Reading Diary B Week 7

I chose to write about Sita once again because she is my favorite character. 

• Sita finds Rama so that she can prove her innocence 
• She asked to be received from her mother the earth if she has been faithful to Rama 
• Sita swears her oath
• He mother and four nagas emerge from the ground 
• Mother earth was fair and beautiful
• Mother earth is very patient
• She takes Sita and brings her underground
• The world became peaceful and equal
• Rama will no longer be able to see his wife
• Rama continues to rule for a thousand more years

Reading Diary A Week 7

I found this part of the story to be the most interesting. 

• Sita looked like a princess
• Her dress was new 
• She wore a woven crown of flowers and her braid had a ribbon
• No one could compare to Sita and her beauty
•  Hanuman brings her jewelry that were given by Guha and Anasuya
•  Rama tells Vibhishana to bring Sita to the assembly
• Sita says she is innocent after Agni, the fire god appears 
• Sita puts Rama's ring on his finger
• She saw Rama had hurt is leg fighting for her

Storytelling Week 6 The Battle

   The Battle            

Ravana needs an assistant for battle,  He thinks and thinks of who he can count on to help him.  He thinks of all his friends and everyone he comes up with is either to weak or will not be loyal enough to take his battle.  Ravana then gets the bright idea to go wake up his brother who fits the perfect description.  He decides to go awaken his brother who is a giant named Kumbhakarna.  Kumbhakarna will not wake up easily.  Ravana has tried everything.  It took him ten tries to wake him up.  He finally had the great idea to have one thousand elephants trample on him.  He knew that would get the job done.  His brother is huge, fierce, and loyal to his brother.  He was not angry at Ravana for waking him up.  He was actually very excited to see his brother and catch up.  Little does he know, his brother was not just their to chat.  He was on a mission.  Kumbhakarna loves his brother but knows he is notorious for making bad choices.  Kumnhakarna forgives his brother because even he makes poor choice like fighting monkeys just to show his power. Although, Kumbhakarna is a little more intelligent than his brother Ravana.  He begs and pleads for Ravana just to give Sita back to Rama. Even though Kumbhakarna is big and strong, he still has a soft side.  He can only imagine how much Rama is in pain.  He wishes Ravana would leave him alone.  He knows he is up to no good and it is wrong to take away another man's wife.  Ravana is too stubborn to listen to his brother.  Ravana knows what he wants and will not change his mind.  Being the loyal giant he is,  Kumbhakarna agrees to fight Rama in battle.  He will do anything to make his brother happy.  Kumbhakarna puts his best foot forward and gives it his all.  At first, he does an excellent job but shortly after falls short.  Rama cut off his arms and he screams in horror.  He refuses to give up still and begins kicking Rama.  He knocks Rama to the ground for a split second.  Then, Rama jumps back up and cuts off his legs.  Kumbhakarna knows now he will soon be done for.  He then gives it his all to fight back but he is ended when Rama finally cuts off his head.       

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbhakarna#mediaviewer/File:Kumbhakarna_yawns_as_he_is_roused_from_sleep;.jpg

Authors Note:
This story is based of the story told in Buck's Ramayana.  I really tried to get deep in the heads of the characters to bring out more emotion.


Bibliography:
Buck, William, and Vālmīki. Ramayana:. Berkeley: U of California, 1976. Print.

Reading Diary B Week 6

I found the character Kumbhakarna to be the most interesting in this section of the book. 

• He is huge
• He is Ravana's brother
• He has good morals and tries to convince Ravana to give Rama his wife back
• Ravana would not listen to him
• He finally agrees to fight Rama for his brother
• He is loyal to Ravana
• He does not want ant help during his fight 
• He is very dark and menacing
• Rama kills him in battle by cutting off his arms, legs, and then head
• Ravana was furious about his death

Reading Diary A Week 6

I thought it was very interesting when Hanuman turned into a cat.  This was my favorite part of the reading. 

