Week 14 Story: Your Lying Eyes

(waitbutwhy)

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did!”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I saw you!”

“Wasn’t me.”

“Seriously, that’s the defense you’re going with? Even though it was in the house that you live in, where I saw it happening?”

“Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?”

Brenda and David glared at each other from opposing ends of the therapist’s couch. As the argument raged between the couple, Dr. Markoff, a marriage counselor with fifteen years of experience, attempted to massage away her growing headache. She took a moment to imagine suffocating the two with a pillow, a brief look of longing crossing her face as she imagined the quiet that their deaths would bring.

“Please, this conversation is no longer productive. We need to move past the accusations and get to the real root of the problem. I would like each of you, in turn, to lay out the events as you remember them, including your feelings and thoughts at the time. I hope that this will allow you to empathize with each other. David, I would like you to start.”

“So, Brenda has been acting really distant lately. It just seemed like she’d lost interest in our marriage and me. Plus, I kept catching her giggling on the phone, but she’d always hang up when I walked in the room. I started to suspect that she was cheating on me. I knew she wouldn’t tell me the truth, even if I asked, so I set up a trap to catch her.”

Dr. Markoff raised a hand to interrupt his story. “What you’re telling me is that you did not trust Brenda to be honest, and you thought that the proper approach in that situation was to be dishonest yourself?”

David squirmed in his seat for a moment. “She started it.”

“Uh, huh,” Dr. Markoff responded drily. “Please continue with your story.”

“Anyway, I told her that I was going to be out of town for a few days at a convention. I waited for her to leave for the day, then hid back inside the house. She came home with some guy and went up to the bedroom with him, proving me right! I was so angry that I didn’t know what to do, so I just left. That was two days ago. I agreed to meet her here, because it will help with the divorce mediation.”

“Okay, thank you David. Brenda, if you could give us your version of events.”

“David has spent the last two months being a complete jerk. I spent a lot of time talking to my sister about it. She always makes me laugh. So, when he told me that he was going out of town for a few days, I thought it would be nice to have a surprise for him when he got back. I have an old friend, John, who I invited over after work to check out the upstairs and give me a quote. He’s a contractor. I was going to have him build an in-home movie theater. Apparently, Jerk-face decided that it must mean I was sleeping with John.”

“David, do you have something to say?” Dr. Markoff asked.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I jumped to conclusions like that. I’m a terrible husband. Can you ever forgive me?”

Brenda patted her husband’s hand. “Of course, I forgive you. I love you. Also, John’s going to be moving into the guest room for a little while, and I’ll be spending a lot of time with him. He needs a lot of time and attention, but that’s how he does his best work. I want your movie theater to be perfect.”

Author's Note: The story about The Carpenter's Unfaithful Wife is about a man who believes that his wife is not being true. So, he tells her that he is going out of town for a couple of days. Excited, his wife gets dressed up and goes to tell her lover to come over that night, since her husband will be gone. The husband returns while she's away and hides under the bed. The lover arrives and seats himself on the bed. When the wife comes in, she sees her husband's feet sticking out from under the bed. So, she comes up with a plan. Gesturing toward her husband's feet, she tells her lover that she had gotten terrible news from the temple: her husband was to die in six months. She claims that the only way to save him is to have sex with another man, therefore passing the curse to him. They then proceed to become intimate. The foolish carpenter then comes out from under the bed and treats the two like heroes.

I decided to make the story a little more contemporary, and tell it after the fact. I thought that a marriage counselor's office would be a good place to get both sides of the story. I also wanted it a little more vague that the wife was really cheating, but not too vague. I also just wanted an excuse to use the line “Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?” I've always found it funny.


Bibliography: The Panchatantra by Krishna Dharma. Web source.

Learning Challenge: Judgment and Empathy

(flickr)

- The article, Ten Reasons to Stop Judging People, talks about being careful to not jump to conclusions about the actions of other people. Often they are responding in ways that you view as negative due to pain, fear, or confusion that you don't know about.

- Most of what the article talks about is stuff that I'm familiar with. I've experienced enough and seen enough in the world that I realize people don't generally act out of malice. Often they are blinded by their own pain.

