Story: Shursomething and My Big Mouth

So, I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of just randomly leaving the kingdom because father suddenly decided to exile my brother, but like usual, I didn’t get a say in that decision.  I didn’t usually care what Rama chose to do, but this was a little much.  Fourteen years spent as hermits in the freaking jungle! I mean, who gladly chooses to do that just because their father tells them to?!

Anyway, it had been a rather uneventful few years, with only some minor episodes.  I mean, Sita did get kidnapped by a rakshasa, but we got her back in one piece.  We had also met a couple of other hermits over the years.  I’m thinking we could start a club or something.  Meet up every few years, trade stories.  It would be good fun, for a hermit.  We could call ourselves Hermits United.  Rama and Sita think it’s a stupid idea, but what else are we supposed to do until Rama’s exile is over.  He keeps saying we didn’t have to come with him, but he probably wouldn’t survive fourteen years on his own.  His stupid self-righteousness would get in the way.

Today was going rather like usual.  Gather some food, collect some water, and trim the hedges, whatever.  Sita was in the hut cleaning.  She does that a lot, although since there’s a dirt floor it is rather dirty, but it’s not like the cleaning will last very long.  I did hear Rama talking to someone a little while ago.  I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Sita, so maybe that insanity gene is finally kicking in.  He gets it from his mother, I’m pretty sure.  Thankfully we have different mothers, so I should be good. Rama likes to tell me I’m already insane, but I think I would know if I was crazy…

“Are you Lakshmana?” a voice suddenly broke into my daydreaming.

“Uh, yeah.  Who are you? Are you another hermit? Do you want to join my hermit club? We’re going to call ourselves the Hermits United.  We’re only going to meet up every few years, so it won’t interrupt your hermitting duties.” I was rambling, but I really got excited when we met knew people.  Spending every day with your brother and his wife who were deeply in love got old real quick in this stupid jungle. 

“Your brother said that you are in need of a consort.  I am Shurpanakha, sister of Ravana.  I command a great empire and demand that you stand by my side and rule over it with me,” the woman said as she stepped out of the jungle.  I’ll admit, she wasn’t hard on the eyes, but I wasn’t exactly one for an arranged marriage.  And definitely not to this crazy rakshasa chick.

“Uh, thanks for the offer, but really, I’m good.  Rama was probably just joking around, and I’m not exactly interested, no offence.” There, that sounded like a nice and polite way to let the crazy lady down.

“You dare deny the sister of Ravana?! I shall devour you and that ugly female before taking Rama for my own! He shall stand by my side and rule my empire with a fist of iron!” Vishnu, this chick was cray-cray.  And, considering our family, that was really saying something.  And Rama thought it would be a good idea to send this chick my way?! Considering my stellar track record with the ladies and breakups?!

“Okay, little Lakshmana here is just going to go and get Rama and you two can talk this out…” Okay, now she’s just screeching.  Man, that noise is really hard on the ears. 

Of course, Sita, with her every perfect timing, chose that moment to walk up and ask what I wanted for dinner.  The crazy woman, Shursomething, immediately leapt at her, presumably to eat her, at least that’s what she had said earlier.  Rama, who had walked up behind Sita, threw Shur… really what was her name? Anyway, he threw her back and I, in my infinite wisdom and with my amazing sword skills, sliced off her nose and ears.  I know, not exactly the most gentlemanly thing to do, but what can I say.  I’m a hit with the ladies. 

That started the shrieking and wailing again.  Really, I mean I know I just cut off her nose and ears, but did she have to be so loud and annoying? Vishnu, I miss the city.  Anyway, she went running off into the jungle, screaming up a storm.  Hopefully that would be the last we saw of the crazy chick, but I doubted it.  Not with Rama’s luck.  I mean really, how much trouble can one guy get into?!

Author’s Note:

I chose to rewrite to parts of the Ramayana: Shurpanakha andRama and Lakshmana and Shurpanakha. This is the part of the Ramayana in which we meet the sister of Ravana who has suddenly fallen in love with Rama.  She tries to get Rama to marry her, but he just passes her off to Lakshmana, who inevitably offends her.  One of the stories mentioned that Lakshmana liked to talk dirty during fights, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate that into his general personality.  Every self-righteous man needs a crazy sibling to keep them in check right?

I got the idea from a series of books that I have read, in which the older brother is always trying to fight other people’s battles.  The younger brother doesn’t necessarily believe in the fight, but he’s always at his brother’s back.  However, he never lets anything pass without some snarky, sarcastic, or just plain rude remark. 

Image Info: Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana in exile. Source: Wikipedia.

Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1913). PDE Ramayana.