• Changes his shape into a cat when he arrives in Lanka
• He turned into a small long haired silver tabby cat
• He does this so he can roam freely
• He runs into Lanka in human form who kicks him
• He goes inside Lanka and sees the rakshasas there
• When he enters Ravana's bedroom he sees many beautiful wives asleep
• He felt guilty for looking at other women 
• He gets disappointed when he does not see Sita
• With just a snap, he got rid of his cat disguise

Storytelling Week 5 Trapped in a Cave

                                                                 Trapped in a Cave


Vali was confident, mean, and always ready to fight.  He looked down on everyone.  He did not have many friends because of this.  The only person he truly respected was himself.  Many viewed this as extemely pathetic.  When the buffalo demon challenged him to a fight, there was no way he was turning that down.  He always had to prove he was the best of the best.  He could never let someone else win the battle.  He had way too much pride for that.  As usual, Vali won the fight.  This was no surprise to anyone.  He slaughtered the buffalo demon and threw its corpse towards Rishyamuka hill.  He showed zero mercy for the buffalo demon.  He was simply dirt at the bottom of his shoe.  The corpse polluted the altar of the sage Matanga.  This was a huge mistake on Vali's part.  Vali was then cursed by Matanga because of this.  Matanga would never allow Vali to come near his house again.  In the future, this would become a major problem for Vali. 

Mayavi wanted revenge for his father's death and decided to challenge Vali to fight.  Once again, Vali was not going to pass up a fight.  He could kill Mayavi just like he did everyone else.  He got ready and then told Mayavi he was ready to beign fighting.  He chased Mayavi into a cave to finish him.  He then insisted Sugriva to wait outside for him.  Sugriva waited and waited and there was no sign of Vali.  He thought for sure Vali was dead so he sealed the cave shut.  He did not have a single worry.   

After the long battle, Vali was beyond ready to leave the cave.  That battle gave him quite the workout!  As he approached the exit, he noticed it was sealed shut.  He was extremely angry!  Vali was not a very forgiving man.  He had to think of an awful punishment for him.  He decided he would send Sugriva into exile.  Sugriva could not get away with this.  He thought of another way he could punish Sugriva.  Vali even decided he would keep his wife Ruma a prisoner as well.  Vali was evil for using this as his method of revenge.  But don't you worry, Vali will not get away with his actions for too much longer.  Little did he know, karma would come bite him in the butt soon enough. 

lifasahuman.com

Authors Note:
I found Vali to be an interesting character so I decided to base my story on him.  I took this story from Buck's Ramayana and made it into my own.  

Bibliography:
Buck, William, and Vālmīki. Ramayana:. Berkeley: U of California, 1976. Print.

Reading Diary B Week 5

I thought Vali was a very interesting character in this reading block of Buck's Ramayana. 

• He is ill mannered
• He is easily angered
• He liked to fight
• He killed the buffalo demon
• This polluted Matanga's alter
• He was cursed by Matanga and not permitted to return to the hill again
• Dundhuvi's son Mayavi wanted to avenge his father's death and challenged Vali to a fight
• Sugriva accidentally locked Vali in the cave
• When he got out he was extremely furious and sent Sugriva into exile from the monkey kingdom
• Vali would go out looking for fights
• He kept Sugriva's wife prisoner
• Sugriva and Hanuman fled and went to the hill for safety where Vali was not permitted to go
• Sugriva challenges Vali to a fight
• Vali does not listen to his wife when she says to be careful
• Rama shoots Vali while he is in a fight with Sugriva
• Before he dies, his last wish he asks Angada to help Rama

Reading Diary A Week 5

I found the character Agastya to be very interested in Buck's version of Ramayana. 

