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.

Reading Notes: Sister Nivedita's Krishna, Part B

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- After the events of the Mahabharata, and the vicious war that raged between the Pandava brothers and the Kauravas, Gandhari curses Krishna for allowing all of the horrors to happen. Her curse is that his people, the Vrishnis, will destroy themselves and Krishna will die alone in the forest. Much later in time, three sages come to Dwarka, Krishna's city. They are offended by a practical joke that gets played on them and call down a curse that one day all the members of the race will be seized by a madness that drives them to exterminate each other. This curse is essentially a continuation of Gandhari's curse.
- I want to know what the practical joke was. Since it was sages, it is possible that it was something simple, maybe just done in good natured fun, but sages are probably not known for having a sense of humor.
- My thoughts on the events was that several younger sons of the powerful men in the city were put in charge of the three sages. They were supposed to show them honor and all the stuff that sages would look for. But, the sons weren't very bright and they slightly misunderstood their orders. They should also be slightly drunk. So, in an effort to show the sages 'a good time,' they inadvertently offend them.


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

Reading Notes: Sister Nivedita's Krishna, Part A

Photograph by Beth Moon (Bored Panda)

- 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 am curious about those two spirits. Who were they? Who imprisoned them and why? What was the spell that was used to keep them held under the tree and what was there existence like during the imprisonment?
- I want to tell the story of these two spirits. I think 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.



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

Week 10 Story: The Pig Who Pitied the Oxen

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

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Pig munched on the sweet fruit, crisp grains, and crunchy vegetables that were his dinner as the oxen, Big Red and Little Red, were unharnessed for the day. He watched the two with pity as they laboriously chewed their tasteless straw and grass.

Pig shook his head as he thought about the miseries that the oxen must endure every day. They must wake up at dawn and spend the entire day exhausting themselves with back-breaking labor. When they get home, they eat food that’s barely edible. They work and work and work, with no rest, and there wasn’t a single pleasure to make up for it.

Pig’s life was the picture of blissful happiness. He woke up when he wanted, and immediately dove into a delicious breakfast. After he’d eaten, he might roll in mud or play with some of the other animals. He spent hours daydreaming and finding shapes in the clouds. He ate when he was hungry, slept when he was tired, and played when he wanted to play. His life was happy, and he was happy with it.

One day, as he blissfully crunched on an apple, Pig overheard Big Red and Little Red talking about him. He listened as Little Red complained about the difference in their food and Pig’s food, and he heard Big Red tell his brother about the wedding feast and Pig’s sacrifice.

Pig already knew that he was being fattened for the table. He’d always known. He couldn’t understand why Big Red and Little Red found that to be such a horror. All animals died, eventually. Death was the one certainty of the universe, and nothing could escape it. The important thing wasn’t to evade death, as nothing has that power. The point of life is to enjoy what you have, while you have it, since there’s no guarantee for the future.

Pig couldn’t imagine living a life like the oxen. It was one enduring misery after another. He wondered why anyone would bear that, much less want to extend it. Pig decided that he would much rather have fewer good years of life than many, many horrible ones. It isn’t the length of your life that matters, its how much living you do on the journey.

Author's Note: In the story, The Ox Who Never Envied the Pig, two oxen spend all day working and carrying the farmer's load. In exchange, they are fed straw and grass. The pig that lives on the farm is fed rich, good food every day, because he is being fattened up as the main course for a wedding. One of the oxen tells the other that it isn't fair that the pig gets fed so much better when it's the oxen who do all the work. The other oxen says that they shouldn't be jealous, the pig is eating the food of death. In the end, the pig is slaughtered and the two oxen are happy with their crap food, because unlike the pig, they will have a long life. I wanted to tell the story from the pig's point of view. Perhaps the pig is equally happy with his own lot in life. He might look at the oxen, slaving away all day and living on dead grass, and think that he has the better end of the bargain. Yes, his life will be cut short, but he actually gets to enjoy the life that he has. Is it better to live 100 miserable years of nothing but toil and bad food, or 20 good years of enjoyment and pleasure? After all, death comes for all of us in the end, the when is irrelevant.

