Week 4 Story: Rama's Conflict

Edit: You can find the revised story at my portfolio here.

The tide of the war appeared to be changing. My fellow men and comrades were fighting back the onslaught of Ravana and his army of demons. We had found new hope. Garuda had restored our physical bodies to pristine condition. Our mental strength became fortified with every passing minute. We knew we were going to win the battle and end this demon's reign of terror. I glanced to my right and saw Sugriva rallying his army of monkey warriors. I turned to my comrades and did the same. Everyone answered to the rallying cry and we charged back into the darkness. 

The demons came from every direction. They were mischievous and dreadful on the battlefield. Ravana and his demons resorted to cheap tricks and magic while fighting. They could not be trusted to engage in traditional combat. Sugriva and his monkey army fought valiantly. They began to overwhelm some of the rakshasas. I continued to plow my way through the demons towards the palace. I had an endless desire to defeat Ravana and end this conflict for good. All seemed to be going well.. Until everyone on the battlefield heard the thunderous noise emitting from the palace.

The ground began to shake violently. I stumbled backwards as I had lost my footing. The monkey warriors began to cower. I saw fear in their faces. They began to walk backwards as they became more afraid of what was waiting on the other side. A monstrous roar deafened our ears, and my worst fear had come true. The demon Kumbhakarna came soaring through the air. He crushed the earth as he landed and immediately began reigning terror. With one swing of his arm he sent hundreds of monkey warriors flying through the air. Kumbhakarna began to devour them by the handful to try and satisfy his insatiable hunger. The hope had diminished from everyone's eyes. We were suffering heavy casualties all across the battlefield. Kumbhakarna had managed to capture my dear friend and leader Sugriva. I knew I had to act soon. I knew that I had to be the one to slay this monstrous demon. I nocked my arrow and jumped into the fray...

(A photo of Rama fighting Ravana. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Author's Note: My story comes from a section of the Ramayana. The scene takes place during the fighting between Rama's forces and Ravana's forces. Rama and his forces seemed to have turned the tide of the battle as they were recently healed by Garuda. The forces of the monkey king and Rama battled fiercely against Ravana and his demons. There was a lot of back and forth action and Rama appeared to be taking a stand. However, Ravana summoned his brother Kumbhakarna. His brother was a giant and ferocious demon. His brother would sleep for six months and awake for only one day. During his one day awake, he would consume a monstrous meal and go back to sleep. Kumbhakarna begins to dominate the battlefield as he kills thousands of monkeys and even captures Sugriva. Rama engages in battle with the demon and emerges victorious. My story focuses on Rama's internal conflict during the struggle from a first person perspective. I wanted to continue to buildup to the battle scene. I want to extend this story to include the battle or make an entire story solely dedicated to the battle itself.

Bibliography: Ramayana Online from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie. Source: Blogspot

Reading Notes: Ramayana Online, Part D

I finished up the reading for the Ramayana today. This was definitely an interesting and unique experience for me. I do not think I have read an epic in quite some time. It was really cool to read about the adventures of someone as powerful as Rama. I took notes over the most favorite sections of mine in part D.

• I read the battle scenes and instantly knew this is what I wanted to write about
• The scenes capture so much emotion and violence
• I love the fact that Rama and the monkey's are teaming up together
• The demon forces of Ravana are very strong
• It looked grim for a while for Rama and his comrades
• The demons did not fight fairly on the battlefield
• They resorted to magic and tricks to injure and kill Rama and his men
• I did not expect the tides to turn for Rama and his men so easily
• Lakshmana appeared to be dead and hope did not seem evident
• I did not expect the help of Garuda
• I think it would be really cool to detail what Garuda did as he healed the Rama and his men
• Kumbhakarna was a terrifying and ferocious demon
• Just as the tides seemed to be turning in favor of Rama, more bad things happened
• I think the battle between Rama and Kumbhakarna went largely untold
• I have so many cool things I could include in this fighting scene
• Kumbhakarna killed thousands of monkeys and took their king
• It would be awesome to detail these events and put some emotion into the story

These last few sections were some of my favorite in the entire epic. The battle scenes described here were truly awesome and entertaining. There is so much I could do with these battle scenes. The monkey king and his people were some of my favorite from the entire epic. Reading about Rama and the monkey kingdom fighting together was truly incredible.