                        Ramayana, the Epic Rama, Prince of India by Romesh Dutt (1899). PDE Ramayana. 

Reading Notes: PDE Section B

The second section of the Ramayana was incredibly slow at parts, at least in my opinion.  Some of the stories were just a little too blah for my taste and I started to skim through sections if I’m being completely honest.  I tended to like the fluidity of the prose versions of the stories, but I really enjoyed the dramatic language of the verse versions.  I think it would be fun to weave the two together in some way.  At the very least, the dramatic language needs to be woven into the prose version. I really liked the story arc from Shurpanakha and Rama to Shurpanakha and Ravana.  Those stories would be fun to rewrite as one arc, maybe incorporating a little bit more trash talk into the fight scene.  I thought it was hilarious that Rama basically tried to set his brother up with a demon woman, but hey what are brothers for right?!

I also learned an awesome new word while I was reading: circumambulate.  If you break down the word it’s easy to figure out what it means, which is to walk all the way around something.  I’m really going to try to work this into a conversation at some point, so wish me luck!

Bibliography: Public Domain Ramayana, link to online source.

Image Info: Rama rejects Shurpanakha; Source: PDE Ramayana

Reading Notes: PDE Section A

Overall, I enjoyed the setup of the Ramayana.  I’m sure it’s due to the fact that it’s a compilation of different story sources, but it does seem rather choppy and hard to read at times.  However, I chose this edition for the ease of access, so I can’t complain too much! I like the fact that Rama is an avatar of the god Vishnu and that Vishnu wasn’t confined to one body.  I wouldn’t imagine that a god’s embodiment could be confined to a single human body, so it works well! I feel like the story kind of cheats at points, like when Rama is suddenly given all these magical weapons for defeating one demon.  Especially considering he just killed her with one normal weapon, but oh well. 

I think it would be fun to expand on or tweak the story of Rama and Sita meeting.  It could be cool to make her the heroine, although that seems almost cliché at this point.  I also think that it would be interesting to put a little more backing behind Rama and Lakshmana’s brotherly relationships.  In the Parashurama story, they kind of reminded me of some characters in a book that I read. The older brother was more of the star, while the younger brother was always at his back but always making little quips and just being a general pain in the ass.  It would be a lot of fun to put that into the story, be it as a modern version or in the proper time period.

Overall, I liked the first section of the Ramayana, although it was a bit hard to read at times.  The continuity problems forced me to double check the facts a couple times to be sure I knew where I was in the story. 

Bibliography: Public Domain Ramayana; link to online reading.

Image Information: Rama and Lakshmana battle the rakshasas. Source: PDE Ramayana.

Growth Mindset

I have heard of Growth Mindset in several of my classes and try to remember it whenever I am struggling with a lesson or project.  School usually comes pretty easily for me, so it was a little hard for me to wrap my head around the idea.  However, I never thought that I was a person who could just pack up and leave my family to travel to a foreign country without a serious case of homesickness, but I did! I even spent spring break travelling through London and Scotland alone with just a map and a really poor sense of direction, but I figured it out pretty quick! I won’t say anyone can learn how to do anything, but in most things, if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish it in one way or another.  Not everyone does things the same way either, so that’s something to remember too. 

Since this is my senior year at OU, I’ve got some harder classes this semester, such as my Communication Capstone.  We have to come up with and carry out some sort of research project over the course of the semester with minimal guidance, which is a little scary to me.  I’ve never been one to go to the professor when I need help, so I’m going to have to get over that.  I need to learn how to ask for help!

Image Info: Growth Mindset Meme. Source: Growth Mindset Memes.

Starting the Semester... Again

Like a lot of other people, my favorite tip is to use an agenda.  I like to write out every assignment for all my classes, using a different color of ink for each of class, another for my work hours, and another for any additional appointments or events in my life.  Obviously, a lot of current college students are from the generation that was forced to use planners throughout middle school, so it became a fantastic tool once we reached college.  Thanks to all those teachers who required it!

Image Info: Weekly Planner. Source: Flickr

However, I take the calendar game one step further by also having a dry erase calendar on the wall next to my desk.  This way, I don’t have to always have my planner out next to me to see what I need to work on next.  It’s also a nice way of being able to check things off and not be cluttering up my desk while I’m working.

I’ve done both of these since freshman year and they have been a huge help in keeping me organized and submitting my assignments on time.  I’m definitely a procrastinator, so being able to look two or three weeks ahead when I’m doing my homework can help me buckle down so I get some down time or so that I have time to work on that big assignment that is coming up!

