Portfolio Introduction

Here are all the links that will take you directly to my portfolio stories. Two of my stories revolve around a food theme and my third is just my favorite story that we read this semester. Enjoy!

Jatayu-
Portfolio Story #1

The Story of Mankanaka-
Portfolio Story #2

Ganesha the Bottomless Pit-
Portfolio Story #3

OU Email Tech Tip: Week 15

I have previously used folders to organize my personal account and to keep track of important emails that I may need in the future. I try to continually delete my mail so my inbox never gets to full.

Class Writing: Week 15

I have a split view on the writing that was required for this class. I tend to be a good writer when it comes to research papers but the writing in the class often challenged me because of the creativity aspect that was required. I think this in the end hurt me, I didn't like to do storytelling posts because I never felt like they were creative or good. I think the reading diary posts were beneficial if you ever needed to look back on a previous weeks readings. However, I never really needed to do so. I think I would have preferred to take quizzes over the readings rather than having to do so much writing. I chose to do the portfolio option which was easier for me but still a struggle. I would have much rather written a research paper over any variety of Indian culture topics. I think this would be a good option to add into the mix for those of us who are more analytical and less creative.

Reading Suggestions: Week 15

I think the changes that you are planning on making would be a great way to mix things up week to week. I know that I personally got bored with the Narayan and Buck versions and often wanted a change of pace. I think the myth-folklore stories that we were provided towards the end of the semester gave a good look into another facet of Indian myth and provided a different viewpoint than we had previously seen. I think the change would benefit your future students and help to keep them interested in the material.

Famous Last Words:Week 14

Well this week has absolutely flown by and thanksgiving was no exception. I had a great time being home and spending some much needed time with my family and new niece. It was also wonderful to catch back up with all of my high school friends and see what their plans are following graduation at the end of the year. It is crazy to think that 4 years in college have almost been completed and that we will all be moving on. Hopefully I will be able to continue putting off entering the real world and will get accepted into the dental school program at OU. This decision has yet to be announced and has been placing a lot of stress into my life as I await the outcome. However, at least we only have 2 more weeks of school remaining and then will be off for a month. When I was home for thanksgiving I found out that I will be working at the Container store over winter break which will be an interesting experience. I really just needed some sort of job and didn't care to be overly picky when it came to finding one. I plan on working as much as I can over the break so I can continue saving money for my graduation trip to Europe. I am still trying to find a new job in Norman for next semester since I will only be in class two days a week. Not exactly sure how I managed to make it happen but my only classes next semester are on Monday and Wednesday from 8-3 with breaks in between. I haven't had a full day of classes since my sophomore year so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Hopefully I will be able to finish the semester strong and head out for break with a 4.0.

Jubilee and Santa 

Image taken by: Emily Reynosa

Tech Tip: Google Presence

It is quite intriguing to google your own name and see what you can find. My name is not necessarily original, however, the spelling of my last name is. Vaughan (how my family spells it) is often seen without the final a, Vaughn. This spelling is from the specific area of Ireland that my family is from and is still quite common there today. When I googled myself my Facebook and Linkedin profiles are all that appeared initially. When I added Texas to the end of the search I actually found the Facebook of another Austin Vaughan who spelled his name exactly the same as I do. I tinkered with a few other keywords but I couldn't find any additional information on myself. I guess I have a positive online presence which is beneficial when applying to graduate programs and job positions in the future.

Reading Diary B: Week 14: Khasi Folktales

What Makes the Lightning- 

• The animals watched the yearly festival of the humans and decide to create their own 
• The thunder giant summons all the animals with his drum
• Each animal came playing some role in the festival 
• A lynx danced around holding a silver sword 
• The thunder giant asks if he may borrow the sword so he too can dance, the lynx doesn't like this idea
• He is shamed by the others to give the thunder giant the sword since he is a guest and has gathered them all 
• The giant swings the sword wildly creating flashes of light while also beating his drum
• The animals scatter in fear
• The thunder giant leaps into the sky with the sword and can often be seen brandishing them both creating thunder and lightning
• The lynx never forgot his loss and builds a mound daily in hopes of reaching the sky to take back his sword

What Makes the Lightning

Ka Panshandi, The Lazy Tortoise-

• There lived a ugly, lazy tortoise by a large pool
• The pool was so clear that many stars came to look at their beauty in it
• One star in particular came very often and always noticed the playfulness of the tortoise
• He was far away and couldn't see her ugliness or her habits
• This star planned to marry her and come down to earth to be with her
• He went against the advice of others going down to Earth and taking her as his bride
• Having married one of the wealthiest grooms she became more lazy than ever
• The house was a disaster and she would be covered in mud
• After many attempts to fix her the star became discontent and left his wife
• She begged for him to come back, promising change but her never did return 
• The Khasi's refer to expectant wives waiting for their husbands return as Ka Pranshandi

Ka Panshandi, The Lazy Tortoise

How the Cat Came to live with Man-

• Ka Miaw, the cat lived with her brother the tiger
• Their household was to be great and lavish due to their standing but the tiger often only worried of himself
• She attempts to speak to the tiger about his uncaring nature but this only angers him
• He grows sick on day and is visited by friends, he requests that his sister light the hookah
• She says there is no fire and the tiger orders her to go to a village of men to get some
• When she arrives some children come and pet her and play with her which she greatly enjoys
• She forgets her task and plays with the children for a long while
• The tiger grows impatient and goes looking for her
• She hears him coming and remembers what she is to be doing and gets the fire and heads home
• She runs into her brother and he threatens her
• She returns to man and has stayed ever since for fear of her brother

How the Cat Came to live with Man

How the Ox Came to be the Servant of Man-

• When mankind was first on earth they didn't know how to live and were wasteful 
• The gods noticed this and sent an Ox as their messenger to help teach them the ways
• The Ox travels a long way and is covered in bugs
• A crow lands on him and helps remove all of the insects and the Ox is grateful'
• He tells the crow of his mission and what he is to teach the men
• This upsets the crow for its food source is the waste of men
• The crow asks the Ox that since she removed all the bugs would he teach men to cook lots of rice and leave it for the gods so that the crows may always have food to eat
• The Ox delivers parts of the original message while also adding in what the crow requested he say
• The gods were very displeased with what the Ox had done and he was banished after being struck in both the mouth and ribs
• He returns to mankind and requests to serve them and they accept him
• To this day the Ox has no upper teeth and a hollow in his stomach that may never be filled no matter how much he eats, this is the punishment of the gods

How the Ox Came to be the Servant of Man

Khasi Folktales

Reading Diary A: Week 14: Khasi Folktales

The Tiger and the Monkeys-

• Animals running wild, decided to pick a king to rule them
• Chose a tiger because of his great strength 
• He was self-centered and foolish towards the ways of others
• The tiger one day hears the singing of a small bug 
• Its so small he can't see it, all he sees is monkeys in the tree
• The monkey tells the tiger the singing is coming from his sister
• The king vows to marry her because of her voice
• The monkeys try to come up with excuses of why he cannot marry her
• Finally the give in and tell the tiger they can marry in a week so they can prepare
• The whole monkey tribe decide to make a clay women to present as his bride
• The tiger tries to talk to his bride but she is unresponsive
• The monkeys tell him to wake her by pulling a string on her neck
• When he does so her head falls to the ground
• The monkeys then attack the tiger saying he killed their sister
• The king is almost killed and now forever fears the monkeys because they are the only creatures to ever challenge him

