Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

Wife of the Five Pandavas

Main Character
Draupadi
The Pandavas
Vyasa
Drupada

Plot 
Arjuna won himself a bride by the name of Draupadi - the daughter of Drupada. However, by accidental command from his mother, so has his other four brothers. All the brothers wanted to have Draupadi as their bride. Vyasa told Drupada that Draupadi was a reincarnated woman who prayed to the god Shiva  for a husband. She prayed five times and the god rewarded her a promised of five husbands in her next life. He also revealed that the Pandavas brothers were five incarnations of the god, Indra. Drupada gave consent for his beloved daughter to marry the brothers.

Story Idea
I think an interesting story idea would be in the perspective of Draupadi. It is not in the norms that a woman has many husbands, let alone, princes! I would also like to incorporate a flashback scene to when her past life prayed to Shiva. I would also maybe include a conversation of Draupadi and her father. I would also add another conversation of what Vyasa's knowledge of the situation to bring the story full circle.

(Draupadi and the five Pandavas - Image Source)

Bibliography. "Wife of the Five Pandavas" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Drona's Revenge

Main Characters
Drona
Pandavas
Kauravas

Plot
After training the training the royal sons received from Drona, he is now seeking payment. The price that Drona requires from Ekalavya is to take revenge against King Drupada, a childhood friend who treated him poorly. When the warriors captured Drupada, Drona proposed a proposition to Drupada - to give Drona half of Drupada's land that he ruled in exchange for friendship.

Setting
Pachanchalas

Story Idea
I think a good story idea for this passage is to retell the incidents of Drona's and Drupada's childhood. It must have been traumatic for Drona to remember after all these years and articulate a revenge plan that would require his whole lifespan. While recounting their childhood, it would be interesting to do it in Drupada's perspective since he is viewed as the victim of this passage, but I believe he did something to provoke Drona's lifetime revenge plan.

(Drona and Drupada - Image Source)

Bibliography: "Drona's Revenge" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source. 

Growth Mindset: Gotta love Cats

Here are my favorite Growth Mindset cat memes:

This reminds me of one of my mottos: "If it doesn't work, try again. If it still doesn't work, try something else." Sometimes things do not work the way we want it to because of a simple mistake or because we are doing something wrong. Perhaps, looking at something at the wrong angle. For example, I made some pretty bad quiz grades in Physiology. One week, I decided to do something different. I made more of an effort to go to Grad TA's office hours and action center. I saw my grades improve drastically. Before I move to a new strategy, I like to try the current strategy several times to make sure it does not work before I attempt another method.

(Image Source) 

For some odd reason, when tests are a few days away or the next day, I am suddenly more productive during my study sessions. I think the main culprit is stress. When I am in a stressful situation, it seems like my blood is pumping faster, adrenaline running through my veins, and melatonin production halted. The stress helps me focus better. One morning, I had a Physics test. Physics was a subject that I did not like. One, it was not comprehendible to me and two, it was an 8:30am class. I would always arrive a couple minutes late to class on a daily basis but it was a test day so I had to be on time. I was rushing to get out of the house, speeding, and fast paced walked to class so much so my legs started to cramp. As students were starting to file into the class, I made it up the stairs. I was out of breath, and flustered. But, it ended up being the highest exam grade I received! 

(Image Source)

I think an important aspect of the Growth Mindset is that your abilities can always be improved and it is not stagnant. Although as I get older, I find that improvement can be hard. Over winter break, I tried to learn snowboarding. I only got about 45% of it down. It was difficult to maneuver the snowboard with only one foot strapped on. My cousin, Phillip, had trouble breaking on the snow with his snowboard because he thought forgot that both feet were strapped to the snowboard. He eventually made it down the mountain while doing several flips in the snow. I was proud of the minimal improvements that I made, but it proves that you can teach old dogs new tricks if you try hard enough. 

(Image Source)

Review: Week 5

I have successfully backed up my blog and google site, although I am not a huge fan of backups because the process can take a long time, I understand why it is necessary. I think it is a good idea to review weekly progress on Canvas because it is easy to forget assignments.

My favorite image from the current announcements would be:

(Stages of Writing - Image Source)

Mainly because it makes me laugh and I can relate to the stages 100%. I am in the last stage the majority of the time. 

The video I chose to watch today was: Why do we get grades in school?

This topic has always intrigued me. Why are merits based upon a set structure? I think that grades were a good concept but as time has continued, "grades" have become more numeral, general based. I think this YouTube video was a good video and recommend anyone who wants to know more about how grades have come about. I think receiving narrative reports are an interesting idea, unfortunately in college lecture halls, there are too many students for that method. I think grades can be an incentive for those who want good grades, but they are not a complete marker for success. I appreciate OU's holistic approach to their application process. 

Famous Last Words: The Beginning

Happy Valentine’s day everyone! I hope you are able to celebrate it with your loved ones!

I do not have a valentine, but I do have GALentines! They were so sweet to bake me cookies and chocolates, definitely something I did not need, but something that will make this week bearable!

(created on Canva.com)

I am starting to begin my storybook of Parvati's life. I think the idea that I have is interesting, but I hope I can pull it off! I have seen other people's projects and stories, I think they are all wonderful. Sometimes, I feel like I am lacking on writing skills. I hope that the more I create stories and edit them, they will sound good. I think what makes their stories successful is the well articulated and detailed sentences. Dialogue has also made some stories sound more realistic rather than have the story told. I think I will try to do third person point of views and include dialogue in my next stories. I am still a little unsure on which direction I want my storybook to go.

This week has been a little stressful. Last week was more stressful with all my exams. However, after exams, I normal have an injured brain that needs time to recuperate, so I fall behind in some of my studies. In anatomy, we have consecutive tests which I do not like, but understand on why they are structured that way. On Saturday, I have a very important interview that has been looming over me this entire month. As it comes closer to the date, I worry I won't have enough time to prepare for it and stay on top of all the homework and studying. Luckily, in the beginning of the semester, I was able to get ahead on the Connect homework in two of my classes. 

Final note, I think I am addicted to Canva.

Week 5 Storytelling: Lava and Kusha

Boys will be Boys

Sita

When Rama declared my exile, I knew I was pregnant. I decided not to tell him so he could rule his lands in good conscience. For if I told the people, they would think I was trying to escape banishment. I decided to travel down the road to my home village, where a friend sage by the name of Valmiki took me in. He had no one. I had no one. He took care of me as if I were his own. I, too, took care of him like he was my father.

            When my twins were born, I named them Lava and Kusha. The time was never right to tell them of their heritage. Although, Valmiki told them stories of the great Rama.

            One day, Rama announced that he was doing the infamous horse sacrifice. My twins begged me to go. Rama was their hero. I allowed the kids to go with Valmiki, but without me. I did not want to attract the wrong attention. My heart yearned to see my Rama again, but the consequences were too great. As Valmiki and the boys were headed off, I stayed to tend to the chores.

Valmiki

            An old sage and rambunctious twins are never a good combination. As the twins have gotten older, they have calmed down a bit, but never enough for me. From the moment they were born, I could see, I could feel their greatness radiating. Even when Sita was pregnant, she had a glow to her.

            In the bustling kingdom, we were able to find housing with an old friend of mine, Saliki. The day of the horse sacrifice, the boys were playing the streets along with the other village children. I could see the people murmuring the uncanny resemblance of the twins with their King. By the end of the night, the talk of the town was the twins from the far village. When we got to Saliki’s house, a messenger from the palace had come to invite us to meet Rama. The boys were excited to meet Rama the hero.

Rama

            7 years ago, I banished the love of my life for my people. She understood my decision and willingly left me. 7-year-old boys are running around the streets of my village. At first, I ignored the remarks, but a part of me still wondered, hoped for them to be my children. I was doubtful. I did not want to be disappointed or mislead. Throughout the years, I had many women claim I was the father of their children. However, when I looked at their children, I did not see me. I did not see any of my features, I only saw the woman’s and a stranger’s.

            The twins walked into the palace with an old sage, someone too old to be their father. The excitement of the boys’ faces shone when they set their eyes on me. My heart warmed. I immediately saw Sita’s kind eyes, Sita’s raven black hair and my mischievous smile. There was no doubt that I fathered these children. I was still processing the information. When Valmiki offered to retrieve my wife, I had no objections. My beloved wife and children, we were going to be reunited and live a long prosperous life. 

(Valmiki, Lava, and Kusha - Image Source)

Author's note: This story was about Rama and when he meets his children. Sita found refuge with Valmiki who took her in when she was pregnant. As the boys grew older, Valmiki retold the legends of Rama. Rama decides to have a sacrifice and invite the whole kingdom. Upon hearing this, the boys and Valmiki go to the village. The villagers notice the resembalence and Rama meets his twins. Valkimi tells Rama the truth and fetches Sita. I wanted to tell this story between the different perspectives and the thoughts that may have ran through their minds.

Bibliography: "Ramayana" from Divine Archer by F.J. Gould. Web Source.