Week 7 Reading Diary B

• The whole scene of Rama's journey back to Ayodhya is so memorable. Rama tells Sita about what happened at certain places, how he met Hanuman ,and etc . Hanuman reminded me of Abu from Aladdin because they are both monkeys and they help out with the person's life.
• When Bharata heard that Rama was coming back, he was so excited that he cried! Because Bharata was going to kill himself if Rama did not come back, it was definitely a  good news.
• The coronation was just filled with Joy. I thought it was really cool that Sugriva gave collection of water from all world's river to Rama. Also, Sita gave a pearl necklace to Hanuman because Hanuman was the one who told Rama the message about the necklace that he picked up when Sita was abducted.
• I thought it was wrong for Rama to abandon Sita. Although the people were talking about about Sita, Rama should have kept her by he's side. 
• It was nice to find out the wishes Kaikeyi had to send Rama on a exile.Whenever Dasharatha was wounded, Kaikeyi took care of him and that is why she was grated those wishes/
• Sita gives birth to two sons in Ganges. 
• I thought it was crazy how the festival lasted for a year. They sang songs of the Ramayana.
• The friendship between Hanuman and Rama was amazing. When Rama was about to leave Ayodhya, he offered his jewelry to Hanuman to keep. Hanuman ripped opened he's body and showed Rama that his bones have name of Rama. This showed a great significance on how much Hauman respected Rama. 

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Week 7 Reading Diary A

• I thought it was very interesting for the Time or Kala to threatened Ravana. Because Ravana thinks he is the greatest one, there was nothing that could hinder him. Although time is something that could be stopped, Ravana was not scared.
• I saw it coming, but when Rama cut Ravana's head, it grew back again. Because Ravana had several heads, it was probably no big deal for him if the head was cut. The final between Rama and Ravana was very dramatic. When Ravana paralyzed Rama, I thought Rama could not survive. The suspension that was created during the battle made the story more fun.
• It was nice to see Rama defeat Ravana. Although Rama was paralyzed, at the end, Rama was able to kill Ravana. I like happy endings. 
• I thought it was very unexpecting to find the letter from Ravana to Rama. In the letter, it said that Rama should take Sita back. This was confusing because why did Ravana take Sita  in the first place? 
• I felt really sorry for Mandodari because she seemed like a good women. She was in sorrow because of Ravan's death.
• The significance of jewelry comes out again in this weeks reading. Whenever Sita was brought back, Sita pit Rama's ring on his finger. The whole ceremony had a significant meaning. 
• Because Sita was gone for so long, the fire God Agni came and proved Sita's innocence. All the ceremony and rituals describes how things were in India.
• It was nice to see that Hanuman getting rewarded for the things he had done to help Rama and other people.

The final battle ( image source)

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Week 6 Reading Diary A

• My favorite episode was when Hanuman was swallowed by Rakshasa Sinhika. The content was fully described and it was fascinating how Hanuman was able to come out from her ear. This episode reminded me of one biblical study. When Jonah was inside the shark's belly, he was eventually brought out. Although Jonah did not come our through the ear, the story seemed pretty familiar. 
• I thought it was very cool that Hanuman was able to change into a cat. It was a very smooth move.
• I loved the character Hanuman. He is very adventurous and spontaneous. I enjoyed reading over what he did in Lanka. He made a mess of  Ravana's house and destroyed the temple. It was nice seeing Hanuman giving revenge to Ravana. 
•  It was interesting to see the jewelry as a significant item. I thought it was interesting seeing Sita giving Hanuman a pearl to give to Rama.When ever Ravana captured Sita, she droped ehr jewelry too. I've noticed that jewelry has a lot of meaning in the Indian Epics because it happens redundantly. 
• For this week's reading, I think Hanuman plays the biggest role. He goes to Lanka and found Sita. Hanuman also sets Lanka on fire and brings back the pearl for Rama.
• I felt so great seeing Ravana mad because everything that was happening was a karma. Ravana have been evil since day one and I felt like Hanuman was punishing him for what he have done. Hanuman was the hero of this week's reading.

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Famous Last Words for Week 5

This week was a busy week! I had to work and there were some assignments I had to finish. Also, my first Physiology test in on Monday so I've been studying for that exam. Work was okay, except the new person that I had to train was a no call no show. Because of that, I had more time to spend at school. Work is getting pretty stressful. I might look for another job soon.

Valentine's Day was great! I met up with a friend and went to dinner. I went to a restaurant called the drum room and they had the best fried chicken! I mentioned that I love going on food adventure and it happened on Valentine's day, which was great! Since it was Valentine's day, I wanted to watch a romace movie. I decided to watch Fault in Our stars. I've always wanted to watch that movie, but I never got a chance to till this Saturday.Since my friend never watched it too, it was perfect! The movie was great, but I didn't cry. Everyone said that it was the saddest movie, but I didn't cry which was surprising.

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Next week is going to be busy! I have some exams and lab reports due. I just wish I can just graduate right now. I am pretty nervous about the test tomorrow. I also have couple days off this week which I am pretty excited about. I might enjoy sometime not worrying about school and go spend some more time with friends. I should probably go watch the fifty shades of grey. I wanted to watch that movie, but it was all sold out :(

I enjoyed reading many stories this week. I realized that a lot of the students in my class are very creative. I am starting to get used to the assignments which is great!

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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.

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Author: Warwick Goble

Rama spurns the demon lover

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.