Storytelling Styles

I have decided to write about sexism in the Indian Epics. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I have taken many women and gender studies courses, and am a huge proponent of certain feminist ideals. As I was reading the Ramayana there were countless instances of male bias, but I found two in particular that I want to use. Firstly, Sita’s return to Rama after she had been abducted. Sita had done NOTHING wrong, and yet she was met with hesitation and judgment when she met her husband. She had abstained from any behavior that would have compromised her marriage, even though that would have made her life much easier. She was the epitome of a kind and nurturing wife, and yet even she was met with harshness after all the trials she went through. Another example is Ahalya. She was submitting to her husband, whom she had no idea was a stranger until halfway through, and once she found out it was too late and she continued to be raped. Instead of consoling his wife, her husband turned her to stone for centuries, after which time she was told to go submit to her husband again, that her past had been forgotten. HER past. I cannot imagine that there is not similar male bias in the other epic we will study.

            The first storytelling style that interested me was possibly doing a therapy session between a therapist and Sita. I have not decided who would be the therapist. Sita would be traumatized from her trials during her kidnapping and would tell the therapist of her story and then the therapist would console her and tell her of other women in the same situation

            The second storytelling style was to reincarnate Rama and let him try to treat Sita in a new form like he does her in the Ramayana., and do the same thing with all the other couples in the three other stories I do. I think I could have a lot of fun with a modern version of these stories, and let ancient male bias take on the modern lady.

            A third idea was to have all the women who were shown male bias be in a support group and send letters to one another explaining their tales and how it affected them and just let them vent to each other and support each other. This probably would be an emotional style, as I would bring out the women’s inner feelings that they could only reveal to someone who had been in the same situation as them.

            Finally, I could do the classic beauty salon setting. What better place would there be to vent about male bias then at a beauty salon? I think I would begin with Sita walking in and telling the owner that she needed a new hairdo for her blind date tonight. Obviously then the other women would ask what happened to Rama, and she could tell them the rocky story of their undoing due to his chauvinistic ego. This could be a lot of fun as well.

 

Rama and Ahalya, from the studio of Raja Ravi Varma. You can see Ahalya at the very moment that she is emerging from the stone.
Web Source

 

Sources: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana

 

Week Three Storytelling: Ravana's Redemption

         All the festivities were arranged for Ravana’s funeral. Many people, including Rama’s brother Lakshama, wondered if this was appropriate for Ravana. He humbly asked his brother, “Do you really think this is all necessary for the demon who captured your wife and killed many of your friends? His lust is incorrigible. His greed cannot be satiated. He lived for death and destruction, and his own arrogance brought him to his demise. Plenty of extremely wise counselors told him that you were not to be trifled with, and that it was a mistake to underestimate your might. He was regaled of tales of how you broke Shiva’s bow. He heard of you sending a single arrow through the trunks of seven robust trees. He had knowledge of you giving up your throne to fulfill your father’s ancient promise, and also of you killing Vali, who was thought to be indestructible. Do you know what Vibishana told us Ravana’s response was? Ravana responded, “Why are you lost in such admiration for Rama? Because he snapped the old rusty bow of Shiva? Or sent his arrows through the trunks of those seven decaying trees? Lost his kingdom because of a hunchbacked woman? Killed Vali without daring to come up before him? Lost his wife through a very simple trick that I tried? I am astonished that after all this he has not taken his own life but continues to breathe and move about! An indeed you are his admirer” Sire, I cannot allow myself to celebrate the life of a man who has said and committed such terrible crimes against the brother I owe my life and allegiance to.”

           Lakshama breathed in deeply to continue his rant, but Rama gently raised his hand and silenced him. Rama admonished, “Stop, you do not know what you are saying. What Vibishana said is probably true, but that is in the past, and there is no use in bringing up old words. Ravana, however terrible he was, was capable of awesome things, and accomplished significant acts in his lifetime. He deserves a place in heaven along with our brothers. You did not see, but I looked into his face when he fell from his chariot. I did not see the conceit and lust and rage and egotism that has characterized him for his entire life. That had fallen away. What I saw was a devout and pure soul, who achieved enlightenment and greatness despite his acts in his life. This is why I celebrate him. For who he was, not what he had done.” At this, Lakshama tried to insert humble protests, but again Rama raised his hand and simply said, “That is all I have to say on this matter. Rally the people. It is time I spoke of the great Ravana.”