• He is a small man
• Rama, Lakshmana and Sita come to Agata'shermitage
• He is famous for lowering the heights of Vindhya hills
• He is also the sage who put a stop to the two demon brothers Vatapi and Ilwala. 
• He warned Rama about the Dandaka forest dangers
• He knows so much about the forest and is extremely knowledgeable 
• He tries to prepare Rama for his travels
• He gave Rama a better bow
•  There is no one else like Agastya 

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Storytelling Week 4 Animal Whisperer

                                                              Animal Whisperer

Kaikeyi would always try to use her powers to get what she wanted from her husband, Dasharatha.  Whether is was jewelry, fine wine, or secrets, she could always get her husband to give her what she wanted somehow.  She even got him to kick his son out of Ayodhya!  She could do anything!  She was a very sneaky and manipulative women.  Dasharatha just had one secret he needed to keep to himself... or his life would be taken away.  He was unsure if he could stay strong and not do what Kaikeyi wanted for once.  He was hoping that she would not even find out about his amazing talent.  Kaikeyi overheard him talking to a bid on their balcony the day after he had this awful thoughts.  Dashartha moaned and groaned because of his bad luck.  Kaikeyi begged, pleaded and threatened Dasharatha so that he would teach her the language of the animals.  There was no way he would let her win this time. Kaikeyi promised herself an her husband  that if she learned the language of the animals, she would no longer try to manipulate everything Dasharatha did.  Dasharatha knew this was a lie.  She could not possibly keep her promise and not break it.  She kept trying to get him to give up for the remainder of the night.  He hated telling her no but just had to this time.  He promised Kaikeyi that he would have to sleep and think about it.  After all it had been a long day and he had done a lot of arguing that wore him out.  As he fell asleep he had dreams about the animals he talked to laughing and mocking him for almost giving into Kaikeyi.  They told him how stupid he was for even considering it.  He would have lost his life.  Then, Dasharatha woke up panting and sweating.  His dream had made him feel so dumb and helpless.  He immediately woke up Kaikeyi and told her that his decision from last night was his final one.  She was very angry with him because of this and stormed out of the room.  Dasharatha was sad that they may be in a fight for a couple days but figured it was worth not losing his life.  Kaikeyi will come around, he could buy her some jewelry and hopefully she will forget all about it.  He needs as much luck as he can get.       

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=7329

Author's Note:
I based my story off the one from Mahabharata.  I thought it was very bizarre so it would be fun to write a story about!  

Bibliography:
Buck, William. Mahabharata. 35th anniversary ed. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press,
      20121973. Print.

Reading Diary B Week 4

During this reading, I found Kaikeyi to be very interesting.

• She is the mother of Bharata 
• She was the last of the king Dasaratha's three wives
• One of the queens of Ayodhya
• Manthara is her servant
• She started off very excited for Rama's return
• Manthara convinces her that if Rama is king, it will not be good
• She wants Rama to be sent to exile in the forest for fourteen years
• Her second wish was for Bharata to be king
• Dasaratha listens to her wishes
• She claims that Rama and Bharata are equally dear to her
• She has an anger problem
• Sumantra wants to kill her for her bad doings
• She constantly tried to persuade Dasaratha
• She is very sneaky
• She believes there should be no secrets between the two of them
• She wants to find out what her husband is hiding from her
• She seems to be a character one can not ever trust

