Brainstorm Topics

Rakshasis:

Throughout the Ramayana, I found the female demons to be some of most interesting characters.  I was so interested in Thataka’s back-story that I wrote about it in my storytelling post.  Furthermore, I also found Soorpanaka’s unwavering affection for Rama to be odd but interesting.  I did do some research such as Wikipedia pages on the characters and I tried to search the Internet to see if female demons were viewed differently than male demons.  However, I could not anything about the views of female demons, but it is something that I would be interested to know.  I also looked through past storybook projects, and found “Misunderstood Women of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata” by Bethany Magley.  Within her story, she gives an accurate account of both rakshasis.

Kooni/Manthara and Kaikeyi:

First of all, I am very intrigued by Kaikeyi’s and Kooni’s relationship.  Even though Kaikeyi is a queen, she still allows Kooni to manipulate her.  Furthermore, within the Ramayana, there is one point in which Kausalya is described as having “several dwarfs and hunchbacks and other freaks” as her servants (Narayan 31).  I was wondering if there were specific reasons why people with physical deformities are the servants of the queens.  I tried to do some research about the issue, but only managed to find out details about each character—such as how Kooni never liked Rama due to a past event.   I had no luck in discovering the significance of deformities.  For this topic, I also read some past storybook projects—“Evil Women of the Ramayana”—which describes Kaikeyi’s and Kooni’s relationship. 

Mistreated Women of the Ramayana:

Throughout the Ramayana, I felt like many of the women—Sita, Tara, and Ahalya—were either mistreated or discredited because of their sex.  I was surprised while doing some research on Wikipedia that women in ancient India were actually treated quite equally to men, but their freedom declined due to the occurrence of various religions such as Islam and Christianity.  I know I will have to do more in depth research on this topic, but this contradictory find to my beliefs sparks my interest immensely.

Monkey Characters within the Ramayana:

One very important aspect of the text is the use of monkey characters such as Hanuman, Vali, Sugreeva, and Angada.  I know monkeys are one of the sacred animals within Indian culture.  However, monkeys are also described as fickle minded.  I am wondering if there is a connection to their fickle mindedness and Sugreeva’s lack of urgency in helping Rama.  I did research using Wikipedia and other Internet sources, but I was not able to find out why people dress like monkeys in Indian culture.  I know that it is a part of their culture to dress up like monkeys because I have seen it before and I believe they do it to enforce protection against evil, but I am not exactly sure.  After searching the Internet for a while, I could only find recent accounts of Parliament using men dressed up as monkeys to scare real monkeys away from government buildings.

A sculpture of Hanuman. Source: Wikipedia

Famous Last Words Week 2

This week has been crazy.  I keep hoping that this semester slows down, but it hasn’t slowed down a bit.  Within this class, I feel that I’ve accomplished a lot.  I really enjoyed writing my story this week.  As soon as I read Thataka’s story within the Ramayana, this idea popped into my head.  I think I went out of the box on this writing project, but I’m glad I did.  I hope that I can get inspired like this for future storytelling projects.  I think one strategy that helped me out this week was to pick parts of the text that are not main focal points.  For me, I find it challenging to elaborate and be creative with main points within the story such as Rama meeting Sita and Rama being exiled.  I think that it is already put into great detail and I just can’t find the will to put my creativity into it.  I believe that it is predictable and a waste of an opportunity, but in the future, I may be inspired to write about a main plot section. 

The best writing that I read this week was Marielle’s storytelling post.  She wrote about Kaikeyi and her inner thoughts on being abandoned.  She did a really great job at explaining her insecurities and fears.  I even sympathized with Kaikeyi after reading it because Marielle showed Kaikeyi as someone who has had a difficult life as a woman because she was only seen as a dumb, sex object.  I think most women could relate to her struggle as being underestimated because of their sex.  By writing this section of the story from Kaikeyi’s point of view, it greatly helps the reader identify with her.  I hope Marielle realizes how great of a writer she is.

Overall, this week has been hectic with homework, school, and work, but next weekend should be better.

Kaikeyi asking Dasaratha for Rama's exile. Source: Wikimedia

Storytelling Week 2: The Case of Thataka

“Let’s go,” Viswamithra shouted to Rama and Lakshmana, waking them up.

It was hard to believe that Rama and Lakshmana had managed to fall asleep in the crowded police car before they were expected to leave on their next assignment at dawn.  Viswamithra jumped into the driver’s seat and began to drive to Wasteland. 

Rama and Lakshmana had only been on the force for a few months, but Viswamithra had demanded that the two come on this assignment.  Without question, Rama and Lakshmana took the case but still questioned why they were chosen to go to Wasteland.  The Wasteland was a notorious trailer park that was avoided by cops because of the heavy drug use.  For this reason, the two rookies couldn’t believe that there was an assignment in this part of their district.

After a few minutes of riding in silence, Rama asked, “Viswamithra, what are we doing in Wasteland?”

            “We’re going to arrest a major dealer.”

“What!” Rama and Lakshmana both exclaimed.

“Are you sure that we should be on this assignment?” asked Lakshmana.

            “Yes,” Viswamithra answered plainly. 

After a long pause Rama asked, “Well, how are we taking him in?”

“He is a she, and her name is Thataka.  She’s sixty-five years old and a mother of two.”

“Really? Rare for a woman to be on the dealing side,” Rama said puzzled. 

“I know but don’t be deceived by her gender.  She’s been in this game for many years.”

“Years? How does a woman get into the drug business?” asked Lakshmana shocked.