The Tiger and the Monkeys

Hunting the Stag Lapalang-

• The most gorgeous stag lived in a forest with his mother
• He began to grow bored within the small confines of his home
• He decided he would go to the Khasi hills despite his mothers begging
• At first all was well but then he was seen and all began to hunt him
• He is finally surrounded and killed
• The mother goes after him and hears the news of his death
• She cried for her son and all returned to their work, not daring to face the grieving mother
• The Khasis realized that their lamentations for their dead were inferior to this mothers devotion and they adopted her ways 

Hunting the Stag Lapalang

How the Dog Came to live with Man-

• The dog looks for an item that he can bring to the fair
• The dog is hungry from searching and follows his nose into a village
• He is invited in by a woman and eats with the family
• He gets a jar of food to take to the fair from the family
• All the animals were enthralled with his item but when he opened it a putrid smell erupted
• The dog was ridiculed and scorned by all the animals at the fair
• He went back to the village and the man said he would protect him patting his head
• The dog did no work unlike the other tamed animals and they got fed up by his idleness
• The dog would however run all over the field after the work was done
• This made it look like he had done lots of work and was falsely accused by the pigs 
• Man punished the pig by making him live outside by himself and eat only the scrapes of mans table
• The dog was granted to live inside with man 

How the Dog Came to live with Man

The Leap of Ka Likai-

• Name given to a waterfall with an unfortunate story behind it  
• There was a young married women named Ka Likai who had a daughter
• The husband died while the child was very young
• Ka Likai does everything she can to support them but must marry again
• Her new husband was very selfish and hated the child because of the attention she received from Ka Likai 
• He made Ka Likai work while he stayed home and abused the girl
• One day while Ka Likai is gone the step father kills the child and cuts her into pieces
• He cooks her into a soup 
• Ka Likai returns home to find her husband in a good mood 
• They have dinner together and at the end she reaches in a basket only to find her daughters hand
• She runs away and throws herself off the waterfall thus giving it its name
• This story warns women from marrying a second time 

The Leap of Ka Likai

Khasi Folktales

Essay: Week 13

This week I once again chose to do the untextbook reading, however, unlike last week I didn't enjoy this set of readings as much. They were very disconnected and unrelated to one another which made them a bit of a struggle to get through. However, each of the stories focused on an internal theme or message that usually came out by the end of the short tale. I read through all of the stories and then picked a few of them to write key points about for my reading diary. Since there were over 20 stories I didn't feel that it was necessary to summarize all of them. Basically the stories were very short fables that each told of a relationship and the actions between characters. Had I known that all of the stories were going to be very close to one another I probably would have chose a different reading, this one dragged on as I got about half way through. Although I didn't enjoy this set of readings as much as the first ones, I do still love this unit and the freedom that it provides us. It is great to get a new set of characters each week and have various new story lines and plots to follow. The untextbook version is definitely the way that I will continue to read because it keeps me on my toes, never growing stagnate.

My favorite story of this set was the crow and the egret. Basically a crow switches its babies with and egret's and tries to play it off like nothing happened. The crow does this because she is jealous of the white and beautiful babies that the egret has while her's are black and unattractive. The egret and crow ask a man to decide which babies belong to which mother and his greed drives him to agree with the crow. The egret is distraught over this and discusses her problem with the jackal who oversees everything. The man overhears their conversation and realizes that he has done wrong in taking the side of the crow and realizes he must right his wrong. He goes back and gets the babies switched back to their rightful mothers so he doesn't have to deal with the jackal. This tale discusses the greed that people have for one another and what it can cause people to do.

Santal Folklore

Crow and an Egret

Prashant

Reading Diary B: Week 13

The Jackal Punished-

• A jackal and hen were friends and decided to have a feast, both making beer for the occasion
• They first drank the jackal's beer, the hen couldn't stand the smell so the jackal drank it all
• Then the drank the hens and she became very drunk 
• The jackal thought the hen must be good to eat since she made such good beer
• The jackal eats the hen and plans to eat her chickens tomorrow 
• The chickens try to devise a plan to not be eaten
• They use an egg in the fire to distract the jackal
• Hit him over the head and use axes to chop him into pieces and avenge their mother's death

The Jackal Punished

The Elephant and the Ants-

• Two ants are talking to an elephant who believes he is much superior to such little creatures
• The ants challenge the elephant to race
• The elephant ran as hard as he could but each time he looked down the two ants were right next to him
• He does this over and over and always the two are right there
• He drops dead from exhaustion
• The two original ants didn't run at all
• There are so many ants on earth that every time the elephant looked down he happened to see two ants thinking that they were the first two ants
• Lesson: do not despise the poor man because he may one day be able to put us to shame

The Elephant and the Ants

The Jackal and the Hare-

• A jackal and hare were friends and wanted to make a meal of rice and milk one day
• They went to the road to market and the hare distracted the men while the jackal took all that they needed from the men's cart'
• The jackal asks a women for a light for their fire and offers to crush her meal while she gets it
• While she is gone the jackal spoils all of her meal
• The jackal and hare bathe, the jackal returning first and eating his fill of the meal and spoiling the rest
• The hare yells at the jackal and throws the pot at him causing him to run off
• The jackal makes a drum and plays it everyday
• One day the hare decides to ask the jackal to play the drum
• He plays it so hard that he breaks it then runs away

The Jackal and the Hare

The Brave Jackal-

• He-goat is scared of being killed so he hides in a leopard's cave
• The leopard asks for a jackal's help 
• The two tie their tails together and go back into the cave
• The he-goat talks to them and scares the two away
• As the attempt to run out their tails come apart and the leopard pulls off the hair of the jackals tail

The Brave Jackal

The Crow and the Egret-

• A crow and an egret made their nests in the same tree
• The crow thought the young egrets were much prettier than her own young and one day switched them
• When the egret returned she obviously noticed the switch and began to fight with the crow
• They asked a money-lender who lived below them to handle their problem
• The egret promised to give him a fish and the crow promised a gold necklace which she took from the Raja
• He decided that the birds should stay in they nests they are currently in
• As a jackal came by the egret told him what had happened
• The jackal promises to come back tomorrow and handle the issue
• The money-lender overheard the conversation and was shamed for his decision
• He righted his wrongs before the jackal had to return tomorrow 

The Crow and the Egret

Santal Folklore: All Stories

Reading Diary A: Week 13

Lehda and the Leopard-

• Lehda is a lame village boy who the other boys pick on
• Leopard and a lizard are playing hide and seek one day
• The leopard sits on the lizard accidentally because he cannot find where he is hiding
• The lizard bites the leopard on the butt and won't let go
• The leopard gets Lehda to help remove the lizard and promises not to eat him
• The leopard told Lehda that if he told anyone about what happened he would eat him
• That night his sister coaxed the story out of him and the leopard heard him tell her, he carried off Lehda in his bed
• Lehda wakes up in the jungle and jumps into a tree to escape, the leopard gets him down by promising not to eat him (lie)
• Lehda agrees to being eaten but request one last chew of tobacco first, as he digs in his bag he convinces the leopard that he has the lizard from yesterday and is going to let him loose
• The leopard runs away
• Lehda befriends the buffalos and becomes their servant
• Lehda sends hairs down the river and a princess requests that her father find this man and until he did she would not eat
• After men had failed a crow ends up being able to lure Lehda to the city 
• He marries the princess and returns to care for the buffalo creating a great palace in the jungle 