Bibliography: The Jatakas Tales of India by Ellen Babbitt. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Babbitt Jataka Tales, Part B

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- In the story, The Ox Who Never Envied the Pig, two oxen spend all day working and carrying the farmer's load. In exchange, they are fed hay and other simple foods. The pig that lives on the farm is fed rich, good food every day, because he is being fattened up as the main course for a wedding. One of the oxen tells the other that it isn't fair that the pig gets fed so much better when it's the oxen who does all the work. The other oxen says that they shouldn't be jealous, the pig is eating the food of death. In the end, the pig is slaughtered and the two oxen are happy with their crap food, because unlike the pig, they will have a long life.
- I want to tell the story from the pig's point of view. Perhaps the pig is equally happy with his own lot in life. He might look at the oxen, slaving away all day and living on dead grass, and think that he has the better end of the bargain. Yes, his life will be cut short, but he actually gets to enjoy the life that he has. Is it better to live 100 miserable years of nothing but toil and bad food, or 20 good years of enjoyment and pleasure? After all, death comes for all of us in the end, the when is irrelevant.



Bibliography: The Jatakas Tales of India by Ellen Babbitt. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Babbitt Jataka Tales, Part A

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- The Monkey and the Crocodile jatakas are stories about a stupid crocodile that gets tricked, on multiple occasions, by a monkey that he is trying to eat. First, the monkey convinces the crocodile that he keeps his heart in a tree and gets away. The second time the crocodile pretends to be a rock, but the monkey sees through the ruse and gets away again.
- In both of the stories the monkey lives on the side of a river. In the middle of the river is an island full of lush fruit trees. The monkey wants to get to those trees and the crocodile attempts to use that desire against him. Lucky for the monkey, the crocodile is deeply stupid.
- My question, when reading these jatakas, is if the island in the middle of the river is so full of fruit to eat, why does the monkey insist on living on the riverbank? Why not move to where the food is? He is constantly risking his life to go back and forth when he could just live on the island, stay safe, and eat all that he wants all the time. The only reason he survives is because the crocodile is dumb and easily tricked. What would happen if the monkey came against a more intelligent crocodile?
- I would write a third jataka in which the stupid, young crocodile goes to his wily old uncle for help in catching the monkey. The monkey can just barely escape with his life and realize that the going back and forth from island to riverbank is no longer worth the risk.


Bibliography: The Jatakas Tales of India by Ellen Babbitt. Web Source.

Week 9 Story: Spoiled Girl

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“No, I don’t want to hear another word from you. You are not dating that boy. I won’t allow it!” Mr. Dickens was tired of having the same argument with his daughter. He couldn’t figure out how to make her understand that she was acting like a spoiled, naïve child. She wanted to be treated like an adult, but had no idea how to act like one.

Sandy stomped out her father’s office, making sure to slam the door on her way out. Everyone was being so mean. They didn’t understand her love and just wanted her to be miserable. It was so unfair! Just because Sean was poor didn’t mean anything. He was also super hot and had sexy tattoos. Well, Sandy decided that she was just going to go on a date with Sean anyway. She didn’t care what anyone else thought about it.

The following two months were the happiest of Sandy’s life. Sean gave her rides on his beat up motorcycle, and she got to rub it in to all of her friends that she was dating the hottest guy in school. Her life was exactly the way she wanted it to be, and she thought it would never change. But good or bad, nothing lasts forever.

“What do you mean that you’re going off to college? Don’t be ridiculous. You have to stay here and be my boyfriend!” Sandy stomped her foot in frustration. Sean wasn’t allowed to leave her. It’s not like she could follow him, she was only a sophomore!

“Baby, I know this sucks, but it’s a really good chance for me. I got offered a full scholarship to a really good school. I can’t pass this up. It might be my only chance to make something of myself.” Sean tried to control his temper and be reasonable. He knew that Sandy would miss him when he left, but if she really cared she wouldn’t stand in his way. He was given the opportunity of a lifetime, one that he’d never dreamed he could get. He had a chance to make become better and to make a good life for himself.

“If you leave me I’ll kill myself and it will be all your fault!” Sandy stormed off as she screamed the threat.