- One thing mentioned in the article that I feel it's necessary to keep in mind is to remind myself of my own flaws when judging others. The article gives the example of driving. Other drivers are frustrating, and it can be easy to become angry and judgmental when someone is driving in a way that bothers you or that you view as unsafe. However, it is important to keep in mind that on many occasions you have been that terrible driver who is upsetting others.

- I do have one defense of being judgmental. The article provides a lot of ways to not personalize others actions so that you can look at them in a more empathetic light. I do think that's important. However, it is basing its advice on the idea that others actions are never malicious, or at least never meant to be malicious. I think that's false. I think there are a lot of people who are actively trying to hurt others. Yes, I realize and acknowledge that this is often an expression of their own pain. However, I don't think that excuses it on any level. Everyone has pain. Using that pain as a weapon is never acceptable. I think that judging others has a valid place in society. When uses moderately and judiciously it can act as a damper on some people's more heinous actions.

Reading Notes: The Panchatantra, Part E

(wikimedia)

- The story about The Frog that Rode on a Snake seems to be a fairly common jataka. I've read it at least one other place before. The story goes that a snake decides he's tired of having to constantly chase his food. He wants an easier way to feed himself. So, he tells the frog king that he was cursed by a brahmin that he must act as a vehicle for frogs. He must give frogs rides upon his back, and he may not eat any without permission of the frog king. So, the frog king rides around on the snakes back for a while, quite enjoying himself. The snake then claims to be famished, just dying of hunger. So, the frog king gives him some 'peasant' frogs to eat. This goes on for some time with the snake eating all of the frogs until there were no more at the lake. Then, he eats the king frog.
- I don't know why this particular tale always stood out to me. Most jatakas that involved trickery portray the victim of that trickery as particularly stupid and gullible. This is just one more example of that. However, the frog king just seems so excessively stupid. He's also a complete prick. He has no problem with feeding some of his subjects to the snake just so that he can keep riding around on it and enjoying himself. That's just such a dick move.
- This story begs to be retold with one of the king's subjects realizing what's going on and overthrowing the king before getting the best of the snake.


Bibliography: The Panchatantra by Krishna Dharma. Web source.

Reading Notes: The Panchatantra, Part D

(pixabay)

- The story about The Carpenter's Unfaithful Wife is about a man who believes that his wife is not being true. So, he tells her that he is going out of town for a couple of days. Excited, his wife gets dressed up and goes to tell her lover to come over that night, since her husband will be gone. The husband returns while she's away and hides under the bed. The lover arrives and seats himself on the bed. When the wife comes in, she sees her husband's feet sticking out from under the bed. So, she comes up with a plan. Gesturing toward her husband's feet, she tells her lover that she had gotten terrible news from the temple: her husband was to die in six months. She claims that the only way to save him is to have sex with another man, therefore passing the curse to him. They then proceed to become intimate. The foolish carpenter then comes out from under the bed and treats the two like heroes.
- I like this story simply because it is amusing. However, it is too bad that it essentially rewards deceitful behavior. On the other hand, considering this is a very patriarchal culture, in which women are forced to be essentially slaves to the will of their husbands, it is a fitting sort of revenge. The situation begs several questions. Did the wife have any choice in who she married? How old was she when she married? What is the nature of her marriage? Does the husband live up to his responsibility towards her? Depending on the answers to some of these questions, her choice to take a lover and therefore exert some control over her own life is more understandable.


Bibliography: The Panchatantra by Krishna Dharma. Web source.