Lehda and the Leopard

The Tiger's Bride-

• A woman is cutting grass, cuts too much and can't carry the load. 
• She asks for help and when no one responds promises her daughter's hand to whoever helps
• A tiger comes to help as long as he actually gets her daughter
• 3 days later the two are married and head to the tiger's home
• The tiger tells he to cook a feast for him and his friends, she acts like she is cooking buts sneaks back to her mothers house and climbs a large tree
• The tiger and his friends grow impatient and they realize she isn't there
• The friends attack the tiger until he runs away and is never seen again

The Tiger's Bride

The Killing of the Tiger-

• At one time all animals and men could communicate, during that time there was a man-eating tiger
• The tiger fed upon men crossing a bridge into the city
• Finally everyone got together requesting that the Raja gather his soldiers to kill the tiger
• He promises half his kingdom to whoever can kill the beast
• A shikari (hunter) offers to go and kill the tiger, the Raja assumes he will be killed and promises him the offer
• The shikari hides in a tree by the bridge for the night seeing the tiger the next morning
• The two begin to talk and the tiger wonders why the man has been looking for him
• The shikari tells the tiger that he has captured 3 of the tigers kind and will show him when he comes down
• He fools the tiger by showing him pictures through a looking glass making it look like he has them captured within
• He told the tiger that if he stopped killing the people on the bridge he would let him go and not trap him within
• The shikari also requested a claw from each foot, the tip of the tiger's ears and tounge
• The tiger agreed
• The shikari presented all of this to the Raja and he got his promised reward
• The tip of the tigers tounge got infected and he died

The Killing of the Tiger

The Tiger Cub and the Calf-

• A tiger and cow are friends and agree to marry their children
• The tiger has a she-cub and the cow a bull-calf
• The tiger and cow would eat together, drink from a river and then head back to their young
• The tiger always drank upstream from the cow except for one day
• That day she tasted the cows froth and liked it, assuming that her flesh must also taste good, deciding she would eat the cow one day
• The cow told her son what the tiger had in store and left a bowl of milk telling the cow that when it turned red she would have been killed by the tiger
• The mother tiger returned to feed her cub and was covered in blood
• The cub told her to wash herself before she would suckle and while the mother went away the cub and bull ran away together

The Tiger Cub and the Calf

Santal Folklore: All Stories

Famous Last Words: Week 12

Well for anyone who follows OU football this weekend was quite the disappointment. An 11am game is a hard thing in itself but a game that ends up like this one did is just a cruel punishment. I went to the game expecting to have a chance of beating Baylor and left just hoping to maintain some level of composure. Other than this small detail I had a pretty decent week and weekend. I couldn't wait for Friday to arrive after having two tests this past week and lots of other work to complete. Really I am just glad that this weekend just came and went because it stood in the way of this upcoming weekend which I have been looking forward to for months. I am headed to Lubbock, Texas on Friday to spend the weekend with some of my best friends from high school. We all try to make a trip to see one another at least once a semester and this time it is my turn to go to them. Every weekend I have spent in Lubbock has been a blast and I am expecting nothing less from this one. Unlike the others though, it is also the weekend of my 22nd birthday so I will get to spend it celebrating with my closest friends. Usually my mom drives up from Dallas to spend my birthdays with me and my friends in Norman so she is a little bummed that I will be gone this year. However, she already sent me my birthday gift and I of course didn't wait till my actual birthday to open in. She got me a great pair of boots that I love and have wanted for a while now. She always manages to get me the best gifts. Well I'm sure I will have quite a few stories to tell in this post next week after the weekend out of town.

Clarks Boots

Style Forum

Keyboard Tech Tip

¡Hola! Me llamo Austin y eso es una tipa para mi clase. En la semana es una día muy importante a mi. La día de me cumpleaños es en eso semana.  

Spanish 

Hi! My name is Austin and this is a tip for my class. This week there is a day that is very important to me. My birthday is this week. 

Essay: Week 12

This week I chose to do the un-textbook readings and was quite happy with my choice. This option was great because it provided me with a much needed change and a fresh look at some Indian tales. I read all of the stories in Twenty Two Goblins which I must say, were quite enticing. I really enjoyed having a new set of characters to analyze and not as much background knowledge of the happenings. I also liked that the overall story was made up of smaller individual stories told throughout. I think this helped me to stay intrigued and continue reading each section.

I think my favorite story that was told within Twenty Two Goblins was The Girl and the Thief. Basically the daughter of a powerful merchant refuses to marry any acceptable man that her father has presented her. The town is being continually ransacked by a thief who the king manages to apprehend one night. He his sent to be executed and while he is on the stage the girl falls in love with him. She attempts to have her father convince the king to let the man go but he refuses. She stays next to the thief during the execution and for her commitment and compassion she is rewarded by the gods. They grant the thief his life and the two are married. The thief also becomes a good and honest man, he is made a general for the king. I really enjoyed this story because of the various aspects and layers that it had. Although, it does seem to be a tale of love it is also one of heartbreak and duplicity.

Overall I think this was a great unit and a nice break from the consistent readings that we have had thus far. It was a good change of pace and in the future I would suggest having this option available every month just to change things up. It definitely reignited my interest in the class and even got me to do a storytelling post which hasn't happened in a few weeks.

Twenty Two Goblins

E-Book 

Twenty Two Goblins

Storytelling Week 12: Twenty Two Goblins

"Son, take a seat so I can tell you a story that has been passed down through our family for generations" said the boys grandfather.

He thought to himself, here we go again, grandpa's got another wild story that will go for days and eventually have no point to it. However, he did as his grandfather had instructed him, taking a seat on the couch.

"This is the story of Twenty Two goblins, an ancient tale telling of the trials and tribulations of King Victory" said grandpa.

A very long long time ago there was a great King named Victory. His name was quite fitting seeing that he had never been defeated in battle and his kingdom was the most renowned in the land. Each day the king received a single piece of fruit from a weary monk, never speaking a word, juts handing over the fruit and then returning to wist he came from. The king never thought anything of it until one day a wild monkey had wandered into his palace just as the monk had given him the fruit. The king being a generous man gave the papaya to the monkey who split it open only to reveal a large ruby lying within. The king quickly asked his treasure what he had done with the rest of the fruit, they rushed to the storage room and quickly found that each and every piece held a beautiful gem. The king instantly assembled his men to go and fetch this ever so gracious monk for him. Upon his arrival the monk informed the king that he needed his help and that is why he always presented him with the fruit. The king agreed to help the man and met him later that night under a fig tree outside the city walls. The monk then explained what it was that he wanted from the king. He asked that the king trek through the cemetery to the far side where in the tree would be hanging a dead man. He asked that the king bring the dead man to him. The king being a man of his word agreed and headed off in the direction of the tree.

As he came out of the far side of the cemetery he found the man rung by his neck hanging from the tree. He swiftly climbed its branches to cut the man lose. With one foul swoop he sliced through the rope and the man crashed to the dirt. However, unlike most dead men, this one grimaced and winced as if he had actually felt such a fall. The thought that he must be hearing things and proceed to pick up the body. As he did so the mans head rotated in his direction and began to speak to him. Unaware of how this could be possible the king began asking the man various questions which he however, refused to answer. The king had only once heard of such black magic but thought it only to be a myth. What he had heard was that a goblin and only a goblin could take over the body of the dead, he assumed that this is why the monk needed this man, to banish this dark creatures back to his hole and free this mans poor soul. As they walked along the goblin asked the king if he liked stories, especially ones with riddles embedded throughout. The king, thinking himself to be quite the intellectual told the goblin that never has there been a riddle that he couldn't solve. The goblin took this remark as a challenge and began to tell his first story of the night. He told the king that he must answer the riddle if he does in fact know the correct answer, if he doesn't do so then his head will explode. There was also the small stipulation that if in fact the king was correct in solving the riddle then the goblin would be put back in the tree and the king would once again have to fetch him. And so a long night of exchanges began between the goblin and the king, each trying to outsmart the other and each having a secret agenda of their own.

