Reading Notes B: Pattanaik's Calendar Art

I could write about Narad and how he was born. How he finally became known as the Narad-muni. I have heard people say to not be a Narad but now I will actually know and write about how they came to be.

Devdutt Pattanaik's: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art. Narayan's Secret to Life (2009)

Narad Muni

Reading Notes A: Calendar Art

I could write a story about Ganesha and his trip around the world. I could also write about how Ganesha was born and got the head of an elephant. I like both of those stories and have heard different versions of them so I could write about any of them.

Patanaik's Calendar Art: Ganesha (2015)

Ganesha  (Pinterest)

The Story of Losing Everything

Dear Diary,

It was starting out to be just a nice and peaceful day until we got the invitation with Vidur. Turns out my husbands have been called by his stepbrother to a game of dice. They know it is some sort of a trick especially because they were told by Vidur that the Kauravas wanted to destroy them. I mean they knew something is up especially with this tip and yet they decided to go. Their reasoning is that as a Kshatriya they had no choice but to accept all invitations for gambling and fighting. How stupid is that? You know you are walking into a trap yet you keep going. Seriously!? That is so annoying.  The game was set to be the next day so we would have to stay their tonight and leave the next day, after the game. We packed our clothes along with some food and water for the journey. Arjuna told the servants to get the chariot ready for the trip, along with the horses. So despite my warnings and better judgement we all went to Hastinapur.

Dear Diary,

I was not there for the actual dice game itself but I was getting updates throughout the game. I was so anxious to what happened that I kept looking at the door. I tried to make myself busy with work around the house but I kept thinking about the game. What would happen? What is the trick? What could they do? Ugh! Too many questions!

So a messenger came by. I am too afraid to open to it. I have to though, I need to know what happened.

Yudhishthir lost all of our wealth and the kingdom. Oh I am so mad! How could he do that? We lost everything. Duryodhan did not even play even though he asked for the game to happen. Shakuni played instead of him. That is just cheating and everyone knows it. How did no one stop him? Everyone knows Shakuni is a master in the art of dice, they should have stopped him from playing. Especially because this game was originally intended to be Yudhisthir against Duryodhan.

I got another messanger. He lost my husband and his own brother, Nahul in the match. How do you wager a person. He should have stopped playing. Someone should have stopped him.

He lost Sahadev, Arjuna, and Bhima. Yudhisthir even lost himself. I have nothing left in this world. What will I do? What will happen to me now? How could they lose themselves? Can they ever bet on people? Is that even possible?

Another messenger came to take me.  Apparently they were given a chance to win everything back if they wagered me. They took the chance and lost me too, along with everything else too. How dare they? Was it not enough humiliation to lose themselves, that they had to lose me too? I am most definitely not going to anyone. They cannot do anything to me. This game has nothing to do with me.

Epified Mahabharata  (2015-2016)

Draupadi 

Author's Note: I used different videos from the epified Mahabharata to write this story. The original had all of these aspects in it but I added more details into it. I wanted to show how Draupadi was feeling while the game was going on. I wanted to show things in her point of view over the game instead of it being shown from the game. I used a diary style story again because it shows a persons' innermost thoughts and feelings. It even shows things that they not say out loud or admit to anybody else. I thought that would work best with Draupadi's point of view. I chose this picture because it shows Draupadi's emotions. Her distraught and sadness is reflected in her eyes that are cast down in shame and humiliation. I thought that it worked perfectly with this story. 

Reading Notes F Epified Mahabharata

I could write about the meeting of Bhima and Hanuman. I could also write about how Krishna helped Draupadi when she was getting disrobed. Or when Arjuna faced all of these gods giving him weapons to help him during his war with the Kauravas.

Epified Mahabharata  (2015-2016)

Draupadi

Reading Notes B Epified Krishna

I think I want to write about Brahma and how he decided to kidnap Krishna's friends and cows. All because he wanted to see what would happen and if Krishna knew he was really a god. According to him gods do not share food from their own plate and so this happened. It lasted a year and no one could even figure out that anything even happened in the first place.

