Famous Last word for Week 4

This week was a busy week! I had so many assignments due and also had a crazy work schedule.

I was sick on Monday so I was unable to do Diary A, but I put a lot of effort on Diary B.

I wrote Diary B with some bullet points and I think that is a good way for me to write the diary assignment because it makes it easier for me and the reader to understand the main idea of the stories.

I read Nidhi's story and I really liked her story. Her story had full of details and did an awesome job changing the story of Rama's successor story into the fight between the Queens. I think her story was successful because she did a great job changing up the plot a little which added more drama between the character. She also did a great job at organizing the story because it was really easy for me to follow along.

My other classes are going well and I have start studying for exams which are coming up next week!
I am currently taking Human Physiology and it is getting harder and harder every week. I need to find a time to sit down and go over the concepts.

I went to Dallas this weekend to hear Nick Vujicic speak. He is a Christian evangelist who does not have arms or legs, but he turned his weakness into hope. He was talking about how there is hope and that the hope is in God. He also made me realized that there is a never-ending hope even for a person like him. I also volunteered at the autism mission center in Dallas. My church college group went and helped out the the program.

Image Source

This week made me realize a lot of meaning in life and that I should be thankful for what I have.

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.

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.

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.

Week 4 Reading Diary B

• It was interesting to see how Buck's Ramayana differ from Narayan's Ramayana. The story had more details and character compared to the Narayan's Ramayana. Although the story slightly corresponds to each other there were many differences between the two books. I personally thought the Narayan's Ramayana was easier for me to read.  
• The story of Kaikeyi reminded me of how evil and selfish she is once again. Because she was scared of Rama becoming a king, she demanded Dasharatha to make Bharata the king. She also demands Rama to be sent out to the forest for fourteen years. Kaikeyi's actions showed insecure and greed as her characteristics. Kaikeyi also tried to ask Dasharatha to teach her the language of animals. When I read this, she reminded me of the women from the bible name Delilah. Delilah was a women who Samson loved and she led Samson into downfall because Samson told her his secret. I feel like if Dasharatha had a better wife, he would've had a better overall life. I was glad to see that Dasharatha did not tell Kaikeyi the language of animals because she probably use it against him. The character of Kaikeyi made me mad because I felt like she was controlling Dasharatha. 
• I was glad to see that different people and sage were willing to help Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana. When they were sent to the forest, they had Sage Bharadwaja and Guha to help help them in various ways.  It was nice how housing was provided by Bharadwaja and that Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana had place to stay.

Image Source: Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana