Week 3 Storytelling: Ravana vs. Jatayu

Ravana let out a triumphant cry as he lifted the very ground that Sita stood on.

“At last!” he cried, “My plan has worked perfectly!”

He placed Sita and the slab of Earth into his chariot and hurriedly sped away before anyone could follow him.

“You demon!” Sita exclaimed as she struggled mightily to escape the chariot but to no avail. “You will pay for this,” Sita said unconvincingly as she grew tired of trying to find a route of escape.

Ravana just looked at her and laughed mightily, amused at Sita’s insignificant blabbering. Just as Ravana thought he was in the clear and no one had noticed, a big ball of wings, talons, and feathers rammed into his face, knocking all the air out of him.

It was Jatayu, the magnificent eagle, here to save the day! Jatayu took a moment to gather himself, as he had not anticipated the strength of Ravana, and readied himself for another flurry of attacks. Ravana, still trying to recover from the first hit, looked up just in time to witness Jatayu ram into him once again, this time hitting his chest! Ravana collapsed onto the ground, looking as he was defeated.

“Surrender Sita now and I will let you go on your way with no additional harm,” Jatayu commanded in a cold, harsh tone, “If you do not, you will not live to see your beloved wife and Kingdom”.

Ravana stood up and gave Jatayu an amused look.

“That’s it?” he asked Jatayu, as if amused. “Surely you can do better than that.” “Stay out of the way or I will crush you,” threatened Ravana.

“I warned you,” Jatayu said as he readied himself for battle. He rushed at Ravana, but this time Ravana was ready. He caught Jatayu in one swift movement and slammed him onto the ground with ease. Jatayu, not expecting Ravana to be so quick, was crushed into the ground. He could taste the dirt and feel the bruises that were sure to reveal themselves soon.

Ravana laughed again and looked at Sita. “See what you have done? You have led this poor, old bird to his undeniable death.” He then proceeded to stomp on poor Jatayu until his words were barely coherent.

“I will finish him off now and this is all your fault Sita!” he exclaimed.

Ravana grabbed his sword and pierced through Jatayu’s heart. Jatayu was dead before Ravana could pull the sword out.

Ravana looks at Sita with a devilish look in his eyes and says, “Now you know what happens to people who try and cross me”.

Sita stares at Jatayu horrified and faints while Ravana hops into his chariot and continues his journey to Lanka.

Ravana defeats Jatayu; Wikipedia

Author's Note: In this portion of the Ramayana, Sita has sent Rama into the woods to find a magnificent deer and kill it. When Rama finished the job, the deer lets out a scream that sound like Rama’s voice which deeply terrifies Sita. At this point, Ravana’s plan has succeeded and he has Sita away from Rama so he can abduct her. Rama realizes this and immediately goes back to find Sita. Ravana proceeds to take Sita in his chariot but Jatayu, a magnificent bird, puts up a valiant fight in trying to stop Ravana from taking Sita.

I didn’t’ really change up any of the story. I mainly just imagined a more detailed battle scene and elaborated on that. I described the battle scene in greater detail and added some dialogue that I felt was appropriate at that time.

I chose this story to write about because whenever I was reading the original story I was hoping there would be more details to the battle. It was an interesting development in the Ramayana and I felt like there could have been more action and more detail to the battle.

I feel like the image I used basically describes the battle. Jatayu put up a valiant fight but stood no chance to Ravana.

Week 3 Reading Diary B

·         Hanuman crosses the ocean into Lanka and almost mistakes Ravana’s wife, Mandodari, for Sita.

·         He then finds Sita in the Ashoka Vana pleasure gardens.

·         She is guarded by demons but he manages to give to her Rama’s ring. In exchange, she gives him some jewelry that she had saved.

·         Hanuman then proceeds to wreak havoc and destroys the Ashoka Vana.

·         Indrajit “captures” Hanuman and takes him to Ravana. They attempt to negotiate but to no avail so Ravana lights Hanuman’s tail on fire.

·         Hanuman then burns down Lanka to the ground with his tail (city is rebuilt).

·         Vibhishana is exiled by Ravana and goes to seek refuge with Rama. Rama takes him in and in exchange, Vibhishana gives Rama advice on how to attack Lanka.

·         Rama goes to the sea god in hope that it will let Rama build a bridge to cross into Lanka. The sea god agrees and a bridge is built with the help of men, monkeys, and a variety of other animals.

·         In the meantime, Ravana tries to trick Sita by showing her a decapitated head of Rama but she doesn't buy it this time. She knows how Ravana is full of trickery.

·         Rama begins the attack on Lanka but is struck by poison darts and faints with Lakshmana.

·         Garuda helps Rama overcome the poison darts and eventually Rama strikes Ravana in the heart which kills him.

·         Rama tests Sita to ensure that she is still pure.

·         Rama returns to Ayodhya as King.

Ravana; Wikimedia

Week 3 Reading Diary A

•  After hearing Rama’s call for help, Sita is left alone and then abducted by Ravana. Jatayu puts up a valiant fight but in the end he is defeated and killed.         Hanuman, a monkey, is introduced into the story.        
•  Sugriva finds some of Sita’s jewelry and gives it to Rama and also agrees to help find Sita if Rama helps him defeat Vali, the King of Kishkinda. 
• Once Rama defeats Vali, Sugriva becomes King and eventually sends out search parties looking for Sita. 
•  Rama gives Hanuman his ring to show Sita just in case she is found.
• Hanuman and Angada get trapped in a tunnel while heading south and find themselves in some sort of underground kingdom.
• There they find a nymph called Swayamprabha who was a former goddess.
• They break out and release Swayamprabha but still have no luck finding Sita.
• At the ocean’s edge, they meet Jatayu’s brother, Sampathi. Sampathi had no wings because they had been burned. Upon hearing Rama’s name, his wings miraculously grow back!
• Sampathi then says that he saw Ravana taking Sita to a place called Lanka.
• To get to Lanka, Hanuman needs to cross the ocean, which he does by growing to a gigantic size and stepping to the other side.

Hanuman; Wikipedia

Famous Last Words: Week 2

This week got a little hectic as it went on but I feel like I can manage it better as the weeks keep going. I missed both Reading Diary assignments and the Storytelling assignment because I had to prioritize my classes but I ended up making up all those points with extra credit! Other than that, this class has been pretty smooth thus far and I really enjoy the different things I get to read. I have also been learning a lot in this class from those readings, which are very interesting and enjoyable!

My other classes have finally started getting busy which explains why I missed a few assignments in this class. I had three quizzes this week plus a lot of homework due so I spent most my week doing that. I’m pretty confident that I did really well on those quizzes so the studying paid off! Physics is definitely my toughest class so that takes up most of my free time.

Rush is going well, we had interviews on Friday and we will be handing out bids early this week. I’m excited to see how the rest of this semester goes and how many guys end up accepting their bids! My job at CASP is great! Interacting with the kids and seeing and hearing all the stuff they say and do is definitely entertaining. I’m never bored at this job and always have something to do so time goes by pretty quickly. This upcoming week seems kind of daunting since the first round of exams will be coming up in a couple of weeks so I don’t know how I feel about that. With a little bit of planning and effort, I feel like I’ll be ready!

CASP Logo

Overall, this week has been fun but busy! Hopefully I can catch a break here and there and be able to get everything done! 

Possible Storybook Topics

1) Possible Topic: The Hero Arjuna – I found Arjuna very interesting because he is one of the main protagonists and plays a key role in the Bhagavad Gita! His name can also be translated to my name so I really want to know more about his character and what he does. I also found it interesting how he’s so close to Lord Krishna and how he learns a lot from him. Growing up, my parents told me he was one of the greatest warriors/heroes that the Bhagavad Gita entails! The research I have done so far includes looking at the Wikipedia page about him and just the prior knowledge I have from listening to my parents tell me some stories about him!

2) Possible Topic: Epic Weapons – I found this topic to be quite interesting because they can range from the Gods’ ultimate weapons to simple weapons such as the bow and arrow. The Vajra, for example, is the thunderbolt weapon of the god Indra. How cool does that sound? There is also a simple weapon called the gada, which is a mace used by Hanuman and Bhima. I visited some Wikipedia pages to look at specific weapons and I also read some of the past storybooks to get an idea of all the different weapons and their uses. This is definitely a topic I find very interesting!

3) Possible Topic: Lord Krishna – The main reason I chose this topic is because of his close relation with Arjuna. After reading the Wikipedia page about him, I became even more interested when I read that some traditions view Lord Krishna as the “supreme being”. Growing up, I was always taught that he was the main god, even though there are many different perspectives on the traditions of Hinduism. The different ways Krishna is portrayed has sparked a definite interest in getting to know more about him. He seems very unique and filled with a lot of stories.

Lord Krishna; Flickr

      4) Possible Topic: The Goddess Lakshmi – The first thing that grabbed my attention was that this goddess has four hands! From reading the Wikipedia page, I learned that her four hands represent the four goals of human life considered proper in Hindu way of life: dharma, karma, artha, and moksha. She is also the goddess of wealth, love, prosperity, fortune, and beauty. I feel like Lakshmi represents a lot of what Hinduism is all about. She seems very important because the festival of Diwali is celebrated in her honor! 