Reading Notes: The Panchatantra, Part C

(wikipedia)

- The story about The Noble Robber follows three friends who eventually meet up with a man that wants to rob them. The three friends are the son of a prince, the son of a brahmin, and the son of a merchant. The young men aren't very good influences on one another, and each of their fathers is upset that they aren't taking their responsibilities seriously. Not wanting to give up their fun-loving and lazy ways, the three decide to go somewhere else, but realize that such an endeavor would require money. They decide to go to Mount Ascension and collect some of the gems that they've heard can be found there. They do so, and each discovers a valuable diamond. Worried that they will be robbed on the return trip, each swallows his diamond with the expectation that it will be recovered later. Another man had been on the mountain looking for gems, but hadn't had any luck. He witnesses the three friends swallow their diamonds and decides to follow them in hopes of recovering the diamonds later. The four men are later accosted by a group of hunters with a magical bird that claimed the men were carrying gems. The chief of the hunters decides to cut open all of their bellies to see what can be found. Realizing that his death is assured no matter what, the robber determines to offer himself first. When he is found to have nothing in his belly, the chief will let the others go. The robber thinks that this virtuous act will benefit him in the afterlife. Since his death is guaranteed regardless, this is the best possible outcome for him.
- I like this story and the way it is told. There isn't much that I'd want to change about it, except to put a personal stamp on it. I'm most interested in the thought process of the robber when he decides to sacrifice himself to save the other three. I would focus my story more on his internal monologue and perceptions of the situation.


Bibliography: The Panchatantra by Krishna Dharma. Web source.

Week 13 Story: Ratnakar the Thuggee

NOTE: Please read the updated version of this story located on my Portfolio website.

Thuggee (wikimedia)

I did a quick inventory of the loot that my band of Thuggees had brought back to camp with a general sense of satisfaction. Mother Kali would be pleased with the offerings we’d provided. Running my fingers down the ritual scarf on my belt, I considered which prizes I would keep for myself. As jemadar, first choice was always mine. As I pondered my options, a golden torq with inset gems caught my eye. I froze as I studied the neckpiece, inundated by memories. My mother had one just like it.

My family had been traveling by caravan to a new village to live. I don’t know where we had come from or where we were going. I was very young. Up to that point, my life had been one moment of joy after another. My mother was beautiful and happy. I remembered the smell of her hair and the softness of her smile with heartbreaking clarity. My father is a bit of a blur, but my mother was clear in my mind. Her, and my sister. I hadn’t thought of my sister in uncounted years, but I could perfectly picture her impish face, and the cheerful sound of her happy giggles. A group of young men joined our caravan. I only recollect that portion of events vaguely, but I recalled the men discussing the group around the fire at night. They’d seemed trustworthy, so they’d been accepted. The ambush had come one night as camp was being set up. The young men attacked in silence, without warning. Using bright red scarves, they strangled everyone in the caravan. They strangled all of them, except for me. They hid the bodies in the forest, and they took me with them.

My life was very different after that fateful night. I became a Thuggee apprentice, learning the arts of murder and robbery in the name of Mother Kali. I embraced the teachings and the life, and I excelled. I reveled in the blood, and took pleasure in the look of betrayal in the eyes of my victims as the light faded from them. I was good at what I did, and I enjoyed it. I took the name Ratnakar, and it wasn’t long before I led a Thuggee band of my own. I thought nothing of the family that I’d lost. Until now.

I was pulled from my reverie by screaming. The panicked and pain filled screams of a young girl filled the camp. A girl that sounded like my sister. I rushed toward the racket into the clearing the middle of camp. There, tied to a stake, was a terrified child. I couldn’t tear my eyes from her face. She not only sounded like my sister, she looked like her too. We stared at each other for a very long time, the terrified girl and me. Her tear filled eyes seemed to see into the deepest portion of my soul. My Thuggees told me that they’d found her, alone, on the outskirts of a nearby village. They were going to sacrifice her to Mother Kali. I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let them hurt that little girl.

I untied the girl and returned her to her village. Walking back, I contemplated my life and what I had become. I realized the monstrousness of my actions and the horrors that I had inflicted upon the innocent. I did it all in the name of the goddess, but I had no real certainty that the goddess wanted the sacrifices we provided. Wanting an answer, I stopped to pray, hoping that the goddess would take pity and answer me. I had almost given up when she did, not with words, but with a certainty in my heart. What the Thuggees do, what I had done for so long, was not the worship that Mother Kali desired. It was, in fact, inimical to her purpose. I bowed my head in shame, tears of misery tracking down my face. I had betrayed my mother, my sister, my father, and myself. I had done evil, and I must atone.