Epic Reading Options

I have chosen to read the Public Domain version of the Ramayana.  The primary factor that influenced this decision was the accessibility.  While I prefer to read the hard copy of books, I do not want to have to sit in the library to read the book for this class.  I prefer to read it in spurts, rather than sitting down and bulling my way through it in one lump of time. 

I’m actually really excited to learn about everything in this class.  I think it is such an intriguing culture and I think the best way to learn about a culture is through the people and their stories.  Actually, while I was on my spring break last year, I travelled through Scotland and heard a lot of the stories, which lead me to pick up a Scottish Fairy Tales book while I was in a gift shop at the Battlefield of Culloden.

I have taken the Myth and Folklore version of this class and loved it.  I also took a Roman Religion class, which is the same kind of idea, but with a much more boring setting.  I definitely don’t recommend it if you’re not a history nut.  I know a little bit about Hinduism/Buddhism from a class I have taken before as well as from one of my mother’s friends.  I also just happen to live down the street from the Buddha Mind Monastery in Choctaw, which is gorgeous if you ever get the chance to see it.  I have never been to India, nor do I have any connections to the culture, other than a deep love for their food! I’m excited to learn about their history/religion through the class!

I have heard of Ganesha and Ravana before.  I can’t remember where I learned of Ganesha, but Ravana was mentioned in a series of books that I read. I learned about a few of the Indian Gods while I was in the Myth and Folklore class, but I don’t remember which ones.  I also learned a little bit about the religious practices of the culture in relation to death and grieving in one of my honors classes.  

Image Info: Ganesha. 

Source: Indian Epics

I thought this image was really interesting.  I like the simplicity of it, with the bold lines outlining Ganesha and the words of the Mantra and Yantra weaving throughout the image. 

Storybook Favorites: Epic Edition

The first project that peaked my interest was Fairytale Case Files: India.  I’m pretty sure that I have looked at the Myth and Folklore version of this project before.  I think the set up for the storybook was really well done, especially with referencing the other storybook and including a link to one of the previous stories.  The Introduction itself was fantastic.  I loved how it made the connection to the previous storybook without requiring you to read the other one.  I also liked how it was set in the Enchanted Forest and referenced India as a foreign, mysterious land. The design of the storybook is great, with the darker background and white text. 

The next project that I found was Enchanted Museum.  It kind of reminds me of one that I read in the Myth and Folklore class, although that one was filled with mythical birds.  I really like that it uses the Night at the Museum idea.  I would never have thought of using that as a way to retell some of the Indian Epics, but it works really well.  The overall design is nice too, although some of the text is a bit hard to read due to the color.  I like the idea of using different colors for the Indian tales, but some of them are just a little hard on the eyes.

Finally, I found the CSI: Indian Epics storybook.  I love the idea of continuing the theme from a previous class, which is what I would like to try to do.  The design for this storybook is really cool, especially since it’s set up as a modern journal for a CSI agent.  The yellow notebook paper lends the right feel to the storybook.  I personally think that the introduction is a little lacking, but I like the idea of this storybook. 

 

Image from CSI: Indian Epics Introduction. Source: CSI: Indian Epics

Introduction to a European Traveler

Hi everyone! My name is Michaela Moses.  This is my senior year at OU as a Communication major, which I have actually really enjoyed.  I’ve loved most of my classes and am still trying to decide if I want to go for my masters in Organizational Communication.  I actually took the Mythology and Folklore class last year and had a lot of fun, so why not take the Indian Epics class! Here’s a little bit about me:

(Image Info: Personal photo from spring 

break in London; photo from March 2016)

I grew up as a military brat.  My father is a (now retired) pilot in the Air Force.  We moved to a new state every 2 to 4 years, but we also moved several times within the state while we tried to find/build our homes.  As such, my family has always been the most important thing to me.  Friends, things, places – they come and go, but my family has always been there for me.  This includes my dogs: a Bernese mountain dog named Sherlock and a German shorthaired pointer mix named Moose.  Personally, I don’t think that life could be complete without a dog. 

(Image Info: personal photo of 

Sherlock and Moose; photo from April 2015)

Last semester I studied abroad in Italy and had the time of my life.  To be honest, my main goal in college was to be able to study abroad, so obviously I was ecstatic.  I was a little nervous because I hated living on campus my freshman year and I was only 30 minutes away from home, but I never felt homesick while I was in Italy! I actually lived with an amazing family who took wonderful care of me.  They lived above, owned, and operated the best pastry shop in Arezzo and that was my breakfast every morning.  Talk about heaven! Anyway, my favorite thing was the ease of travel in Europe.  Between the trains and buses, you could get everywhere without a car which was really nice!  I actually had a blog while I was there if you want to check it out: A Ginger and Her Suitcase.

