"Split 'em" Chase said confidently.

"You are out of money, I am afraid I cannot do that" replied the Raksasha.

"My advisors and I will give you our horses and our services for life if we lose. Split the cards" Chase demanded.

The Raksasha split the cards. He was showing a 10, so Chase's chances of winning were small. Chase then got dealt a 10 and another 10, giving him 19 on each hand.

Now it was time for the Raksasha to show his hand. He was already showing 10 and he flipped his other card to show his hand. It was an 8, totaling 18.

Chase had won everything. He got double his gold, three horses and also three additional men. Chase and his advisors then left the casino and continued their trip to lead their tribe back to their village.

The End.

Author's Note:
This story thought started when I read about the dice game in week 7. I love going to the casino, so I thought it would be a lot of fun to write about it, and it was. In the reading, Bhima had to sacrifice a horse, and that is where I incorporated the stories. Bhima, who I renamed Chase, went into the casino and gambled all of his gold, horses, and men. In the reading Bhima had to cut off the head of a horse and sacrifice him. Although he did not do that in mine, he still did put himself and everything he had at sacrifice on blackjack.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

Blackjack: (WikiCommons)

Reading Notes: The Jatakas Tales of India. Part B

For Part B of this book I want to focus on Why the Owl is not King of the Birds. I have incorporated Kings into a lot of my stories, so I was excited when I came across the part where there was a non intense story about Kings (kind of). I am interested in taking on this kind of approach in the future and we will see how it pans out for me. Overall I enjoyed this reading and am looking forward to continuing to choose our readings in the future.

Bibliography: The Jatakas Tales of India by Ellen Babbitt (Link)

Owl: (Pixabay)

Reading Notes: Babbitt: Jataka Tales. Part A

This week I read Babbitt Jataka Tales and specifically liked The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking part. This was an interesting little story and I think that is what I want to do with my next story. I have been very dark and serious in my stories and I am thinking about lightening it up. Although the Turtle ends up dying, I thought of this as a short little tale and I really liked it.

Bibliography: The Jatakas Tales of India by Ellen Babbitt (Link)

Turtle: (Pixabay)

Reading Notes: Valiant Archer, Supreme Teacher - Part B

It's kind weird that Drona was born in a pot, and not only born in a pot, his name also means Pot. This struck me as kind of weird, but hey it's Indian Epics. At least Drona has cool secret military skills to offset his weird birth and name. I like the fact that Drona is seeking pupils that will lead to his revenge on Drupada. This calls for a very exciting story and I may have to use this for one of mine in the future. Overall, this was a fun story to read.

Bibliography: Valiant Archer, Supreme Teacher (Link)

Drona: (Wikipedia) 

Reading Notes: Tales of Arjuna Part A

This week I read Tales of Arjuna and really enjoyed it. This was my first comic book to read this semester and I really enjoyed it, I need to find more! I like how the monkey was interactive with the humans, that definitely made for it to be a more lighthearted and funny story. Overall, I really enjoyed this story.

Bibliography: Tales of Arjuna (Link)

Monkey: (Pexels)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

I have enjoyed giving and receiving feedback throughout this semester. I think it is very important in order to get the best work possible. It is good to get several different eyes on your work and hearing from those people. I have tried to adjust to the feedback I have gotten, and hopefully it has made my work better. I have gotten good feedback from the other students so thank you for that! Looking forward, I am going to be more specific with my feedback to help other students.

Feedback: (Pixabay)

Week 8 Reading and Writing

I've enjoyed the reading and writing of this class so far. I like the free structure of the course and how we get to take it in whatever direction we want. My stories have mostly been about battles and kingdoms, and looking forward I am going to change that. I've been focusing on that in my readings and story planning this past week. I am going to focus on a bigger variety of things and see where it takes me. Feels good to be halfway through, it has really flown by.

Kingdom of Monett: (Wikipedia) 

This has been my favorite picture of the semester because it looks similar to what I had pictured in my head when writing the stories. It is fun to write about battles and kingdoms, as I have never done that before the start of this semester. 

Week 7 Story Planning: Gambling in the Himalayas

This week I have focused on many different elements of the reading that I am going to focus on for my story next week. In reading A, the thing that stuck with me the most is the scene where Bhima kills the Rakshasa. I am not going to revolve around this same plot, but in reading B, I got really into the dice game that was played. And my thought for my story this week is to deviate from battle and war scenes, and write about something different. So, after thought and reading, I decided that Bihma and some made up characters will be hiking through the Himalayas to buy land on the other side of the mountain range. They will be carrying lots of gold in order to purchase this desired land. While traveling through the mountain range, they will stumble across a casino, and curiously enter in and gamble some of the gold they have on them. The Rakshasa's will be the dealers at every table and own the casino. I am planning on having Bhima lose all of his gold, and gamble away everything, including a sacred horse he is riding on. The sacred horse idea came from reading D, when Bhima cut the head off a horse and it ascended into heaven. Maybe throughout the week I become nicer and make Bhima win a lot, but I think I will stick to my plan of devastation!


Research: I looked into more depth about the Rakshasa, because they are going to be in control of the casino in my story. I did not know that they were also called "Maneaters" but this makes writing about them even more exciting. Rakshasa's were created from the breath of Brahma when he was asleep, which is a really obscure point of creation. They are ugly and enourmous creatures who have two fangs on the top of their mouth. These will be very intimidating casino dealers in my story! (Link to Rakshasa)


Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

Dice Game: (Pixabay) 

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part D

I thought the sacrifice of the horse was a very intense part of the reading. When Bhima cut the head, it immediately ascended to heaven, and disappeared in front of everybody. I am going to go a different direction from this. I still haven't thought of my characters to use, but I think I am going to have a sacred horse be a source of a debt payment when the characters come across the casino in the Himalayas. This will provide a new theme and feeling to the reading, and will deviate from my past stories which have revolved around battles.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

Sacred Horse: (Pexels)

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part C

I really enjoyed when Draupadi and the four Pandava brother's begain their journey in the Himalayas. I think it would be really interesting to set a story in the mountains, which I have yet to do. Most of mine have revolved around battles of different kingdoms. But after reading the dice game last week, and the Himalayas this week, maybe I will select some characters to come across a hidden casino in the middle of the mountain range. This may be a little far fetched, but with more brainstorming throughout the week, I am sure I will get a basis for my plot.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (Link)

The Himalayas above the clouds: (Wikipedia)