My evil acts had been those of excess: excess greed and excess harm. To redeem myself, I had to commit to a life of absolute austerity. After disbanding my Thuggees, and explaining the wrongness of our way of life, I went deep into the woods. I went into a trance so deep it was like unto death, becoming one with Brahman and the whole of the universe. I do not know how long I was in that trance state. It must have been many years, for when I awoke I was imprisoned in an anthill, a valmik, which had grown up around me. Vines twined through my long hair and beard. Breaking out of my dirt cell, I looked around the deep woods and determined to start a new life. A new life based on enlightenment and goodness.

For a new life, a new name was required. A name that embodied the man I was now, and what had shaped me. I chose Valmiki.

Author's Note: The story, Ratnakar the Robber Chief, tells a variation of the origin of the sage Valmiki. Valmiki is the legendary author of the epic Ramayana. The story follows the leader of a robber band named Ratnakar. This robber band worships the goddess, Kali, in one of her darker aspects. As a part of their worship, they engage in human sacrifice. Ratnakar begins to feel guilty about the pain and death. He decides to stop and begin practicing austerities in an attempt to redeem himself. Ratnakar entered a deep trance while in the hollow of an anthill, called a valmik. He took his new name from this.

A history of human sacrifice is not unknown on the Indian subcontinent, but it was probably very rare. There was a temple, in the town of Kuknur, built in the 8th or 9th century dedicated to Kali. Historical evidence, and anecdotes, suggest that human sacrifices took place there. There is also historical accounts that show human sacrifices dedicated to Kali were somewhat common in Bengal, and that they continued until the British outlawed the practice. However, stories still surface of children being sacrificed. Supposedly, there was a gang known as The Thugs or Thuggee. They would rob and strangle travelers in Kali's name until the British eradicated them.

I wanted to write a variation of this story that stays pretty true to the original telling. In the story, the gang catches a child, a young girl, and are about to kill her. Ratnakar feels pity for the young girl and stops the sacrifice. I wanted to focus on Ratnakar's empathy for this girl as the impetus to change his life. This fits with the legends and evidence that show children were often a victim of sacrifices dedicated to Kali. I focused the story on Ratnakar's memory of the events and how they affected his evolution.


Bibliography: Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi. Web Source.

Reading Notes: The Panchatantra, Part B

(Pixabay)

- The story, The Mosquito and the Bug, is about a bedbug named Crawler who lives with her family in the sumptuous bed of a king. The bedbug family lives happily and comfortably, with plenty to eat. One day a mosquito flies in and starts playing on the bed. He is enjoying himself when he sees Crawler and asks her to whom the bed belongs. The mosquito says that he wishes to drink the blood of the bed's owner, as he is obviously wealthy and must eat only the best food. Crawler admonishes the mosquito that it must be careful with the biting. It may only bite when the king is deeply asleep from drink, and my only bite the foot. That night the king comes to bed, and the mosquito is not able to control himself. He immediately bites the king on the back, which causes the king to wake up violently. The bed is searched for the bug that bit the king, and Crawler and her family are found and killed. Meanwhile, the mosquito who caused the whole mess had flown away.
- Crawler trusts the mosquito when she shouldn't. She knows nothing about his character. She gives him information that puts her entire family at risk without having any evidence to suggest that the mosquito is worth the trusts she gives him. Such blind trust is utterly foolish. If she were the only one who might be hurt should things go wrong, that would be one thing. However, she didn't have the right to risk others.
- The mosquito was just a dick.


Bibliography: The Panchatantra by Krishna Dharma. Web source.