(A photo of Rama battling titans. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography: Ramayana Online from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie. Source: Blogspot

Reading Notes: Ramayana Online, Part C

I continued with my reading for this week. I am now on the third part of the Ramayana. I decided to again take notes over the sections that I really enjoyed. I think that I will be able to retell the best story from these sections.

• I really liked the character of Sugriva
• I was curious to see if he was in any way related to the Monkey Sing, Sun Wu
• I really like the idea of being able to write about the Monkey King and his people
• I think the new team of Rama and Sugriva opens a lot of doors for new adventures
• I might create some crazy new heroic story revolving around their travels
• The tale of Sugriva was a sad one. It was hard to see brother turn on brother like that
• Vali was eager to challenge Rama and his brother Sugriva
• I knew that Rama could not be defeated by Vali
• I found the format of this section to be a bit difficult to follow
• I would like to change it to more of a traditional storytelling format
• The decision of Rama to help Sugriva did not surprise me
• However, it was a bit random for Rama to wait in ambush
• I did not expect Rama to ambush his allies foe
• I can see how it is considered controversial to some
• I think Rama was moved by Sugriva's will to fight and wanted to help his new friend
• It was difficult for the whole kingdom to lose its king
• It was hard for Sugriva to come to terms with his brother's death
• I would like to explore Rama's feelings after the battle
• There are a lot of cool options for me to write about this week concerning these events

I think there are a lot of directions to take the storytelling this week. I will continue to think of ideas and different ways to retell these events. I am open to changing the battle scene. 

(A photo of Rama and Lakshmana meeting with Sugriva. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography: Ramayana Online from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie. Source: Blogspot

Feedback Strategies: Indian Epics

The two articles that I read really highlighted some of the same beliefs that I have about feedback. The two articles were How to Craft Constructive Feedback and Be a Mirror. I have always tried to be positive when I give others feedback. I have always tried to keep a positive mental attitude and not be negative in my feedback. It can be hard at times to constantly stay positive. I think that there is a nice balance when giving feedback. You should not be afraid to give suggestions, but you also do not want to make the receiver feel like their work is not good. I really liked what one of the articles suggested. It said to focus on what the reader is doing. It is sometimes easy to nitpick someone's work and look at what they do not have. Instead, we should focus on what they do have and give positive feedback based on that. Another great point that the first article made was to "suggest" what the creator might do. I find this one particularly useful especially when I am receiving feedback. 

My advice when giving feedback is to just be confident in offering suggestions while also being mindful of the person you are giving feedback to. You should put yourself in their shoes and think about what would be useful to you. I would like to try being more honest with the people I am giving feedback to. Overall, once you find a method that works for you just roll with it. 

(A photo of a man trying to provide feedback. Source: Flickr)

Topic Research: Indian Epics

I decided to research more about different heroic figures. I am not completely decided on using this as my project topic, but I feel like it is a great start. I can also use these sources to possible tie into one of the other project topics that I have.

The first stories that I researched cover the hero Krishna. They comics are found here. These stories would be used to detail the travels of Krishna and his accomplishments. The stories about him killing demons would be a real attention grabber for my project.

The second set of stories involve the King Vali. I would like to read about his adventures due to his flawed arrogance. I could present the story in a way that teaches a lesson. I'm still pondering this idea. His wiki page is here. The comic is in the library.

The third set of stories involves the King Harishchandra. I think these stories would tie in well with the idea of teaching a lesson. I read his wikipedia page (here). I though that he would be a great character to fit into the storybook if I do indeed go down the route of highlighting good/bad characteristics. I will look at purchasing it from amazon using the link on this page.

I am still spitballing different ideas for my storytelling style. I might choose the traditional path of just recreating different heroes and detailing their travels. I might also choose to highlight the good and bad characteristics/deeds of certain heroes.