Amusing Goblin 

Star Gazers

Author's note: This story comes from the un-textbook reading of Twenty Two Goblins. It was quite challenging to actually retell any of the stories because they are written very well and already provide a lot of detail. I did however decide to rewrite the introduction and added a few small parts to it. If you would like to read any of the stories they are all summarized (in a lot of depth) in my reading diaries and there are also links to the originals.

Reading Diary B: Twenty-Two Goblins

The Snake's Poison-
Hariswami was married to a wonderful wife by the name of Beautiful. As the two were sleeping on the balcony one night a fairy prince named Love-Speed flew by with Beautiful catching his eye. Still asleep, he carried her out of bed with him and flew away. Hariswami then awoke panicked wondering where his wife had gone off to. He searched all over the rest of the night but couldn't find her. The next day Hariswami could not could not control his emotions and sobbed throughout the day reminiscing on all the places his wife had been. After much urging by his family he pulled himself together and decided he would give all he had to the Brahmans and walk off his sins in order to find his love. He began to wander all throughout the summer and ended up at a Brahman's house hungry and thirsty. He was given food by the mans wife and told to go down to their pond and eat it there. He set down the food to wash himself and at this moment a hawk flew over with a dead snake it its talons. The snake was dripping poison and a small amount landed right in Hariswami's dish. He went back to the woman who gave him the food and told her that he was poisoned by her dish, requesting she get the poison doctor. Hariswami died before she could reach the doctor and she in turn was wrongly accused for his death and sent on a pilgrimage. The goblin then asked the king who was at fault for the death of the Brahman, the woman, her husband, the hawk or the snake. The king answered that of the four options it was not the fault of any. The king stats that it is the fault of the dead man himself because he had the audacity to blame the others. Once again he goblin escaped the king and returned to the tree.
The Snake's Poison

The Girl and the Thief-
Pearl, the daughter of the a great merchant of Ayodhya, had grown to be beautiful, modest and charming. Now of age to be married she had the proposals of both great merchants and kings alike. However, the girl wanted nothing to do with men and wanted to die at the mere discussion of marriage. At this same time the city was being ransacked nightly by thieves and its citizens requested the king to do something to stop this problem. The king placed night watchmen throughout the city in hopes of catching the thieves but nothing came of their presence. Finally, the king decided that he himself would wander the streets in hopes of finding who was stealing from his people. As he patrolled the city he found a man creeping through the streets and the king approached him. The king told the man that he too was a thief and the man took the king to his home. The thief left the king alone at which point his maid came in and told the king of the thief's plan and that he needed to leave the house right away. The king returned to the house with his army, the thief realizing that he had been betrayed decided he would go out fighting and took on the entire army by himself. He fought with more power than any man and had slain the entire army other than the king. The king now charged the man himself and with a flick of the wrist disarmed the thief and wrestled him to the ground, taking him alive. The following morning the thief was brought out to be executed and at that moment Pearl fell in love with the man and wanted only him to be her husband. She begged that her father stop the execution and finally he went to the king, offering everything he had for the thief's release. The king refused to do so and Pearl then decided that she too would die next to her love. As she mounted her funeral pyre Shiva came to her and offered her a wish because of her commitment. Pearl wished that her father would have 100 sons so that when she died her family would not end with her. Shiva then offered her another wish in which she asked for the life of her desired husband and that he be a good man. This wish was also granted to her and her husband came back to life and they were married. The king heard of these happenings and made the thief one of his generals because of his courage. Pearl and the man were married and lived happily with one another. The goblin then asked the king if when the thief saw Pearl approaching at his death if he wept or laughed. The king answered that the man both wept because he would never marry this girl but also laughed due to his bewilderment of why a girl would reject kings and chose a thief for a husband, thinking to himself that women were crazy. Once again the goblin escaped and returned to the tree.
The Girl and the Thief

The General's Wife-
On the bank of the Ganges lay Golden City, ruled by King Glorious, who had earned every bit of his name. Within the city lived a merchant who had a daughter named Passion, every man who saw her fell madly in love and went crazy with passion. When the girl was of age the merchant went to the king to ask his permission to marry her off while also purposing that the king himself marry her. The king sent his Brahman's to examine Passion, each realized that if the king was to marry her he would be consumed and his kingdom would fall apart. They told the king that she possessed bad qualities so he would not marry her. He turned down the merchants offer but gave the girl to general Force. As spring time rolled around the king rode his elephant throughout the city to the spring festival. The women were all to stay indoors in order to not fall for the beauty of the king, however, Passion wanted to see the king and went out to her balcony. The king saw Passion and was overtaken with love, feeling her soaking throughout his body. He began trying to find out everything he could about this women and finally was told that this was Passion, the girl he denied for marriage. He banished the Brahmans who had fed him the bad information about her and longed to be with her. General Force heard of the love the king had for his wife and visited him in his palace. He told King Glorious that he was a slave to him and therefore he could have his wife if he desired her. This offer angered the king for he was a virtuous man and would not commit such an action against one of his own people. Even when the entire city urged the king to take the generals offer he refused. His glorious and proud nature ultimately lead to his death, the love he held secret for Passion ate away at him till nothing was left. General Force felt to blame for the King's demise and burned himself alive. There goblin then turned to the king and asked which of the two men was more deserving. The king pondered on the question and stated that the king was the better of the two. The goblin questioned as to why the king was the better if the two when he had offered to give up his own wife in loyalty to the king. The king responded that King Glorious had only to be loyal to himself unlike his servants and by denying his heart had shown true sacrifice. Once again the goblin escaped his grasp and returned to the tree.
The General's Wife

The Four Brothers-
Four brothers not amounting to much wander the country in hopes to find themselves in this world. One of the brothers while trudging through the forest came upon a dead man and thought to himself that this man had found true happiness, no longer having to deal with the woes of life. At this point he decided to hang himself, as he attempted to do so he was stopped by a man passing by. The man explained to him that his unhappiness was caused by his unrighteousness and that if he was to become a righteous man he would in turn find happiness. After speaking with his brothers the four decided that each should wander in a different direction and along their travels each should learn one particular science. After some time the four brothers were reunited and began to discuss what each of them had learned. The first brother told the others that he could now take the skeleton of any animal and put the correct flesh upon its bones. The second brother told that he could put the proper hair and skin on the now flesh covered skeleton. The third could put in the eyes and other organs of sense once the skin, flesh and hair were put into place. The fourth could give the animal the breath of life after the other three brothers had done their parts. The brothers decided to test out their skills together and went to find a skeleton, stumbling upon that of a lion. The brothers are worked their magic and the beast rose back to life, instantly killing its creators and returning back into the forest. The goblin then asked the king which of the four brothers was most to blame for the creation of the lion. The king answered that it was the brother who gave the beast life. The others were not aware that the animal was a lion but the fourth brother could now see its form and still brought the creature back to life just to prove his skill. The goblin once again escaped and returned to the tree.
The Four Brothers

