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.
I didn't watch the videos this week, but I really enjoyed this story. I have noticed that they tend to skim over a lot of the female characters, although it may just be the versions that we are reading. I like the story style that you chose as well. It kind of gave us a look into her mind and personality. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey, Shruti.
ReplyDeleteI first came across Ghandari’s story in a footnote; there wasn’t much depth to it, of course, so I’m really glad you chose to expand on it. The diary format is a really cool choice for this story, since it focuses exclusively on Ghandari’s thoughts and feelings. It gave me a really strong sense of what it must feel like to not be included in decisions about your life. Your Ghandari has spent her whole life in the palace, and doesn’t seem like the kind of girl whose been dreaming about a wedding her whole life. The first three entries express so much confusion, and then just a blank, honest reaction: “I do not know what to do.” (And how could she?) For me, the fact that she’s so removed from Dhritarashtra and even the idea of marriage as a whole leaves her decision to go blind for the remainder of her life unexplained. As it is, I kind of see it as a simple, deep loyalty. It’s not for Dhritarashtra specifically; it’s just the right thing to do. Maybe if she spent some time earlier in her diary (perhaps when she first suspects her parents are planning a marriage) about what sort of marriage she wants—equal footing, etc.—her motivation for this incredibly bold act would be a little more apparent.
Thanks for the story!
Shruti, I enjoyed the format of this story! I think writing this story in such a personal matter really brings Gandhari to life. I was also drawn to her story while watching the Karmic Revolution videos. I think I will be rewriting this story for my storybook as well! I'm curious what she was thinking leading up to making that fated decision to live the rest of her life blind folded. Was she scared of that idea even though she knew she wanted to do it? What were her raw feelings that led to that decision? Finally, I enjoyed the modernization. I like the language you used. It felt like I was reading my own diary: comfortable, honest, emotions. Great Job! :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked the idea of this kind of story. It's written very well and the personal style of it really gives an excellent glimpse into the meat of the source material you're working with. Very well done here and good luck with any and all revisions you make in the future. I look forward to seeing what you do with this.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting format to write in. I enjoyed reading it and found that the short paragraphs helped make this story easier to read. I noticed a few spelling mistakes one of which was: “I overhead my dad told talking to my mom today.” I believe you meant to say “overheard.” This could be easily corrected by having someone else read over your story to make sure all the words make sense because some words like this one are spelt correctly but are not the word you were intending to use. I found the story you wrote about very interesting. I did not watch the videos but I feel that you did a great job explaining what they were about. It was very weird for me to hear of Gandhari’s plan to blindfold herself after marriage. I would think this would only make things more difficult for the couple. I understand the motive behind it but still think it would be more beneficial for her to be able to see and help him.
ReplyDeleteI like the format of this story. It allows for the story to be quick and concise in a very readable format. I like the point of view it was from, but I do wish that the entries were longer and had more details to them. Other than that I think it was a pretty good story! Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI was drawn to your story from the picture you had in your portfolio. It was just so pretty and intriguing! I like that you do this story as a diary and I think you do a very good job writing in a diary style! I tried it one time and it was a lot more challenging that I thought it would be, so I am even more impressed! Your writing was easy to follow too and turned into a great story. I did notice a very small typo in the very beginning where you typed "overhead" where I think you meant "overheard". Something super tiny that you probably just missed! Sometimes it can be hard to pick up typos even when reading out loud. Other than that I couldn't see any other errors that jumped out at me. I really enjoyed this story and I look forward to reading some of your others!
ReplyDelete