Spring 2018 Indian Epics

Pour you a drink, kid? Who, that? Why son, don't you know that picture there's the Honorable Judge Goodness? He rid this town from Black Bennett and his gang... This was back in, oh, '85 or '87 I suppose. Before the century turned, at any rate. Bennett had began rustling from a few of the north side pastures come early fall, and the ranchers were pissed. Horace Goodness, not a judge yet then, was working deputy part times. Sheriff Dugan was getting up there in years, and Horace was the one you came to if you had a problem.  I'm sorry? No, he didn't kill them! He was the kindest son of a biscuit you ever met, and I don't think he so much as swatted a gnat in all his days. No, son, what he did was much smarter than that. See, the Bennett gang had grew considerable over the last few years, and bolder too. A firefight was out of the question.  It was after they raided the Gunter's homestead; that was messy business and left the whole tow...

For the first half of this week's reading, I chose to categorize each of the short Jataka tales into The Shapes of Stories. While this was fun, I think there are quite a few tales so short or even so different as to not fit precisely into a specific story "shape." So, for this reading I am going to focus on my favorites and why I enjoyed them. The Stupid Monkeys This story reminded me so much of the children's book series featuring Amelia Bedelia , a woman whose good intentions always led her astray. I loved that series, and read them as a kid quite often. One of my favorite stories was when she decided to boil and salt the potatoes before planting them in the garden, so that they would be ready to eat when they finished growing. This story talks about practicality and foolishness in much the same way, using foolish monkeys so concerned with saving water they uproot each plant to check the root size before watering. I also think that the monkeys are more concerned ...

I've decided this week to use The Shapes of Stories , as described by Kurt Vonnegut, to classify each of the Jataka readings. I chose the Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales because I wanted to continue comparing each of the ancient Hindu stories with those of other cultures (it's insane how many of them are similar, or even spring from the same source), and their collection contains more than each of the others, giving me several weeks worth of reading. Web Source:  The Shapes of Stories The Little Guildmaster This is a delightful tale of pulling one up by one's bootstraps. Shrewd, skillful business and trade is used by the little guildmaster, beginning with a mouse and ending with a fortune and a family. I'm pretty sure I've read other stories along the same lines, but this is always a fun story concept. This falls strongly under the "Creation Story" shape (life quality very poor initially but steadily increasing, and ending with near maximal quality...

I haven't checked my typing speed in a while, so this was a great refresher on exactly where my speed slows down. The KeyHero was more challenging, as the sample to type from included lots of punctuation and characters besides alphanumeric (which probably makes it a better test), while the TypingTest was more literature and less dialogue.  I'm happy with my typing speed. It was faster when I was younger (reflexes do seem to deteriorate with age), and I would like to thank AOL instant messenger for all the practice I got in my early formative years, as that program did more for me than any speed typing software, haha.  I'm also pretty happy with the accuracy too, although that's not such a big deal anymore now that we use word processors and not actual typewriters. I will probably come back to both of these in a few months and see if I'm deteriorating or improving with All. These. Senior. Papers. Due.... Typing results - KeyHero Typing Results - ...

I knew I needed to do a little research on some of the characters featured in my storybook for Rama's Bridge, and I decided to look a little harder at the Vanara brothers this week. Nila, the brother of Nala, was my starting point. Nila  (Ramayana) Both of the brothers have some amazing credentials, but Nila is no less than the commander-in-chief of the Vanara army, while Nala is the architect of the bridge. Sources vary explaining precisely who built the bridge and who carried the rocks for it, but Nila has a rich military history and is regarded as a legendary general, as well as the son of Agni, the fire-god. Both of the brothers apparently have the ability to make stones float on water, which is related to Rama by Varuna during the Ramayana pre-bridge effort. Varuna While the sea-god Varuna has a brief mention in the Ramayana, he is one of the oldest known deities associated with Hinduism, and he is also associated with Buddhism and Jainism.  Rama conducts a three-da...

The stories I read this week both dealt with the grief from losing a spouse. Uttara becomes a widow when her husband Abhimanyu is killed during the great war in the Mahabharata. She is consistently referenced as child-like and innocent, which is honestly somewhat creepy throughout the story. The child-bride is widowed still carrying a child, and she ages considerably throughout the events of the story. This was a horribly depressing story. Her life ends only after her mother convinces her to stay alive and not immolate herself quite yet, as she needs to raise her son first. Siva-Mahadeva, known also as the Shiva, ultimately loses his wife Sati through an elaborate culmination of in-law drama. I liked this story much better, and there were several elements I found very interesting. Sati was very devout for a child; her piety and worship of Siva caught his attention early in her life, and she grew up knowing that they were meant to be together. Over her father's protests, they ...