The Old Hermit
In the city of Beautiful there was a well-known Brahman named Sacrifice who had a son named Devasoma. The boy was to excel at whatever he put his hand to, but during his 16th year he feel ill and died. His parents were distraught and refused to burn the boys body. After much persuading by the boys relatives, his parents decided that he must be sent to the cemetery and cremated. As the family followed the boy to the cemetery, their wailing was noticed by a hermit living nearby. The hermit went to find the source of the commotion and saw the young boy still ripe with youth lying on the pyre. In this moment he decided that he would use his magic to exchange his body for the boy. The hermit went aside and wept aloud and then began to dance all around. The hermit then left his old decrepit body and entered the body of the boy still lying on the pyre, he arose and a cry of joy erupted. He told his family that he had been to the other side and was sent back by Shiva to perform a mission. He sent his family home and told them that after its completion he would return to them. The family followed his instructions and returned home while he disposed of his previous body and walked off into the distance. The goblin then asked the king why it was that before the magician entered the boys body he both wept and danced. The king answered that the hermit first wept from grief, knowing that he would forever be leaving his body, the one his parents had made and that he had lived life in. He then danced at the thought of returning to his youth while still possessing the knowledge he had gained throughout a lifetime. The goblin once again escaped the king's grasp and returned to the tree.
The Old Hermit

Father and Son, Daughter and Mother-
King Virtue of the Southern country was married to Beautiful of Malwa, the two had one daughter, Moonlight. Once their daughter was grown there was a plot to ruin the kings reign and he and his family were driven from the city. They fled to the land of his father-in-law to seek protection and housing. On there travels the three came upon a a terrible village, filled with robbers who saw the king and his family approaching. They came out armed intending to rob the king. The king instructed his wife and daughter to run into the woods in order to protect them from the men. After much fighting the robbers over took the king and killed him, taking with them all of his possessions. The queen, having seen her husband killed ran further into the forest finally stopping near a lotus pond. A father and son lived in this area of the woods and saw the footprints of the two women leading throughout the forest. They began to track the pair and the father promised his son, Strong-lion, that if they found the two women he could marry one of his choosing. The son requested the one with the smaller footprints to be his wife because he assumed she was the younger of the two. He then begged that his father marry the second woman for he had lost his wife and a home without a wife isn't truly a home at all. As the men found the two women they brought them back to their city after the queen had explained why it was they were in the forest to begin with. The queen was the one with the smaller feet so she was married to Strong-lion, whereas Fierce-lion married Moonlight for she was the one with the larger feet. Therefore Moonlight became mother-in-law to her own mother and Beautiful became daughter-in-law to her daughter. After some time had passed sons and daughters were born to both couples. At this time the goblin asked the king how it was that the children of both couples were then related to one another. The king twisted the situation this way and that but was unable to come up with an answer to the question. This pleased the goblin greatly but he was truly amused with the willingness of the king to continually return to the tree and fulfill his promise. The goblin then began telling the king the truth of the nights endeavors. He told the king that he would now leave the body so it could be returned to the monk but that the monk is truly a rouge who will try to sacrifice the king to gain access to the goblin. The goblin tells the king that the monk will instruct the king to lie on the ground with an attitude of reverence, when told to do so the king is to ask the monk to show him what he means and when the monk goes to do so the king is to cut off his head. In doing so he will gain kingship over the fairies which is what the monk plans to accomplish himself. At this point the goblin left the body and the king made his way to the monk at the fig tree.
Father and Son, Daughter and Mother

Conclusion
As the goblin had told the king, the monk asked the king to lay down with an attitude of reverence upon his arrival. The king stated that he did not know such attitude and if the monk could display it for him it would be quite helpful. As the monk did so the king cut off his head and cut out his heart, giving both to the goblin who had followed in the shadows. The goblin is pleased with the kings actions and offers him the rule of the fairies only after he has ruled the world. The king however declines this offer, only asking that the goblin make sure his stories are known throughout the world. The goblin says that it shall be done and that wherever these stories are told the creatures of darkness shall have no power there. Then Shiva appears to the king and is delighted with his actions. Shiva gives the king a sword called Invincible that will grant any wish the king may have. THE END. 
Conclusion

Reading Diary A: Twenty-Two Goblins

King Victory is presented daily with a single piece of fruit by a monk named Patience. Each day the fruit is then given to the King's treasurer. One day the king instead gives the fruit to a monkey who had wandered in and as the monkey split open the fruit a large gem fell to the floor. The king had the treasurer check the other fruit and all was filled with gems. The following day the king asked the monk why he was doing this and the monk requested the kings aid. The king meets the monk in the cemetery and the monk asks him to collect a body that will be hanging from a tree to the South. The king finds the body and cuts it lose, hearing it yelp as it hits the ground. The king rushes to the bodies side and realizes a goblin has occupied the body. The king throws the body over his shoulder and the goblin begins to tell the king a story. Each story the goblin tells ends with some type of riddle that if the king answers correctly the goblin its transported back up into the tree. If he answers the question incorrectly then the goblin move onto the next story.
Twenty-Two Goblins Homepage

The three brothers who brought a dead girl to life-
Three Brahman brothers request Coral's hand in marriage and her father has to pick 1 of the 3. Once he decides Coral still doesn't marry because she doesn't want to hurt the other two. She then when day gets very sick and dies. The 3 brothers mourn her death, one taking her ashes to sleep on, one taking her bones to the ganges and the third becoming a wandering monk. The monk ends up in a village called Thunderbolt where he meets with the family of a Brahman. The mother throws their crying child into the fire and he is turned to ash. The monk is shocked by this doing but the Brahman begins to explain to him that he has mastered the skill of bringing the dead back to life. He shows the monk by reading a spell and sprinkling some water onto the ashes. As he does so the boy rises back up and back to life as if nothing had even happened. The monk then steals the book that night in hopes of bringing Coral back to life. He returned to his brothers and cast the spell on Coral's ashes. They watched in amazement as she reappeared before their eyes. The goblin then asks the king which of the three should now be the wives husband. He explains his answer and chooses the one who slept in the cemetery with her ashes because thee were the acts of a husband. The goblin then escapes his grasp and ends up back in the tree. The king goes back to get him once again because he intends to honor his word to the monk.
The Three Lovers