Ravana, by Anant Shivaji Desair
Web Source

Author's Note:

This scene is not included in the original telling of the Ramayana. I was fascinated by Ravana’s death scene, which mentioned the absolute peace that fell across his face as he died. I also was interested in the kind manner in which Ravana was regarded in the Ramayana, despite his absolutely treacherous acts. He was described as devout and possessing fantastic ability, and I thought this was a very kind way of describing such a horrible demon. I chose to illustrate this disparity between actions and perceptions in the form of Rama and Lakshama. This also fit well into the way the two brothers are portrayed throughout the entire epic. Rama is calm and wise, always patiently seeing the good in people and taking a very humble approach to his achievements. Lakshama, on the other hand, is the muscle of the pair and has been known to have a quick temper when  it comes to the brother he has devoted his life to protecting. Lakshama represents the humanistic view of what Ravana was, while Rama represents a divine perception, focusing more on Ravana’s achievements, potential, and devotion to the gods, despite the horrible acts that he nonetheless committed on man, gods, and many other beings.

Sources: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana

Reading Diary B: Ravana's Enlightenment

One thing that has really struck me throughout this entire book is how valued knowledge and enlightenment are. I think this is a characteristic that has a much higher priority in Indian culture than it does in other cultures. When Ravana was killed by Rama, there was no anger or strife. Naryan wrote, "Rama's arrows had burnt off layers of dross, the anger, the conceit, lust, egotism which had encrusted his real self, and now his personality came through in its pristine form- of one who is devout and capable of tremendous attainments. His constant meditation on Rama, although as an adversary, now seemed to bear fruit, as his face shone with serenity and peace." This struck me as an extremely cultural interpretation of Ravana's death. If this was an American epic, I think it would have focused on what power and might Rama had shown, and how Ravana deserved what he got and how justice had been served. That is what Americans focus on. Justice and strength and getting to the top. However, since this is an Indian epic, Ravana's enlightenment was what was emphasized. He did bad things, but he was devout and had greatness in him yet, and died a peaceful death and his soul was sent to heaven. To me, this is an incredible way to interpret his death. Knowledge and goodness are what was emphasized. I really enjoyed this scene of the book, I think it is very powerful and it added to the complexity of Ravana's character and also gave a lot of closure for the end of the book.

Hanuman, Rama, and Lakshmana attack Ravana
Web Source

Week Three Reading Diary A: Rama's Humanity

This week I was so fascinated with the way Rama was presented at the end of the book. He was so human. He made mistakes. I feel like through the first half of the book he was presented as this perfect god who could never make a wrong move. He stepped down from his throne and let his brother be crowned while he was exiled to the forest for fourteen years. That takes someone who is morally and intellectually pure. Rama is met and loved by anyone he encounters, and creates quite a following of extremely loyal followers. However, he has some human limitations. The first one is when he kills Vali, Sugreeva's brother. He did not know Vali, and the quarrel between the two brothers was not his to fight. Yet he killed someone in hiding who had done nothing personal to him, and this is considered one of Rama's greatest mistakes. However, he was right in doing it, and Vali gains enlightenment and salvation on his deathbed, and thanks Rama for what he has done as well as forgives his brother and asks for forgiveness back. Secondly, when Rama receives Sita back from her capture, he is resentful towards her and cannot accept her. This is heartbreaking to Sita, who has remained completely pure for her husband. I found it interesting and possibly a characteristic of Hindu gods that in his human reincarnation Rama had these human limitations, and was not perfect.