Famous Last Words: Week 1

Well, I have finally finished the first week of this class and I finally think I am getting a hang of it! My favorite assignment so far was probably the Storybook Favorites because I got to look through a lot of other students’ work to kind of see how this class will come along. When commenting on other students’ blogs, I encountered a lot of interesting Storytelling posts which was really entertaining. When I first started this class I was kind of overwhelmed by all the assignments and blog posts but now that I have completed the orientation, it doesn't seem as chaotic.

My other classes are going pretty good right now. I have been doing my best to try and work ahead in my classes so I don’t end up getting frustrated when everything starts piling up. The only bad thing about this semester is that all my classes start at 8:30 AM on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’m not really a morning person but I’ve been doing well so far, granted it’s only been a week. Besides that, this semester is going pretty smooth! I also just got hired at CASP, which is the Community After School Program here in Norman. I will be starting to work on Tuesday! Besides that, I have just been busy with rush for my fraternity and trying to get back into the swing of things.

It’s good to be back in Norman and have something to do. I enjoyed being home over winter break but I didn't do much besides watch Netflix, sleep, and relax. It got sort of old after the first couple of weeks. Now that I am back in Norman, there’s so much more to do and I get to keep myself busy! I am starting to feel the lack of sleep already hitting me though!

It's good to be back; Wikimedia

Indian Epics Overview

Growing up in an Indian family, a lot of these stories I am familiar with although I’m sure there’s plenty of new things that I am bound to learn. I am excited to see how this class goes and what all I will learn! This is actually the first class I will be taking that focuses on the Indian culture but I really haven’t taken any classes that focus on a specific culture.

            Ever since I was a little kid, I have been watching Indian movies and listening to Indian music. It’s cool how I can enjoy music from one culture, and then also have the opportunity to enjoy music from another culture! Indian movies are also very different from Hollywood in my opinion.

I have been to India three times in my life! Once when I was really young, another when I was in second grade, and the most recent time when I was a freshman in high school. It’s like a whole new world there. The style of life is different, the environment is different, as are the people. One thing I would never do in India is drive. It’s crazy there! The road/highway system isn't nearly as developed as it is here. There’s always people honking at you and tailing you, there’s no stop signs or stop lights, and there’s really no one to enforce traffic! So I wouldn't recommend driving there if you haven’t already been exposed to that kind of chaos.

Traffic jam in New Delhi; Wikipedia

I’m really excited to see how this class goes and to learn more about the Indian culture. Hopefully it’s an enjoyable experience!

Storybook Favorites

As I was looking through the various Indian Epics storybooks, I found quite a few that I found interesting. Three of them though, stood out the most and were very intriguing!

The first storybook I found extremely interesting was Stories of an Elephant-headed God. Growing up as a Hindu, stories of Ganesha had always been prominent and abundant in my childhood. From his beheading to the noose stories, I have probably heard almost all of the stories! The title did a very good job at describing the overall content of the storybook. I also liked the simple layout and the ease of navigation of the storybook!

The second storybook that caught my eye was Arjuna: Essence of a Hero. This one is especially interesting because my name, Parth, was the name Lord Krishna used to call Arjuna by. “Parth” in Sanskrit means archer who never misses his target, which accurately depicts Arjuna! Basically, Arjuna is one of the Mahabharata’s most prized warriors, an archer whose dead eye accuracy made him legendary! He also becomes very close to Lord Krishna, who is like a mentor to him. I liked the simple layout and design of this storybook as well. The images in this storybook went hand in hand in giving a visual display of the story that was told.

Krishna offering advice to Arjuna; Tales of Arjuna

The third storybook that I found intriguing was Epic Festivals of India. This I thought was fitting title because of the vast assortment of festivals and holidays that accompany the Hindu religion. I have heard that India is sometimes called the “Nation of Festivals”, which I seem to think is very fitting as well. There is always something to celebrate or something going on somewhere! Every festival or holiday that I have heard of has always been a vibrant celebration with lots of lights and colors and whatnot. I liked the simplicity of this storybook as well and it did a really good job of providing an example of how many festivals and holidays there are in the Indian culture!

Introduction: A Little Something About Me!

Hey guys! So I’m usually pretty bad at this “about me” stuff so I’ll just start with the basics. My name is Parth and I’m currently a junior here at the University of Oklahoma studying Microbiology/Pre-Med. I plan on graduating in May 2016, barring any complications! I am involved in a couple campus organizations such as Pre-Med Club and the Oklahoma Undergraduate India Society (OUIS). I am also an active member of Delta Epsilon Psi, which is a multicultural social and service fraternity. I have also volunteered to be a part of the Medical Brigade that will be going to Panama this upcoming semester and I’m really excited for that! I want to go out and do something that will make a difference in less fortunate countries and this is a golden opportunity!