I chose to continue my reading of Sunny Devee's Nine Ideal Indian Women, and found myself in awe with Sati Savitri. Quick facts: Daughter of Maharajah Ashwapati, ruler of Abanti Fell in love with a man doomed to live for one year Left her home, family, and life of luxury Lived in total happiness with her husband in poverty Story breakdown: Savitri accepted her husband's mortality, and was aware she was marrying a man with an expiration date. Their life is idyllic but shadowed in doom; she is present at his death. When Yom, the God of Death appears to take him, she pleads that he will take her too. After arguing for hours and walking to the very edge of the underworld, she traps Yom into realizing he has no choice but to restore her husband. This is cleverly accomplished via a series of boons he grants in hopes of sending her away.  He inadvertently "blesses" this widow with sons, which cannot be called a gift for a woman whose husband is dead; her virtue woul...

So far, I am managing to balance out this course's time needs fairly well. I don't feel rushed when I complete the reading assignments, as I try to knock all of that out early on in the week. I also feel this leaves me with more time to focus on the creative aspects of the course, which I really appreciate. I am always surprised with how long the hidden editor within chooses to spend once the body of the post is finished, and I would like to allocate more time than I am using now on the really fun stuff: writing those stories. I would like to challenge myself to use more of the EC options, as I've barely touched any so far and it would be so nice to have that cushion as the semester end approaches (bringing final exams along with it). This will be a change I want to implement over the second half of the semester, along with budgeting more time for the storytelling component of the course. Finally, I would also like to push myself into using different approaches for the ...

The majority of the feedback I've received has been very useful; I have never written fiction before, and I was quite nervous for the reception of some of the pieces. The encouragement was very helpful, and there have been some uncanny suggestions which I incorporated immediately. Feedback regarding the website design and functionality was very welcome, as there were things I was not even aware were issues for some browsers (like using light colored text on a light colored background).  I think the feedback I leave is generally useful; there are occasions when I have to gush if the story is that good, but I tend to make suggestions based off of what I would enjoy reading, or how the presentation and layout of a story could be tweaked for more impact. There are definitely many good ideas out there (I loved the stories which were presented in a letter or first-person format)! My introduction post was deliberately a bit vague, but very genuine, and I think others have responde...

The structure of our week is arranged well. I like having a day or two to let the reading sink in before retelling based off of the material. My favorite reading thus far was definitely the free choice option, mine being Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee, but the follow-up to that was the Jataku tale collection. The reading notes I am compiling are definitely improving in terms of usefulness; I've found that making a short list of "just the facts" helps a lot with remembering places and people and events (not to mention the spelling!!!), while a few paragraphs about why I focused on one character or story gives me a great launch point when the time to actually write comes. I have also found that including every link I visit while researching helps substantially, and I will try to remember to include this each future reading note post.  I am thrilled with my class project so far; I have never made an actual website before and I can't believe how easy it is t...

What are the laws of combat? I found myself wishing during the later parts of the Mahabharata that there was a copy of the rules of battle somewhere. At several instances throughout the story, (Arjuna and Karna, Bhima smiting Duryodhana's knee ) these rules are cited as being disobeyed. However, none of the participants in these battles seem to care enough to follow them. The night raid's moral ramifications (and consequences) seemed to be nothing more than a barter transaction through Shiva and Ashwatthamann just prior to the slaughter. "Yudishthira and his dog, ascending" - Nanda Lal Bose, c. 1913 Image Source: Wikimedia Commons Why don't dogs go to heaven? The story of Yudishthira's eventual arrival to Indra's celestial heaven has a very sweet moment; as each of his companions fall aside on the way to Mount Meru, the loyal dog Yudishthira refuses to abandon even at the urging of Indra transforms into Dharma, the god of justice. I adore this, ...

The shrine itself was unremarkable, but its visitor was not. Vidura's annual pilgrimage was easier now than it was in the old days. The rush to return to the city was no longer necessary since he had stepped down as prime minister, and each year he enjoyed stretching his journey out longer. The hermit greeted him each year in silence, but always offered him tea and food. Neither knew the other's name nor spoke, but each ate together near the fire each night. Vidura had tried to offer his own provisions in the early years, but the hermit always refused. Each year Vidura approached the shrine, and each year he began his vigil. The incense came first, six bundles carefully placed in the basin below the weathered statue. He did not know who the statue was supposed to be, and it did not matter to him. This was not a rite of devotion, but of penance. He chose the shrine forty years ago for its isolation, and it was here their remains were buried. Their names he never learn...