Reading Notes: The Panchatantra, Part A

(Wikimedia)

- One of the fables within the Panchatantra is a story about a crow and a raven that illustrates the moral lesson that the weak can overcome the strong if they are clever. The story is about a crow that builds his next in a banyan tree. The crow and his wife then lay eggs, but a black serpent that lives nearby eats the baby birds before they are capable of flight. The crow wants to get rid of the serpent and asks a hyena for advice. The hyena advises that the crow go to the river, where the rich people bathe, and steal some of their jewelry, then drop that jewelry where the snake lives. The crow follows this advice, and the rich people kill the snake while trying to get back the necklace that the crow stole.
- I like this story, but I want to make it entirely the crow's idea. Crows are extremely intelligent. So, there's no reason that a crow would need the help of a hyena to come up with a sneaky plan. I will probably make the jewel that the crow steals something more than just a necklace. A necklace is easy to write off. Perhaps it is the king and the queen who are bathing in the river and the crow steals the king's crown. That's something that wouldn't be overlooked.
- In the original story, the crow's wife wants to just run away and leave the banyan tree to the serpent. She is afraid and doesn't want to risk something else terrible happening. I think I would prefer that she support the idea of tricking the serpent and getting him killed. The serpent did eat her children. That's likely to inspire feelings of vengeance. Crows can be quite vindictive.



Bibliography: The Panchatantra by Krishna Dharma. Web source.

Week 12 Story Planning: Valmiki

Thuggee (Wikimedia)

- The story, Ratnakar the Robber Chief, tells a variation of the origin of the sage Valmiki. Valmiki is the legendary author of the epic Ramayana. The story follows the leader of a robber band named Ratnakar. This robber band worships the goddess, Kali, in one of her darker aspects. As a part of their worship, they engage in human sacrifice. Ratnakar begins to feel guilty about the pain and death. He decides to stop and begin practicing austerities in an attempt to redeem himself. Ratnakar entered a deep trance while in the hollow of an anthill, called a valmik. He took his new name from this.
- A history of human sacrifice is not unknown on the Indian subcontinent, but it was probably very rare. There was a temple, in the town of Kuknur, built in the 8th or 9th century dedicated to Kali. Historical evidence, and anecdotes, suggest that human sacrifices took place there. There is also historical accounts that show human sacrifices dedicated to Kali were somewhat common in Bengal, and that they continued until the British outlawed the practice. However, stories still surface of children being sacrificed. Supposedly, there was a gang known as The Thugs or Thuggee. They would rob and strangle travelers in Kali's name until the British eradicated them.
- I want to write a variation of this story that stays pretty true to the original telling. In the story, the gang catches a child, a young girl, and were about to kill her. Ratnakar feels pity for the young girl and stops the sacrifice. I want to focus on Ratnakar's empathy for this girl as the impetus to change his life. This fits with the legends and evidence that show children were often a victim of sacrifices dedicated to Kali. I plan to focus more on Ratnakar's thoughts and their evolution.


Bibliography: Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Indian Fables and Folklore, Part B

Smoking and Drinking Monkeys by David Teniers the Younger (Wikimedia)

- The story, The Monkey Banker, is about the son of a merchant who got cheated by an innkeeper. The innkeeper was a woman, which probably had something to do with how easily she cheated the young man. In an effort to get his money back, and revenge on the thieving woman, the innkeeper's son spends a large amount of time training a monkey. He trains it to swallow a certain number of coins, then bring up whatever number of coins is named. The young man goes back to the inn, with the trained monkey, and convinces the woman that the gold coins are limitless, and trades the (now worthless) monkey in exchange for not only his own lost money, but everything the woman has stolen altogether. The provided moral of the story is "Ill-gotten gains will often be lost to another's roguery."
- I want to write an entirely different story that is based on the moral of this one. A thief who gets his or her stuff stolen always feels like a good example of just desserts. After stealing from someone, he will meet a woman that manages to get the best of him. Later, he might discover that they woman was the sister of the original victim.


