Week 7 Story: The Case of the Kidnapped Detectives

Film Noir scene: GavTrain

You look out the window. It's raining. Again. It's always raining in this lousy town. You set down  your whiskey on rocks and light up a cigar just to take a big long puff. You exhale slowly. It may be nine in the morning, but you have a feeling it's going to be a long day. 

Your phone on the table starts ringing. You flip it open to see the police commissioner's number flash on the small screen.
"Flynn," the police chief showed stress and worry even in saying your name, "we need you."
"I've been out of the force for years. I'm a PI now, Dirk. You got your own boys to do the detective work." You couldn't understand why the police would need you. They had four detectives that all had outstanding records.
"They're all missing, Yuddy." The chief now used your nickname from back in the day. Yuddy, they called you. You hadn't heard that in years. "Some new criminal has kidnapped all of them. We only really noticed when Archie's gun was left on his table over the weekend."
Archie was the best shot this side of the Mississippi. Brains to boot, too. If they had him then they were clever.
"What about Billy?" You asked. Billy did a bit of heavyweight boxing in his spare time. It'd take a mountain to bring that guy down. You were always glad he was on your side.
"He got taken too. Like I said, we need you." The police chief's voice would seem calm to anyone else, but you noticed the small shake at the end of his sentences.
You sigh, wait a moment before responding.
"Of course, Dirk. I'll bring our boys back home. Send me everything you got."
-
You received too many folders and papers and files to count, but you organized the victims at least.
#4: Billy
Amateur heavyweight, strong with a good head, but no genius.
#3: Archie
Passed the academy with the highest marks ever seen, but decided to stay in the town instead of moving to a bigger city. Was never the manliest guy, but had more than enough tricks to put you on your ass in a fight.
#2: Nathanial
The more handsome twin. Grew up on a farm. Hard outdoorsy type, like horses and week-long backpacking trips outdoorsy type. Great survival skills and good smarts.
#1: Solomon.
The other twin. The first victim. When his brother went out into the woods, he spent his time with the barnyard animals. Always had a knack with his hands. Happy go lucky but a little reckless sometimes.

As you look through some of the recent text messages the boys from the lab were able to pull of their phones remotely, you notice Solomon sending a strange message to his brother.
Come to the Blind King.
Seemed a little too blunt to be the yuppy kid you knew. You decide that this bar on the edge of town would be the best place to start your investigation.
----------------------------

Author's Note:
The scene at the lake where Yudhishthira was tested by his father Yama really captivated me in the Mahabharata. I liked the idea of Yudhishthira trying to win his brother's back, and slowly this idea morphed into a crime noir novel. It was an interesting style that I had yet to try and I thought it fit well with this story! I had a little bit of fun characterized the Pandevas brother's and putting their most notable qualities into a crime noir setting (Yidhishthira = Flynn/Yuddy; Bhima = Billy; Arjuna = Archie; Nakula = Nathanial; Sahadeva = Solomon). I didn't have much details to go off for Nakula and Sahadeva, so I added a few details about personality or hobbies to flesh out the 'victims' more. Also, I noticed quickly though that the story was getting a little long, so I decided to cut it after the first clue, leaving the story off on a cliff-hanger (like the real crime noir serials!). Maybe I'll continue this story next week, maybe not, who knows??

Mahabharata. Narayan. R.K. pp 85-131

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata Part C

Hello VagaBuddies!

The Mahabharata is kicking off! But before I get to the things I didn't like, I want to again go into how much I dislike King Dhritarashtra. He again did a lot of wishy-washy coward-like things such as not yielding to the Pandevas like he should, and ignoring Vidura's advice on how to proceed. However,  he did have a slight redemption in that he realizes his own incompetence, and literally tells Vidura "I am helpless (around my son Duryodhana)." Even if he isn't able to actually make the tough decisions, I at least respect him for recognizing his fate and his weaknesses.

Pandavas in Hiding comic book cover by Anant Pai: Amazon

One story that I really enjoyed in this reading was the story of Yudhishthira's test by his father Yama at the lake. It was a little comical that four of the brothers would all drink the water and "die" (I also don't think they actually die, but get knocked out or go unconscious or something, because that makes more sense). Normally all the brothers being foolish would annoy me, but it seemed at least plausible that someone who was so thirsty wouldn't listen to a random voice on a lake. AND, it also sets Yudhishthira up to be super wise and clever, which I enjoyed. I like stories that involved someone being clever. It also felt justified and logical that it was Yama, the god of Dharma and death, and Yudhishthira's father, to test him. This was also a good way to receive the boon of being incognito for their year in the city without it feeling like it was undeserved or anything! 