Epified Krishna (2015)

Krishna & Brahma  

Reading Notes A: Epified Krishna

I think I want to write about the part where Vasudev has to cross the Yamuna but does not know how. He realizes that a snake comes to help him and protect Krishna from the heavy storm. I could also write about the love story of Krishna and Radha. The way they are connected to each other.

Epified Krishna  (2015) 

Krishna 

Reading Notes E: Epified Mahabharata

I could write about how Draupadi felt when she was put at stake during the gambling match. The way the game had started and ended and what happened during it could also be written in the story. How all her husband, her wealth, kingdom, and even her dignity.

The Gambling Match

Draupadi's Humilation

The Story of Gandhari

Dear Diary,

Today is a very interesting day for me. I overhead my dad told talking to my mom today. He said that Bhisma sent a message to him regarding me. I am very surprised. I mean really, who would want to talk about me? No one really knows me. I have been in the palace my entire life. What would anyone have to say about me? Anyway it is getting late now so I think I should sleep. Plus, my mother was telling me that I have to get up early for a Pooja. We always have one big Pooja every month that we prepare for a week in advance. It is to thank the gods for giving us everything and to ensure that nothing goes wrong in the future. We also have a hundred Brahmins come for the Pooja. All of them are given food and prasad from the Pooja.

Dear Diary,

I could not sleep at all last night. The entire time I kept thinking about my parents talking about me. I was just tossing and turning the entire night. What could someone possibly have to say about me? How do they know me? Who is this Bhishma? Why was he asking about me? I asked my brother, Sakuni, in the morning if he knew anything about him but he refused to tell me anything. He said that I should stop thinking about it and just go on with my life. Like that would help. He should know by now that I would not stop until I find out everything over the matter. With the Pooja being today and not really sleeping, it is turning out to be a stressful day.

Dear Diary,

So my parents called me into their room first thing in the morning. I really do not know what it is about. Hopefully it’s about Bhishma and what they were talking about that day. They said to go talk to them as soon as I was done with what I was doing. They also said that it is urgent, so I should probably hurry.
I was right, it is about what that guy wanted. My parents told me that he has a marriage proposal for me. Bhishma wants me to marry his great-nephew, Dhritarashtra. My parents also told me that they are a good family for me to marry into. I do not really know much about him, other than his name. My father says that I should marry him, while my mother disagrees. Sakuni is also upset and against my father on this subject. I do not know what to do.

Dear Diary,

So turns out that the guy that my father wants me to marry is blind. He has been his whole life. I found out from my parents. This does not change anything from my perspective though. I told my parents that I would do whatever they decided for me. My dad said that I would marry this guy. I have no issues over this at all.I mean yeah, he is blind and this is something very different, but I trust my dad's choice. I know that this is a very big decision but I want the two of us to be in an equal relationship. With him not being able to see, I will also give up my sight and have a blindfold on my eyes forever. I talked to my friends about this and they also agree with my decision. They said this would help us be in an equal relationship. I will do this on the day of our wedding. I told my parents about this and they were very proud of me. My brother, however, was very upset and left the room. I know he does not want me to do this, but I have always wanted my husband and me to be equal. I know that he will understand this one day. I do not think that my husband would have any problems with this decision of mine.

 The Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution Epified (2015-2016)

Gandhari: Mahabharata 

Author's Note: I watch the videos of Epified that explained how Gandhari was supposed to marry Dhristarathra who was blind. Then she decided to use a blindfold all of her life to support her husband. Sakuni, her brother, was against everything and even despised her husband, because she could not see. Sakuni wanted his sister's life to be perfect but here she was giving up her eyes for her husband. I decided to talk about this story because she was a character that was just skimmed over. There was not much about her and I feel that she did a great thing for her husband. I added a lot more details from the time she hears something to the time she decides to give up her sight for her husband. I used modern language but the morals and teaching from that time period, like listening to your father and obeying him even though it may not always be pleasant. Back then females did not have a lot of say in their life, but she sort of did. At least that was the impression I got from watching the episodes so I tried to portray that in my story. A pooja is worshiping  a particular god or goddess. Prasad is food that you put during the pooja. It is said that the god or goddess eat the food and bless them so whoever eat them are blessed too. I chose this particular image because it shows her blindfolded. She has giver up her eyes, so this is after her marriage. 

