Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues Online Film, Part A

Rama and Sita

Sita Sings the Blues, link to the online video

• King Dasharatha has three wives and four sons. Sita, daughter of Janaka, is Rama's wife. Queen Kaikeyi makes Dasharatha send Rama into exile. He dies of grief after Rama leaves
• Despite Rama's warnings about the rakshasas in the forest, Sita goes into exile with him. The phonograph plays a song while they go into the forest where they live happily while Rama slays rakshasas
• Surpanakha is Ravana's sister. Angry at Rama, Surpanakha tells Ravana about Sita. Maricha tells Ravana to leave Sita alone but Ravana commands Maricha to become a golden deer to distract Rama so he can grab Sita
• Sita is enchanted by the golden deer. Rama suspects a trick, but Sita begs him to pursue the deer
• Sita sings about her love for Rama, while Ravana sneaks up on their forest hut
• Ravana abducts Sita in his flying chariot
• Sita drops her jewelry as a sign; Rama seeks her in the forest
• Rama and Hanuman become allies. Rama sends Hanuman to look for Sita
• Sita is held captive in Lanka, and she weeps for Rama. She rejects Ravana's advances
• Hanuman finds Sita in Lanka while Sita sings the blues. He sets Lanka on fire and then returns to Rama
• The narrators argue about why Sita did not escape with Hanuman. Meanwhile, Nina goes to India
• Sita sings with joy while Rama battles the rakshasas and slays Ravana
• Sita and Rama are reunited, but he rejects her because she lived in another man's house. He sends her away. Sita despairs
• Sita asks for a funeral pyre. The narrators argue about how to interpret this part of the story
• Sita sings the blues while she undergoes a test by fire, protected by Agni the fire god
• Rama asks for Sita's forgiveness
• The narrators discuss the flying chariot, Pushpaka, that takes Rama and Sita back to Ayodhya
• Sita sings the blues again: if you want the rainbow, you must have the rain

Reading Notes: Krishna Online Film, Part B

Krishna and Arjun

Krishna Online Films, link to the online videos

• Brahma tested Krishna's drivine power and all that he sees around him is Krishna
• Krishna was able to tame the wild Hastin (extremely hard for a normal person to do)
• Gargacharya reveals to Krishna the truth of his birth and that is why he could not marry Radha
• Akrur arrived in Vrindavan
• Akrur invited Krishna to Mathura
• Krisnha's farewll left Vrindavan in despair
• Krishna lived in Gokul and Nand Guan
• Krishna's fame spreads in Mathura
• People witness Krishna's deeds, one is a woman called Trivakra
• Kansa makes his last attempt to kill Krishna
• Kansa tries to use an elephant to kill Krishna
• Kansa learns that the 8th son of Devaki appeared and therefore knew that he would die soon
• Breaking the bow -> killing of Kuvalayapida -> killing of wrestlers -> killing of Kansa
• Krishna frees Mathura after killing Kansa
• Mathura fell prey to enemy attacks

Reading Notes: Krishna Online Film, Part A

Lord Krishna

Krishna Online Films, link to the online videos

• Krishna is a very significant character in the Mahabharata
• Krishna would lead the Pandava's into war
• Vasudev is Krishna's father
• Vasudev meets Yamuna
• Durga and Kansa speak with one another
• (Don't really understand what happened in episode 3 too much)
• Yashoda finds a woman named Putana that wants to help her
• Krishna was still in danger
• Krishna was becoming very famous and well-known
• Yashoda looked inside of Krishna's mouth and thought there would be mud in there
• Episode 6 really shows that Krishna is unique and not just a regular child and Yashoda learns this
• Krishna moves from Gokul to Vrindavan
• Kalia the naag is poisoning the lake's water
• The Kansa demon army was growing (but so was Krishna)
• Indra had a wrath on Vrindavan because Krishna's people chose to pay their respects to Govardhan Hill
• Radha had an eternal and unconditional love for Krishna

Reading Notes: The Indian Story Book, Part B

Ravana

The Indian Story Book, retold by Richard Wilson, link to the online reading

• Ravana was told that his foes would take a pathway through the "trackless sea"
• He saw the army coming closer and closer to shore but they were silent
• Ravana then went to the grove where Sita was kept a prisoner
• He told Sita that Rama was dead
• Ravana told his warriors to go get the head of Rama
• Sita then found out that Rama was not dead
• Kumbhakarana was Ravana's younger brother
• This brother was a giant that slept for a long time and went into a hibernation type state, when he awakes, he feeds on people
• Rama wins the battle
• Sita learned that Rama was victorious
• Rama and Sita then saw each other
• At the end of the story, the fourteen years of exile were accomplished
• Rama and Sita were welcomed backed into the kingdom