Speaking of living in the city, I laughed out load at the part where the brothers and Draupadi were choosing their jobs for the next year. When Yudhishthira announced that he wanted to play dice with the king, I could literally picture exactly the look of doubtful skepticism from each of the brothers and wife! After he had gotten them into exile in the first place with his gambling problem, it was funny to see Yudhishthira go right back to the dice.  

Can't wait to finish the story!

VagaBuon Voyage!

Mahabharata. Narayan. R.K. pp 85-131

Extra Credit Reading: Narayan's Mahabharata B

Hello VagaBuddies!

This week I am covering the second reading of the Mahabharata, Part B! This reading was even crazier than the first reading, covering everything from polygamy to dangerous games of dice to magic bowls of limitless food... also beta-male kings.
King Dhritarasthtra really annoyed me in this reading. He seemed quite powerful and wise and good. earlier in the story, but now he is just weak, easily manipulated, and incompetent; a classic beta-male. I really just wanted King Dhritarasthtra to take a stand, even if it was against the main characters, the Pandavas. Instead he just bent to the will of whomever he was talking to, usually his son Duryodhana. Duryodhana, meanwhile, is a selfish jerk that is bent on revenge, refusing to follow any good advice that doesn't involve hurting the Pandavas. For someone who was supposed to be a really good king, Dhritarasthtra does not seem to be a very good or powerful king now.

Another thing that bothered me about this reading was Yudhishthira's baaaddd gambling addiction. For someone who is supposed to be the wisest of the Pandevas siblings, as well as the leader of the group, I would have assumed him to be impervious or at least resistant to foolish actions like that. Instead, he seems to go against his characterization and gamble away everything he has, including his kingdom, brothers, and wife. Even if it is disrespectful to decline a game invitation, Yudhishthira could have simply played a few rounds at lower stakes and then ended the game early. That would fulfill his obligations as a member of the kshatriya class, while also making the smart decision.

Surya offering Yudhishthira the bowl of limitless food: NY/NJ Bengali

Basically, I dislike characters that make foolish decisions. In this reading, even though he was more vengeful and morally bad, I liked Duryodhana much better, because he was clever and was able to abuse Yudhishthira's weaknesses in order to win. But also he refused to take smart advice, which was not a smart decision.
VagaBuon Voyage for now.

Mahabharata. Narayan. R.K. pp 41-83

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata Part A

Hello VagaBuddies,

This week we ventured away from the Ramayana and into another classic piece of Indian epic literature: The Mahabharata.
Before I started reading though, I needed to pick what version I wanted to read! I settled on Narayan's Mahabharata, mostly because I had access to a physical copy from a friend. I enjoy reading physical copies of books because it's a lot easier to take it around with you and not have to worry about internet access, charging, etc. In addition, reading from a computer has a good chance of letting you get distracted by other assignments, games, incoming emails, etc, so a book seems to be a good option!

The actual reading for this week was very name heavy. It felt like the beginning of the Ramayana all over again, but so much worse. The fact that there was one king, then a first generation of princes and kings, then another generation of princes and kings, and then finally the generation of the Pandavas (5 brothers of various godly fathers; main characters) and the Kauravas (Duryodhana and the hundred other sons of the blind king Dhritarasthtra), was just too much too handle. This is also not even mentioning all the other confusing intertwining stories such as Ganga drowning the first seven sons in the first generation of princes and kings, Karna being set adrift in the river, and other small side stories. It's so hard to keep straight!

Family Tree in the Mahabharata: Mythical Musings on Blogger

I actually originally found this image as part of this reading, but it is actually so good that I will continue to use it as a reference for further on in this story. Glad I found it!

In terms of stories that I liked, I enjoyed the story of the sage/trainer Drona's revenge against his childhood friend. I can appreciate a good revenge arc, and I thought that Drona was very morally good in this to leave his old friend alive and take half his kingdom, using his own words of being equals against him. Definitely foolish because I think that will be another source of tension and conflict in this already complicated web of relationships, but moral nonetheless. I also enjoyed the secrecy and spy-themes throughout the story, exemplified best in the Pandavas' escape from the burning house. So exciting! 