I just started a job at the White House Black Market in Brookhaven Village in Norman, which I am actually really excited about.  I worked in a pool for over three years, so working in air conditioning is going to be fantastic. Unfortunately, I also love their clothes, so I may never get a paycheck! Oh well, guess it’s time to start exercising self-control. 

In my practically non-existent free time, I love to read, watch movies/tv, hang with my family/friends, and eat.  I don’t get a lot of time to read for pleasure anymore, but I still try.  Right now I’m reading a book by Jim Butcher and I’m trying to find a copy of the Miracle of Dunkirk, but it looks like I’ll have to order.  Which bring us to watching movies, since I want the book before I see the movie that comes out next year! If you haven’t seen the trailer for Dunkirk yet, you definitely should.  I have a lot of favorite movies, but I definitely love most of the Marvel movies! Especially Captain America: Civil War and Deadpool. I spend a lot of time with my family and try to make time for my friends when I can.  Beyond that, I just LOVE to eat.  I’m not particularly picky as to what I’m eating as long as it’s good.  In fact, food is how my friends typically get me to go places.  The promise of food will get me to do and go just about anywhere they want.  And like most college students, free food is always amazing. 

Well, I hope that this helped you get to know me a little better! If you have any questions, just let me know! I would be more than happy to answer them!

Story: The Sheep Dogs and the Sheep

The Sheep Dogs and the Sheep

Generations ago, a family of Sheep Dogs struck a deal with a herd of Sheep. The Dogs would guard the Sheep in the pasture every day as long as they were given shelter and food in the Sheep’s barn every night.  The Shepherd agreed to the deal, since he would no longer have to guard the sheep himself. 

Great Pyreneese with Flock. Source: Wikipedia.

Generations later, a handsome Sheep Dog called Sal was guarding the herd alongside his brothers and sisters.  From the time he was just a pup he had trained to guard these sheep, and as the oldest, he led his siblings in patrolling the pasture.  Day after day, a pack of Wolves approached the pasture, looking for an easy feast.  And day after day, the Sheep Dog family drove the Wolves back so that the Sheep could graze peacefully and safely. 

One day, however, the Wolves got clever.  They cobbled together a plan to trick the Sheep into driving away their guardians.  The Wolves told the Sheep that the Dogs were the ones that disturbed the peace of the pasture, not the Wolves.  The incredibly gullible Sheep told the Sal and his siblings that they no longer needed their protection. 

“But my friends,” Sal said, “the Wolves are trying to trick you! They want us to go away so they can eat you!”

Sal’s argument angered the Sheep.  They were so angry that they said to Sal “You simply do not like the Wolves! You think that everyone is out to eat us! Because of your prejudice, we are ending our deal.  You are no longer our guardians!”

Sal and his siblings tried to talk to the Sheep, but they drove the Dogs off.  Sal knew that the Wolves would not wait to eat the Sheep, but he raced back to the Shepherd anyway.  He told the Shepherd what the Sheep had done and the Shepherd raced toward the pasture. Sal heard howling from the pasture and knew that it was already too late. 

Author’s Note:

This story is based on Aesop’s original fable, The Wolves and the Sheep.  In the original fable, a pack of wolves persuaded a herd of sheep to drive away the dogs that were protecting them.  The wolves told the sheep that it was the dogs that were always causing the problem and the gullible sheep believed them.  In the end, the wolves feasted on the sheep. 

This reminded me of a show I once watched that showed how sheep dogs were raised with the sheep so that they would always defend them.  There was always a close relationship between the two species because they had been together for generations.  I decided that the dog’s side of this story had to be a little tragic, since they view the sheep as family.  It still has the same moral, do not give up friends for foes, but it is portrayed from the point of view of the friends who were driven away.  

Bibliography: Aesop for Children, by (anonymous), illustrated by Milo Winter (1919)

My New Favorite Place

Before this year, if you had asked me where my favorite place was, I would have told you that anywhere by a pool was my favorite place to be.  However, after spending a semester studying in Italy, I have a new favorite place.  Scotland!  I know, you probably thought I was going to say somewhere in Italy, but no.  I actually spent several days in Scotland over my spring break, travelling through the Highlands to the Isle of Skye.  I loved everything about Scotland: the people, the scenery, the food, just everything.  Not to mention, unlike Italy, my red hair didn’t make me stand out like a sore thumb in Scotland.  I travelled alone and it was honestly my favorite part of my time abroad.  It’s just such an amazing place!

Scottish Bridge. Source: Pixabay

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My Brothers Grimm: India Edition

Words. Source: Pixabay

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