Week 6 Reading Diary, cont.: Narayan's Mahabharata

reading: Part D of The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000)

I found The Mahabharata a more complicated and deeper story than The Ramayana. It's difficult to separate out who's right and wrong in the story. Duryodhana is definitely wrong in his persistence in pursuing his own agenda, but everyone else is just caught up in the crossfire, torn by loyalties, prophecies, kinship, and morality. The Pandava brothers question whether what they do is right -- and make plenty of mistakes along the way -- and in the end, they're mainly the "right" side just because they're the protagonists and we want them to win.

The web of promises, allegiances, and prophecies is astounding. Krishna has promised some things to the Kauravas, but ultimately his loyalty lies with the Pandavas, whom he assists to victory. Characters and oaths that have been forgotten since the beginning of the story pop up again, like Amba getting revenge or the sons of the Pandava brothers. It all comes full circle, which I guess is the main point of the epic. Characters may be given opportunities to learn from their mistakes and depart from the destructive paths they've created for themselves, but ultimately, they're locked into this cosmically dictated sequence of events.

I liked Narayan's version for its brevity (I think the Penguin Classics *abridged* version is over 900 pages). I'm reading this mostly for the narrative content, so long lists of wedding guests or military allies or overly detailed descriptions wouldn't be that interesting. Still, having browsed through epic-inspired books, I've noticed how many novelized versions focus on the women of The Mahabharata and wondered how much their story can be expanded from the glimpses Narayan gives us in this adaptation. The battle is epic or whatever, but I really care more about how they live the rest of their lives.

battle scene from Bhagavad Gita, 16th cent.

source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 6 Reading Diary: Narayan's Mahabharata

reading: Part C of The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000)

I found the incident between Duryodhana and the gandharvas highly amusing. Duryodhana is trying so hard to put down the Pandavas, but in this case his plans comically backfire. It's like a scene out of a cartoon: Duryodhana in all his bluster arriving to appear pompous and grand, only to be placed in chains and need to be rescued.

Another comic scene is Arjuna becoming a "eunuch." It's really only a disguise for him, so he doesn't seem too disappointed to be stuck in a group of palace women for a year! In fact, for being exiled and in hiding, the Pandavas don't have a rough time of it during this thirteenth year. It's almost fun for them, pursuing dreams and interests within someone else's royal court, without the kingly responsibilities they will have upon their return.

But the conflict with Draupadi being pursued by the queen's brother disturbed me. There's the old theme of men being ruled by their lust, incapable of resisting acting upon it even when they know it will have negative repercussions for them. And then to want to throw out Draupadi, place her on her attacker's funeral pyre (like how wives traditionally burned themselves with their deceased husbands)?! Talk about victim blaming! While I typically enjoy reading ancient literature like these epics, sometimes the outmoded views of gender relations kill the atmosphere...

Draupadi fending off Kichaka's advances

Raja Ravi Varma, c.1848-1906

source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 5 Reading Diary: Epified Mahabharata

reading: part A of the Epified Mahabharata

The videos were fun to list because of how the images are able to add lots of detail to the quick narration. They provide visual detail - and also sometimes informational, as with the list of authors - as the narrators move along. I found the drawing a little exhausting because it's so frenetic and constant, but with how fast the narrators speak, the images really help me keep up with the pace.

I noticed a lot of places where the video version of the epic differs from Narayan's adaptation that I'm reading. The narrators start with a deeper focus on meaning, talking about how the story relates to cycles of karma and similar concepts. The actions of characters in the tale will eventually come back to them, good or bad. In this same vein, there's a heavier focus on vengeance in this version. The eldest of the three sisters is eventually going to pop again, and there are other cases where characters that Narayan just kind of dropped will probably come back to get revenge.

So there's details in this version, possibly even whole storylines, that were not included in Narayan's novelized form. It's interesting to see more of the original story, but it also gets a little confusing. I start wondering if I just don't remember something from the reading or if it's left out by Narayan. Still, I'm enjoying watching the videos as a way to recap and remember what I read this week.

depiction of Vyasa narrating the epic to Ganesha

Murudeshwara temple, Karnataka

(Wikimedia Commons)

Week 5: Thoughts About Comments

First off, I know I could be better about leaving comments. I generally focus on trying to say nice, concrete things about others' posts...and hitting that word count goal. I'm not so good at giving constructive criticism, because I don't want to criticize what others' are doing. I think the only constructive criticism I've given so far this class was reminding someone that "Google" doesn't count as an image source...so the biggest thing I could do to improve the comments I leave is try to find nice, friendly ways to say more than just what positive things in the post struck me as cool or interesting or especially creative.