Since I had such a good time reading the Ramayana, I am excited to get invested in this story too, and the names (although super difficult) are slowly getting set in my mind! 

VagaBuon Voyage!

Narayan, R.K. "The Mahabharata" pp. 1-39

Week 5 Story: Hanuman Meets His Biggest Fan (OC don't steal)

PRESENT DAY, 9:22 PM, NORMAN, OK, USA: 
A young man sits at his desk in his room. It just so happens that today, the 26th of April, is this young man's birthday! And yet he is spending it sad and alone in his room. What is this young man reading?

Dan Plaff reading his book like a nerd: Personal Image

Narayan's Ramayana!?!??!1 The classic adventure of good versus evil and the cornerstone of Indian mythology? You are unimpressed. Who does this nerd think he is? Some kind of scholar? You think that you're probably smarter than him, and you're right. You're always right.
The young man looks around, as if he could hear some kind of narrator talking around and about him. You say, "What's your name?"
He looks a bit scared but responds, "Dan Plaff?" into the void. You then realize he had old name tags hanging up in his room, but no one needs know that.
He shrugs, blames the weird voices on a lack of sleep, and continues his reading.
"Hanuman..," he dreamily whispers to himself. "What a monkey."
You get the sense that this Dan kid really likes this monkey character. You wonder what he would do if he met this monkey guy, and then you realize that you're an omnipotent narrator and can make that happen. So you snap your fingers that don't exist and bring Dan into the world of the Ramayana.

UNIVERSE CYCLE #271273, 9:39 PM KISHKINDHA KINGDOM, INDIAN SUBCONTINENT (about 7000 years before present day)

Hanuman reading in the forest: BlogSpot

A large monkey-man hybrid is studying diligently in a library in a forest. The title of his book is something along the lines of "Ten Asthras that Ravana Can't Live Without - And Why You Need Them." He is all alone in the building, and seems to have sequestered himself in the corner.
Suddenly, a void is ripped in his world and out pops our favorite young nerd, Dan. He looks around,  completely bewildered at his sudden displacement.
The monkey-man reacts to this development by quickly hiding the book behind his back, and holds it there with his tail as he folds his hands in front of them to seem more put-together.
"And who are you?" The monkey-man asks, quickly running through the list of gods in his head, comparing their descriptions to this scrawny boy in front of him. Well, he must be important, he thought, there's no other explanation for this sudden appearance.
"Uh" is all that Dan can utter in his dumbfoundedness.
"Are you a god, a demon, human, yaksha, or some other creature?"
"Uh"
Maybe this creature cannot speak, or cannot understand me. The monkey-man thought. "I am sorry to dismiss you, but I must return to my, uh, research."
"AREYOUHANUMAN? OMIGOSHYOUARESOCOOLANDICANTBELIEVEIMHERE-" Dan shouted at once.
"Slow down, boy. I can hardly understand you!" Hanuman seemed a bit worried from this sudden outburst. "I must return to my research."
"(this is so cool) What are you reading?!" Dan asked, excited to be talking to this miracle of a monkey.
Giving up completely with understanding this interaction, Hanuman responded, "I am researching the weapons of that evil Ravana for my lord Rama. I spend my entire days know in pursuit of any knowledge that could help defeat Ravana. In only a few months, we will begin to search for him in order to reclaim Rama's wife."
Dan nods knowingly. "Yeah, Ravana has some deadly weapons. So you haven't fought him ye- I mean, you haven't found him?" Dan patted himself on the back for his quick thinking and not ruining the timeline.
Hanuman, the great scholar and god-incarnate, immediately understood that this boy was from the future, potentially as some sort of omen. But good or bad, he still could not tell. "No, we are patiently awaiting the conclusion of the rainy season, as was decreed by my lord Rama."
"Why do you go on with all that 'lord Rama' stuff?" Dan did indeed use air-quotes as he spoke.
"Because Rama is Vishnu-incarnate, and I have pledged my life to serve him."
"But why? You are- I mean, you seem so powerful. Why not adventure on your own?"
"Because what glory is there in personal fame? What fulfillment can be found in worldly riches? I seek the highest service in life: a life spent in devotion to the gods. I consider myself lucky to be blessed with so many gifts, the greatest of which is serving my lord Rama."
"So its a cult thing or what?"
Hanuman sighs. "It is not a 'cult-thing.' It is my deepest belief that this is my purpose and I seek to fulfill it." As the true scholar he is, Hanuman did not use air-quotes.
"Huh." Dan had not considered Hanuman's loyalty as a purpose before. "I guess that makes sense."
And on that abrupt note, you snap your metaphorical fingers and return Dan to his own time. Hanuman looks you in your eyes and asks you to never do that again. He returns to his 'research,' and you, indignant, go to leave a comment on this site saying how much you hated loved this story.
------
Author's Note: That was fun! A huge departure from my earlier stories, I had a lot of fun with a more self-referential, meta-narrative style of writing this week. Since he was my favorite character, I knew I wanted to write more about Hanuman, so I delved into how he spent the rainy months in between seeing Sugriva take the throne and leaving to search for Ravana. I decided to write Hanuman as a devoted scholar to serve as a cool parallel against my nerdy main character Dan (of no relation to me, Daniel Pfaff, also a cool scholar). I also took a lot of inspiration from an online webcomic called Homestuck (often referred to as the Ulysses of the internet for its length). If you've heard of Homestuck, I am sorry. That's it. Just I'm sorry. For bringing it up and for whatever trouble any misguided fan has given you. But its writing style is so unique and felt like a fun style to try for this story. Hope you enjoyed it!

