Ramayana Microfictions

Story 1: His arrogance led to his downfall.

Story 2: Sita slept fitfully, dreaming of the man she yearned for. She watched as the sun rose, and tears fell from her face as she realized it would be another day without him.

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Author's Note: For the first one, I chose a 6-word microfiction to re-tell Ravana's story. I found it really interesting that he thought so little of humans that he didn't even bother to ask to be invincible against them. Even though there is obviously more depth to it, this fatal flaw of his can be summarized fairly well in six words.

For the second microfiction, I chose a two-sentence story about Sita longing for Rama after seeing him from her balcony. I also wrote my week 3 story about this, and while description definitely helps the story, keeping it short is almost more emotional.

Bibliography: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. By Kamban and R. K. Narayan.

Image information: Sunrise from Pixnio.

Biography: The Abandoned Mobile Home

As a child, I was extremely interested in any kind of adventure. Pair that with having two very curious siblings and you get a recipe for disaster. Well, maybe not disaster, but definitely danger. Seriously, I don't know how we didn't get severely injured or kidnapped.

One of my earliest childhood memories is when I would venture into my neighborhood's woods with my siblings. We would trudge up the hill and were blissfully ignorant of the ominous signs around us that definitely indicated kids should not be alone in that area. In those woods, though, sat an abandoned mobile home. Plants had grown around and inside it, peaking through gaps in the flooring. Broken plates, book pages, and miscellaneous objects were strewn across the floor. We had to be extremely careful about where we stepped to avoid shards of glass and sticky residue from who-knows-what. We figured the place was haunted, but my older brother would always act brave and promised to protect us if anything happened. Looking back, I can't believe I thought a 10-year-old would be able to keep us safe from strangers and hazards... But at the time it gave me the courage I needed to explore freely.

After years of exploring the woods and the mobile home, one day we went back for another adventure and the mobile home was gone. We can only assume it was removed from our neighborhood because hooligan kids (a.k.a. me and my siblings) would stupidly explore the extremely dangerous, decrepit, and hazardous trailer. While it was probably for the best, it still makes me sad that it's no longer there. It almost makes the memory feel like a dream since I have no proof. Still, this childhood memory will remain as one of my favorites for life.

(This isn't the mobile home, but it is eerily similar. Source: Mobile Home from Pixabay.)

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Author's Note: I chose this topic because it was nice to be able to reminisce on my childhood before life was too serious. It's a good reminder that life can be as fun as you make it, no matter where you are. You just have to seek out adventure sometimes, or make your own. I chose to write it the way I did because it needed to have a nostalgic feeling while also being informative. I want the reader to know how important this memory is to me, and I want them to feel like they were there with us. The length just came naturally--it was as short/long as it needed to be to get my point across. I didn't want it to be boring and excessive, but I also didn't want it to be so short that I wouldn't be able to be descriptive.

Famous Last Words: Week 3 Assignments

Overall, the assignments for week 3 went well. They definitely took me longer than expected. I was hoping to be more ahead by now, but life got in the way. I am finding it more difficult to get through a book (The Ramayana) than the short stories we read in Myth and Folklore, but taking notes definitely helps. I just do not have enough of an attention span to keep up with the book. There are so many details that I feel like I have to remember or else my re-telling won't make sense or will be too inaccurate. I am definitely overthinking it, though, so that is something I am going to work on.

I really enjoyed the story I got to write this week. It took me a while to decide on it, but once I did, the writing came really easily. I am definitely getting better about not being a perfectionist, and knowing that I can go back at any time and edit the story really helps. My best strategy for writing currently is to just jump in and refuse to edit until I at least type a few sentences.

My other courses are going well so far, although we are only two weeks into the semester. Things are definitely starting to pick up--the number of deadlines and quizzes I have over the next two weeks is already stressing me out. This course provides the creative relief I need when my other classes are just too much.

Over the next week, I'm hoping to buckle down and get organized. Every semester I end up spending the first two weeks dropping and adding courses because somehow, no matter how much I plan when enrolling, something changes and I have to change my schedule. Now that everything is solidified, I can actually start putting due dates in my calendar and create a study schedule.