Brave, Wise, Clever-
The daughter of the kings counselor, Moonlight, says she will marry either a brave, wise, or clever man and will die if she is married to anyone else. The counselor is off in the southern country to make peace for the king when he is approached by a Brahman youth requesting his daughters hand in marriage. He states that he is a clever man and proves himself by creating a flying chariot. The counselor arranges the marriage for the 7th day. Moonlight's brother is approached by another Brahman youth who claims he is a brave man. He shows the brother his skill with weapons and is also promised arraign for the 7th day. The mother was approached by a third Brahman youth who claims he is a wise man, he is also granted marriage for the 7th day. All 3 men show up on the 7th day but moonlight has been kidnapped by a giant named Smoke-tail. The clever man made a chariot once again to carry the men to the giants den. When they arrive the brave man fights and kills the giant. The goblin then asks the king which of the three men should be the one to marry Moonlight. The king explained it should be the brave man because he truly recused the girl while the other two were just helpers. Once again the goblin escapes his grasp and ends up back in the tree.
Brave, Wise, Clever
The Girl, Her Husband, and Her Brother-
In the city of Beautiful there is a lake called the Bath of Gauri in which once a year people come from all over to bathe in. One day a laundryman named White comes to the lake to bathe and sees a girl who catches his eye. Her name was lovely, he inquires about her and her family then goes home. White's father, Spotless, encourages his son that he will be able to obtain the girl for marriage. White and Lovely are married and invited by Lovely's brother to their families festival. They come to the temple of a goddess in the city of Beautiful and each plan to honor her. White goes in first and decides to favor her with a sacrifice. And so he cuts off his own head in her honor. The brother-in-law follows White into the temple, sees what he has done, goes mad with rage and also cuts his own head off. Lovely goes into the temple to find both her brother and husband dead on the floor and begins to grieve. Before killing herself she begs the goddess to give her the same husband and brother in each of her following lives. A voice comes to her as she is about to hang herself and tells her not to be rash and to place a hand on each of the men and they shall rise back up. In her rush though she placed the wrong heads on the wrong bodies and they came back to life. The goblin then asks the king which of the two should be her husband. The king answers that is should be the body with her husbands head because it is the head by which we recognize people. Once again the goblin slips away and back up into the tree.
The Girl, Her Husband and Her Brother
Food, Women, Cotton-
Three brothers are sent by their father to obtain a turtle from the ocean for his sacrifice. Once the brothers get the turtle they begin to argue about which should carry it. Each has a reason why it should not be them so they go to pinnacle to find the answer. The king plans to judge each of the brothers. He first judges the brother who is the critic of food and finds that he does indeed know food and everything about it. The king then sent the most beautiful women to the second brother to see if he really was the judge of women. She seemed to be extravagant but the brother was disgusted by her and said she smelled goaty. It was found that she girl had been raised on goat's milk and the king was impressed with the second brother. The third brother was tested with quilts, he arose in the middle of the night writing due to the presence of just one hair on one of the quilts. The boys were given gold by the king and decided to stay in the city, failing their father. The goblin then asked the king which of the three boys was the cleverest. The king chose the cotton specialist because the other two may have known of the issues beforehand. Once again the goblin ran off and back up into the tree.
Food, Women, Cotton
The Four Scientific Suitors-
King Heroic goes to the Ganges and prays to Shiva to be blessed with children. He is told he will have two children, one brave son and one beautiful daughter. His wife has their son Brave followed by their daughter Grace. When the girl comes of age the king begins to try her a husband. He is unable to find a man who he finds suitable and Grace tells him that all she wants is a husband who understand one science completely and throughly. Four scientific men come to the king and explain to him their sciences, a suite maker, a farmer who understands all animals, a swordsman, and a Brahman who can restore life to the deceased. The goblin then asks the king which of the 4 men should be given Grace. The king answers that the swordsmen is the only viable option for the daughter of a warrior. Once again the goblin escapes the kings grasp and makes his way back into the tree.
The Four Scientific Suitors
The Three Delicate Wives-
The king of Uijan had three wives, Crescent, Star, and Moon. While playing with his wives in the forest Crescent was wounded by the fall of a lotus petal onto her lap. The king then lay with Star that night and awoke to her crying with burns on her skin from the beams of moonlight touching her skin. Moon then moved through the castle to find the king and heard the grinding on grain following through the halls. At this moment she cried out in agony with bruises appearing all over her palms. The king loved all three of his wives dearly but their delicacy was quite inconvenient. The goblin then turned to the king and asked him which of the three wives was the most delicate. The king answered that it was Moon who was injured just by the sound of pestles and didn't actually come into contact with anything like the other two. Once again the goblin escaped and returned to the tree.
The Three Delicate Wives

Famous Last Words: Week 11

This week has been quite the crazy and eventful one of not only me but also my entire family. I missed most of this weeks class work because I was at home since last Friday for the birth of my first niece. My sisters baby girl was born on Tuesday, October 28th at 12:35 pm and I was lucky enough to be there for this wonderful event. My sister and her husband named her Jubilee Nevaeh Reynosa which none of us were told until she was born. My sister wanted to keep the name a secret so none of the family could put in their two cents (she is quite stubborn). I am quite the proud uncle and cannot wait to get home again to see her. Once I made it back to Norman I had a lot of catching up to do because of my few days out of town. However, all the work was definitely made up for by the fact that it was Halloween weekend. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I love getting to dress up for it. This year I went as a lost boy from the movie lost boys which not many people even know exists. However, I think I came up with a pretty good costume for it and even went as far as to pierce my ear just to really sell the look. I went into claires to buy the earrings and proceeded to tell the sales woman that "no, I don't need you to pierce it, I'll just do it myself". She gave me quite the panicked look when I informed her of my plan but just shook her head and kept her comments to herself. Wednesday night I had a friend use a safety pin and pierce my ear. Probably not one of my brightest decisions but it did the trick and really completed my outfit. I definitely got a few strange looks at my job though, especially because the only small earring the girl had happened to be hot pink. I didn't want to where one of the long dangling ones that was for my costume the entire day so the pink stud seemed to be the better option. Overall I just don't think earrings are "my look". It turned out to be quite the amazing week and weekend even with the hole still in my ear.

Happy Gilmore and a Lost Boy

Personal Photo 

Reading Diary B: Week 10

Key Points-

• Krishna plans to make one last plea for peace and visits Duryodhana
• Duryodhana plans to take Krishna prisoner but realizes this will be impossible 
• The battle is to occur
• Arjuna is worried about fighting his teacher and his own family but after speaking with Krishna (in his true form) he is ready to fight
• Bhisma is killed by Arjuna and now Karna joins the battle 
• Arjuna's son is killed, Arjuna vows to avenge him and Krishna is able to use his discus to hide the sun drawing out the man who killed his son, he slays him. 
• Krishna plans to trick Drona using the love of his son against him 
• Yudhisthira tells Drona his son had been killed while whispering the truth under his breath, as Drona falls to his knees he is killed
• Karna and Arjuna battle one another, Arjuna is victorious 
• Duryodhana is killed
• Yudhisthira becomes king 
• Yudhisthira is the last of his brothers to pass, the son of Arjuna becomes king and continues the Pandavas rule 

Reading Diary A: Week 10

Key Points-

• Camp is made near the Pandavas
• Duryodhana is captured by the gandharva's then freed by the Pandavas (Plan=Failure)
• The bothers help a brahmin find a giant deer who stole his staff
• First 4 brothers drink water from the lake without answering the questions and die
• Yudhishthira is last to drink but answers questions
• Was a test by their father Yama and the other 4 brothers return to life
• 13th year of exile (year in disguise)
• Court of King Virata
• Draupadi is raped and Bhima kills the general who did it 
• Cattle raid is attempted, Susharman is captured
• Arjuna goes into battle as a charioteer for Virata's son but ends up fighting 
• The king finds their true identity but is not mad, gives his daughter to marry Uttara (Arjuna's son)
• A war is to occur between the Pandavas and Duryodhana
• Krishna fights with the Pandavas while his 1 million soldiers fight with Duryodhana 
• The Pandavas attempt to avoid war (5 villages requested, 1 for each brother)
• Dhritarashtra wants to switch sides but is drawn to Duryodhana when he is around, told this war will be his downfall 

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Storytelling: Week 9, Ganesha the Bottomless Pit

Kubera, the god of wealth, one day travels to Mount Kailash in order to request the presence of Shiva, the supreme god, in hopes of gaining the darshan or vision of Shiva. As he arrives, Shiva's handmaiden escorts him to the chambers of Shiva where they begin to sit and discuss his travels and future plans. It is at this time that Kubera invites Shiva to a large spectacle that he will be holding in his city the following day. Kubera does so in order to show Shiva the wealth he possesses and hopefully gain his approval. Shiva is uncomfortable with such an idea and decides that he must decline the invitation. However, he presents to Kubera the idea of allowing his son Ganesha to go in his stead but warns of his voracious appetite. Kubera shrugs off such a comment, believing that his wealth could feed all of the gods for a lifetime and accepts Shiva's proposal. The following day, Ganesha accompanies Kubera to the city of Alakapuri, arriving just in time for the beginning of the banquet. As the serving of the first few dishes begins, Kubera starts realizing that he may slightly be in over his head. Ganesha not only eats the plates set in front of him but also those of the guests around him. He now even begins walking down the lengthy table, grabbing and guzzling the plates of all those in sight. Kubera orders all of his servants to bring out as much food as they can possibly carry and only serve it to Ganesha. This action was moot, for as Kubera turns his back to tell them this, Ganesha makes his way to the kitchen and polishes off every piece of food in sight. As he reenters the dining hall, Ganesha even begins to consume the plates, cutlery, and now even a few of Kubera's esteemed guests. Knowing that things can only get worse, Kubera immediately leaves the city, frantically making his way toward Mount Kailash. As he arrives back at the mountain, Shiva is awaiting him at the base.