Narayan, R. K. "The Ramayana"

Extra Credit Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blue, Part B

Hello VagaBuddies,
Welcome part to Sita Sings the Blues review Part 2! In part one,  I also forgot to mention that I noticed that the movie took certain liberties with the story of the Ramayana, which kept it interesting, but one of the more controversial changes (in my mind) was leaving out Lakshmana in Rama's exile into the forest. In Narayan's Ramayana, Lakshmana was there to protect Sita when Rama went to catch the golden deer, but in the movie Sita was left by herself.
In addition to the Lakshmana removal, I also found it odd that the battle between Rama and Ravana was very oversimplified and frankly unsatisfying in this movie. In Narayan's Ramayana, Ravana and Rama battle furiously with different weapons on the ground and in the air on chariots, with tons of trickery and magic throughout the whole fight. In the movie, Rama shoots one arrow that flies straight into Ravana's chest, killing him instantly. This was after all the build up of Ravana as this powerful evil king who was Rama's wife's kidnapper, his arch-nemesis. And his death seemed way too easy for Rama.
Anyway,  story changes aside, I loved loved all the songs in here. Honestly! "Who's that Knocking" was such a bop that I am thinking of just listening to that song anyway!

Trigger Warning, Dave being an absolute d*ck: Sita Sings the Blues

Ok, another thing that I liked (and yet also hated in this movie) was the "real-life" portions of the film about Nina and Dave's relationship. First of all, Dave is a complete asshole. It is a testament to this film's storytelling ability that I disliked Dave so much, that I became so sad when he broke up with Nina over email while she was away in New York. It was interesting to learn that this story arc of the movie was based on real-life events between Nina, the creator of the film, and her boyfriend. The movie has a whole then seemed to be a very cathartic exercise for Nina, and I was happy to get a good film out of it! Overall this movie is a fun, fresh, and exciting adaption of the Ramayana (with only a few questionable choices), and I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about the Ramayana, or just wanting a good story in general.

Vaga-Buon Voyage.

Nina Paley. "Sita Sings the Blues." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzTg7YXuy34&feature=emb_logo

Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues, Part A

Hello Vagabuddies,
Today I am reviewing the first half of the the beautiful movie Sita Sings the Blues. I watched it with two other students from our class (and a past student who just wanted to rewatch the movie!), and it was such a fun movie. I really enjoyed the different art styles that were used for different purposes throughout the movie. First, there was the art style of a chalk-style rough animation on flashing cut-out real-world images such as hearts or the sun. Then, there was the art style of the characters talking to each other, which was just a simple animation, and this was separate from the animation during the songs, which was a very distinct cartoon-style animation that over-emphasized the character's body types such as Sita's very very skinny waist and Rama's Dorito chip body. Then there was the style of animation during the narrator's parts that had more realistic drawings but a choppier style of animation. Finally, running parallel to the whole story of the Ramayana, there was the drawn cartoon on real backgrounds animation for the "real life" story between Dave and Nina. This constant switching between animation styles sometimes made the story a little difficult to follow and feel a little disjointed, but overall it kept the film interesting and fast-paced.

