Storybook Styles

TOPIC.  I've decided that my topic for my storybook will center around Ravana's family with the goal of showcasing some of Ravana's family members, both good and bad.  I will use at least four stories including:  Kubera; Lord of Wealth, Kubhakarna; The Sleeping Giant, Vibhishana, and his son Indrajit.  I chose these based on their closeness of relationship to Ravana and the roles they played in the Ramayana and in the battle against Rama.  I chose two who seemed fairly good and two who were displayed as villainous.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Indrajit", by Donald A. Mackenzie, from Indian Myth and Legend (1913). Web Source: PDE Ramayana
"Vibhishana", by Donald A. Mackenzie, from Indian Myth and Legend (1913). Web Source: PDE Ramayana
Kubera: Lord of Wealth, by Amar Chitra Katha, Volume 839
Kumbhakarna, by Amar Chitra Katha, Volume 528

POSSIBLE STYLES

Court case style.  One of the ideas that I really like for tying all of these stories into one style is to put them in a way as if they were put on trial for having been involved with the kidnapping and containment of Princess Sita.  They would be judged on grounds such as the degree of their involvement, their intent, and their character.  I think this would be a good way to show who truly were the righteous and who were truly evil people.  I like this style because I think it would be a good way to show the difference between those that truly wished to go against Rama, and those whose duty was to follow Ravana.

War Memorial.  Another good way might be to have a war memorial where speakers speak about these people and the struggles they triumphed through in order to save Sita from Ravana and his cohorts.  Vibhishana himself might even speak as he was left to live forever and he could provide an eyewitness account to the Memorial.

Sons of Vishrava: a Celestial Genealogy.  This would be more of a anthology that would show the different offspring of their father Vishrava, and this would include Ravana, instead of Indrajit, and others as he had many children from his two wives.  This one would be fairly easy to do and would be structured in a ancestry.com sort of way.  I like this one because it would give more leeway on the information I could include on each character offering a well rounded amount of information that isn't just focused on the abduction of Sita.

Lanka, a City of Struggle.  Part of Kubera's story is of how he was chosen to rule Lanka first but it was taken from him by Ravana.  Then Ravana used his brother Kubhakarna to try and keep the city and he also sent his own son and heir to fight Rama in which case he was eventually killed.   Not only that, but Vibhishana tried to save Ravana and the city by providing wise advice but was tossed aside.  I like this because I could research more information on the city itself and find more information about how the city was actually ruled through time.

(Kubera: Lord of Wealth)

Storytelling Week 3: The Technical Instrument for the Measurement of Existence),

(The River Sarayu)

It had been so long, and when he looked in the mirror his face no longer looked like him and it came to pass that King Rama took it upon himself to remove himself from his throne and enter the Institute. Within the Institute laid a piece of the river of Sarayu, like a choppy lake surrounded by plain, serene white walls and flooring interrupted only by a sleek silver terminal that rested just on the artificial bank of the river. Rama approached the terminal slowly and with reverence and with a single touch the terminal, known by the acronym T.I.M.E (Technical Instrument for the Measurement of Existence), came to life displaying all the events of Rama’s existence on Earth. It contained all of Rama’s eleven thousand years beginning with his birth and ending here at this very place in time.

His Brother Lakshmana had already entered the River of Sarayu and it was he that Rama wished to follow after. It was heard that the institute had rained flowers down from the heavens, an unusual event for such an esteemed place.

Within the T.I.M.E. machine Rama selected the names of those who would follow him to the heavens including: Sugriva and any monkey or bear who wished to follow him. He left a message for Hanuman that said, “You shall live forever until the stories of me fade.”

He left messages also for Jambavan, about how long he should live, and to Vibhishana, giving advice and good counsel on how he should govern his people. He also left messages for others of less importance to pass on his goodwill and wisdom he had earned throughout his eleven thousand years.

When he had finished with all the things he had left to do he pressed “done” on the terminal and his life’s information disappeared and the terminal lowered into the ground as if it had never been there in the first place. From across the plain white room a door appeared from the smooth surface and from it came a figure robed in white, he went by the name of Brahma. Brahma called out to Rama, “ Hail, Oh Vishnu! You and those you have chosen shall now enter the Sarayu, you will take whatever form you wish and go into the beyond where neither thought or speech is known to any except Maya..”