Bharata and Rama; note also the sandals on the throne; by Raja Ravi Varma
Web Source

Famous Last Words: Week 2

I really enjoyed the assignments for this week. I really liked the storytelling post that I did. This week I discussed Kaikeyi’s thoughts right before she blackmailed the king into allowing her two boons to be making her son king and exiling Rama for 14 years. This was an extremely emotional and passionate scene in this epic, and I adored it. I gave another level of complexity to this story by writing an inner monologue of what she was feeling: her remorse for treating Rama this way, her delusions of being cast out the second that Rama had gained the throne, and of her desire to get what she wanted. I could have written for days and just fleshed out the character of Kaikeyi. I think this is my favorite type of writing, using a story that already has a solid plot and a great set of characters and then just flesh out those characters and give them history and memories and motivations and reflections. I think that is what I want to do for my Storybook project. I have considered focusing on Sita, and looking into what is written about her past, and also comparing her character in both versions of the Ramayana that we read. She is a fascinating character and I believe is meant to exemplify what the perfect Hindu woman is, yet at the end she is exiled and forced to raise two sons by herself for fifteen years. Why did she get this lot in life? How could Rama, the hero of this story who is said to be loved by all and is kind and good to everyone he meets, treat the wife that he adored and loved like this? I remember reading a passage about he could not even lie still because he was so in love. How could he treat his wife like that, especially after she proved her innocence to everyone including him? These are questions I wish to investigate

Sita plays hide-and-seek with Rama; illustration by Warwick
Web Source

Possible Sotrybook Topic Ideas

Sita: I adore Sita in this epic. She is the epitome of kindness and affection and purity. I admire Sita, for the way she tended to her husband Rama, but also for the way she abstained from Ravana's desires while she was in captivity. It breaks my heart the way Rama treated her, Sita proved her innocence to her husband time and time again, and yet he sent his pregnant wife into exile and she raised his two sons until they were fifteen. Throughout the entire thing Sita was pure and kind and is my favorite character of this entire epic
Research so far: Obviously, I have read about Sita in the context of The Ramayana, and I have also read the source provided on the India Epics website. I am excited to read more about her!

Sita in the Fire
Web Source

Sexism in The Ramayana: I think this would be a fascinating topic to discuss, however I do not know if it is really appropriate for a storybook project. However, as I was reading The Ramayana it struck me how many times sexism and male bias presented itself blatantly. For one, Sita is the epitome of a good and loyal wife, and she is exiled for fifteen years just because her husband cannot get over his jealousy. Ahalya is raped by the god Indra and is turned to stone for her "transgressions". I would love to look at this epic in from the perspective of a modern educated young woman.
Research so far: Like I said, I have documented numerous cases of male bias already in the actual epic. I would like to read the second version of the Ramayana and see if the same male bias is present. I also have read two essays considering sexism in the Ramayana, and there does seem to be some argument there.

Karma: The idea of Karma as a mystical entity has always fascinated me. It is one of the few Hindu beliefs that I am familiar with, and even then I do not know much about it. I would love to write stories based on Karma, not only in how it affects future actions but in how past actions and lives can affect future actions. I could write endless stories on this.
Research: I have read the source provided on the Indian Epics website and also read the Wikipedia post on Karma

Kaikeyi and Dasaratha: I think it would be fascinating to explore the relationship between the king and his favorite wife. I would like to flesh out how it came into existence, and how it ended so violently. Kaikeyi ended up bringing Dasaratha to his demise, and this is such a passionate and violent relationship. There is so much to explore them
Research: I have read the Wikipedia pages on both Dasaratha and Kaikeyi as well as google searched the couple