For comments on my own posts, of course I like reading what works well for people, especially if it's when I've tried some storytelling technique different from my usual. :) It's helpful to know when these things actually end up working well! There hasn't been a whole lot of constructive criticism, but what people have posted has been good for learning formatting and such that makes for easier reading. It's definitely something I should think about more when I'm preparing blog posts. The most engaging comments are from people who have clearly taken the time to read and think about the posts, and who let their personalities and reactions come through in their comments.

Week 5 Storytelling: Jungle Secrets

Dear Journal,

Today was an adventure full of surprising discoveries. I started out early in the morning, right at dawn to beat the heat of the day. I wandered through the jungle to the north of where I camped last night, continuing down the scarcely-marked path I had discovered several days before and decided to follow. I noticed as I walked that I would occasionally encounter paving stones among the undergrowth as well as spot the remains of walls and markers to the side of the roadway. These once guided travelers along what I realized must have been a major route – but to where it led I could not fathom. Of all the maps and histories I have pored over, none have given any hint of even a small settlement in this part of the country, much less a location that would demand what was once a very impressive approach!

Just as I began to grow footsore and weary from the growing day’s heat, I emerged into a more open area, where a pleasantly cool breeze blew off several pools of water scattered around. It had been hundreds of years, maybe even thousands, since people had last inhabited this space, but still the jungle had not completely eradicated the loveliness of what they had built. Here and there I saw large walls, expertly constructed of some foreign stone of gorgeous color, peeking out from the vines that now entangled them. I walked towards what appeared to be the largest of these remains, locating through the vegetation a doorway I could clear with my machete. 

Journal, what I found inside was astounding! My attention caught by a spot of color shining through on the floor, I cleared the dirt and leaves – and about had a heart attack, thinking I must be about to fall into another pool of water! Even with age, the vibrancy of the painting on the floor had not faded enough to dispel the illusion. What looked so realistically like water was nothing more than a fantastic trick, a solid patch of floor designed to appear as a pool covered in lotus blossoms. I have never seen anything like it!

I continued walking through the palace, of course, for now I assumed that only a great king could have constructed something like this. There were other illusions: doorways that were solid walls, ever-flickering lamps that were no lights at all, a full garden that, when one tried to step into it, was found to be nothing more than another one-dimensional depiction. Here and there I saw glistening jewels, the remains of tall, wide marble pillars, and much other evidence of past opulence and grandeur…

On the wall behind a collapse throne, I found the inscription. It was written in a strange ancient script, but one similar enough to those I have studied for me to be able to make out most of the text. It spoke of a set of five kings and their single wife, in competition with their cousins to rule wealthy, splendid kingdoms. Each group built their own palace such as the one I was exploring, to prove to posterity their power and grandeur. A shame, I thought, that this place had so long languished in neglect. I was the first to reach it in centuries, and surely by the time the next explorer makes it this far north, the jungle will have covered any trace of this once-monument to kingly ego.

Author's Note: I was inspired this week by the palace built by the Pandavas in The Mahabharata and the envy and recreation it inspires in the jealous Kauravas. It seemed so futile to me to be this concerned with display and splendor, which will inevitably fade with time. The details of illusions were drawn from The Mahabharata as the most characteristic features of the palace the Pandavas built and the sources of embarrassment for Duryodhana (see image below).

Source: R.K. Narayan, The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000). 

Image: illustration of Duryodhana falling into the water (Wikimedia Commons).

Week Five Reading Diary, cont: Narayan's Mahabharata

reading: Part A of The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000)

As in The Ramayana, I'm struck by the choices given to the characters in these Indian epics. Even with influences from deities and sages, a certain amount of decision is left up to the characters in determining their own fates. For example, the blind king is given repeated chances to cast off his evil son and do what's right regarding his nephews. He even follows this advice occasionally, though, torn between his nephews and his sons, he tends to lapse back to bad decisions.

At the same time, determining what's up to fate in the epic and what's caused by human choices is difficult. Yudhistira has to accept the challenges for games, but at the same time, he take it too far with his wagers -- but isn't this part of the greater story, the set of events he, his brothers, and their wife must go through?