Storytelling Week 3 Rama Returns As King

                                                           Rama Returns As King


Rama has spent fourteen long and agonizing years in exile.  He has been dreaming of the day that he can return to Ayodhya.  He makes a promise to himself that he will be the most selfless, courageous, and loving leader the people have ever seen.  When Rama is able to return to Ayodhya he does so with no hesitation.  He will return with pride, glory, and optimism.  This is now his time to shine as king for the rest of his life.  This will be his time to prove himself to everyone.  He will now be able to throw away his awful clothes on his back and put on magnificent royal attire.  Rama is very tired of looking like a peasant and is ready to dress like a king would.  He will have the finest of clothes on his back.  Bharata is beyond worried that Rama will not return.  He will take his life if Rama does not show up soon.  Bharata is pacing back in forth at Nandigram awaiting Rama.  Sweat is dripping down his body and his face has turned pale.  Little does he know that he will not have to worry much longer.  As he is worrying, Rama hops on his grand chariot and rides to Ayodhya.  Rama is ready to be king.  All of a sudden, Hanuman walks in the door to announce Rama's arrival to Bharata.  Bharata has now been assigned a task to announce to everyone that Rama is back.  Bharata jumps for joy at this wonderful news.  Meanwhile, Rama is so anxious for his coronation.  He prepares himself by napping, bathing, along with a day full of pampering.  He cannot believe that the day is finally here.  Hanuman and Sugriva even decide to show up.  What an awesome surprise!  Rama is very excited because of this and cannot wait for them to see him be coronated.  They show up in human form along with gods.  The gods hope that with this position, Rama will remember his divinity and let go of his human weaknesses.  Rama and Sita begin to actually get ready for the ceremony.  The atmosphere in Ayodhya is very joyous.  Rama has many plans to accomplish while he is king.  He worries not everyone will be loyal to him in Ayodhya.  As of now, he can only hope for the best.  We will soon find out what the future holds for Rama and the city of Ayodhya.      

Image search on Google of Rama.  Taken from Wikipedia

                                                           

Author's note:
I chose the end of this book to base my story on.  I found this part to be very interesting and exciting.  I kept my stories plot in the same time period with the same people. 

 Work Cited:
 Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Reading Diary B Week 3

I found Rama to be a very interesting character during the last section of this book.   I found it perfect to talk about Rama after I talked about his Wife Sita.

• Rama is a great warrior
• He has many great plans to rescue Sita and will never give up
• He always lent a helping hand and listening ear when needed
• Rama can sometimes get angry and frustrated when put into bad situations
• He is pictured as the perfect man for people to idol
• Rama will not give up no matter what
• He defeats Ravana in battle 
• Even though he was an enemy, he made sure Ravana had a grand funeral so he could go to heaven
• This shows a lot about his character
• He then sent Hanuman to get Sita
• Rama makes Sita do a test to make sure she is still pure 
• Sita was not happy she had to do this after everything she had been through
• Sita did not believe this was fair and I do not think it is either
• He welcomed Sita back into his arms as his pure wife
• Rama spent fourteen long years in exile
• Rama needed help so he could return to Ayodhya on time
• Bharata promises to take his life if Rama does not return
• Rama takes Sita and others in a chariot back to Ayodhya
•  Rama needs to remember he is divine according to the gods and he must stop having mortal weaknesses
• Rama was finally able to be coronated as king and Sita was coronated as queen
• This was well deserved happy ending for both Sita and Rama

Reading Diary A Week 3

Reading Diary A Week 3

Sita is a very interesting character to me in this part of the book.  Rama is so in love with her.  When she goes missing he does everything he can to find her.  Sita is a character that many women should look up to and emulate.  Even men and children can learn from her.

• She is the main female character in the book 
• She is pure and dedicated
•  Sita is a very timid character during this part of the book
• She has Lakshmana go help when she hears Rama call for help
• She is now all alone
•  Ravana come disguised and tricks her
• He is disguised as a poor old hermit so she believes he is innocent
• Ravana yearns for her and wants to make her his queen 
• He then reveals his real identity and kidnaps her
• She tries to warn him that Rama will come after him
• Sita fights to try to escape the chariot
• This shows she is determined and strong
• She is very scared
• Jatayu died tried to save her and is unable to tell Rama which direction Sita went in
• Sita threw down her jewelery while being kidnapped
• The monkey Sugriva finds it
• He agrees to help Rama find her
• Search parties are sent out to find her as soon as possible
• Her toe nails are red like rubies
• Her feet are then described in greater detail
• Rama told them what her voice sounded like, how she spoke, and how she walked
• Hanuman and Angada are in charge of the search party in the south
• Rama is desperate to find his love