“Grandpa, Grandpa, tell us a story!”
“Ohhh,
I don’t know if I have any stories. You might have to jog my old memory as to
what you mean.”
“Tell
us about the time you helped Rama!”
“The
time I helped Rama? Well…let’s see…who’s Rama, again? That fellow who lives
over in Ayodhya? What’s so special about him?”
“Don’t
be silly, Grandpa! You know who Rama is! He’s the bestest hero that ever lived!
He’s Vishnu himself! You know who he is!”
“Oh
right, that Rama. I’m beginning to
remember now. Hmm…I first met Rama in the forest when he was just a young man,
searching for his beloved wife, Sita. He did me a huge favor when I was in need…but
that’s a story for when you’re older. What he did for me was so great, in
return I offered him the assistance of myself and all my people. We monkeys are
fantastic warriors, as you well know. I had until the rains ceased that year to
gather an army to go with Rama. We were to find where that demon Ravana was
holding Sita captive, then go rescue her. Of course, I spent the entire time
training as many warriors as I could find. After what Rama had done for me, I
owed it to him to be able to give the best assistance – ”
“Oh,
you're wrong there! Husband, your memory seems to have some lapses. Here, children,
gather around me and I’ll tell you what really
happened with Rama. Grandpa here had been stuck wandering the forest for years, and he was so happy to finally be
back in Kiskinda that he got, well, a little…distracted. The rains came and the
rains passed, and Grandpa hadn’t done anything
to prepare for the war. I don’t think he even realized what day of the week
it was! Rama and Lakshmana tried to be patient, but of course they had Sita to
worry about. Lakshmana finally came to check up on us, not hiding his anger
very well – ”
“Neither did you, when you found out
what was up.”
“I’ll
ignore your mumbling, dear. He had reason to be mad. Why, he and Rama were just
sitting out in that forest, exiled, going through who knows what physically and
emotionally! Anyway, I tried to barricade the city, scared of what Lakshmana
might do in his anger, but he easily knocked down our gates and came in. The
men weren’t being much good in this situation. Men. So slow to do what it takes
women five seconds to figure out. With Grandpa not being at all helpful, I gathered together the women of the
city to go talk to Lakshmana. It embarrassed him, to be surrounded by an army
of women who clearly did not approve of his behavior. Bashing
down gates, really! I played the old ‘don’t frighten the gentle sex’ card, you
know, ‘think of your mothers and sisters being subjected to this type of
treatment,’ and he backed right down. Explained to us what was going on, and I
was able to defuse the issue, buy us more time. Always remember, talking things
out is a much better route than beating it out.”
“Anyway,
to return to my side of the story, dear, your excellent negotiation skills
bought enough time for me to come to my senses and gather the army I had
promised for Rama. But the rest of this tale, my dear grandchildren, shall be
saved for another night. It’s off to bed with you!”
Author's Note: I based this story off the chapter of Narayan's Ramayana where Sugreeva has promised aid to Rama but failed to come through by the appointed time because, upon regaining the throne, he has been distracted by the pleasures of Kiskinda. Sugreeva's wife, Tara, takes control for the moment to smooth over an angry Lakshmana. After this, Sugreeva comes out of his daze and takes responsibility, fulfilling his promise. As Tara elaborates in this bedtime story, it is her role in these events that saves the day by placating Lakshmana and giving enough time to Sugreeva, as well as jolting him from his inactivity, and leading to Sugreeva successfully aiding Rama in rescuing Sita.
I liked this story because the women in The Ramayana are often hiding in the background, but at the right moments they come forward to take major roles. I wanted to highlight Tara as a character who can stand out from her husband and take control at a critical time. I thought the frame of the characters looking back on past events (and sometimes trying to idealize them!) through telling a bedtime story was a cute way to offer reflections on episodes from the epic. I also tried to stay true to Tara as a character who can take control from her husband and who isn't afraid to say what's on her mind. Just as she spoke up to Sugreeva and, in an earlier story, to Vali, she raises her voice when Sugreeva tries to give an alternative version of the story to their grandchildren.