For storytelling this week, I'm not sure which route to pursue. One thing I considered was based on the descriptions of the royals' lavish palaces. The rivals spend so much time, money, and effort on trying to top the Pandavas -- and for what? In the long run, all of them will eventually die, and their palaces will fall to ruin with the passage of time. So one story I thought of was having someone return and discover the ruins, to reflect on their past majesty and the futility of all this competition and scheming.

the Pandavas escape Lakshagraha

source: Wikipedia

Week 5 Reading Diary: Narayan's Mahabharata

reading: Part A of The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000)

The first thing that struck me about The Mahabharata is the similarity of storytelling structure and motifs between this epic and works from the Western canon. The "unquestioning spouse" at the very beginning reminds me of Chaucer's Clerk's tale. Unlike Chaucer, however, the unquestioning spouse is the husband, not the wife, and there's mythological purpose behind the wife's actions towards her husband and children.

Other aspects of this section reminded me of biblical Old Testament stories. A baby is hidden by being floated in a basket down the river, to be taken in and raised by strangers until his return to his homeland. There's also a similar concern in the epic about proper sexual partners and worry over having heirs (with women allowed multiple marriages to relatives, etc. in order to produce such) that crops up in the Old Testament. Finally, the competitions between the cousins and over a wife are pretty stock motifs in folklore, but they reminded me in particular of medieval Arthurian epics with their knights and quests and whatnot.

I was also struck/bothered by the final portion of this section. These epics have had polygyny before, but here's a case of polyandry! Yet there's still conflicts here. In polygyny, the man is allowed time with all wives, but in the polyandrous marriage here, the wife must spend a year with each brother, while the other brothers can't even think of her. There's also sexual freedom for the woman apparent in her past life, with being rewarded by the fantastic 5-in-1 husband for her previous unconditional devotion -- but at the same time, her desire is mentioned as holding back her husband's spiritual condition. It's still not the most enlightened view of female roles.

Draupadi and the Pandavas

Ravi Varma Press, c.1910 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Week 4: Famous Last Words

This semester. Oh my gosh. It's quite the whirlwind. A month in, I'm still in the energetic-busy phase rather than stressed-out-beyond-measure-busy, which is nice. I'm able to focus and stay on top of assignments much better this semester than in some previous ones, and it's reducing my stress level a crazy amount, actually, just to mostly have things done on time. Hopefully this feeling will continue as I get into the time to research and write papers... I keep thinking I'll have time to get ahead, but this semester keeps throwing curveballs, mostly exciting ones. With this being my last semester in Oklahoma, I'm trying to prioritize friends and some extracurriculars over almost exclusively focusing on school, and I think this actually both makes me mentally healthier, to have something fun breaking up the studying, and better at time managing and therefore more efficient.

I enjoy the readings for this class more each week. The Ramayana was a lot of fun to read, and I'm looking forward to starting Narayan's version of The Mahabharata in the next few days. Sita Sings the Blues went way beyond my expectations. It's trippy, creative, catchy, thoughtful, deep -- so much more than the simple visualization of the epic that I expected. I love Nina Paley's open-ended but insightful conclusion that finally brings focus to what Sita is feeling and experiencing during this story that so often centers on Rama's perfection rather than his crappy treatment of his wife. I kept showing one of my friends various scenes from the film as I was writing my Storytelling post this week and kept recalling my favorite parts. I keep getting the song that Sita's sons sing about Rama stuck in my head, with its snarky verse criticizing Rama's behavior. :)

still from Sita Sings the Blues

source: On the Human

Tech Tip: Cheezburger

Naturally, I used a picture of my own darling kitten for this one. I'm pretty sure she was thinking something like "pet me, you silly thing, stop trying to take pictures!" Or maybe something less nice. Sometimes she gets these kind of demon eyes and I wish I had named her Lilith instead of Genevieve.

meme maker: Cheezburger

Week 4 Storytelling: Sita Leaves

“I’m sorry this is how things have to work out, but I don’t understand why you’re this mad.”

“Of course I’m mad! This is infuriating! I threw myself in a fire to prove I was telling you the truth. Why should I have to do anything more?”

“I believe you! It’s not me, it’s – ”

“How can you say it’s not you?! The people should know what I already did. It’s been recorded in detail! I went through my trial by fire, and the very gods declared I was pure. I don’t understand why you continue to doubt what I say! Not to mention I thought you would trust my word – what reason have I ever given you to think that I would lie – but how can you ignore such proof?”

“It’s for the good of the land, Sita! I don’t want to banish you, but as a ruler I simply must!”

“Well then, I’ll make it even simpler for you. I’ll just leave on my own. If you won’t trust me, then I don’t need to stay here any longer. We’re done. I can’t believe I wasted so much of my life on you, just to have you turn away!”