(A photo of a super hero graphic. Source: Pixaby)

Week 3 Story: The Exiled Son

I had finally returned to the kingdom that I had been missing for so long. I was eager to see my father as it had been quite some time since I was able to embrace him. I missed the people of the kingdom. There were many people that I had longed to see since my long journey began. I missed my mother, Kaushalya, and my brothers. I was anticipating a warm welcome from the people of the kingdom and my family. I had heard a rumor that I was going to be crowned as the Yuvarajah (crown prince) upon my return to the kingdom. I was excited to see if this rumor would come to fruition. I had long awaited this moment, and I was hoping that my father would finally recognize me as the crown prince to take his place once he is gone. This was something that I had dreamed of for years, and I did not want to be met with a disappointment.

As I returned to the palace I noticed the vast amount of decorations that adorned the walls, ceilings, and halls. There was a joy amongst the people, and I could tell that their was excitement on everyone's face. I strutted into the throne room and immediately saw my father sitting on his throne. I was very eager to greet him. I continued to march forward. However, as a I got closer I noticed that something was wrong. My father looked sick. His face was sagging and he looked pale. He did not have his normal glowing face. He looked like he had been poisoned by something or someone. I saw that one of his queens was hanging on his shoulder. She was whispering in his ear and starting at me. I looked intently upon Kaikeyi as I did not trust her in the slightest. I began to move towards my father to embrace him, but she swiftly put that to a stop. She did not let me father stand, and she did not let me get any closer.

I was confused by her actions, so naturally I questioned what she was doing. Kaikeyi began to explain the boons that my father owed her. She told me of my fourteen-year exile. I noticed the smirk on her face as she delivered the message. My father looked down in agony, as he could not come to terms with the events that were transpiring. I began to tremble with anger as Kaikeyi kept speaking. My father was being poisoned in the mind. I knew that I should not act out of anger. It was not the right time or place. However, I felt an uncontrollable urge consume me. I tried to fight it but it began to take over my body. In my frustration I let out a yell and lunged towards Kaikeyi...

(A photo of King Dasharatha as he is asked to banish Rama. Source:Wikimedia Commons)

Author's Note: My story is based on a retelling of two of the sections in the Ramayana Online. The sections follow the events that take place as Rama returns to his father and Kaikeyi. Rama is unaware of the events that have transpired recently. Kaikeyi has requested the banishment of Rama for the next fourteen years. King Dasharatha was forced to grant the boons that Kaikeyi requested. Rama accepts the terms of his banishment without hesitation out of the love he has for his father. I decided to take these events and create a story that had a unique ending. In the Ramayana, Rama leaves the palace to fulfill his banishment. I thought that it would be interesting to change Rama's mindset and have him take out his frustrations on Kaikeyi. I set up the story to where Rama was returning from a long journey. I also told it from a first person perspective to better capture Rama's mindset. I ended the story with a cliff hanger so that I could possibly continue the story for another week.

Bibliography: Ramayana Online from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie. Source: Blogspot

Reading Notes: Ramayana Online, Part B

I read through the next twenty sections of the Ramayana today. I enjoyed quite a few of the different segments, but I decided to take notes over the two that I thought I would have the best time retelling. I focused my notes on those two sinceI have a good idea of how the storytelling should be done.

• The emotional distress that the death of King D caused was apparent
• It was an emotional scene that was captured well within the story
• Bharata had no clue of the events that had been taking place recently
• It was interesting to see that Bharata had no interest in assuming the throne
• He vowed to return his brother Rama from the forest
• I think this shows the loyalty that the brothers had for each other
• This could also be seen from the fact that Rama did not venture exile alone
• Bharata showed self restraint by not taking his frustrations out on the person that had caused such distress
• I think the emotional level will be hard to recreate in a retelling
• He was dealing with the death of his father like any other normal person would
• He was confused by his father's actions and what the purpose of banishing his brother could have been
• The people and the family wept for their fallen king and father
• I think that it would be fun to explore this moment and tap into the emotions of everyone involved
• The dedication that Bharata displays is of note
• He is determined to find his brother that had been banished
• In the end both brothers decided to honor the will of their father
• I am sure that this decision was tough for them to accept 
• However, they abide by what their father wished out of love and respect for him

(A photo displaying the birth of the brothers. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography: Ramayana Online from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie. Source: Blogspot