            “To be honest,” Viswamithra started, “I don’t know the entire story but I do know enough.  She was from a pretty nice family but at about sixteen, she got pregnant by this regular hood rat named Sunda.  Thataka's parents disowned her, one kid turns into two.  How can a teenage mom and deadbeat dad support themselves and two kids? Sell cheap drugs.  Sunda was the main dealer, and she did whatever he asked.  I guess that’s how it all started.”

            "Well, how did she become a big dealer?" Rama asked annoyed.

“I suppose,” Viswamithra continued, “everything went okay until her sons Mareecha and Subahu were reported selling drugs around their high school.  The police followed the drugs back to their father and a few weeks later, the police set up a sting.  During the sting, things went bad, and there was a shootout.  Sunda was shot and killed, but then his sons joined in and killed three cops.  At the end of the day, four people were dead, Mareecha and Subahu were arrested on multiple felony counts, and Thataka was left alone in that trailer house.  She never graduated from high school.  All she knew was how to make easy money through dealing.  So, that’s what she did and she became the number one dealer in Wasteland, and Wasteland became the number one place to rot.  All these drugs and the people they create, no wonder this place can’t sustain any life.”

After a couple minutes of silence, Rama asked, “There’s one thing I still don’t get.  Why didn’t they arrest Thataka along with her sons?  They would’ve had to know she was a part of it.”

 “Simple, she was a woman,” Viswamithra said just as he put the car in park.  “Let’s go.”

An older cop car model from the Gorillaz music video "Stylo." Source:Wikipedia.

Author’s Note

For this post, I wanted to update “Thataka’s Story” with a contemporary setting and focus on crime, which is something that we can all relate to.  I only wanted to focus on Viswamithra telling Rama and Lakshmana her story and their reaction to it.  Within the original, I found Thataka’s back-story more interesting than the scene where she is killed.  She is described as someone who falls from a goddess to a demon.  Through this story, I wanted to explain why she fell and what really happened to her and her family.  Furthermore, her story allowed for so much creativity, and I felt like I could do the most with her back-story.  I wanted to show her suffering and how these choices led to her being alone, which is why I chose to have her sons leave.  Within the original story, she seems like a bitter and lonely woman.  For these reasons, I chose to not include Rama killing Thataka.  I chose the crime of drug dealing because the type of destruction it does to communities paralleled nicely to the type of destruction Thataka does to the land.  Within the original story, Mareecha and Subahu are a bad influence over their father, and Thataka and Sunda get married and then have children.  Other than these two changes, the rest of my story is true to plot.   

Bibliography

Narayan, R. K. (1972).  The Ramayana

Reading Diary B Week 2: Soorpanaka

My favorite part of this reading was Soorpanaka’s extreme lust for Rama.  Even though he blatantly refuses her offers multiple times, she still schemes various plans to get him.  However, these schemes result in either herself or her family being harmed or killed.  Even after Lakshmana deforms her by cutting off her nose, ears, and breasts and Rama still denies her, she doesn't give up.  Her devotion is comical because she never gives up even though every plan she tries fails miserably.

Her final attempt is to trick her brother Ravana, much like she tried to trick Kara, into lusting after Sita.  With Ravana looking to capture Sita and take her away from Rama, Soorpanaka believes that this will leave her the opportunity to become Rama’s lover.  In fact, Soorpanaka is so obsessed with Rama that she must constantly fight her feelings to appear to others as though she hates Rama for every misfortune that has occurred. 

One of my favorite quotes from this section that shows Soorpanaka’s comical obsession with Rama includes:

“‘Even if I had a thousand tongues, I could never fully explain his beauty and the grandeur of his personality.  Even if I had a thousand eyes one could not take in the splendor of this being’...She realized that she had made a blunder revealing too much of her inner feelings for Rama and corrected herself by adding, ‘For all his looks, what a cruel heart he has!  His mission in life is to wipe out our whole family, clan, class from the face of this earth,’” (Narayan 75). 

I like this quote because it demonstrates Soorpanaka’s intense infatuation with Rama.  Even though she has been maimed and had members of her family killed due to her obsession with Rama, she is still able to praise his looks and personality.  Furthermore, Soorpanaka explains that Rama’s duty in life is to kill demons like her.  This is perhaps the most comical point because Soorpanaka still lusts for Rama even though it is his fate to kill her.

Lakshmana is shown maiming Soorpanaka in the lower right-hand corner. Source: Wikipedia

Reading Diary A Week 2: Thataka

One of my favorite excerpts from this reading was “Thataka’s Story.”  I found Thataka to be interesting for several reasons.  The first is the great contrast from her past as the daughter of Suketha, who was known as being pure and courageous, to the wife and mother of troublemakers.  It seems that Thataka has no real influence over what her life has become until her husband is killed, then out of character, she becomes this evil force devouring every living thing.  This complete transformation is really shocking and interesting because Thataka’s life up to this point gives no evidence of such things occurring.

Another reason I found Thataka to be interesting was that she is a woman.  I believe there is something to be said about a woman who is described as turning fertile land into an unlivable desert.  From a literary point of view, she is obviously being criticized as an unfit woman.  This is furthered more directly through Viswamithra stating, “‘You shall not consider her a woman at all.  Such a monster must receive no consideration...A woman of demonic tendencies loses all consideration to be treated as a woman,’” (Narayan 12).  Basically, instead of performing the duties of a woman such as producing valuable offspring or exuding fertility, Thataka does the complete opposite by being a destroyer of life.  Thataka’s story was my favorite part of this reading because it demonstrates such a harsh view of women who do not live up to society’s standards.  Of course, I could be reading too much into this but I believe it does say something about the view of women during this time.

Rama battling Thataka. Source: Wikipedia