Onto more things I liked about this half of the film specifically, the interaction between the narrators among themselves was hilarious! It felt like an episode of Drunk History, and they disagreements and confusion parallels what a first-time reader of the Ramayana feels during their read-through. I especially liked it when the narrators discussed why Sita never escaped with Hanuman, something I had also wondered. The female narrator explained (and I agreed with her) that Sita wanted Rama to save her and prove himself to the world by defeating the evil king Ravana. Other things like the comedic timing of the camera panning to Ravana every time Sita explained her devotion to Rama was hilarious and a definite laugh-out-loud moment!

Ravana's Shock at Sita's devotion: Sita Sings the Blues

In the extra reading due this week, I will discuss what I thought of the songs too (spoiler, I loved them)!

Vaga-Buon Voyage!


Nina Paley. "Sita Sings the Blues." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzTg7YXuy34&feature=emb_logo

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Sanskrit written in Sanskrit: Wikipedia Commons

Hello VagaBuddies!

Excited to have you all review my blog: Sanskrit in the Indian Epics

Storybook Plan: Sanskrit in the Indian Epics

LINK TO MY STORYBOOK HERE

Hello VagaBuddies!

Storybook from Shrek: Shrek Wiki

First of all I want to say I am excited to begin this storybook process! I am excited to learn a little bit about the Sanskrit language, and deepen my understanding of these Indian Epics in the process!
Organizationally, here is how I imagine my Storybook going. I will be focusing on a few words of Sanskrit in total, one or two for each story. I will provide the definition, a pronunciation guide and maybe even some other interesting uses or etymology of the word if it applies!
Next, I will connect each word to a mantra that focuses on that word. (ie - if the word is devotion then I will find a mantra about devotion). The mantra (or mantras) will then lead into a story from an Indian epic like the Ramayana or the Mahabharata.

For the first page, I want to cover the Ganga origin story from the Ramayana as the main story. I really admired Bhagiratha's devotion to his family, and the interplay between Shiva and Ganga as gods. For my Sanskrit words, I would choose either 'devotion' (for Bhagiratha) or 'goddess' (for Ganga). Both of those would have great mantras to choose from!
For the second page, I want to focus on the word 'purity' or 'faith' (or 'dharma' and compare Rama's dharma as a king vs. his dharma as a husband), because I want to talk about the story of Rama testing Sita's faithfulness at the end of the Ramayana. That scene in particular always interesting me, because Rama seems too harsh, so maybe the mantras I use will help explain Rama's actions.
For the third page, I want to do something with Hanuman, because he is literally the best. I would probably focus on something such as 'loyalty' or 'intelligence' or 'strength' since those are some of the most defining characteristics of Hanuman that come to mind for me.

Overall, I hope to convey a little bit of understanding and appreciation for Sanskrit through my Storybook. I aim to enrich an understanding of the Indian epics with an understanding of the language that it was originally composed in.

Language:
Alphabet: Omniglot
How many Ramayanas are there? : UC Press


Story References:

GANGA
Ganga Storam
- भगवति  Bhagavati: Goddess (Wikipedia)
- Devotion


-जय Jaya: Victory (Wikipedia)

Images:

Sanskrit in Sanskrit (Wikipedia Commons)


Top10Central


Ceas Yoga

Week 4 Story: Ravana vs. Rama (Ramayana retelling)

Ravana charged onto the battlefield on his powerful chariot, wielding a different fearsome weapon in each of his twenty hands. As others saw the king of the asuras' assault, they quickly moved out of the way so as to not be trampled in the chariot's path. The gods too witnessed the ferocity of Ravana's assault and gifted Rama with Indra's chariot and skilled charioteer.

