Week 2 Reading Overview
Having read and watched the Ramayana before, I am choosing R. K. Narayan's version of the story. As I browsed through the public domain, I realized that I would prefer the story method to help me bring out my own creativity and understand the writing process. Additionally, there are details that are in Narayan's rendition that may not be present in the public domain. It seemed as though the public domain was more of a summary rather than the story of the Ramayana. Additionally, knowing my mother has several versions of the book, I have decided to read the children's version that I own myself alongside Narayan's. I am hoping that there might be some parallelism and even some differences for me to compare and contrast in this particular unit of the course.
Coincidentally, my parents own a lot of the Amar Chitra Katha comic books. There are stories I have heard and read, but many I have not. Unfortunately while I was growing up, I attended a private school that claimed to not be religious but still forced very minor religious activities upon us. Because of that, I know some Christian stories and heard the bible as I grew up. It is unfortunate in the perspective that I didn't have a chance to hear many of the stories that the Amar Chitra Katha comics present, but interesting in how my religious background was broadened due to the experience that I did have. So, I chose a couple stories that I had not quite known. The first being about Durga. I found her story interesting because she is the protector. We pray for her to protect us and give us the strength we need. How she obtained her powers is something I found interesting and wanting to know more about. The second story is of Krishna and his wife Rukmini. One of my aunt's name is Rukmani, which is the same as Rukmini. Her name has always been so beautiful to me and knowing the story of Rukmini will be interesting and will guide my curiosity to find out why my aunt was named so. I would love to read all of these comics and know all of these stories, so I am thankful that maybe I don't have to just pick a few in the future! One video I found interesting was the TedTalk on the Indian way of business. I was curious to hear what the definition of this approach was. Seeing that the speaker relates the myths to business is extremely relatable and prevalent among many Indians. The Mahabharata contains lessons that are further emphasized and reflected on in the Gita that we use in our daily lives. We use these lessons to be mindful of our actions and have success, whether it is in our careers or even in life. I really liked this video and talk because of the implication that Hinduism is a lifestyle, as it always has been. The second video I found very interesting was the relationship between Greek Mythology and Indian Epics. This parallelism only adds to the never ending question of how everything relates back to one another. Greek mythology and Indian Epics are two of the oldest religions that have existed on the earth. The interrelation between the two are also never-ending and only makes me further confused. What fun!
I loved this image because I also loved the story of Kunti that led to the Pandava brothers. While finding this image and reading the brief story on Wikipedia of Kunti, I came to realize she only gave birth to 4 of the 6 brothers (Karna, Arjuna, Yudhisthira, and Bhima)! I am very confused now and will have to go ask my mother to explain to me how I missed this detail. I have a feeling me bothering my mother for confirmation will be a recurrent theme throughout the semester.
Coincidentally, my parents own a lot of the Amar Chitra Katha comic books. There are stories I have heard and read, but many I have not. Unfortunately while I was growing up, I attended a private school that claimed to not be religious but still forced very minor religious activities upon us. Because of that, I know some Christian stories and heard the bible as I grew up. It is unfortunate in the perspective that I didn't have a chance to hear many of the stories that the Amar Chitra Katha comics present, but interesting in how my religious background was broadened due to the experience that I did have. So, I chose a couple stories that I had not quite known. The first being about Durga. I found her story interesting because she is the protector. We pray for her to protect us and give us the strength we need. How she obtained her powers is something I found interesting and wanting to know more about. The second story is of Krishna and his wife Rukmini. One of my aunt's name is Rukmani, which is the same as Rukmini. Her name has always been so beautiful to me and knowing the story of Rukmini will be interesting and will guide my curiosity to find out why my aunt was named so. I would love to read all of these comics and know all of these stories, so I am thankful that maybe I don't have to just pick a few in the future! One video I found interesting was the TedTalk on the Indian way of business. I was curious to hear what the definition of this approach was. Seeing that the speaker relates the myths to business is extremely relatable and prevalent among many Indians. The Mahabharata contains lessons that are further emphasized and reflected on in the Gita that we use in our daily lives. We use these lessons to be mindful of our actions and have success, whether it is in our careers or even in life. I really liked this video and talk because of the implication that Hinduism is a lifestyle, as it always has been. The second video I found very interesting was the relationship between Greek Mythology and Indian Epics. This parallelism only adds to the never ending question of how everything relates back to one another. Greek mythology and Indian Epics are two of the oldest religions that have existed on the earth. The interrelation between the two are also never-ending and only makes me further confused. What fun!
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| Kunti and Pandu. Source: Wikimedia |
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