This is me! (taken by a friend of mine)

 Before I moved to Norman, I lived in a few other places. I was born on July 4^th, 1994 in Salt Lake City, UT. I don’t really remember Salt Lake City that much, but I hope to go back and visit there soon! When I was two and a half years old, my family and I moved to a small town called Ardmore, OK where my parents bought a hotel and basically jump started their life. Ardmore is where I call home because I lived there for thirteen years. After my sophomore year at Ardmore High School, my parents decided to buy another hotel in Burleson, TX so then we proceeded to move there. That was a huge decision considering I had spent my whole life in Ardmore but I dealt with it and it ended up okay. I played on the varsity basketball team there and graduated in May 2012. After that, I obviously came back to Oklahoma to go to OU!

Growing up, I was always allergic to furry pets so I only ever got to have fish as pets. Recently though, I realized that I’m not allergic to cats anymore so my roommates and I all pitched in to get a Bengal cat! His name is Shere Khan, or SK for short, and he is probable the best random decision I have ever made! He’ll be a year old next month.

This is SK when he was 8 weeks old, we had just got him (photo taken by me)

Besides all that, I’m really just a laid back person who loves to meet new people. I want to be a successful doctor in the upcoming future but I haven’t decided yet what I want to specialize in. Medicine is so vast though so I feel like I’ll figure it out once I make it to medical school. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!

Week 1 Storytelling: Work Ethic

EARLY to bed, and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

-The Nursery Rhyme Book, by Unknown

As a young man, sleeping and waking up early was something Jack could never do. He loved his sleep very much. He would sleep for hours on end, snoozing for nearly twelve hours a night! He would go to bed at odd hours of the night on weekends, some nights 2:00 AM, some nights 4:00 AM and wake up in the afternoon. School nights weren't any better, he would fall asleep around 1:00 AM and barely wake up in time to get ready and get to school on time. It got so bad that he ended up being late almost every day! After a few years of this, Jack started to see a decline in his health and productivity. He had gained a lot of weight over the years, he was broke and was failing his classes, and he had no motivation to do anything. His father had noticed Jack’s bad habits and decided it was time to talk to him.

“Hey there”, he said. “I've noticed you've been failing your classes. You also aren't making any money or have a job like the rest of the kids your age. Do you know why?”

Jack responded by saying, “I just love to sleep, Dad”.

“Do you know how I got to be as successful as I am today?” he asked Jack. Jack shook his head no and looked up at his dad. “Work ethic”, he said. “I was always up by five in the morning. I would go workout, shower get ready, eat breakfast and be ready for class or work an hour before I had to be there. Waking up early ensures that you’re not wasting your whole day. It gives you time to do more, like study, stay healthy, have a job. After work or school, I would come home, eat dinner, relax, and then take care of any other errands I had to do. I wouldn't laze around all day. And then around ten or eleven, I would already be in my bed, ready to wake up for the next day of opportunity.”

From that day, Jack took his dad’s advice to heart and fixed his sleeping schedule. He would wake up every morning at six, get ready for school by 7, eat breakfast and be on his way to school. He immediately noticed improvements in his health, grades, and social life. He got a job and started making money, and he also realized that sleeping early gave him enough energy to carry on throughout the rest of the day and accomplish more tasks. “This is great”, he thought. “I should have started doing this a long time ago”. In the end, Jack became a successful businessman and it was all because he made one simple change to his daily habits.

"Early bird gets the worm"; Sketchport

Author’s Note: I chose this proverb from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897). The proverb is pretty simple, stating that the person to sleep and rise early will be the most successful. I took that in relation with school and work ethic and how that plays a vital role in the outcome of a person’s success. A person who is disciplined enough to get the day started early is bound to succeed in my opinion.

My Favorite Places

As hard as it is to choose from the list of places I call my "favorite", I'm going to keep it simple and talk about two places that really stand out to me:

The first place is just a general place, a place where I go to relax when I'm stressed out or just need to think. It's where I go when I want to be alone and just do my own thing. That place is just any old basketball court I can find. It can be at the park, or at the gym. It doesn't have to be nice or anything, I just need a ball and a hoop, something simple.

Empty Basketball Court; Flickr

The second place is Niagara Falls in Canada. The first time I went there I was just mind blown by how powerful and big the falls are. It's definitely one of the best places I have been to just because of the sheer beauty of it! If you've never been here to visit, I definitely recommend it to anyone!

Niagara Falls, Canada; Wikimedia Commons

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