Storytelling for Week 4:Diary of Kaikeyi
Storytelling for Week 5: Diary of Shurpanakha
Storytelling for Week 7 Sita Abandoned
Storytelling for Week 12: Rishyashiringa
Showing posts with label Portfolio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portfolio. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Storytelling Week 12: Story of Rishyashringa
My name is Rishyashringa and I am going to tell you a little story about me. In my story, there are two significant events that happened to me. I am going to tell you a story about my birth and how I met my lovely wife. I hope you enjoy.
Birth story:
When my parents first told me my birth story, I was a little disturbed because it is quite unusual. To start off, I am a little different from others because I am half deer and half human. My birth story sounds embarrassing, but here it goes. One day, my dad, Vibhandaka, was taking a walk around his house. He told me it was part of his daily routine. While he was walking around, he said he saw someone at the lake. Because there were so many bushes around the lake, he could not see who it was, so he decided to get close up. When he got close to the lake, he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. The beautiful women was an apsara named Urvashi. He told me that she was so beautiful that he immediately ejaculated and the sperm went into the lake. Vibhandaka was so embarrassed about what had just happened. As he was leaving the lake, he saw a deer drinking the water. My dad did not know that this event would result in a birth of son. Through this dramatic story, I was born.
Because my mom is a deer, I have some unique looks. I have an antler on my head and some spots on my body, but luckily, all the rest is human. The unique mixture of DNA also resulted in some superpower because I was able to control the weather.
How I met my wife:
It was just a normal day. I was just outside of my house enjoying the weather. Some lady came to my house looking for me. It was weird meeting another human because the only human I've interacted with was my father. This lady's name was Shanta and I just fell in love at first sight. All of sudden, she hugged me and kissed me. I was surprised by her action, but I liked it. Since I did not have any human friends, it was nice interacting with another human. She stayed over that night and we had a great time.
After I put Shanta to bed, Dad asked me to come speak to him. I thought my dad would be happy for me, but he told me to stay away from Shanta. He said she was evil. I could not listen to him because I was already in love with Shanta. I told him that there was nothing he could do because I was already in love with her.
She stayed for the rest of the week. Shanta told me that she was princess of Anga and that she needed to go back soon. I asked her if I could go with her and she happily said yes!
The next day, Shanta and I packed up and went to Anga. When we arrived there, it started to rain and Shanta seemed so happy. I asked her why and she told me that Anga has been waiting for my power because they were going through a drought. Although I felt used a little bit, it did not matter because I loved Shanta.
Author's Note
I decided to write a story about Rishyashringa. He had an interesting birth story and I thought he was a good character to write about. I was quite shocked when I read his original story because the content was pretty sexual. I wrote the story in first person so that the story came from Rishyashringa's point of view and made it sound like he was telling a story to some other person. I kept the original story for the most part, but added little details so that it would not be the same as the original. I made Rishyashringa have spots on his body and described each event more in-depth. Other than that, I wanted to keep the story original. I found the perfect picture of Shanta and Rishyasringa so I thought it was suited for my story. In the picture, it displays the antlers on his head which shows that he wan't a full human. The one thing I learned from this story was that no matter how we look or where we are from, we deserve to be loved and to love. Although Rishyashringa had a different look, Shanta fell in love with him. I hope we all can love like Rishyashringa and Shanta.
Bibliography:
Birth story:
When my parents first told me my birth story, I was a little disturbed because it is quite unusual. To start off, I am a little different from others because I am half deer and half human. My birth story sounds embarrassing, but here it goes. One day, my dad, Vibhandaka, was taking a walk around his house. He told me it was part of his daily routine. While he was walking around, he said he saw someone at the lake. Because there were so many bushes around the lake, he could not see who it was, so he decided to get close up. When he got close to the lake, he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. The beautiful women was an apsara named Urvashi. He told me that she was so beautiful that he immediately ejaculated and the sperm went into the lake. Vibhandaka was so embarrassed about what had just happened. As he was leaving the lake, he saw a deer drinking the water. My dad did not know that this event would result in a birth of son. Through this dramatic story, I was born.
Because my mom is a deer, I have some unique looks. I have an antler on my head and some spots on my body, but luckily, all the rest is human. The unique mixture of DNA also resulted in some superpower because I was able to control the weather.
How I met my wife:
It was just a normal day. I was just outside of my house enjoying the weather. Some lady came to my house looking for me. It was weird meeting another human because the only human I've interacted with was my father. This lady's name was Shanta and I just fell in love at first sight. All of sudden, she hugged me and kissed me. I was surprised by her action, but I liked it. Since I did not have any human friends, it was nice interacting with another human. She stayed over that night and we had a great time.
