Idea 1: Harry Potter - I'm extremely tempted to do another Harry Potter storybook, where I take HP characters and apply Indian Epic plots/motifs to them. I just had so much fun with it last semester. I still have so many ideas, and my HP obsession is still as strong as ever. If I choose this idea, I might do a Parvati or Padma story this time to reflect the content of the class. Something from The Sons of Rama: Luv and Kush — The Invincible Twins could be applied to them. It could be really interesting to write a backstory for them based on that story. Another idea is that I could use the pensieve for all of the stories, or I could do something with Filch's files of past students and the chaos they've caused.
Idea 2: Museum or Pawn Shop - I had a super fun time with this story I wrote last semester, where I created a museum and put objects from the story on display to tell the story. I'm interested in the idea of using objects/memorabilia from Indian Epic stories and creating a virtual museum with them. I would tell each object's story on a "display card." Similarly, I could instead do a pawn shop where a character or a file tells a story through an item that has been sold to the shop. For example, there might be an object someone was desperate to get rid of. One story, for instance, could come from the jewels in Vasantasena, A Dancer and Her Most Precious Jewel. The display card, museum curator, merchant, etc. (whoever the storyteller is) would tell the story of Vasantasena through them. This gem would also be really interesting to write about here!
Idea 3: Standing trial in the afterlife - I would take a character and describe their story/stories through them defending themselves in an afterlife trial. They would try to get into heaven by telling a judge all the good things they had done and defending themselves for all of their bad actions. The judge would then decide if they were worthy of heaven. I'm not exactly sure if I could do this one since I'm sure many of the beings in Indian Epics are immortal or reincarnated, but it seems like a fun idea. I'm really interested in the afterlife and how people's lives are going to be measured, and I feel like writing about a normal court doesn't have enough of a consequence (compared to writing about a court in the afterlife, where the consequence is either eternal happiness or pain).
A story for this one could be from any character who has led a particularly bad life, or someone who has made a horrible mistake. The story of Krishna and Shishupala: He Was Forgiven a Hundred Times could be a candidate for this one.
Idea 4: Psychic reading / Fortune teller - For this one, characters would come in to the shop of a psychic or fortune teller (I'll have to do research to figure out what the difference is between those two...) and ask to have their future told. The psychic/fortune teller would tell the character's story through predictions and various psychic techniques (palm reading, crystal ball, tea leaves, etc.). The character would give their various reactions (anger, frustration, glee, etc.) throughout the reading, and the predictions would sometimes be very vague and nondescript. I'm interested in this idea because of the psychic characters in one of my favorite series The Raven Cycle, as well as Trelawney from Harry Potter (will I ever stop mentioning Harry Potter? Probably not, haha). Their ways seem so ludicrous but can actually lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. Also, psychic stuff is just fun. Subhadra: Beloved Sister of Krishna and Balarama could be used here. Krishna could seek out the psychic to solve the dilemma mentioned in the summary.
Psychic Shop image from Joel Kramer on flickr
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