Week 4 Extra Credit Reading Diary

For this week I decided to read part A & B of the Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock. My favorite individual story of the collection was the King Who Saw the Truth. This was another great story that showcased facets of karma however focused mainly on what is important in life. I felt as if this story related to the king that his tangible gifts he gave his people were not things that would actually benefit their lives. He was a very generous and kind king, but he knew this was not the way he should lead his people. Finally in the end he gets his wish but in a somewhat strange way. By giving up his eyes it allows him to see absolute Truth of the world.

Buddha Statue, (flickr)

Another part of this reading assignment I enjoyed was the continuing incorporation of animals throughout the Indian culture. Buddha is cast as several different ideas and beings to teach countless lessons. I see it as a major contributor as a whole to the culture and it is a way of teaching morals to persons. For example, Buddha portrayed as a horse teaches things of loyalty whereas when he is cast as an ogre it brings up the principle of greediness.

Week 4 Storytelling: Two Narrators

Author’s Note: This story was inspired by the “Sita Sings the Blues” film. I enjoyed watching this film as a part of the assigned readings and wanted to incorporate its style into my story telling this week. A big part of the story setup was to reenact how the story was told in “Sita Sings the Blues”. I thought that the narrators who told the story were hilarious and comical so I thought that I would attempt to do the same in my storytelling. I do feel as if the dual narrator dialogue is better expressed in a video like the one I watched, but I still made an attempt for the fluidity of conversation. Most of the story of the Ramayana is the same, including character names and setting. When Raymos mixes up the names of Rama and Ravana in my story, this is similar to when one of the narrators is having trouble pronouncing and remembering the names of Ravana’s sister, Soorpanaka, in “Sita Sings the Blues”. In addition, the main part of my story that is different is just the presentation of the information and the side comments from our narrator’s, Raymos and Varun. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment on the style or story.

Ravana, from Sita Sings the Blues (YouTube)

“Rama was the king of Lanka and was a very talented man in many ways. He was master of many weapons and had much intelligence. His level of mastery even extended as far as playing instruments without his hands. The only major down fall of Rama however was his envy of Ravana” replied Raymos, the water God.


“No, no, no… you got it all wrong Raymos. Ravana rules over the land of Lanka and he is whom is envious of the great Rama from Ayodhya!” said Varun, the God of the wind.

Raymos remarked, “ah yes, that’s right my brother. You know me, I am always getting confused about my stories. I mean c’mon, both names start with “R” at least.”
“Anyways, yeah this guy named Ravana was just over zealous about the things Rama had that he didn’t. Most of all that he wanted was Sita. He’d do anything in the world to have Sita… So he did, he stole her from Rama and took her back to Lanka.”

“Yeah, but you know how the gods like to tell the stories Raymos. The good guy always wins. So my main man Rama comes marching down to Lanka to take back what’s his, aka Sita. And as every good story goes, Rama ends up winning Sita back and out smarting the multi-talented, multi-headed Ravana. And you know, Rama and Sita head back to their kingdom where Rama can claim his throne” replied Varun.

“See that is where you are wrong this time, Varun. The gods of Vishnu will nine times out of ten have a happy ending to their legends, but not this time. So when Rama and Sita arrive back in Ayodhya, Rama gets the throne and all is well. HOWEVER, he sends his lady Sita off into exile for an unknown reason at all! I mean why would you go track your “love” down from Lanka for 14 years to then just send her away. I just don’t understand it man. And then to top it all off, Sita’s kids still praise Rama even though their mom was sent off into exile!” added Raymos.

Varun said, “I am going to have to agree with you here this time. This story is just unorthodox and lacking a better finish. I mean, I feel the worst for Sita. If I were her, I would be thinking that I should’ve just stayed with Ravana.

The gods of Vishnu should let you and I write these stories, Raymos. We could come up with a ten times better ending than that!”

Bibliography: "Sita Sings the Blues" written, animated and produced by Nina Paley.


                                                     

Week 4 Reading Diary: Sita Sings the Blues Part B

I am doing this week's reading all at once because the video is entertaining and I think it will be easier to finish it all at once than splitting it up. I liked the way Part A ended and wish it was the end of the film in total but I am still interested to see what else Nina Paley includes.

• Soon after the couple gets back Sita is pregnant so Rama is starting to have doubts about Sita's faithfulness.
• I feel bad for the position that Rama is in because his people do not respect him and he wants to be a good King and a good Husband.
• Lakshmana has finally entered the story but only to take Sita back into exile which seems different than the original version I read in week two and three.



Rama's Sons in Sita's Womb
Youtube

• Sita gives birth to twins and they are Rama's sons.
• Valmiki is in the forest and Sita tells him her entire story. Valmiki is also the one who teaches the twins to sing praises of Rama
• The narrators debate over Sita's devotion and I agree with them. Rama has not treated Sita very well and she has an undying love and devotion for her.
• Rama is excessive in his need for Sita to prove her purity even after he sees that the twins are his.
• The film ends with Sita leaving them behind 

Reading Guide and the film are found here

Week 4 Reading Diary: Sita Sings the Blues Part A

This week we are reading a different version on The Ramayana. I think this reading will be similar to last week but I am excited to see the interpretations of a timeless story. I have chosen the video because I have a lot of other school work to do with week that is very challenging and I want to have something relaxing to do for this class.

• Nina Paley must be a very creative person because her drawing style is very unique
• I appreciate the reading guide the professor provided because it is hard to tell what characters are being represented when they don’t explicitly say their names.
• I wonder if the Nina from the background story is supposed to be a cartoon representation of Nina Paley herself
• I like the way Rama is draw. He looks like a very strong character.
• Even though the film is called "Sita sings the blues" I expected to see more of Rama's thoughts
• The way the story is told Ravana does not seem like a terrible character. He is shown to have only done one thing wrong which is capture Sita.
• The narrators are my favorite character in the story but I am not sure how I would be able to add them to a story of mine.
• I think the narrators are humorous and create a modern vibe. They sound like they are recalling the story as if it were told to them as children.
• I have noticed that I have not heard of Lakshmana yet.
• At the end of Part one Sita is rejoined with Rama and they are happy again. 

Rama with big muscles
Wikimedia

Reading Guide and film are found here

Tech Tip: Pinterest Sidebar Widget

Hello Bloggers, I have added a board from my Pinterest to my sidebar. It is the Indian Epics board that I have been pinning related Ramayana things on. Check it out or leave me a comment about it! Thanks for reading!