Shiva laughs to himself saying, "I told you the boy had quite the little appetite, did I not?"

Kubera stares awestruck at the god, not knowing whether to laugh at this statement or return to his city in hopes that it may still be standing.

Shiva once again snickers and says, "I will give you the one solution to your problem if you promise that you will always be loyal to my son and me."

Kubera agrees to the terms presented by Shiva and in turn Shiva hands him one single laddoo, a traditional indian sweet. He wonders to himself how such a small item can possibly fill the appetite of that boy but he doesn't question the actions of Shiva. He bows his head in thanks and then dashes back to his chariot, hoping that upon his return the walls of his city may still be standing.

As he pulls up to the city gates, nearly half the city has already been destroyed and Ganesha is on the path to finishing it all off. Kubera finally finds Ganesha within the ruins and kneels at his feet. He dare not make eye contact with the ravenous boy yet he extends his hands with the offering tucked neatly between them. Ganesha takes the laddoo, tosses it up in the air and scarfs it down just as he had everything else that night. However, at this point, he takes a seat next to Kubera, places a hand on his bulging stomach and exclaims, "What a meal! I haven't eat like that in ages. I don't think I ever could again." At this comment he regains his feet and begins to strut out of the city as if nothing has happened, returning to his father's side and offering to always take his father's spot at dinner parties whenever Shiva feels that it is necessary.

Ganesha holding a plate of laddos

Wikipedia

Author's note: This story comes from the Puranas, a set of ancient Indian texts that discuss all of the well known Hindu gods. I have tried to maintain a theme of food within my portfolio stories so although many of you will have never read the original, I figured this would be better suited for that purpose. I have also included a laddoo recipe for anyone who is interested in trying the Indian sweet. The original story uses the same setting that I used and includes the same characters. Basically Kubera hopes to have Shiva attend his grand feast but in turn gets the presence of Shiva's son, Ganehsa. Ganesha is said to be quite the voracious eater but Kubera assumes that his palace will be able to handle any appetite. As the feast commences Kubera begins to realize that Ganesha cannot be satisfied and that if he is not quickly stopped, the entire city will be consumed. He travels back to speak with Shiva and is given grains of roasted rice to give to Ganesha. He cannot believe that such a small offering could possibly fill the boy but he knows he must trust Shiva's advice. Once the grains are given to Ganesha in true humility, his rampage ceases and he is full at last. I chose to change from the rice grains to the laddo in order to incorporate a traditional Indian sweet. By doing so, I was able to include a recipe for the preparation of laddos and hopefully expand the knowledge of the class. I really enjoyed this story and the message that is intertwined throughout.

Laddoo Recipe and Cooking Instructions

Wikipedia: Ganesha

Reading Diary B, Week 9

The Pandavas and Dhritarastra make peace and part of the kingdom is given to them. The Pandavas build the city of Indraprastha. They are warned of the conflicts that may come from the issue of sharing a wife. Duryodhana is enraged with the Pandavas and seeks revenge on them. He invites them for a game of dice knowing that they are bad players and that he and Shakuni will win.

During the game of dice, Yudhishthira loses everything and in turn gambles away himself, his brothers, and their wife Draupadi. Then for some reason it is all given back and everything is forgotten, not exactly how gambling works but ok. The idiot brothers are invited back for a second game and still accept the offer even after what happened last time. They lose and are sentenced to 13 years of exile. The are taught a mantra to get weapons from the gods and told that all of their enemies will be killed in battle.

Reading Diary A, Week 9

Shantanu seems to fall quite easily in love, having two different women within the first few pages of the book. The first he meets by the river and she agrees to marry him as long as he never questions her actions. They have 8 children whom she continually drowns one by one. On the 8th child Shantanu speaks up and the women informs him that she is the river Ganga reincarnated to punish these 8 children. The 8 children are actually gods who have been reincarnated in human form because of the theft of a cow. The 8th child is still drowned but is returned to Shantanu later on in life.

Shantanu then marries again with the help of Bhishma who renounces his claim to the throne. Shantanu then has two more sons Chitrangada and Vichitraviyra, the first who becomes king for a short period of time and then dies. Bhishma rules in his stead and acquires 3 wives for Vichitraviyra one of which who was already promised to another man. Vichitraviyra dies so Vyasa is brought in to sleep with his widows in hopes of fathering children. Two sons are born both having oddities to them because of their mothers reactions to Vyasa. He also sleeps with a maid who had no issue with his presence and their son is completely normal. Pandu cannot have sons because of a curse so he must summon the gods and have sons through them. Pandu has 5 sons knowns as the Pandavas. Drona trains the sons of both brothers. Draupadi will marry all 5 of the Pandavas because they share everything they have 

Reading Diary Week 8

Basically all of my reading diaries tend to be in the same format which focuses on summarizing the material. This way seems to work best for me and the one week I tried to focus on important aspects for my post is a section of the book that I remember the least of. I usually read through the required pages completely and then return to do my diary post. I tend to take in a lot of the information while I am reading so I think that trying to do my post while reading would only slow me down. I think my diary posts are the perfect length to easily summarize the content while also including necessary details. After reading back through them I could easily explain both of the two books and the major differences between them. One aspect that I might change for the second half of the semester is the addition of quotes into my diaries. I really like this idea and may begin to highlight quotes that I like so I can come back and add them in while I am writing my diary. I don't tend to use my diary posts as a reference throughout the week but I think I will start to do so. I think this will help me to come up with storytellings more easily and jog my memory a bit before I begin to rewrite the sections. I also think I will try to start tying in outside sources that are relatable to the readings. I often think of other books, movies, or shows that have common themes or events but I never actually put those thoughts into word. I think I will continue with my overall same style of reading diary while incorporating the new aspects spoken about above.

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Reading Diary B, Week 7

Rama and the group head back to Ayodhya while making a few stops on the way. Hanuman is sent ahead to find Bharata and tell of Rama's return. Rama show Sita of all the places that big events happened at during his search for her.

Rama returns to Ayodhya and embraces Bharata and his sandals are returned to his feet. The plans for the coronation are put into action. Someone how the story skips 10,000 years and Sita has now become pregnant. Everyone is gossiping about the decision of Rama to take back his wife after she had been living with Ravana. Rama decides that he will abandon Sita when she goes to the Ganges river. Vibhishana hears of this plan and makes sure that Valmiki will help her when she is in need.