Storytelling Week 2: Kaikeyi's Monologue

Kaikeyi paced her chamber excitedly. There was so much going on in her head. Damn that Kooni, for putting all these thoughts in her head. She was perfectly content and happy for Rama, and at the back of her mind she knew that he was the rightful ruler of this kingdom. She saw the way the subjects just adored him, and knew he was born to be a ruler. But then what? Even a ruler as kind and generous as Rama would toss her out into the street. Even if she could dazzle him with her soft skin and red lips, he was too caught up in that darling Sita. What did she have compared to that young, perfect angel? Nothing. She was getting older by the day, and soon her looks, which was the only thing she really had, would fade. She was not smart like her sister Lela, nor was she a talented singer like her younger sister Janika. She had only been able to marry a king due to her position in the caste and her looks. She had the king snared in her delicious trap, but that would all change when Rama took the throne. Kaikeyi sighed. This would not do. She would have to blackmail the king into making her son Bharatha king. He would never turn her out, he loved her unconditionally. The king did owe her two boons. He did not specify when she could collect them, and frankly that was his fault. He should have been more wise with his promises. She had lived in finery too long. She refused to be reduced to the handmaiden of the queen mother. How dare Rama! Had she not helped raise him? Had she not adored him from the second he was brought into this world? He was probably plotting her demise at this very moment. I will have to force Dasaratha’s hand. She knew the outrage this would cause. She was not an idiotic doll, as some thought. Oh yes, she had heard the rumors that circulate the palace. That she was nothing more than a sex doll for the king. That she had had to sleep with him before even the courting had begun to gain his favor. All lies, completely! Why, she had pushed the king away herself! He was old and she was in love with another. However, matters of the heart were not for a woman to decide, and she had accepted her lot in life and grown to love the king dearly. She had gained the spot of favorite wife, and that was not a spot she was going to relinquish. She had worked too hard, stayed up too many nights tending to that grandpa, to gain the position she had. As Kaikeyi continued with this train of thought, something happened deep in her soul. All the love, all the kindness she had been showing a mere 45 minutes ago, was devoured by a darkness. An angry, all consuming darkness. If demons could be born in the earthly world, here would be Kaikeyi in labor. She convulsed almost, and all the empathy and human emotion she had felt in her entire life drained out of her. Her face went to stone, her hands ice cold, and she set her jaw. It was time to face the king.

Kaikeyi and Dasharatha
Web Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note: I chose to write this from the perspective of Kaikeyi because I think it is fascinating the transformation she went through in this passage. Such a passionate and hateful transformation needed to be elaborated on. The sisters mentioned in this passage were not in the original story.

Sources: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana

Week 2 Reading Diary B: Kamavalli

This part of the story was so passionate and violent. I adore the way the author describes unrequited love. Nothing will subdue a person when they are in love and cannot be with the one they want. It is always too hot, as with Ravana. It is never soft enough, as with Sita. It is never quiet enough, as with Kamavalli. She suffered hallucinations in her cave of moping. And the jealousy is there too. She could not be more jealous of Sita. She even tries to steal her away, which is when Rama's brother cuts off her nose, ears, and breasts. I feel as if this has a lot of symbolism. The breasts, other than the vagina, are the one thing that is exclusively feminine about a woman. When he took those away from her, he really reduced her to nothing (in the sexist eyes of the composers of this epic). I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose my breasts, but to me this made her not a woman anymore in this story. She is now only a demon. She then uses this wrath to get her brother killed, and then talks Ravana into falling in love with Sita (there's that jealousy again). I love the passion in this story so far. It is like an ancient soap opera.

P.S.- The description of Ravana's court was also breathtaking

Ravana approaches Sita during her captivity.
Source: Wikipedia

 

 

Week 2 Reading Diary A: Ahalya's Story

Although I am thoroughly enjoying this story, I see so much sexism in this story and male-bias. The story of Ahalya is one prime example. For one, she is made of pure beauty. The text does not reference her intellect or her kindness, simply her beauty. That is all that is valued. Then, when the god Indra took her, she was helpless. There was nothing she could do about it, yet she was still punished. She was turned to stone for a millennia until A MAN came and relieved her of her punishment, which may I mention that after she had undergone this she was instructed to go back and serve her master, the one who had inflicted this upon her without even pausing to hear her side of the story. I adore this epic already but I am sincerely saddened by the amount of sexist views in this epic. Every villain is a female. Soorpanaka (Ravana's sister who tries to seduce Rama), Kaikeyi (The king's wife who makes him give up his son and eventually causes his death), Kooni (Kaikeyi's maid who convinces her to enact her evil upon the king, and Thataka (a demon). It gets a little frustrating when we oscillate between female villains and "thousands of women eager to serve their master in any way". Okay. Rant over.

