Week 10 Storytelling: The Curse of Gandhari

It was the final night of the great Kurukshetra War. The Kaurava forces had been wiped out, their commanders killed one by one. All that remained was the king of unyielding cruelty, Duryodhana. However, his end would have to wait. Blessed by the gods, Duryodhana had no need for air or food, and he was hidden away from the fighting, at the bottom of a deep lake. The battle had ceased- temporarily, anyway.

The remaining Pandavas and their forces went to pay their respects to the old queen Gandhari, mother to the one-hundred Kauravas, including Duryodhana. The old queen was wise and held a deep spiritual strength. She was no fool; she knew her sons had brought about their own destruction. However, her deep affections for Duryodhana often betrayed her better judgment. Upon seeing Krishna enter as part of the Pandava retinue, she let out a wail of sorrow. This was the man responsible for all of her loss and suffering.

"Oh mighty Krishna, why must you show your face here? Have you not already caused enough pain in this house of mine? You, whose cunning and guile have so easily won the war...you could have made peace between these families, but instead you led them only to death and despair."

Krishna was shocked by her accusations. He had tried to put a stop to the conflict, but the stubbornness of Duryodhana was the real cause of the war. He tried to explain.

"Wise Gandhari, surely you know that this was not my doing. Can you not see tha-"

"No actually, I can't see. Vow of blindness and all that, you know."

"Ah, yes, of course. My apologies, Gandhari. But nevertheless, I insist I can take no blame for this war."

Gandhari bristled at this declaration of innocence. She arose from the mat where she was sitting and walked over to Krishna.

"Because of your actions, I place upon you and your tribe a curse of a mother's sorrow. In 36 years, all of the Yadavas will perish, each killed by the hand of a brother."

Krishna could not help but laugh. "That's it? That's your curse? My clan has grown much too arrogant and vile. Honestly, they probably deserve what's coming to them. You're doing me a favor."

"You really want your whole family to die? That's horrible."

"Well yes, karmic justice must be upheld right? I'm just confused as to why you're putting it off for 36 years. That's an oddly specific number."

"It was just the first one that popped into my head really. This whole curse-making thing is much less refined than one might think."

Queen Gandhari: source: wikimedia

Author's Note: This is a retelling of a section of the Mahabharata as seen in Peter Brook's film, the Mahabharata. I thought Gandhari was a really interesting character in all of the versions I've seen, and her story is very compelling. I also thought it made an interesting counterpoint with the depictions of Krishna that show him as totally accepting of the curse against his clan. I started writing this as more serious than usual,  but I couldn't help try injecting some humor into the story towards the end.

Reading Diary B: Peter Brook's Mahabharata

Today I finally finished the movie! I really enjoyed it but I'm also glad that I was able to finish such a long movie. My week has been kinda hectic, but it was nice to take time and just finish watching everything. I really like the ending sequence of the movie, so I might try to use that as inspiration for my storytelling assignment this week.

Ascent to heaven: source: wikimedia

Reading Diary A: Peter Brook's Mahabharata

This week, I'm just continuing to watch Peter Brook's version of the Mahabharata. I really enjoyed the movie last week, but I'm looking forward to finishing the film. I hadn't really realized how long the film would be when I started watching, but it's been really good so far. This section was really nice because it was building up to the big finale, so the plot really picked up a lot. It's funny how similar the book and the movie can be in terms of pacing and story mechanics, and yet still be so different.

Battle at the conclusion of the Mahabharata: source: wikimedia

Week 9 Storytelling: Draupadi's Diary

Dear Diary,

Well, here I am, a new blushing bride. Or at least, that's what I should be. Taken from my father's palace, wagered in a stupid archery contest, and now taken back to a hut in the woods - at first I had accepted my fate; how is my story any different from the dozens of other princesses that get tossed to best bowman or the strongest warrior? That's just the way things are. And there were worse husbands than Arjuna. He's a talented warrior to be sure, but he's a kind and virtuous soul. That's the impression I had at first anyway.

Of course, everything changed when we completed our journey back to his hut. Or rather, his brother's hut. I understood their family's situation, and I was devoted to my husband as a good wife should be. What I was not expecting was to be burdened with five husbands in the place of one. It is said that a wife's worst enemy is her mother-in-law, and this was something that never really made sense to me until I met my husbands' mother. I know she meant well when she told the brothers to share their prize, but she could have told them how ridiculous it was to insist on sharing me. Surely, they wouldn't stand for their mother to be passed around between five men like a bad cold.