Bibliography: Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Indian Fables and Folklore, Part A

Kali (Wikimedia)

- In the story, Ratnakar the Robber-Chief, you learn the origins of the sage, Valmiki, the poet who supposedly composed the Ramayana. Ratnakar had been the leader of a band of thieves, living in the forest, who worshipped the goddess Kali. The worship of Kali involves, among other things, human sacrifice. Eventually, after several things happen, Ratnakar begins to feel guilty about the terrible things that he's done in Kali's name, and to feel tired of all the bloodshed. So, he goes off to meditate and live in austerity. During this time, he lives within a hollowed out ant-hill, called a valmik. From this, he takes the name Valmiki. He is eventually given the gift of poetry and becomes the first Indian poet.
- I am particularly interested in Kali, a Hindu goddess of death and destruction, although it is usually a destruction directed towards evil forces. However, she is also worshipped as a sort of mother goddess. I find the darker versions of Kali more interesting, from a storytelling standpoint.
- I want to do a variation of a story about a gang of thieves and their worship of Kali and human sacrifice. The thieves could have a deep misunderstanding of who the goddess really is, and her place in the universe, which leads to them committing all sorts of horrible acts. Of course, they have to have their comeuppance at some point, so Kali in her guise of destroyer of evil would take care of it herself.


Bibliography: Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi. Web Source.

Week 11 Story: Laila and Majnu

Laila and Majnu (Wikipedia)

The baby Krishna had performed another miracle. No one had known that spirits had been trapped for long years underneath the roots of two ancient trees. The baby had freed them, giggling joyfully.

Yasoda, Krishna’s foster mother, goggled with shock at the ephemeral spirits. One appeared to be a man, the other a woman. She couldn’t imagine how they had been trapped or why.

“So, why were you two trapped under those trees?” Yasoda gave in to the urgings of her curiosity.

“We were trapped there long ago by an evil sorcerer.” The spirit with the female aspect answered Yasoda’s question.

“Will you tell me your story?” Yasoda asked.

“Of course. It will help us to talk about it,” the spirit woman replied. My name is Laila. This man was my love when we lived. His name is Majnu.”

Majnu nodded in respect to the mother of his lord and began to relate the sad tale of the two lovers. “We had loved each other for years, but Laila’s father refused my offer of marriage until I had a better life to offer. I worked hard to build something that Laila and her father could be proud of. We were just about to get our blessing when the evil sorcerer showed up.”

Laila nodded and continued the story. “The sorcerer was a cruel, greasy man. He asked my father for my hand in marriage, but I begged my father to deny him. I loved Majnu, and even if I didn’t, I was horrified at the prospect of marrying such a terrible person.”

“We convinced Laila’s father to reject the sorcerer’s offer, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He cursed us and trapped us under the roots of these two trees. The sorcerer swore that if he couldn’t have what he wanted, then no one else could have it. It amused him to trap us so close together, but with no way to reach each other. We knew we would be trapped there until our lord would come to free us. It has felt like forever.” Majnu finished their tragic tale.

“But, now we are free. We did not get a life together, but Majnu and I will spend eternity side by side. Bless you and your divine son for releasing us from that terrible prison.” Laila began to shimmer out of sight as she finished her expression of gratitude.

“Yes, thank you. We are grateful for this blessing from our lord, Krishna.” Majnu also faded away to nothing.

Yasoda shook her head in consternation. The world is a very strange place when you are mother to a god. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided to just accept the weirdness as it came. Her decision made, she picked up her giggling son and went back to her work.

Author's Note: In the stories about the Divine Childhood of Krishna, many different miracles and unusual events that occurred around the child are talked about. One of those is about the time that his foster mother tied the boy to an axle in an effort to keep him from wandering while she was busy doing work. There were two ancient trees growing close together, and the idea was that the axle would be too heavy for the child to drag. In the event that he was able to drag it, the axle would wedge between the two trees and limit his movement. However, Krishna was not only able to easily drag the heavy axle, but after it wedged itself between the trees, he was able to pull the trees down. After the trees were uprooted, two spirits appeared. They claimed that they had been held captive, by a spell, under the trees for many years. Krishna had saved them from their prison. I was curious about the two spirits. I thought that they should be lovers who were kept apart by an evil sorcerer. The sorcerer lusted for the woman, but she rejected his advances in favor of her poor, but kind and honorable lover. Enraged by jealousy, the sorcerer imprisons the two under the trees, so that they are apart, but tortured by their closeness. For the names of the two spirits, I chose the two famous star-crossed lovers from an old eastern story: Laila and Majnu.

Bibliography: Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita. Web source.