After I put Shanta to bed, Dad asked me to come speak to him. I thought my dad would be happy for me, but he told me to stay away from Shanta. He said she was evil. I could not listen to him because I was already in love with Shanta. I told him that there was nothing he could do because I was already in love with her.
She stayed for the rest of the week. Shanta told me that she was princess of Anga and that she needed to go back soon. I asked her if I could go with her and she happily said yes!
The next day, Shanta and I packed up and went to Anga. When we arrived there, it started to rain and Shanta seemed so happy. I asked her why and she told me that Anga has been waiting for my power because they were going through a drought. Although I felt used a little bit, it did not matter because I loved Shanta.
Author's Note
I decided to write a story about Rishyashringa. He had an interesting birth story and I thought he was a good character to write about. I was quite shocked when I read his original story because the content was pretty sexual. I wrote the story in first person so that the story came from Rishyashringa's point of view and made it sound like he was telling a story to some other person. I kept the original story for the most part, but added little details so that it would not be the same as the original. I made Rishyashringa have spots on his body and described each event more in-depth. Other than that, I wanted to keep the story original. I found the perfect picture of Shanta and Rishyasringa so I thought it was suited for my story. In the picture, it displays the antlers on his head which shows that he wan't a full human. The one thing I learned from this story was that no matter how we look or where we are from, we deserve to be loved and to love. Although Rishyashringa had a different look, Shanta fell in love with him. I hope we all can love like Rishyashringa and Shanta.
Bibliography:
- Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Storytelling for Week 7: Sita Abandoned
It has been almost ten thousand years since Rama and Sita were back in Ayodhya. Throughout all these years, Sita wasn't able to have a baby. Although she wanted one very much, Rama was too busy taking care of Ayodhya.
There was an episode which led to this tragedy. Ten thousand years ago, many things happened to Sita. Sita was abducted by Ravana and had to live with him at his palace for a long time. Because people knew about Sita living at Ravana's palace they gossiped about Sita saying that she was dirty and not pure. The only person who did not hear the gossip was Rama. The gossip was cruel, so no one spoke about Sita in front of Rama.
Lakshmana and Sumantra left Sita at the Ganges river. The Ganges river was the home of the goddess Ganga, who was an Indian Goddess. Ganga invited Sita to the water to clean her. Although Sita had been there two weeks ago, Ganga encouraged Sita to be cleansed once again. After Sita was done with the cleansing procedure, Valmiki came and took Sita to his hermitage. Sita was so confused and did not know what was going on. Valmiki informed Sita about the situation and Sita was shocked. Time passed and it was time for Sita to go into labor. Sita thanked the Gods for providing a place to give birth. Sita had mixed emotions about her life at that point, but she was able to give birth to two handsome sons, Kusha and Lava.
One day, Sita heard some great news which might change her life. Sita was finally pregnant! She was so joyous that she could not handle her emotions that were going through her. Sita had tried so hard to become pregnant. The first thing that popped into her mind was to tell Rama the good news! When Rama heard the news, he was so happy! Sita also wanted to visit the Ganges river as a family tradition. Every woman who got pregnant visited the Ganges to make the body clean. Because the Ganges river was considered sacred, she wanted to go to the river and make sure that she was cleansed before she gave birth. However, there were some unexpected tragedies that were waiting for Sita.
There was an episode which led to this tragedy. Ten thousand years ago, many things happened to Sita. Sita was abducted by Ravana and had to live with him at his palace for a long time. Because people knew about Sita living at Ravana's palace they gossiped about Sita saying that she was dirty and not pure. The only person who did not hear the gossip was Rama. The gossip was cruel, so no one spoke about Sita in front of Rama.
Sita was still at the Ganges and one day, Rama was walking around the garden to refresh his mind. While taking a walk, he saw two of his officers talking and heard them gossiping about Sita. He hid behind the tree to listen to the officer's conversation secretly. The two officers were talking bad about Sita and calling her names because she lived with Ravana for a long time. Although Rama knew that Sita lived in Ravana's house, he did not know that people were talking bad about her. Rama knew that he could not have Sita live with him anymore because he did not want his reputation ruined as a king.