Frantic that Sandy would do something crazy, Sean had felt that he didn’t have a choice but to go to her father. He told Mr. Dickens everything, terrified of what might happen. When Sandy got home three hours later, her father and Sean were waiting for her.

“Honey, we need to talk.” Mr. Dickens was worn out, and it showed. “Sean told me what you said. I have been doing everything that I can think of to help you, but nothing has worked. You are a spoiled, selfish and immature child. You lash out when you don’t get your way and you care nothing about other people or their feelings. This cannot continue. I have no choice but to send you to reform school.”

“You’re sending me away, because of what he said. That’s crazy! You didn’t even want me to date him, because he’s poor, but now you’re taking his side,” Sandy screamed.

“I never said that I didn’t want you to date him because he’s poor. I didn’t want you to date him, because I didn’t want you to drag him down. He’s a smart kid, and he has an excellent chance to make something of himself. I didn’t want your drama and your selfishness to screw that up for him. He’s going to college to get a good education. He has a bright future ahead of him. Perhaps, you will too, someday. For now, you need to get upstairs and start packing. We leave first thing in the morning.” Mr. Dickens’ shoulders slumped as his daughter wailed her way upstairs. He felt terrible about sending his only daughter away, but he saw no other choice. Hopefully, it would all work out in the end.

Author's Note: Sati was a young woman who married the god, Shiva. Sunity Devee tells her story in her book, Nine Ideal Indian Women. Sati's father, tasked with populating the universe, had married all of his daughters off to various gods. Sati was his youngest and his favorite. He was upset at her determination to marry Siva, as he was poor. However, Sati eventually got her way. Sati's father felt that Siva had insulted him during a yagna, so he determined to return the insult. The ultimate result of his machinations was his daughter's death/suicide. Committing suicide seems to be the immediate response to any and every difficulty that crops up throughout the various Indian epics and stories. It seems so ridiculous, and struck me as the reaction of a spoiled child. So, I portrayed Sati as exactly that. Although the father from the source story was a jerk, I thought that it would make a better contrast here to make her father a voice of reason.

Bibliography: Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Savitri, Damayanti, Sati, and Uttara, Part B Sati's Story

(Wikipedia)

- Sati's story tells of her marriage to the god Siva. Her father, tasked with populating the universe, had married all of his daughters off to various gods. Sati was his youngest and his favorite. He was upset at her determination to marry Siva, as he was poor. However, Sati eventually got her way.
- Sati's father felt that Siva had insulted him, so he determined to return the insult. The ultimate result of his machinations was his daughter's death/suicide.
- Why are the people in these stories in such a hurry to die? The tiniest little hardship and they decide that the only possible course of actions is to kill themselves. The ridiculous levels of drama make middle school girls seem reasonable and emotionally balanced!
- That is the way this story should be told. Spoiled little rich girl and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Her father doesn't approve, and she can't handle it. He dares to insult her boyfriend. If she were to handle such a thing in a reasonable manner, she would be the heroine of the story. If she were to stand up to her father and live with her decision, she would be worthy of admiration. Instead, she takes the easy way out, or in my story, threatens to.


Bibliography: Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Savitri, Damayanti, Sati, and Uttara, Part A Savitri's Story

Savitri (Wikimedia)

- Savitri is a princess. Her father had begged the goddess of the same name for an heir and she was the result. She was good and kind. She falls in love with Satyaban, the son of a blind and exiled king. They see each other across a river and fall in love at first sight.
- Savitri wants to marry Satyaban, but apparently his fate is to die within one year, so her father is against the union. Eventually, she is able to convince him that she could never be happy with anyone else and that she will never marry anyone else. Her father is forced to allow the marriage.
- Savitri goes off to live in poverty with her new husband and his parents for reasons that make absolutely no sense. Why can't Satyaban's parents just come live with them in the palace? He's blind and their both old. There is literally zero reason that it makes sense to keep them living in a hovel in the forest, with little to no food, when they could be living in comfort being well cared for. That's just dumb.
- The day of Satyaban's fated death comes and Savitri goes with him into the forest. He dies. Savitri follows Yom, the Lord of Death, after he comes to take Satyaban's body. She tricks him into bringing him back to life.
- This story is essentially saying that when love is great enough it can overcome death. That theme could be used to tell just about any story, but I think that it would make a good fairy tale.