Brahma led the way to the waters edge and flowers, just as for Lakshmana, rained down from the ceiling and a great wind blew through the room and Rama felt the joy of those who he had chosen and he stepped into the waters of the Sarayu knowing he was not alone and that in heaven he would return to himself as part of the god Vishnu.

Author's Note: The origin of my story is from the scene in the Ramayana that tells of Rama's Death.  I took the story of Rama's death and I reinvisioned it in a post modern, futuristic setting where the Sarayu is no longer an entire river but only a piece of it is left and in order to enter the waters a person must review their life as a whole.  In this case Rama had to review eleven thousand years of life through the terminal/time machine, after which he could allow others to enter with him led by Brahma.

Bibliography:
"Rama Departs" , by Donald A. Mackenzie, from Indian Myth and Legend (1913). Web Source: PDE Ramayana

Reading Diary B: Public Domain Ramayana

First of all I'd like to talk about this portion of the readings as a whole.  I was really excited to be reading of the end of Ravana because honestly that's what we've been waiting for since the beginning of this epic.  However, I was very unhappy with the treatment of Sita after she was rescued.  She was accused several times of having stained Rama's reputation and that of their families, it seems very little thought was had of what Sita actually went through.

65. Hanuman and the Mountain.  I actually really liked this scene.  Hanuman, since he can jump the farthest, is sent in search of some mystical herbs that will help the wounded and revitalize the troops after Indrajit's attack. Jambavan, leader of the bears, sends Hanuman to Himalaya, king of mountains.  Hanuman searches all over the mountain and when he cannot find the herbs he lifts up the mountain and brings it back with him! Not only did he take it, he also took the mountain back! I really liked the ingenuity that Hanuman has in taking the entire mountain instead of giving up!

67. Ravana's Lament.  I thought that this scene was a good look into Ravana's character, a look at how he may be the villain but he is still a father to his son and has certain rules he follows.  After his son is killed he weeps in lament, he had never expected that his son should precede him in meeting death.  After his initial sorrow he becomes angry and at first intends to kill Sita in order to make Rama feel his pain, but in the end some rakshasa women persuaded him to not cross the line of killing women for the sake of his reputation.

74. Sita Tested.  In this Sita says that due to Rama's awful words she would throw herself on a pyre and that the fire god would not let the fire harm her if she were pure, if Ravana had not stained her purity.  The gods became angry with Rama and begged him to trust her and still he hesitated, then the fire god welcomed Sita into his arms and did not harm her.  Rama delighted in the fact that she was pure, apologized for his harsh words and told her he did it to show the people her purity.  This to me is insult to injury, she was just released from a most likely long incarceration under Ravana only to be treated this way by her own husband!

78. Valmiki's Hermitage.  Again in this scene Rama spirits the innocent Sita away from him and puts her in the care of Valmiki the poet.  There she would stay for sixteen years without seeing any of the royal family and she would have twin sons in the likeness of Rama, but he wouldn't know that because he stashed her away like a purchased item he no longer wanted to play with.

Rama and Sita

Reading Diary A: Public Domain Ramayana

46. The Rainy Season.  I was really got into Rama's lament.  When I met my boyfriend he worked over an hour away and I could only talk to him a couple of times a week and it was awful, but to not be able to talk to or even see.  To not know if she was doing okay, it would kill me.  In fact Rama says that the only reason he still lives is because he knows that Sita is still alive.  His only thought is of rescuing her from Ravana and his goons.

49. Sampati and Jatayu.   I think it's interesting how patient Sampati was throughout his time that he was unable to leave his cavern because of his burnt feathers and blinded sight.  I also thought it was really nice that Sampan didn't hold a grudge against his brother for having sacrificed himself for Jatayu and in the end was able to regain his body by helping Hanuman find Sita and Ravana.

57. The Burning of Lanka.  In this section I thought it was great of Hanuman to take his punishment and make lemons out of lemonade, however of course he couldn't actually feel any burning sensation on his tail however he was smart enough to let it keep burning so that he could burn Lanka as a pre-emptive strike to what would be Rama's later attack.  Than Hanuman returned home with the news that he had indeed found Rama's beloved Sita.

60. Vibhishana. I also thought it was interesting how easily family ties and loyalties are broken within the royal and celestial families.  Vibhishana is Ravana's brother and he is the only person who says that Ravana should hand Sita over to Rama. By saying this it made him a traitor in Ravana's eyes and so Ravana orders him to leave, and was basically pushed to Rama's side, which he joins soon after.

(Vibhishana)

Public Domain Ramayana