After a couple weeks, Rama called his brother,Lakshmana, and gave him a mission. The mission was to take Sita to the Ganges with Sumantra, who was the prime minister, and to abandon Sita there. It has been only a couple weeks since Sita came back from Ganges, but she was about to return to the Ganges. Although it was cruel, Rama had to make a decision. He did not want to hear people talking bad about Sita. Lakshmana thought it wasn't fair for Sita, but there was nothing he could do about the situation. Since Rama was the king, Lakshmana did not want to do anything that was against Rama. While this was all going on, Valmiki, King Janaka's friend, found out that Sita was about to be abandoned. Before Sita's father, King Janaka, passed away, he told his good friend Valmiki to watch over Sita. Although Valmiki was a hermit, the Gods allowed him to have the power to travel from place to place in a split second. To carry out this will of King Janaka, Valmiki was going to save Sita no matter what.
Lakshmana and Sumantra left Sita at the Ganges river. The Ganges river was the home of the goddess Ganga, who was an Indian Goddess. Ganga invited Sita to the water to clean her. Although Sita had been there two weeks ago, Ganga encouraged Sita to be cleansed once again. After Sita was done with the cleansing procedure, Valmiki came and took Sita to his hermitage. Sita was so confused and did not know what was going on. Valmiki informed Sita about the situation and Sita was shocked. Time passed and it was time for Sita to go into labor. Sita thanked the Gods for providing a place to give birth. Sita had mixed emotions about her life at that point, but she was able to give birth to two handsome sons, Kusha and Lava.
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author: Himachal Pradesh
Author's Note
I decided to retell the story of Sita when she was abandoned by Rama. When I read this story, I thought it was very heartbreaking. I felt sorry for Sita. Because of the fact that Sita had to live with Ravana for years, many people talked bad about her and said she was not innocent. After ten thousand years, she was able to become pregnant. Even though she was pregnant, Rama was bothered by all the gossip and rumors going around about Sita. Due to all the gossip and rumors, Rama decided to abandon Sita at the Ganges. For the most part, I kept the original story. I added some details on how Valmiki and King Janaka were friends. I thought adding a character like Janaka to the story made the story more interesting because he was able to save Sita from her misery. There were changes made to the time frame of the story because I made Sita go to the Ganges two times. I inserted the picture of Valmiki's Hermitage in the story. I picked this picture because Valmiki's hermitage was where Sita gave birth to her sons. I thought it was significant for her to give birth at a place other than her palace.
Bibliography
- Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Storytelling for Week 5: Diary of Shurpanakha
Dear Diary,
Its been too long. I am so in love with Rama. Although he is married to Sita, there is nothing that stops me from loving Rama. I cannot just stay still and wish that he will love me back in the future. I need a plan to earn Rama's love. Even though Ravana and Rama are not on good terms, there is nothing that can change my feelings for Rama. I know it is very stupid of me to have this affection for him, but I really can't control myself. I remember when I first saw Rama. He was looking for something to eat in the wild. Whenever he was struggling to find things to eat, I would leave some food in front of his house. Rama is just so attractive and good-looking. Although he does not know me or recognize me, my love for him will never fade away. I am going to tell him how I feel about him tomorrow.
Dear Diary,
I appeared in front of Rama and asked him if I could marry him. Without hesitation, Rama rejected me. It hurt so much that it made me want to kill Sita for taking my love. My uncontrollable instinct caused me to act like a jerk. I slapped Sita's face and she slapped me back. Because she knew that I loved her husband, she was mad at me also. I understood her side too, but there was nothing I could do about how I felt about him. I tried to rip her hair out and beat her up, but Lakshmana stopped me. Lakshmana knew that I was going to hurt Sita and become Rama's wife. To them, I was just an evil man's sister. Lakshmana knew that I was Ravana's sister because I told him before.I regret telling him that I was Ravana's sister. The world is so unfair to me.
Dear Diary,
On the next day, Ravana heard about the fight. Ravana wanted to pay back to Rama for beating me up. Because Ravana has so many heads, his thought process was unpredictable most of the time. I sensed that he was going to do something to Sita. Ravana's servant pulled me aside and told me Ravana's plan. She told me that Ravana was going to go visit Uncle Maricha and ask him to capture Sita with him. Out of all of my family members, Uncle Maricha had the reputation of being the strongest one and he was unbeatable. Ravana needed Uncle Maricha's power to capture Sita. I just did not understand why Ravana wanted Sita so bad, but I hope he does capture Sita. Now that I think about it, it is probably because Sita is beautiful. Although I don't see it, I heard many men wanted her as their wife before she married Rama. If Sita gets captured by Ravana, I might have a chance with Rama and become his wife. I am going to go pray to God so that Ravana and Uncle Maricha will win the battle against Rama. If they win, I will be able to have Rama by my side.