To finish, here's a picture I took this week of my dog, Yumi. :)

(Personal image of Yumi)

Feedback Strategies: Navigating Language

How to Give Feedback Without Sounding Like a Jerk - This article gives four steps to help make criticism sound constructive, which can be really difficult. I am not the most eloquent with words, so giving criticism is difficult for me. You have to choose the right words to find the line between harsh and encouraging, which I struggle with. The tips in this article are really helpful because they give a straightforward approach to providing constructive feedback. One of the tips I appreciated was that you should ask if the person even wants feedback. If they asked for feedback in the first place, your words are going to sound a lot less condescending to start with. 

What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow? - I love what this article is hoping to accomplish. We really need to make sure we are speaking to kids kindly and correctly, especially when they are so sensitive to words. My favorite tip from this article was harnessing the power of "yet." This is not only a great tool for kids--it works for anyone. We should encourage others and ourselves to recognize that we aren't going to be perfect at something on the first go. We are constantly learning, and just because we haven't gotten it yet doesn't mean we never will.

Learn from your mistakes image from Growth Mindset Memes blog

When it comes to feedback, we need to first and foremost be kind to each other. Recognizing that other people can be extremely sensitive and defensive is important. We should learn how to properly navigate language to make sure we are providing constructive criticism that won't cause harm. Though it can be difficult, it's a lifelong skill that can be extremely useful to have. I personally definitely need to work on my feedback-giving skills, as I tend to end up sounding harsher than intended. I hope this semester I can work on that so that I can actually help people improve their writing.

Topic Research: Borgin and Burkes

For my storybook topic, I am going to use the antique shop Borgin and Burkes from Harry Potter. This shop has a reputation for selling dark and shady objects, but it also sells old, strange, and powerful magical objects. Those objects would be from Indian Epic stories. They would tell the story of the person who sought after or owned it. The customer (Tom Riddle, the Malfoys, Bellatrix, etc.) would come in either seeking that specific object or they would look around and it would catch their attention. The shop owners--Burke (who hired Tom Riddle) and Borgin (who seemed to solely operate the shop after 1992)--would tell the story of the item through answering the customer's questions. Also, just for fun, I'll keep a list of all the objects I come across while reading Indian epics so that I can include them as background details/description while customers are looking around.

• Story 1: Ashwatthama's jewel - According to that Wikipedia page, "Ashvatthama is born with a gem on his forehead which gives him power over all living beings lower than humans; it protects him from hunger, thirst, and fatigue." I believe we will read about this when we get to the Mahabharata, so I would use that as my story source (here is the public domain version). This jewel would be a perfect item for Tom Riddle to encounter while working in Borgin and Burkes. He could ask Burke questions about it but try not to seem too eager so that Burke wouldn't be suspicious. 

• Story 2: Cintamani Stone - This stone fulfills wishes, and its a great candidate for an object in the shop. I think I would use Lucius Malfoy for this one, and Borgin would explain the stone's history to him. I found this reading guide that mentions the stone, but the actual book is 450 pages... so I'm not sure about that. I was having a really difficult time finding a succinct story about the stone, but I'll keep searching because it's definitely an object worth reading and writing about. 

• Story 3: Brahmastra - Reading K of this version of the Ramayana mentions the brahmastra. This would be an ideal weapon that a Death Eater would seek out for Voldemort. I would definitely have Borgin be overly cautious and weary about selling it, seeing as it is so destructive. 

In my research, I also found the Syamantaka Jewel (reading guide here), which could make for a fun story. Also, for my own reference, I think I'll find this page useful in the future (I'm especially interested in astras).

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Image information: Entrance to Borgin and Burkes antique shop. "Borgin & Burkes" by HarshLight is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Week 3 Story: Sita's Despair

No matter how hard she tried, Sita could not stop thinking about the man who had caught her eye. In all of the years that she had spent on that balcony watching people walk below her, she had never been so captivated. Images of him replayed over and over in her mind: his strong gait, which had paused as he turned to look at her; his kind eyes, which had trapped hers momentarily; his beautiful smile, which had grown more radiant in the moments their eyes had locked. She sighed with frustration, realizing she was failing miserably at forgetting about him.

Her maids came and went, trying to console her but to no avail. The days passed in tears. What was the point in doing anything if she couldn't have him?

When she learned that a man had been chosen for her to marry, her stomach dropped. Her dread was unmatched. Her new husband would only serve as a constant reminder of what she could never have. She felt hopeless and empty.

On the day of the wedding, she felt numb. As her maids dressed her and complimented her beauty, Sita could only smile faintly. From inside the castle, she heard children outside laughing and people dancing to music. She opened her curtains slightly and peered out into the streets. Colorful decorations were hung on every building and there was not a single unhappy face amongst the crowd.

