Indian epics Topic

Heroes and Heroines

I am interested in this topic because heroes and heroines have always been relevant when I grew up and they still are. It would be really cool to learn if there was like a superman hero type or something along those lines in Indian epics. I would also like to learn more about who was the most powerful also. I would like to learn more about the Indian epics heroes and heroines such as the story about Dharma. I have learned about Rama and Sita by reading some of the Ramayana already but it would be nice to learn more about the different characters such as Hanuman or Lakshmana.

Animal Characters

I have always been interested in animals and it would be nice to learn more about the animal characters in Indian Epics. It would be cool to see if any animals were perceived as great in Indian epics. Not just great but more rare their others also or maybe if an animal brought luck or brought bad times in their life. I can see by some research that there are many famous monkeys and birds. They also have many other famous animals to learn about and it would not matter which except maybe the most important ones in Indian epics.

Karma

It would be nice to learn more about Karma and the true meaning. I have always been skeptical about karma but I am not saying I do not believe in it because it seems like if you do something good or bad it always comes around for better or worse. I have done research about Karma and it seems to me like its something that happens depending on how nice they are to people in their life or if they treat people rudely.

Warriors, Battles, Weapons

Of course for a guy these types of topics always catch our eye so it would be interesting to learn more about this. I would like to learn who the most powerful warrior was and the battles and which ones were the most important. It would be really great to see which ones have the most impact on the warriors. It would be really cool if they had any weapons that the warriors would use more or less. I have heard about the Vajra and the Trishula but it would be great to learn more about the weapons and certain battles that the warriors were involved in.

Hero

Storytelling for Week 2: The wedding

Rama steps into the region of Mithila where everything he notices is so colorful and the beauty of the region is nothing like he has ever seen before. The towers, bridges, and turrets are all gold. He then notices all the people are dressed so nicely and always wearing a piece of clothing or jewelry that are gold. The gold color begins to grow on him and he knew that this is somewhere he wanted to start he life but all of a sudden something changed. He never thought he would see a person so beautiful and his heart began to race. He knew he could not pass up the chance to meet her. As he was glancing at her, he was not aware that she was the princess of Janaka’s palace. He did something so bold that his companions were in shocked at what he had done. He reached to his side and grabbed a rope and when he was close enough he threw this rope up to the balcony edge, and to his amazement the rope attached to the edge. While he begins to climb the rope, Sita was also in amazement about what is happening. She does not know what to feel at this point except the nerves that began to arise. Rama reaches the top and they both engage in eye contact that begins to come their nerves. Rama reaches for her hand and Sita unsure what to do at this point starts reaching for his hand. Rama does not introduce himself like a proper gentlemen would do instead he begins to say how beautiful she is and how the moment he saw her he had to do something to be up with her. While Rama keeps talking about how amazingly gorgeous she is, Sita stops him. He thinks this is where the bad news comes but he was dumbfounded on what she says next. The look on his face when he started to comprehend the words coming out of her mouth was pure shock. Even the companions around the princess and Rama did not know what to think of what she was saying. Rama did not what to interrupt Sita as he kept letting her talk. As she kept going on Rama started to think of how he would respond to what Sita was saying but still listening to everything she had to say. What Sita had to say will forever be a mystery except to Rama and the surrounding companions.


Authors Note: The Wedding story is a little bit long but the part of it I am going to focus on is when Rama entered Janaka’s palace and saw a beautiful princess named Sita on the balcony and he was so star struck by her beauty he did not really know what to think. As time passed he kept thinking about her and how he wanted to meet her but he went on to say it did not matter if he met her he just wanted another chance to see her. The princess Sita always had an idea of meeting with Rama. She of course did not have the affection yet that Rama already did. Rama seemed to already been in love at first sight. He had such a great passion for seeing her again in the story. It also mentioned that Rama was going to plan on finding away to see her again and not just wait for another chance on seeing her like he did the first time. The story made it seem like it was foreshadowing a part in the story where they would meet and get to know each other more and possible a little foreshadowing to a new relationship.


Bibliography: Story title: The wedding, Book title: The Ramayana, Author: R.K. Narayan, 2006, The link is N/A because of iBook’s but its on page 57 for me.

The moment 

Week 2 Reading Diary, continued: The Ramayana"

In the part B of the reading the wedding (pg.57) is another one of my favorite part. The part were they crossed the moat surrounding Janaka's place and Rama observed Sita on the balcony. I like it because of the details the author incorporated when Sita and Rama saw each other at the same time and how the author tells the reader what Sita was dressed in. It then goes on later and Rama begins to brood over the girl he noticed on the balcony (pg.60). He began to realize he was lonely and kept thinking of how he wanted to see her again. It seems to me that Rama wanted to be with her even without meeting her yet. On page 71 the topic two promises revived begins. This part of the Ramayana is another good part because of the plot. We are introduced to Dasaratha which is the King but wants to shift his burden to a younger person. I like this part because we read that the younger person is Rama. Rama is the best fit for the job in my opinion and Dasaratha also wants to have him because of his compassion and courage, which is just the few compliments he gives him. Its a great part of the book because Rama turns into the new king. A couple pages later the author then begins to talk about Kaikeyi and Kooni. These characters are very close to each other and create a nice theme to a new relationship. The story begins to get a little tense toward the end of Part B, which creates for an interesting ending. 