Author's Note
I chose this character because Shurpanakha appeared to be a very unique character. I like the fact that she was related to Ravana which made the story more intense. The story reminded me of those typical love stories such as Romeo and Juliet in which you fall in love with your enemy. Rama and Ravana were the worst enemies at the time and the story makes it more dramatic because Shurpanakha is Ravana's sister. It was sad to see her rejected in the story, so I wanted to elaborate on how she felt about Rama. Although she knew that Rama loved Sita, she was brave enough to confront Rama about her feelings. I chose to write a diary so that I could explain how Shurpanakha felt about the whole situation. I added some details about Shurpanakha's action toward Rama such as bringing food and slapping Sita. The book does not provide enough details, so I decided to add little pieces of details to make the story seem more dramatic. I made some changes to characters from the story. I had Ravana get involved with the story and made Maricha one of the strongest demons. I picked the image of Rama spurning the demon lover, Shurpanakha. The image portrays the feelings of both Rama and Shurpanakha. The picture clearly portrays how she felt when she got rejected. In the picture, it seems like Shurpanakha is on the ground mourning and Rama is telling her to go away.
Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
Dear Diary,
On the next day, Ravana heard about the fight. Ravana wanted to pay back to Rama for beating me up. Because Ravana has so many heads, his thought process was unpredictable most of the time. I sensed that he was going to do something to Sita. Ravana's servant pulled me aside and told me Ravana's plan. She told me that Ravana was going to go visit Uncle Maricha and ask him to capture Sita with him. Out of all of my family members, Uncle Maricha had the reputation of being the strongest one and he was unbeatable. Ravana needed Uncle Maricha's power to capture Sita. I just did not understand why Ravana wanted Sita so bad, but I hope he does capture Sita. Now that I think about it, it is probably because Sita is beautiful. Although I don't see it, I heard many men wanted her as their wife before she married Rama. If Sita gets captured by Ravana, I might have a chance with Rama and become his wife. I am going to go pray to God so that Ravana and Uncle Maricha will win the battle against Rama. If they win, I will be able to have Rama by my side.
Author: Warwick Goble
Rama spurns the demon lover
I chose this character because Shurpanakha appeared to be a very unique character. I like the fact that she was related to Ravana which made the story more intense. The story reminded me of those typical love stories such as Romeo and Juliet in which you fall in love with your enemy. Rama and Ravana were the worst enemies at the time and the story makes it more dramatic because Shurpanakha is Ravana's sister. It was sad to see her rejected in the story, so I wanted to elaborate on how she felt about Rama. Although she knew that Rama loved Sita, she was brave enough to confront Rama about her feelings. I chose to write a diary so that I could explain how Shurpanakha felt about the whole situation. I added some details about Shurpanakha's action toward Rama such as bringing food and slapping Sita. The book does not provide enough details, so I decided to add little pieces of details to make the story seem more dramatic. I made some changes to characters from the story. I had Ravana get involved with the story and made Maricha one of the strongest demons. I picked the image of Rama spurning the demon lover, Shurpanakha. The image portrays the feelings of both Rama and Shurpanakha. The picture clearly portrays how she felt when she got rejected. In the picture, it seems like Shurpanakha is on the ground mourning and Rama is telling her to go away.
Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Storytelling for Week 4:Diary of Kaikeyi
Today, I heard that Rama was going to be successor after Dasharatha. After Dasharatha appointed Rama as a successor, he was so excited for the coronation ceremony. Dasharatha was telling me about all the great ideas he had for the coronation ceremony. I was happy seeing my husband happy about something because he has been stressed about a lot of things. Dasharatha had too much on his plate that he could not sleep well for weeks. Dasharatha had to deal with the Gods and kings from other kingdoms, so making Rama the next successor was definitely good news.
I came back to my room all happy for Rama. I told Manthara, my maid, to prepare some hot water so that I could take a bath. While she was preparing the water, she told me she needed to talk to me. I told her that she could talk to me while I took bath.
After Manthara brought the water, Manthara said,
" Your Majesty, this might sound crazy, but you cannot make Rama be the successor. I heard from Rama's maid that once he becomes the ruler, he is going to kill you and your son."
When I heard this, I was devastated. I fell on the ground with anger and was scared for the future. I could not believe that Rama would back stab me in this way. I've tried so hard to become Dasharatha's beloved queen and I felt like I was about to lose everything I had worked for. I could not let Rama ruin my life or Bharata's life. I think this is enough chaos for the day. It is time for me to go to bed, but I do not know if I can fall asleep. Good night.