The worst part is that my husbands are all seen as these wonderful warriors and wise princes. And this may be true when they're out in public, but at home they couldn't be worse. Arjuna, whom I had thought would be my loving and doting husband, has a number of other women that he neglected to mention until we were already living together. He's even been with a Naga! It's a great shame that such a noble warrior can sink so low. Bhima, the giant one, is a complete slob, and has the worst hygiene you can imagine. He's such a brute, it's a wonder he doesn't try to fight the storms in the sky. The twins are here too, I suppose. I can't tell them apart for the life of me, and their complete lack of a defining personality trait between the two of them is almost impressive.

The oldest one, Yudhistira, is much too caught up in his role as a kshatriya: it's all "honor" and "duty" with that one. And he's absolutely obsessed with gambling. He's constantly wanting to play dice games with his brothers, who seem all too eager to oblige. But his terrible luck is going to get him in trouble someday.

Draupadi: source wikimedia

Dear Diary,

It's finally over. The great Kurukshetra War is finally over, and my wonderful husbands are victorious. I couldn't be more fortunate to have such brave warriors as my companions. Bhima's tremendous strength and courage took down many soldiers, and Arjuna was the finest archer on the field. The twins fought quite skillfully, but I'm most proud of Yudhistira. His wisdom and skill as a leader are what ultimately won the day. 

Now we can finally return to our kingdom and live peacefully without any possible threat from the vicious Kauravas. While my husbands are sad to have slain so many of their family, we all know it was a necessary evil. Our companion Krishna has returned to his kingdom to watch over his people, but we have made a number of other strong allies. It seems like I might get my "happy ending" after all!

Author's Note: This story is based on a section of Peter Brook's Mahabharata. In the film, like in the original story, Draupadi is won by Arjuna, but becomes the wife of all five of the Pandava brothers. I thought it might be nice to look at Draupadi's situation from a different point of view. In the original, she's very relaxed about the whole situation, and that seemed like a very unrealistic reaction to a very ridiculous situation. I chose this image of Draupadi because it's what I would imagine her wedding dress would look like, and I wanted the first diary entry to be from immediately after she is wed to all of the brothers. I added the second diary entry as a counterpoint to show how Draupadi does grow to love all of her husbands by the end of the story. I'm still trying to get better at writing in a first-person perspective, so I thought a diary format would be really good practice for this. I also thought this would be a nice chance to poke more fun at the characters of the story. I keep finding that it's much easier for me to write stories with more of a sarcastic/humorous tone, so that's what I decided to do this week. I feel like so many of these tales are well-suited to comedic interpretations, trying to do only serious stories would not be nearly as fun.

Reading Diary B: Peter Brooks Mahabharata

For this reading diary, I'm still making my way through Peter Brook's version of the Mahabharata. I'm really enjoying the film so far, and I like how it feels more like a theatrical piece. The "special effects" and costumes are all very basic, and nothing is too dramatic or over the top, which I think would have been really easy to do.

Director Peter Brook; Source wikimedia

The story of the film seems to be holding pretty close to the original, other than the more prevalent "story-within-a-story" elements. Still, the whole theatrical aspect definitely gives me some ideas for how I could write a story that's more drama-oriented. I'm really looking forward to watching more of the film next week and seeing how all of the action at the end is portrayed on screen.

Reading Diary A: Peter Brook's Mahabharata

For this weeks reading, I decided to watch Peter Brook's version of the Mahabharata. I thought it would be interesting to watch the film version to get see how the story differs in a different format.

The boy, Ganesh, and Vyasa source: wikimedia

The thing that was most striking about this version was how the beginning of the story was different. There is a young boy who is present for the telling of the tale by Vyasa, and Ganesha has a much more active role in how he questions and talks to Vyasa. Moreover, it was interesting seeing the film use such a huge and diverse cast. I read somewhere that Brook's used actors from many countries to represent the idea that the Mahabharata is the story of all of humanity. This is a really interesting idea that I don't think I really picked up on in the other version. I am really excited to see how the rest of the story develops and to see how the film version differs from the book.

Reading Plan

I think for the rest of the semester, I want to focus on the two epics from the beginning of the class. This will allow me to work with the stories in a number of very different formats and styles, and hopefully that will help to inspire me to write my stories in equally eclectic ways. For weeks 9 and 10, I think I will read The Missing Queen. This story seems really entertaining, and it's gotten such a rave review from Laura, I think I have to check it out. For weeks 11 and 12, I really want to watch Peter Brook's version of the Mahabharata. I loved seeing the Ramayana in a film version so I'm hoping that this movie will be as equally enjoyable. For weeks 13 and 14, I want to read the graphic novels from the Mahabharata. Personally, I've always been a fan of graphic novels, and these stories will make me go to the library, which will probably be good because I might not have the motivation to do so otherwise.