Bibliography: Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee. Web Source.

Week 8 Progress

I am acceptably happy with my progress so far, but I feel that I am procrastinating a little more than I would like. Sometimes it's just difficult to make myself start working! I really like this class, so it's not like the work is horrible or unpleasant. I'm just tired and it's making it difficult to stay motivated some days. My weekly routine is good. The only problem with it is making sure that I stick to it the way that I should. I haven't done any of the extra credit options yet, but I'm going to start doing them soon.

My favorite assignments in this class are the reading assignments. Everything that we've read is completely new to me. I love getting the opportunity to read something that I never have before!

For the rest of the semester, I plan to start expanding a little more and doing some of the extra credit assignments. They look fun, I've just been putting them off. But, now it's at the point that I need to buckle down and just start doing them before I run out of time!

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This image pretty much sums up my mantra for the rest of the semester. I'm halfway through, and the only way to finish is to just do it! Nothing can get done until it gets started. I just have to remind myself of that fact every time that I start to feel lazy.

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

I have gotten so much amazing feedback from the other members of this class. I think that my stories improved astronomically when I incorporated some of the suggestions that were made. Using the comments that they provided I was able to find ways to deepen my stories with details. They've also been helpful in figuring out how I wanted to present my page itself and refine its appearance. Everyone's comments and been helpful and positive, so I felt confident is taking the advice that they provided.

However, I'm not feeling overwhelmingly confident about the quality of my own feedback. I tend to read stories as 'this is what the writer wants me to know, therefore this is the story.' That's good from the perspective of enjoying and being entertained by stories, but not particularly helpful when critiquing them. I just don't really have any questions that I want to ask, so it's difficult for me to find constructive ways to help other people with what to add or include. The main points that I notice tend to be spelling, grammar, and word choice. But if all of my comments are exclusively about those things it makes me feel just nitpicky and anal. Also, regarding word choice, who am I to decide why and how the story would sound better? It's their story, not mine! I'm having far more difficulty providing feedback that any other part of this class.

I feel that I have a pretty good handle on some of my classmates based on their blog posts and their introductions. Some are a bit less of an open book, but that tells me something on its own. I'm mostly comfortable with my own introduction and posts. I don't want to lay all the parts of myself out for everyone to see, but I've laid out enough.

Going forward, I want to find a way to provide more useful feedback to my fellow students. I just don't feel that I'm being helpful right now, although I am trying! I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do to get better, but I'll keep trying until I figure it out.

I picked this image, because I am trying very hard to follow it! In particular, I am trying to use it as a guideline to how I provide feedback. I'm comfortable with taking it in the spirit in which it was intended, but I am just not as good at figuring out what to say when providing it. This infographic is helpful when I'm trying to develop my thoughts.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

The reading and the writing assignments for this class have both been really enjoyable, but I like the reading a little better. It can be difficult to figure out what approach to take for writing the stories. Some of my stories have been significantly better than others, but I feel that I've done a decent job with the writing. I'm am very proud of two stories in particular. They are the ones that I have included in my portfolio project.

My favorite reading assignment has been all of the Ramayana. Although there were a few things within it that I found a bit odd, I loved reading it!

Doing the reading notes has definitely been helpful. Each one has been a little different, depending on what struck me about the story, but they have all been helpful when it came down to the actual writing. Normally, I'll get the inkling of an idea about a possible story while I'm doing the reading. The notes have helped me to not forget what it was that struck me and the direction that I wanted to go.

I'm really happy about how my portfolio project is coming along. It's actually turning out much better than I expected. I have two stories in it so far and I'm very proud of both of them. I think that they both do a good job of portraying my voice, I guess, as a writer and they're just enjoyable to read!

Arjuna (Wikimedia)

I picked this image as my favorite just because I really like it. I used it in my reading notes and to illustrate a story in my project portfolio. It's just really cool. I really want to go to Bali someday to see this statue in person!

I don't think that there are any more tools or help that I need to succeed in this class. So much has been provided that I haven't had time to even really skim the surface of it! Everything is there, I just have to find a way to use it.