Ahalya by Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906)
Web source: Wikipedia

Famous Last Words- Week One

This week was a lot of introduction for me, and I have already learned a lot about blogging and Pinterest that I did not know. I am really excited for next week when we get to delve into the Indian epics. I really have no idea what to expect. I know I have a very americanized, commercial idea of what Indian culture is truly like, and I really hope that this class can change that. I want to be educated and worldly and I think this class is the way to get to that. I really liked reading everybody’s introductions this week. It seems like we have a variety of students in this class, but they all share one common interest with me: they want to know more about these two epics and the Indian culture. Everyone seems to come from a variety of majors and backgrounds too, which is really nice. I expected everyone to be a humanities major except me (I am biochemistry). So it was really nice to read about someone who was an engineering major and someone who was a political science major. Everyone seemed to be an accomplished writer from the stories I read. I read one that was a metaphor of an old riddle, and it turned into this elaborate story about eggs waiting to be cracked into a frying pan. It was fantastic. I read another one about Jack and Jill, but it was not just an everyday Jack and Jill retelling. There was purpose and life to this story. There were details that made it seem modern and realistic, and something that could happen any day. I was really impressed by the level of writing I have already seen in this class and I look forward to more specific and intense writing from my peers as we continue this semester.


My favorite god that I have read about so far, the Hindu god Ganesha.
From FullStopIndia

Overview

This whole course is completely new to me! I do not know anything whatsoever about Indian culture and that is what prompted me to take this class. I am not just attending OU to get a piece of paper saying I am allowed to go to dental school. I am attending OU to get an education. I am really excited to study these epics.

I have always been interested in the god Ganesha.

Ganesha with two consorts,
Riddhi (prosperity) and Siddhi (spiritual power);
Web Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consorts_of_Ganesha

Storybook Favorites

The first storybook that caught my attention was The Tales of Dr. Love by Dillon Duke. I thought the title was interesting and that is what drew me to investigate the storybook. The first thing I noticed when reading the introduction was how engaging it was. It felt so realistic and I was able to picture really being in Cupid’s factory where he manufactures arrows to make people fall in love. It was fascinating. The little details are what really made the whole thing seem so lifelike. I really liked the font that Dillon used as well. It fit the topic well. The second storybook that I investigated was Ravana by Sheeba Aga. The first thing that struck me was the deep purple they used as the background for the site. I thought it fit well with the “devil” theme. The introduction was really informative too. Sheeba did not use any terms that would have been foreign to me without defining them, and I really appreciated that. This topic is something that I am familiar with, but purely from the Anglo-Christian perspective. There were many terms and concepts that Sheeba used that were completely new to me and the introduction did an excellent job of showing those and elaborating on them. The third storybook I found, and my favorite out of the ones I explored, was Yama’s Tattoo Parlor by Melissa Bishop. The originality in this story was stunning. She incorporated so many gods and terms into a modern spa setting. Her writing was extremely engaging and it was very clever to elaborate on multiple stories by telling them in a beauty salon. I really enjoyed the layout of the website as well, it looked exactly as I would imagine the God of Death’s spa/tattoo parlor would look if it existed.

Yama on his buffalo, as shown in Yama's Tattoo Parlor
Web Source: Land of Yama

Storybook Sources:
Dr. Love
Ravana
Yama's Tattoo Parlor

 

Introduction

Hello! My name is Marielle Crowell and I am a sophomore here at the University of Oklahoma. I am nineteen years old and was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. My major is Biochemistry and I am minoring in Psychology and Italian. I have a vast array of interests and trying to cram it into one major just did not work for me. J  That is what led me to this class. When I am not dying in super hard science classes I like to take humanities courses to broaden my education. I ended up taking enough psychology courses that it is easy and convenient for me to go ahead and get a minor in Psychology. I started taking Italian just last year and have grown to adore the language and the culture. I plan to go to dentistry school and become an orthodontist. I have 10.5 years of schooling left, and about 9 now. So I better get used to science classes. I am one of four daughters. I have an older sister who goes to Rose State, a twin sister who goes to OSU (yes, I know. We are all appropriately ashamed of her treachery) and a younger sister. There was a lot of estrogen in my house growing up. I am an avid piano player. I have played for ten years and am studying the instrument at OU as well. I plan to continue playing all my life. I am a devout Christian and my faith and church are a large part of my life. I have always been fascinated by myth and folklore but have never studied anything but the standard fables. I am excited to learn about epics of which I have no knowledge. I hope to get a broad overview of a culture I regrettably know nothing about and a deep understanding of two historic epics.