Read ALL the books! source: pixabay

Reflections: Looking Forward

Looking towards the second half of the semester, I'm really excited for all of the potential that this class has to offer. There area number of different stories and works we can work on, and the main choice for me right now is deciding whether I want to focus only on other versions of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata or whether I want to try to cover as wide a breadth as possible. I really loved the two epics and I think it would be interesting to familiarize myself with more versions of the stories to see what changes and what stays the same in each version, so that's what I'm leaning towards now.

In terms of my writing, I really want to use this second half of the semester to try to write more adventurous stories. All of mine have been basic retellings or depictions of scenes from a similar point of view, but I've not really done anything as creative or different as some of the stories I've seen from my classmates. I want to use these last few weeks to really sit and focus on my writing and what I can do better.

My other main goal involves my scheduling for this class. I've been able to get everything done so far, but there have been a lot of times where I've forgotten to do a declaration or not been able to work on assignment until I'm already in the grace period. I'd like to make a better schedule that might take off some of the stress of keeping up with this class. That way, I might be able to work on some of the extra credit assignments and maybe finish a bit early.

Generic inspirational sunrise, courtesy of flickr

Looking Back

Looking back , I think the first half of the semester has been pretty good. I think I've learned a lot from the readings and also from the writing exercises. My portfolio project is going pretty smoothly, and I've definitely gotten some ideas from some of the other students on what I can do to improve my project even more. I loved going through both of the epics, and I don't know if I could pick a single favorite scene or reading from between them. I have learned that I tend to read in big chunks, and it's really hard for me to break up big readings into little sections to read over a number of days.

The fact that this class is entirely online hasn't been too much of an issue. I feel like I do a decent job of managing my schedule. I typically work on class materials for an hour every day or so, because that's what fits my schedule at the moment. I'm not sure if I've really connected with any of the other students yet, but I'm sure that will happen in the second part of the course. I typically work on this class in my apartment, in the evenings, after I've done everything else I need to do for the day. I'd like to try to work ahead a bit more so it's not such a constant stream of homework, but it's really hard to find time.

Unfortunately, I've not been able to do any of the extra credit activities yet. I am really interested in the growth mindset challenges, and I know I would be able to get a lot out of the curating activities, so I'll try to do more of those as the semester progresses.

Looking back on the semester; source: flickr

Week 7 Storytelling: The Death of Krishna

Dear Diary,

Today started out as a day full of misfortune, much like every other day in my life. I woke up this morning, hungry and alone. Not like, physically alone; my wife was there, of course, fixing breakfast for her mother and our three children. But alas, no eggs for me. My wife claims it's because of my high cholesterol, but I know the truth. My family doesn't respect me at all, for I am, as my mother in law calls me "a good-for-nothing waste of space who would be more useful as an ergonomically-designed footrest." Or at least, that's what I imagine she calls me behind my back. I have no real skills, or education, or redeeming personality traits. But you already knew all of that, Diary.

I got out of bed, and got ready for the day. That consisted of me staring into the mirror for nearly an hour, sinking deeper and deeper into the soulless void I saw in my own eyes. After feeling thoroughly refreshed, I made my way out of our small hut and into the woods. My wife kissed me on the cheek as left. "Have a good day, my darling!" she commands. My children wave and smile as I leave, very clearly beaming because of my departure. Even my mother-in-law taunts me, giving me a small lunch to carry with me. How my family wounds me!

I thought I might try to fight off my overwhelming existential angst by trying to find some food in the forest surrounding our meager dwelling. There's not much fertile ground nearby, because my wife has taken up all of it with her bountiful gardens. Most animals tend to avoid our house as well. I think they can sense the crushing despair emanating from my being. This day, however, I made my way to the crystal-clear river that runs near our house. I saw near the water, the most beautiful swan. I knew this was my one chance at redeeming myself, so grabbed my bow and readied an arrow. Crouching down, I took aim and released.

It was sometime between releasing the arrow and the impact that I realized what I took to be an elegant waterbird was actually a human foot. I ran over to this poor fellow, another victim of life, and found that he was gravely wounded. I knew then that it was too late, and that I had slain this unfortunate soul.

the hunter taking aim at Krishna's foot; source: wikimedia

 Author's Note: This story comes from Sister Nevedita's Cradle Stories of Hinduism, specifically, the section "Death of the Vrishnis." I thought that this whole episode surrounding Krishna's death was a little absurd, and I do tend towards the absurd things when I write. I thought it would be interesting to look at how the hunter saw the whole event, and maybe look into his back story. I thought I would add a bit of dark humor by having him be a character with a pretty good life who is just so overwhelmingly pessimistic that he imagines negative things.