Rama and Ravana meet each other chariots: Detechter

When the two powerful foes met on the battle field, their greeting was one of floods of arrows towards the other. Every arrow Ravana shot from each of his ten bows was expertly deflected or negated by arrows shot by Rama.
Seeing that his physical attacks were going nowhere, Ravana called upon his magical weapons and abilities to wage a second wave on Rama. Ravana shot a magical arrow called 'Danda', gifted to him by Shiva. It was capable of locking onto a target and pulverizing it into a thousand pieces, but Rama intercept the missile in mid-air, snapping the arrow. Then Ravana deployed 'Maya', a weapon that induced hallucinations and illusions on the battlefield. This weapon made it appear to be that all of the vanquished enemies began to rise again from death. Rama's army began to despair. They too had suffered terrible loses, yet they were apparently meant to defeat the same enemies twice and with a weaker force. Matali, Rama's charioteer, then guided Rama to tap into his own divinity and past lives,  deploying his own weapon called 'Gnana' (meaning 'wisdom'). This rare weapon dispelled all the illusions and revealed them to be simply mirages. Next, Ravana deployed an asthra called 'Thama' who plunged the entire world into darkness. These arrows each also had heads with tongues of flame and fangs of sharp metal. They engulfed the world and Ravana was sure that this feat would arrest Rama's attention enough for him to destroy Rama's army. But, Rama immediately understood this newest attack, and deployed 'Shivasthra', a weapon that brought light into all the dark places in the world. This completely countered Thama and rendered it useless. Ravana then hefted one of his most deadly weapons, a trident empowered with destructive capabilities gifted to him by the gods. Today, we would say that this trident had the power of ten atomic bombs. Ravana launched this trident with deadly accuracy at Rama, who immediately understood the danger he was in. To counter, Rama deployed one of his most powerful tools, a single-use shield called 'Carminasthra' that had the ability to neutralize any attack that hit it, no matter how powerful. With this shield in hand, Rama braced himself and the trident hit the shield with a dull thud and dropped to the ground. It was at this moment that Ravana, before so sure of his victory, began to understand how formidable his opponent was, and both sides of the war could feel favor tipping to the side of Rama.

Ravana wield several different weapons against Rama on the battlefield: Quora

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Author's Note: This week was a good palate cleanser for me. I decided to depart from the style of my previous two stories and go back to something more basic: a simple retelling with a few minor corrections. This story is based on the magical weapons wielded by Rama and Ravana against each other in their battle. I really enjoyed whenever Rama countered one of Ravana's attacks with the perfect magical counter, but sometimes the story did not justify quite how Rama was able to neutralize some of the attacks. One in particular, the trident, left something to be desired. In the original text, Narayan's Ramayana, Rama just uttered a mantra and the trident just suddenly stopped an inch from his chest. This was unsatisfying to me,  because it felt like a copout instead of an actual counter. So in my version, I have Rama counter the trident with a weapon called 'Carminasthra', single-use invincible shield. 'Carmin' is the Sanskrit word for shield and it seemed fitting to me to name the tool something along the lines of its purpose.

Narayan, R. K. "The Ramayana"

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part D

Hello VagaBuddies

Time for the biggest reading in the whole Ramayana because Part D included the climax of this story!
At the start of this reading, my love of Hanuman was overwhelmingly confirmed when he sneaked into Lanka, Ravana's capital city, to find Sita. To do this, he mastered his supernatural shapeshifting powers, first becoming big enough to cross the sea in a step and then small enough to explore the evil city unnoticed (My monkey dude is magic too!!). He found Sita just in time, because she was close to committing suicide out of despair. Hanuman, who also has a way with words, comforted her and gave her Rama's ring, a token of his commitment to her. Then, Hanuman destroyed much of the city, allowed himself to be captured, and, when he was set on fire for being a spy, spread the fire all across the city, burning much of it down to the ground. I KNEW I LIKED THIS MONKEY FOR A REASON! Much later, after returning back to Rama, while Rama's camp was debating on whether to receive the defecting Vibishana, Hanuman was the sole voice of compassion of Rama's advisers. Hanuman remembered that Vibishana saved his life when he was captured by Ravana, and could feel that Vibishana was virtuous. Basically, Hanuman joined Lakshmana as the strong, wise sidekick who dominates everyone.