How could anyone be happy on a day like this? she wondered. How could there be a celebration when she felt so wretchedly?

She tried to perk up, knowing that she would have to accept her marriage eventually. Why ruin a day that is supposed to be one of the best of her life?

Walking through the crowds, she tried to quell her sadness and put on a brave face. As she approached the altar, though, she stopped in shock.

Could it be? she thought, for at that moment her eyes locked for the second time with the man she had shed so many tears over. Rama grinned at her, as radiant and beautiful as ever. Sita returned the smile with one of her own, an unfamiliar expression in the past weeks but one she would never forget.

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Author's Note: In Narayan's Ramayana, there is a part where Sita and Rama see each other momentarily, fall in love without even talking, and then expect to never see each other ever again. They both grow extremely depressed about this, but then it turns out that Rama succeeded in performing the task that was required to be able to marry Sita (the task was lifting, bending, and stringing Shiva's bow). I decided to re-write this because I wanted to focus on Sita's emotions in the situation. I also wanted to re-write it because I felt like the original omitted a lot of personal reflections that Sita was probably dealing with, and I felt that it was important to address them. Also, from the original story I couldn't figure out exactly when it was revealed to Sita that it was actually Rama she was going to marry, so I just assumed it was the moment of the wedding.

Bibliography: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. By Kamban and R. K. Narayan.

Image Information: Sita and Rama from Flickr

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana, Part B

Some of my favorite parts from part B:

• I loved the below lines because they're really unexpected. It's not something you see often in stories where there two people are respecting each other so well. Bharatha and Rama are arguing that the other should be king:

In a world where we are accustomed to rivalries over possession, authority, and borders, and people clashing over the issue, “Ours,” or “Mine, not yours,” it is rather strange to find two people debating whose the kingdom is not, and asserting: “Yours, not mine.”

• Time after time, Rama shows his good heart. Even after Kamavalli tries to seduce him over and over, he still says no. No matter what she offers him, he refuses. I love that his character is so golden and good, and that each tempting thing he encounters magnifies this. 
• Mareecha (Ravana's uncle) seems to be the wise Uncle Iroh (from A:TLA) kind of character. He has had to deal with Rama before and he knows that Rama can't be beat. So he tells Ravana to stay away from him, but Ravana refuses to accept this and convinces Mareecha to help him capture Rama (using the reasoning that Rama mutilated his sister so they should both want revenge). 
• Currently I'm thinking I could re-write one of these parts of the story. I'm really enjoying the story and characters, but the writing just feels dull. It could use some modernization and added color and creativity. 
• Mareecha lures Rama out of his cottage by taking the form of a golden deer that Sita wanted him to catch. When Sita is left alone, Ravana comes out to talk to her. 

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Bibliography: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. By Kamban and R. K. Narayan.

Image Information: Bharata and Rama, with Lakshmana, Sita, and Hanuman (print by Raja Ravi Varma)

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana, Part A

Some things I really liked about the Ramayana:

• I love that King Dasaratha is a good, kind king who is loved by his people. The text says he "ruled with compassion and courage."
• I love a good fatal flaw. Ravana asked for divine protection against gods, supernatural beings, and other non-human things, but he overlooked the thought that a human could ever beat him. So he never asked for protection against humans (or monkeys, which is what the text states Ravana will be defeated by). His arrogance could lead to his downfall, and a story is so perfectly born out of that!
• King Dasaratha was very reluctant to allow Viswamithra to take Rama, but finally agreed. It was obvious how painful this was for Dasaratha. 
• Sita and Rama. It was really fun how they were in love in a past life, and their reincarnated selves found each other again. I love that idea! I do think it drags on, so it could be a good writing exercise to re-write this one. 

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Bibliography: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. By Kamban and R. K. Narayan.

Image Information: Sita and Rama from Flickr

Tech Tip: Creative Commons Browser

In my opinion, the most tedious part about making posts last semester was finding images because you have to make sure they're okay to use (i.e. no copyright issues). I saw this tech tip for a creative commons browser extension and was intrigued immediately. It should make searching for and downloading images so much easier!

I just added the extension and searched for the first thing that came to my mind: an image of a dog. Here's what that looked like: 

I downloaded the second image and copied the attribution super easily! I will definitely be using this tech tip this semester. 

"A cute Dog 4" by Chen Vision is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0