" Your Majesty, this might sound crazy, but you cannot make Rama be the successor. I heard from Rama's maid that once he becomes the ruler, he is going to kill you and your son."
When I heard this, I was devastated. I fell on the ground with anger and was scared for the future. I could not believe that Rama would back stab me in this way. I've tried so hard to become Dasharatha's beloved queen and I felt like I was about to lose everything I had worked for. I could not let Rama ruin my life or Bharata's life. I think this is enough chaos for the day. It is time for me to go to bed, but I do not know if I can fall asleep. Good night.
Image Source : Dasharatha and Kaikeyi
Next day
I could not sleep at all last night, and I cannot fall asleep again tonight either! I could not sleep at all last night. I was stressed and worried about what I should do to stop Rama from becoming the successor. I thought about killing him, but I was too scared to do that. I also thought about requesting a battle between Bharata and Rama so that they could fight for the throne.I went to go talk to Dasharatha first thing this morning. A long time ago, I had two wishes which Dasharatha granted me for doing him a favor. I decided to use both of them to save my life. First, I told Dasharatha to make Bharata the king. Second, I told Dasharatha to send Rama off to the forest for fourteen years. Dasharatha was upset because of my request, but he promised me that he would listen to my wish.
Although my request was out of the blue, Dasharatha listened to my wish and made my wish happen. Although I felt a little bad for Rama, I could not let him ruin my life. I also felt bad for Sita, Rama's wife. After all the chaos, the day ended up being a joyful day because Bharata came back from grandfather's house. I could not wait to tell him the good news! Bharata was happy to hear about the great news that he was going to be the new successor. For now,I made sure that he did not know what I did to Rama because I didn't want him to feel bad for him. Honestly, I think Bharata will probably figure it out sooner or later though. As a mother, all I wanted to do is to make my son happy. If people find out about what I did, they might think that I am evil and greedy. I do not know if I did the right thing, but hopefully, there won't be any Karma. I am going to sleep now. Good night.
I could not sleep at all last night, and I cannot fall asleep again tonight either! I could not sleep at all last night. I was stressed and worried about what I should do to stop Rama from becoming the successor. I thought about killing him, but I was too scared to do that. I also thought about requesting a battle between Bharata and Rama so that they could fight for the throne.I went to go talk to Dasharatha first thing this morning. A long time ago, I had two wishes which Dasharatha granted me for doing him a favor. I decided to use both of them to save my life. First, I told Dasharatha to make Bharata the king. Second, I told Dasharatha to send Rama off to the forest for fourteen years. Dasharatha was upset because of my request, but he promised me that he would listen to my wish.
Although my request was out of the blue, Dasharatha listened to my wish and made my wish happen. Although I felt a little bad for Rama, I could not let him ruin my life. I also felt bad for Sita, Rama's wife. After all the chaos, the day ended up being a joyful day because Bharata came back from grandfather's house. I could not wait to tell him the good news! Bharata was happy to hear about the great news that he was going to be the new successor. For now,I made sure that he did not know what I did to Rama because I didn't want him to feel bad for him. Honestly, I think Bharata will probably figure it out sooner or later though. As a mother, all I wanted to do is to make my son happy. If people find out about what I did, they might think that I am evil and greedy. I do not know if I did the right thing, but hopefully, there won't be any Karma. I am going to sleep now. Good night.
Author's Note: I decided to write a diary of Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi was one of the three wives of Dasharatha. When she heard that Rama was going to be the successor, she was happy, but later, she decided to make her son, Bharata, the king. Because Kaikeyi's servant told Kaikeyi about Rama's supposed plan, Kaikeyi try to stop Rama from becoming the successor. I decided to write about how Kaikeyi felt during the times. I've made some changes from the original story to add more drama and detail. To make the story more intense, I had Manthara create a rumor saying that Rama was going to kill Kaikeyi and Bharata. I believe that this added more reasons why Kaikeyi sent Rama into exile. I also condense the time frame to fit Bharata's arrival from the grandfather's house. I also change the reaction of Bharata when he heard that he was going to be the successor. I found Kaikeyi's character pretty interesting because she had both good and evil in her. I added some details which could go with the actual events. Although she is an evil character, I wanted to add some humane side of her and thought that writing a diary is a good way to show that she had some good in her. In the picture on the left, Kaikeyi is lying down because she was so jealous when she heard that Rama was going to be the successor. That scene was in the anger room and the picture depicts how angry Kaikeyi was.
Bibliography : Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
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