Ramayana

The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan (iBooks)

Week 2 Reading Diary: Narayan's Ramayana

When I read a story, I am also very interested in how it starts off and it does a great job explaining what this story is going to be about and introducing new details to make the reader (me) interested enough to continue to read. I like how it goes into explain what Diwali is because it is the most important indian festival. This story is great because it introduces so many characters and the details about each one which makes it easy to know who everyone is. I like how their is basically a story within a story. Rama's story is very interesting and has great twist and turns in it. My favorite character is Rama and how he fights for his loved one even though later he has his doubts and lets her go but is so heartbroken he decides to join Sita is heaven. Throughout the years it seems like the Rama's story has different versions mostly because people have their own twists on the story and what they thought should of happened. As the story goes on one of my favorite parts is how the Ramayana has lessons in the presentation of motives, actions and reactions, applicable for all time and for all conditions of life. The Thataka's story is also great because it kept me involved with the storyline, which is important to get the full effect. The best story in my opinion was the last one, Ganga's story, it was a different type of story then any other story I have read. All of the stories were unique but Ganga's story was great because of the theme involved.


The link is N/A, I bought the book on iBooks. Author: Narayan. Ramayana

Ramayana

Learning Challenges

Time is the concept that intrigues me the most. Time is limited and for me I want to make the most of it everyday. There should not be a day that goes by where myself or anyone else does not do something meaningful for their future. I say that because we cannot take back time but we can use of time to make our future more meaningful. Time is very important and it is important to always use it wisely. I always want to better myself and working on my time management is very important.


http://oulbh.blogspot.com/

Use your time wisely 

Growth Mindset

I have not heard of Carol Dweck before or her concept of the growth mindset. I heard about it through this post I am doing. I do see this concept good for my school work because I do not believe an F should define yourself but a not yet is something I never thought of. I believe school now is too much about grades instead of really learning the material. Being a formal athlete I also can relate to this and it would be effective if used in the sports world. Once I got to college, I realized how much effort can correlate to your grade you want. The biggest challenges about learning new things for me is how the teacher gets their point across and the type of material that are assigned for us. I think the growth mindset is very interesting and I do want to learn more about it. My personal goal is to do my best in my classes and learn the most I can regardless of what grade I get. I am excited and worried about all of my classes this semester.

Growth Mindset

Storybook Favorites

1. A place to start published by The Entrepreneur. This story is about a different education the character Drona wish he had. Drona wishes high school was not about a standardized schedule but more about hands on stuff and things that would really help us in the future. This topic is not familiar with me but I can relate to what he is saying. The introduction does a great job on explaining the topic and wants me want to read more of it. The layout and design of the page has a huge affect because it is really well done. Overall, the layout and design is fantastic. If I could I would have just copied his design exactly. https://medium.com/the-entreprenuer/arrogant-bennings-20bc31c0a9b1#.n4cp73cft

Image from the Storybook

2. Introduction: From the Journal of Sara Rivers. The storybook is about a criminal investigation and the introduction is a bit of a mystery, which is a great start because it keeps the reader interested in what happens. This topic is not familiar with me so it was an interesting read for me but the topic does a good job in letting me know what the Storybook is about. The overall design is unique and I thought she did a great job of the layout and I would definitely use some features in my own project.
https://sites.google.com/site/cithegoddessfiles/introduction-from-the-journal-of-sara-rivers

Image from the Storybook

3. Law & Order: SSU. The storybook is about the Shape Shifters Unit and this topic is not something I am familiar with but the title does a great job letting me know what to expect from the rest of the reading. As well for the introduction does for explaining the topic and grabs my attention. The creative style of the title led me to read more of the introduction and the layout and design does a great job. The overall design is good because it provides images and easy navigation. I see some things I could use for my storybook as well.https://sites.google.com/site/indianepicslaworderssu/

Image from the Storybook

Overview

I plan on reading the R.K Narayan's Ramayana version because it has only one single, modern style instead of the different styles by the other authors. I would also rather be reading the main version he published in 1973.

I have not had an epic literature class, mythology, or religion class before throughout my education. I have also not studied Indian Culture before or have I been to India. I have listen to some Indian music in one of my world music classes. This is all new to me but it will be exciting to learn about everything.

I chose this image because it represents the real story that Narayan published