Extra Credit Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

Hello VagaBuddies!

Finally, after much anticipation, I finished the Mahabharata! Things got pretty crazy here in real life (or IRL as the bloggers say). Not to date this blog or anything, but I am currently writing this post while in quarantine for coronavirus! Scary! But also a good time to catch up on readings, because it is important to finish the story!  Here are some thoughts on the thrilling conclusion of the Mahabharata!

Where I left off in my last post (soooooo sooooo long ago), Yudhisthira and crew were starting their final and hardest year of exile: spending a year undercover in a city. With their silly disguises, they almost get caught so many times. Arjuna reveals himself to the boastful prince in order to save them both from an attack by Karna, and Yudhisthira is accidentally cut during a moment of anger from the King. Apparently (which I say because it was never mentioned before), if Yudhisthira's blood is spilled on the ground, a huge curse is put on the one who caused the wound. So Draupadi had to act quickly and catch the blood before it reached the ground. Phew!

Arjuna and prince fighting Arjuna | paperstand.blogspot

One of the wilder parts of the big between the Pandavas and Duryodhana and crew is how they took down Drona, the old teacher of the Pandavas. To do this, they named an elephant after Drona's son, killed it, and then loudly proclaimed its death. Drona even asked Yudhisthira (who can't lie I guess?) if it was true, to which he replied, "yes," and then under his breath, "the elephant." This deception made Drona let down his guard for a moment in which someone else could come kill him. WILD

Overall, I thought the battle was meh. A good amount of action, but there were so many names that it was hard to really care about anyone in particular.

I also thought it was a bit selfish of Yudhisthira, whom I had consistently respected up to this point, to try to refuse the crown in favor of an ascetic life. He literally fought a war and then decided it wasn't worth it. Nice dude. I'm glad that Krishna was there to set him straight. It was also interesting to read how all the main characters passed, too. In the last couple pages, we saw how everyone else got their dignified deaths, and Yudhisthira actually just was raised into heaven.

Anyway, I am really glad I finished the Mahabharata, and, if forced to decide between recommending the Mahabharata or the Ramayana, it would be the Ramayana if for nothing else than the absolute gem of a character of Hanuman (What a hunk!)

Buon Voyage!






Mahabharata. Narayan. R.K. pp 131-179

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