Reading Notes D: Epified Mahabharata

I could also write about how draupadi had finally chosen a husband through the swayambar and all that happened through it. Them I could add how she ended up with five husbands because of what Kunti said to her sons when they returned home. How she ended up marrying all five of them.

Epified Mahabharata (2015-2016) 

Draupadi's Wedding

Reading Notes C: Epified Mahabharata

I could write a story about how Duryodhan had planned to kill the Pandavas because he was jealous of them. The way he sent them all on to a different place because of a celebration for Shiva and instead planned on burning down the house they stayed in and how they ended up escaping.

Epified Mahabharata (2015-2016)

The Pandavas Escape

Week 8 Growth Mindset

I think that the problem that I have sometimes is focusing on the grades rather than what I have actually learned in the class. Grades do not reflect how much you know, rather by the knowledge that you gained from the class. Something that I do is that I do try to get out of my comfort zone and try new things, sometimes I do try to back out, but I make sure that I still go through with it. Having friends with you helps, but so does going by yourself and just making new friends. Sticking to the comfort zone does not help you grow as a person, going out and trying new things does. Plus who knows, you might actually like it or make really good friends because you decided to try it. In high school I joined stagecraft. I used to do plays and dances when I was little but I stopped as I grew older. I wanted to try it again and I did. Turns out that because of it I made new friends that I probably would not have had I not joined the class. New things are scary but they are worth it in the end, and if not you had an experience and a story because of it.

Exploring: Expedition Audio 

Week 8 Reflections

I've chosen both reading and watching videos for my reading notes, and I have really enjoyed them. They have given me different versions and ways to see something. They also remind me of the fact that there are always multiple point of views, and sometimes if you stand in some one else's shoes, you'll see that you are not always right. I think that the way I take notes helps me with my stories, because I can write down an idea and then later expand on it in my story. I think for future readings I would like to finish the Mahabharatha that I have started, and then learn about Krishna in the epified versions. I like them because they give me a quick run down of what happened with the important details. I like what I have written so far, I have a tendency to write in a play script way so I think I would like to try some different way of writing for the next one, but I am not sure yet. While reading other people's posts I like the twists they give to the stories. They are very creative and something that I enjoy reading.

Reflections (2013)

Famous Last Words: Surviving the Week Before OU/Texas

So this week I have actually tried to do everything early and not only for this class because of OU vs. Texas. IT actually worked out to my benefit too. I have realized that if I do things ahead of time and do extra credit. I can skip some assignments for this class and have less stress about it when I need to focus on other classes because of exams or quizzes. Working ahead means that I can focus less on this less sometimes and study for my other classes. Since this is not a hard class at all, it just takes time to do all of the work for it. The reading for this week was good, I actually did not know a lot about the Mahabharatha so it definitely helped in my knowledge of that. It helped that it was in videos so I could actually see it instead of just imagine it in my head while reading it. I also did both of the readings for this week last week so I was already ahead in that sense and I just went ahead and did the other assignments during the times I do the readings. This was I am already done for the week and can start on things for next week. So when I get back from Texas I can relax for a little bit before I can hit with studying for exams. That really is the best thing about this class too, you can work ahead or at your own pace so you can do it whenever and actually learn things that you did not know about the Indian culture. Even though I am Indian, I did not know the Mahabharatha well and because of this class I actually learned things about it that I would not have had I not taken this class.

Time Management  Chief Family Officer (2014)