With that, Sita packed her bags (it didn’t take her long; she’d only just begun unpacking after her and Rama’s return from exile) and headed into the forest once again. It was a bittersweet moment. Rama had been so distant since rescuing her from Ravana, and it felt good to leave his judgmental gaze and controlling rules. But at the same time, she’d spent so long in Rama’s company. On first sight, she’d believed them destined to be together forever, as if by divine fulfillment. Their courtship had been a whirlwind in which she hardly knew what was going on before they were married. After that, however, they’d had plenty of time to get to know each other, and she had felt no qualms following him into the forest for fourteen years. It had been an exciting adventure, setting off with her husband and brother-in-law for a humble life in exile. Until she was kidnapped by Ravana, things were going great.

But now all that was over. Those fourteen years had been like a blissful honeymoon, and now that Rama was back in Ayodhya, it was clear that his true heart lay with keeping his kingdom, and his image as ruler, intact. If he thought Sita got in the way of that, then forget their years of happiness – she simply had to go. Well, it was time for her to forge her own life, independent of the men, first her father and then her husband, who had ruled her for so long. She would be Sita-the-king’s-daughter, Sita-Rama’s-wife no more, but her own person, making her own decisions, choosing her life’s path, and deciding fate for herself. She would be in charge of finding her own happiness, living for herself and for the twins growing within her, and show to the world how strong a woman could stand by herself.

 Sita returns to the earth and her mother

Author's Note: I didn't really like the ending of Sita Sings the Blues, where Sita is cast out once again by Rama, only to have him return to claim his sons but not her. I could most ignore how much I disagreed with the portrayal of women in the rest of the epic, but by the end the injustice was too much. I wanted to write a version of the story where Sita at least stands on her own, without depending on Rama or her pigheaded devotion to him.

Bibliography:

source: Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley (2008)

image: Sita BhumiPravesh, painting by Raja Ravi Varma, 19th cent. (Wikimedia Commons)

Week 4 Reading Diary, cont.: Sita Sings the Blues

reading (viewing): Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley (2008)

The film continued to be a mix of humorousness and thoughtfulness. I think the thing I found funniest was Ravana going to concessions to get a drinking cup for each of his heads. I also would love to know more about the music and dancing that occurs after the intermission. It felt like it should be symbolic somehow of what's going on in the story, but I don't know enough about Indian traditions to be able to recognize it.

I was also surprised at the continuation of Rama and Sita's story. In the version by Narayan that I read, I'm pretty sure it ended with them returning to Ayodhya. I'm confused about why people and Rama would still doubt Sita's purity after she THREW HERSELF ON A FIRE to prove she hadn't slept with Ravana. I loved the part where Rama's sons are taught to sing his praises, with a verse that's decidedly un-praising in the middle. Somehow I don't think that was in the original epic...

That scene in the film where Sita first proves her purity. (source: Wikimedia Commons)

I appreciated how, at the end of the film, the storytellers begin questioning their story. Rama's not so perfect after all. He has his faults in the first part of the epic, but his true failings are really revealed when he banishes Sita for years and still questions her when he runs across his sons. It's pretty ridiculous, and I'm glad she finally got fed up and left him. Unconditional love is inspiring and all that, but there comes a point where it needs to be let go of.

Week 4 Reading Diary: Sita Sings the Blues

reading (viewing): Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley (2008)

The intro to the film really surprised me. I guess I expected a pretty straightforward retelling of The Ramayana, so the peacock phonograph and jazz music threw me off at first (it took me a little bit to catch on to the "Blues" part of the title). So did the kind of abstract, cosmic music and animations at the beginning, though I liked the rhythm and feel of it and how the image movements fit the music.

I also enjoyed the humorous tone of the Indian storytellers as they recall the epic together and especially how sassy they can get. The further I watch in the film, the more it seems like they end up humanizing Rama's and Sita's decisions and actions. They get more into the dynamics of their relationship than the cliches used in the original epic.


In terms of storytelling assignments, the idea of Ravana not being such a bad guy (except for kidnapping Sita) stood out to me. The Ramayana plays with this a little, offering him a choice between continuing on the same doomed path or trying to redeem himself, but the storytellers in the film go further, portraying this demon as a learned man who can also jam out on a sitar.

Other storytelling things I thought about were the what ifs? of Rama and Sita after Sita is rescued from Ravana. What would the implications be if Rama didn't doubt or test Sita? What if Sita got fed up with Rama and took a different path besides dramatically proving herself? I'm thinking questions like these might be what I pursue in my storytelling post for this week.

I really enjoyed the scene where Hanuman is casually burning down Lanka in the background while Sita sings. (source: Wikimedia Commons)