More Hanuman. Just cuz : Pinterest

Rama vs. Ravana : Dazzling Goa (WordPress)

Besides other amazing things Hanuman did, this reading also had the climatic fight between Rama and Ravana! Rama, who defeated enemy commander after enemy commander, had enraged Ravana so much that he tried to fight Rama, but was immediately shut down. After recovering, and even bringing in some extra forces and using magic/trickery, Ravana was still losing every battle to Rama and his allies. One thing that did bug me a slight bit though, was when Ravana sent out Vishnu's trident that was supposed to be super destructive, but Rama just chanted a mantra and the trident was useless. I liked it much better when Rama countered Ravana's attacks with a specific asthra that could counter it. He could have easily had a single-use impenetrable shield or something, but instead the trident just failed because Rama said some magic words that had never been mentioned before.
Anyway, I also thought it was interesting that after the battle, Rama made Sita prove herself again, which even Narayan pointed out as self-contradictory based on his response to Sugreeva or Ahalya, who could both return to their spouses after explicit acts of infidelity.
Regardless,  I still really loved the ending, with its heart-pounding action, last-minute saves, and giant party to end it all. Narayan's commentary really came out on the last epilogue, describing how the author tries to draw out the end of the story, and I really liked learning that little bit.

And for my last reading notes for the Ramayana, VagaBuon Voyage!


Narayan, R. K. "The Ramayana" pp 131-171

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part C

Hello VagaBuddies,

For this reading in the Ramayana, I was introduced to my new favorite character: Hanuman! But before I get to that beautiful monkey man, I have some honorable mentions.

The beast Hanuman himself: YouTube

First, here is where I finally get a mention of the UFO "Ravana's flying chariot." Although it isn't talked about in great depth, I can still easily see how some conspiracy theorists would latch upon this vehicle as evidence of UFO's in ancient texts. I am just surprised how the 'Ancient Technologies in the Ramayana' video didn't mention how Ravana could fly just by himself (jetpacks anyone?). In general though, this seen was very action packed and exciting.
For my first honorable mention, I want to praise the OG Big Bird: Jatayu. I loved Jatayu's final stand in this reading, which had him give his life towards trying to stop Ravana's kidnapping of Sita. Not only was this translation excellent (having great flow, pacing, and sense of action), but it was also just an incredibly moving scene. This bird, through his devotion to their father Dasaratha, destroyed Ravana's chariot in order to try to save Sita. Although he was ultimately unsuccessful, he died a hero.
NOW IS THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE MONKEYS. Ok so backstory: Monkeys are my favorite animal. I read every book about monkeys that was in my grade school's library. Twice. I made a whole monkey-themed activity book, fitted with acrostics, crosswords, word searches, drawings, different monkey-animal combinations, etc. And though I've since grown out of my main monkey-craze, imagine my inner childlike joy at having a smart, strong, and cool monkey character in the form of Hanuman appear in the Ramayana. Not only is this guy incredibly wise, but he is also the son of the wind god, which gives him immense powers besides being a giant monkey. As Rama's greatest devotee, he clearly sees Rama as the incarnation of Vishnu that he is, and is eager to serve him.

This is a Hanuman stan blog now:  Free Wallpapers

Now that this is basically going to be a Hanuman stan account, I am so excited to read more Hanuman stories and see him fight in battle next to Rama.
Bye for now.

Narayan, R. K. "The Ramayana" pp 89-131

Feedback Strategies: Why You Suck and How I Can Say That Better

Hello Vagabuddies!

Here is some helpful feedback: Be honest. I read two articles this week on how to give better feedback: How to Provide Great Feedback When You’re Not In Charge and How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk.
One of the most important things someone can learn how to do is give and receive great feedback, and use that feedback to improve. One characteristic of great feedback for me is being honest. It sounds ridiculous, but people often see right through the classic "Compliment Sandwich" of a complaint coming before and after a compliment. This was echoed in the second article I read that also found fault in the Compliment Sandwich.

Compliment Sandwich (BAD): LifeHack

I work as a math tutor to kids (usually in grade school but some high schoolers), and the one thing that I think I do best over other instructors is I never sugarcoat the students' mistakes. I don't treat what I say lightly, because saying the wrong thing to a child can be devastating, but I also treat them like they can handle it (which they can). Through this and other experiences,  I have learned that people take feedback much better if you're honest with them. This can certainly be awkward, but I think the first article did a great job of explaining how to phrase your feedback so it is less awkward. For example, opening yourself up to any feedback, and asking if the other person would want to hear your feedback, is a great way of leveling the playing field. This lets any advice given as coming from an equal peer, not a teacher or a boss.

Overall, the articles gave great advice on phrasing certain types of feedback, and I can't wait to put it to use!
Goodbye for now!