I liked this story because the women in The Ramayana are often hiding in the background, but at the right moments they come forward to take major roles. I wanted to highlight Tara as a character who can stand out from her husband and take control at a critical time. I thought the frame of the characters looking back on past events (and sometimes trying to idealize them!) through telling a bedtime story was a cute way to offer reflections on episodes from the epic. I also tried to stay true to Tara as a character who can take control from her husband and who isn't afraid to say what's on her mind. Just as she spoke up to Sugreeva and, in an earlier story, to Vali, she raises her voice when Sugreeva tries to give an alternative version of the story to their grandchildren.
Bibliography:
source: R.K. Narayan, The Ramayana: A Modern Prose Version of the Great Indian Epic (Penguin Books, 1977).
image: Tara, Sugreeva, and Hanuman meet with Lakshmana, c.1700 (Wikimedia Commons).
I really enjoyed this story, especially the way you framed it as a bed time story for grandchildren. You are right in the fact that it's rare for the women of the story to have such a prominent role! I'm glad you show cased the negotiating skills of Tara. It really made the story that much stronger. I look forward to reading more of your work throughout this class!
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed this story. You really took the time to setup a dialog and progress through the story without giving away the end of the story. I aspire to take an approach like you have done in my future writing assignments for this course. I also enjoyed the tone of this story throughout the negotiations skills of Tara. I am looking forward to reading more stories of yours! Thanks for posting.
ReplyDelete-Tyler
Hello, Susanna,
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you wrote the story. The way you made it a bedtime story of grandpa and grandchildren. I liked it how you focused on Tara’s characters and her skills. Which made the story unique on its own way. I really enjoyed reading the story. I am looking forward to read more of these great stories.
Susanna,
ReplyDeleteGreat job with your storytelling! I loved that you had the grandpa start the story and then let the grandma take over because poor old grandpa's memory was failing him. Not to mention she threw in some life lessons into the story to teach her grandchildren. I could picture the whole interaction and it made me laugh because I definitely know some older couples that act that way. You really gave your characters life and really used this type of storytelling to your advantage.
Your blog is set up really nicely. I like the background you chose. It took me a second to realize that it is humming birds and flowers but I think it is lovely. It is also very easy to navigate through which I really appreciate as a reader!
Overall, you did a fantastic job with your story! I really enjoyed it! I also love your website! I am really looking forward to your future stories!
Hello again, Susanna!
ReplyDeleteI decided to come back to your blog for project feedback this week, and I was not disappointed! I think the bedtime story format can be so wonderful for presenting this type of narrative. I wrote a couple of my stories last semester in this vein, and it always worked out so well—the grandpa figure seems to make an appealing storyteller. A tale that is entirely dialogue can sometimes be tricky, but you did a great job making it work—I especially loved the part about the “bestest hero that ever lived”. It definitely made the characters come alive for me. I loved how sassy the grandmother was—I concur with her opinion of men!
Format-wise, everything looks good! The font isn’t distracting or too understated, and all of your colors seem to mesh well together.
I’ve really enjoyed your work, and I can’t wait to come back and read more! Well done.
Susanna,
ReplyDeleteGreat job thinking outside the box. It never would have even occurred to me to do an entire story with only dialogue. It's almost like a screenplay, only with even less description. Despite all that, and what I found so amazing, was that as a reader I always knew who it was who was talking. That's some serious skill right there!
The formatting was okay. I was able to read all the words, but something about the white background and salmon border was a little off-putting, for me at least. Perhaps one font size bigger would have helped me read through this. Additionally, your image had no caption, and so it did not add much to the story. I don't know what I'm looking at or why you included that particular image. Your bibliography, though, was very neatly done.
And I just have to say, Tara was my favorite female character in the Ramayana. After Sita was made to look like an idiot with the whole golden deer thing, and Kaikeyi turned into the evil stepmother, and with every other woman behaving basically like a door mat, it was refreshing to read a woman with some sense. From the get-go, she counsels Vali against fighting Sugreeva, and displayed a perfect understanding of the situation. And your story really cemented her as having a great head on her shoulders. Tara is undoubtedly the strongest female presence in the epic, and I think you captured her perfectly
Susanna,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love bedtime stories! You did a great job on elaborating the Ramayana story you told. I agree that women are not as involved in these stories as they should be. I liked how you had Tara take control of the situation. It was brilliant to set up the dialogue with the grandpa attempting to jog his memory (classic) and the wife has to step in and tell what actually happened. You are a fantastic writer and I really enjoyed reading this, so thank you!