Sumantra believes that Sita is banished from the past happenings of the life of Vishnu. There was a war with the drought demons in which Rama's father fought in. Vishnu got involved and killed an innocent mans wife for protecting the demons. He was then cursed to later be reborn on earth and be separated from his wife as retribution for his deeds.

Sita is left at the Ganges were Valmiki comes to her and invites her into his home. She has her two sons there, Lava and Kusha. There is a year long festival at which Rama's sons continually sing. After a while Rama realizes that the boys are his sons. Sita comes to Rama and asks to poor that she has always been faithful to him. She asks the Earth mother to test her and in doing so disappears for 1,000 years underground. Rama meets with time and is interrupted by Lakshmana so he must die. Rama and his followers go to the river, jump in, and are escorted to heaven.

Reading Diary A, Week 7

The battle rages on between the followers of Rama and Ravana's demons. Jambavan is a beast when it comes to fighting, no one can really stop him. Ravana's magicians try to stop him but they are killed by Sugriva and Hanuman. The hawk notices that the city of Lanka is in despair and is losing hope in winning the battle.

Ravana and Rama prepare to battle one another in the final battle. Ravana drives his own chariot because he has so many hands and heads. Rama is given a special chariot by Indra and it is driven by Matali. The two battle in the air for a while and then move to the ground. Finally Ravana is defeated by Rama. Buck adds an interesting letter into his version of the story. It is a letter written by Ravana for Rama at the occurrence of his death. The letter tells Rama to take Sita back. Rama makes Ravana's brother, Vibhishana, the king of Lanka.

Sita and Rama are reunited and the fire god agni testifies to her innocence. Rama takes her bake and trust that nothing occurred with Ravana. Rama must now return home because his exile is soon to end and Bharata vowed to kill himself if Rama didn't return. Everyone heads to the coronation of Rama.

Storytelling, Week 6: The Story of Mankanaka: Final

When almost always surrounded on all sides by the eruption of lush green grass, why is it then that we just let it lie and leave it to be consumed by animals? One would think that such a resource ought to be utilized by the likes of men. However, there once was a man who only indulged himself with heaping piles of grass, never straying from the consumption of the sweet savory stalks. This is the story of Mankanaka and his power over the world.

Mankanaka was a common man, choosing to live a spiritual life within the forest, always trying to find a path towards enlightenment. From a young age, Mankanaka believed that the best way to achieve his goal was to truly become one with nature, never taking the life of another and only eating what the Earth provided to him. This idea started off well for him, but after some time the man developed a taste for only one item in the world. He loved the taste of grass and the spirituality that he believed it brought to him. In the spring the grass was a vibrant green, tasting sweet and succulent. In the fall it began to brown, giving it more of an earthy quality in both taste and appearance. In the winter Mankanaka had to find ways to rejuvenate the grass that was now dried out and brittle, most often stewing it back to life. The changes in seasons continually kept Mankanaka on his feet, never growing tired of the taste of grass. One day while he was in a field of tall grass, harvesting his lunch, Mankanaka accidentally swung his sickle a little too far and gashed his left arm. Expecting to see a red gush begin to flow, he was quite surprised when instead of red, a green fluid began to drip out. Wondering what exactly was occurring, he dipped the tip of his finger into the substance and tasted what lay below. To his amazement, the substance tasted exactly like the grass he was surrounded by. He became enamored with this realization and began to dance around in pure bliss, believing that he had finally achieved true enlightenment. Other creatures and people began to notice Mankanaka's happiness and followed in the pursuit of his joy. All began to dance and all became enthralled with joy. As this occurred, the gods began to notice what was happening down on Earth. The world was beginning to spin violently out of control and the only hope of stopping it was to end the dancing of Mankanaka. Shiva was sent down by the gods to do so.

As Shiva approached Mankanaka, those around him began to stop dancing, enchanted by the beauty and power of the god. Mankanaka, however, didn't even notice the presence of Shiva and continued to rapidly spin round and round. As with a coin spinning on a table, Shiva quickly and abruptly placed a finger atop the head of Mankanaka and stopped him in his tracks. As he looked the god in the eyes, he knew that he had created trouble in this world. Shiva explained to him what it was that he was doing and that if he continued his dancing, the end of the world would come at the movement of his feet. Then, just as quickly as Shiva had appeared, the god was gone and all eyes were on Mankanaka. He told all to go away and he returned to his quest for enlightenment, only sometimes indulging in his favorite feast of springtime grass.

Shiva, The Savior of Mankanaka 

Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note: This is based off of The Story of Mankanaka, a tale in the Mahabharata written by Buck. In this tale, Mankanaka only eats grass, which causes him to bleed a green substance. This causes his happiness and continual dancing that disrupts the Earth. His dancing threatens to destroy the world so the gods send Shiva to attempt to stop his actions. Unlike the original story I have Shiva come to Mankanaka in his true form because I believe it better conveys the seriousness of the issue and his power to those dancing. Also, in the original story it is ash that flows from Shiva's veins when he is cut to show his power to Mankanaka. I thought that having the grass ooze out from Mankanaka better exemplified the connection he had to nature and the amount of grass he had consumed. I chose this story because it revolves around food, a very common topic within the Indian epics. I plan to continue finding stories with aspects of food lying within them and further elaborating on this topic. I will also begin to add various recipes for Indian dishes that I have found along the way well researching this topic. Food, as in most cultures, plays an important role in not only to the history of India but also because of the impact it plays religiously. As I continue on with this story theme I would begin to add various culture tips and/or fun facts regarding their food culture. The Story of Mankanaka was a very basic start of the stories that I hope are to come continually improving on the content and knowledge that will be passed unto the readers.

Buck, W. (1973). Mahabharata. University of California Press.

Reading Diary B, Week 6

Rama uses the abilities of the monkey Nala to build a bridge across the sea to Lanka. Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana urges him to give Sita back to Rama to avoid a war. Ravana doesn't appreciate the advice of his brother and kicks him out of Lanka. Once he is kicked out of the city, Vibhishana and his 4 loyal guards fly over to the camp of Rama and meet up with Hanuman. Most of the camp wishes to turn away Vibhishana but both Rama and Hanuman trust his intentions and allow him to join them.

They cross the bridge to Lanka and make camp on the hill. The group is watched by Ravana's spies, first by Shuka who Angada captures but is let go to return a message to Ravana. Second by two of Ravana's best spies who take the form of monkeys in order to mingle within the camp. Both are spotted by Vibhishana who is able to look through their disguises and then captured.

Ravana attempts to trick Sita with the use of illusions in order to gain her love before the war even begins. He has his magicians create a bow identical to Rama's and his head parted from his body. Ravana brings these items before Sita, claiming that his general raided them during the night and killed them all. Sita begins to breakdown but is consoled by Trijata and told the truth.

First battle: During the day which weakens the strength of the demons. Rama and his men defeat the first wave and cause Prahasta's retreat. The demons then attack at night and are once again defeated. During this second battle Prahasta is killed.

Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother is awoken from his sleep and consults with Ravana about the war. He suggests that Ravana return Sita to Rama just as Vibhishana did. However, in the end he aggress to join the battle and face Rama. Rama is able to destroy the giant with well placed arrows.

 Indrajit basically kills everyone but they are all revived after medicine hill is brought over. Rama tries to get everyone to leave him because he realizes that he is placing them in a lot of danger. However, none of his followers will leave and stay by his side. More illusions that don't work. Indrajit and Lakshmana go into single combat and in the end Lakshmana is the victor. Ravana now must go to battle for himself.