This is a picture of my twin sister and I taken by my grandfather.

 

Storytelling Week One: The Beauty Queen and the Nerd

Once upon a time there was a gorgeous girl named Brittany. She was homecoming queen of her high school and adored by all the boys. She became very narcissistic as she grew up being showered by attention from all the jocks, including the high school quarterback, Rick. Rick was a very kind and gentle guy, wise beyond his years, yet even he was powerless to Brittany’s beauty. They began dating and were the cutest couple in school. All of the girls were jealous. Yet as Rick and Brittany continued their relationship, things got worse and worse. Rick slowly started to discover how cold and dark Brittany’s heart was. All of the beauty in the world could not mask how vain and selfish she was. Rick encouraged Brittany to work hard at her studies and apply to prestigious colleges, like he was, but all Brittany could see was high school and how she ruled the school.

            Then there was Heather. Heather was quiet and shy, with ratty hair and no concept of makeup or how to wear it. She had grown up with Rick, and they were neighbors. She had secretly loved him for years, but had always been too scared to tell him. He was tall, charismatic and gorgeous, and she was timid and nerdy. As they grew up and Rick focused on football and Heather on her studies, they fell apart. Their relationship soon consisted of a friendly hello when they caught each other coming to and from their homes. Heather missed the childhood closeness they once had, however she had created her own life. She was happy, and on the fast track to a full ride to any college she wanted. Heather was brilliant at mathematics and science and had hopes of being a research scientist that changed the world. She knew high school was only temporary and was looking far beyond that. Heather knew of Rick’s girlfriend, and was secretly disappointed that he had been shallow and chosen the Barbie doll that everyone wanted. He never seemed happy with her, and Heather secretly did not care for Brittany. She had never had any escalated encounters with her, but she had always been snooty and Heather knew she and her friends secretly laughed at Heather’s plain clothes and flat mousy hair.

            One day all that changed. It was graduation, and everyone’s emotions were on high as they hugged each other and said their goodbyes to their childhood friends. As Rick came in to hug Heather, his heart began beating fast. He realized he cherished this sweet girl and did not want to end like this. He looked at his materialistic girlfriend, standing there barely acknowledging people’s heartfelt goodbyes, and saw his mistake. Rick made a decision. He walked up to Brittany and stated, “Brittany, you are beautiful. But your heart is hard and all you care about is yourself. I will not be with you. All you have are your looks and that is all you will ever have. I found a girl who is smart and driven and has worked hard to be successful in life, the kind of success that lasts. She is who I want”. Rick looked at Heather and added, “If she will have me?” Heather’s mouth dropped open. Then suddenly she ran up and kissed Rick, and everything, including Brittany’s frantic shrieks, drowned out as they only felt each other.

 

Authors Note: This story was adapted from "The Peacock and the Crane" where a vain peacock tries to impress a crane with his beauty, but is outdone when the crane is able to use his ugly wings to fly. I found it far more useful in high school to work hard at my studies than to chase guys, and that has helped me significantly since I started college. That is what prompted me to write this re-telling.
"The Peacock and the Crane" by Aesop, from The Aesop for Children (1919). Web Source: The Project Guru

 

Gate in Central Park by Paul Manship depicting The Peacock and The Crane fable. Web Source: Flickr

Favorite Place

My favorite place is Italy. I have been studying the Italian language for two years now, and have grown to love the culture and the country.

Picture of Breakfast in Italy
Source: FreeFoto

The Baptistery, Florence, Tuscany, Italy, ca. 1897
Source: Flickr

Picture of San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy
Source: FreeFoto