Reading Notes: The Indian Story Book, Part A

Intro to the Story Book. Source

The Indian Story Book, retold by Richard Wilson, link to the online reading

• The city of Ayodhya seemed like a happy place, plenty of food and water, sweet music, workmen rejoicing in their skills
• King Dasaratha did not have a son to succeed him
• To get a son, Dasaratha would have to do a horse sacrifice
• There were 4 sons born to King Dasaratha
• "Bears and monkeys useful to him in work" said a holy man
• King Mithila had a lovely daughter named Sita
• Arrangements were made between Rama and Sita to be married
• Dasartha eventually started to grow old and wanted to hand the kingdom over to Rama
• Rama went into voluntary exile
• Rama came to the borders of the great forest through which the sacred Ganges flows, this is where the chariot left him and returned to the kingdom
• Bharata, the king's other son, was put on the throne with the passing of his father
• Bharata wanted Rama to be the king
• Rama could not return, but he let Bharata take his sandles back to Ayodhya
• Rama went alone into the forest with his bow and was met with a great shower of arrows, rocks, trees, clubs, darts. and loops of rope
• Luckily, Rama was skilled with the bow, Rama came out victorious
• The Rakshahsa transformed a demon, Maricha, into a beautiful golden deer with silver and horns sets of jewels
• Sita was so fascinated by the deer that she told Rama to go capture it
• The monkey king is called Sugriva
• Sugriva's immediate attendants were Nala, Nila, Tara, and Hanuman, Son of the Wind
• Hanuman went to go and comfort Sita for Rama

Week 10 Story Planning: Wonder Woman Hindi Sequel

Wonder Woman. Source

I am planning to continue my story between Rama and Wonder Woman for my Week 11 story. My first story had a portal that brought Rama into Wonder Woman’s world and my last story was a prequel that explained why Wonder Woman was connected to the Indian epics. For this story, I want to make it where Wonder Woman starts to maybe find out some of her roots and connections. She was sent to this dimension by herself when she was born so technically she is completely unaware of the whole thing. Her mother is Kunti and the goddess Durga. In my prequel, I had it where Kunti died but I do not want that to be the case and will go back and rewrite that for my project revisions this week. I am thinking about somehow sending Durga to find Wonder Woman and try to get some of the story between the two straightened out. I want to have a fight scene or battle that involves Durga and Wonder Woman against some enemies but I am not really sure who that enemy is going to be yet. I will probably have one more story following this story so I am planning to add some kind of cliffhanger as well to lead into the final story that I write.

Ideas:

• Durga and Wonder Woman fighting some evil forces
• Wonder Woman learning about her past after her and Durga battle together
• Wonder Woman will be of some type of importance to the Indian Epics due to her connection with Durga
• The Indian characters may want her to return with them to the dimension
• I want Wonder Woman to stay in her dimension so that maybe in the next story she can be sent into the dimension with Durga and she will be the one to have her cultural shock
• Maybe add a love story for Wonder Woman and Rama from the first story that I wrote?

Pikapost. link to the website.
Mahabharata Online Films, link to the online videos

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Online Film, Part F

Bheem and Hanuman. Source

Mahabharata Online Films, link to the online videos

• Draupadi gets disrobed
• Draupadi had an oath to only tie her hair once she washed it with the blood and combed it with the bones of her enemies
• Pandavas get sent into exile
• (Pandavas do not seem very smart, in my opinion)
• Seems like the Pandavas do not really ever learn their lesson
• The exile for the Pandavas begins
• Krishna could not help the Pandavas when they needed him
• Krishna met with the Pandavas
• (Krishna seems to never really let anything bother him)
• The Pandavas needed to get support from the gods to fight the war
• Arjun entered heaven in a human form
• Arjun was able to enter heaven in this human form because Krishna used him as a tool to re-establish dharma
• Arjun received Shiva's weapon when he was brought up to Indralok
• Arjun was blessed and received proper training for the upcoming battle
• Arjun was cursed by Urvashi while he was staying at Indralok
• Bheem encounters Hanuman