Reading Diary B: Krishna by Sister Nevedita

Krishna kills the tyrant Kansa: source: wikimedia

There was definitely a lot of action in this second part of the stories of Krishna. We see the epic fight between Kansa's forces and Krishna, as well as the large battle that makes up the end of the Mahabharata. It was really interesting seeing this fight from a different perspective that paid more attention to Krishna's involvement. This is also true of the aftermath of the battle in seeing Gandhari's interactions with Krishna, and seeing how she cursed his clan to death. Again, it was really noticeable throughout all of the stories that Sister Nevedita focused mainly on the religious aspects of the stories, and there are a lot of times where she describes Krishna and the gods in relation to their Divinity and their more spiritual aspects.

I think the most interesting thing to take away from these stories are the various ways Krishna is represented. He's a bit of a mischievous child, and then a very cocky and rash warrior when he fights Kansa. After that, he seems to mature and calm a lot when we see him next, and a lot of people look to him for his wisdom later in life. The ending of Krishna's stories was a bit anticlimactic, I must admit. He gets shot by a hunter who mistook his foot to be a swan, and this wound is what ends him. It seems a bit strange to me that someone who has demonstrated a number of different powers and extraordinary abilities would be felled by a single shot, but I guess this just adds to the tragedy of the tale and serves to show the strength of Gandhari's curse

Reading Diary A: Krishna by Sister Nevedita

Statue of Krishna with his flute: Source: wikimedia

This week I decided to look at Sister Nevedita stories of Krishna. I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn more about Krishna, who was a very enigmatic character in Narayan's version of the Mahabharata. Sister Nevedita definitely skews her perspective on the stories towards more religious aspects, and this makes for an interesting contrasts with the other things I've read in this class so far. The first section starts with Krishna's birth, and Nevedita calls him "the Indian Christ-Child," which I'm not sure is entirely appropriate, but oh well. There are a lot of really interesting stories about Krishna's childhood in this first section, including the story about Brahma, who suspected that Krishna was actually an incarnation of Vishnu. Apparently, the easiest way to do this was to make a bunch of cows fall asleep in a cave to see if Krishna would be able to find them and then herd them back. This story is really interesting because we see some motivations of the gods, specifically Brahma who hasn't been talked about a lot in the other stories. It's a bit funny to think about the gods acting like a sort of rivals, keeping tabs on each other's activities and trying to make sure they're always one step ahead of the others. There were a lot of other interesting excerpts in this section, including the battle between the monstrous snake Kaliya and Krishna.

Week 6 Storytelling: Bed of Arrows

Well, this is awfully embarrassing, Bhishma thought to himself. The moment I step out of my chariot, I manage to trip over nothing and fall directly onto a large number of arrows. Great. Fantastic. Good job, Bhishma, really.

He struggled to free himself, but it was no use. There were too many arrows pinning him to the ground, and shifting his weight caused him too much pain.

Well, that's fine. At least I'm not close to the fighting, so I don't think anyone saw me fall. I'll just die here alone. I'm okay with that.

That's precisely when Bhima came by on his chariot.

"Great Bhishma, are you hurt?" he yelled, his voice echoing off into the battlefield.

Well, obviously I'm hurt. Do you not see the long pointy things sticking out of me? But Bhishma restrained himself. Such an answer was not befitting a man of his stature.

"My dear Bhima, physical wounds are nothing. What truly pains me is this terrible fight that has torn apart my family." Yes! Solid answer, just the right amount of wisdom bestowed. Pat yourself on the back, Bhishma.

"Of course, I understand. I shall fetch my brothers and all the Kauravas at once to come see you in your final hour." Bhima hurried off in his chariot, crying out to every warrior he passed to pay their respects to the great Bhishma.

"No, wait! That's not...okay, you're gone." Of course, it had to be Bhima who found me. Not someone quiet like the twins.

Soon after, all of the warriors on both sides had come to pay their respects to Bhishma, who was much loved for his wisdom and selflessness. It was the mighty Arjuna who spoke first. "Oh lord Bhishma, I know I speak for all, Pandava and Kaurava alike, when I say we are truly saddened to see your death. But please know that you have not died without purpose."

No, no, no. I refuse to die in front of everyone like this. I'm not going to let these idiots make me out to be some kind of martyr. "Arjuna, I fear you have made an error. I may be wounded, but I have yet to die."

"Well, yes, I suppose you aren't dead yet, but you are bleeding profusely from a number of vital organs."

"They are but flesh wounds! My immortal spirit will continue to live on, long after this war has finished." 

Taken aback somewhat by these words, Arjuna didn't know how to proceed. "Well, um...Is there anything we can get for you while you continue to grace us with your wise and virtuous presence?" 

"Some water would be absolutely lovely. Being pinned to the ground by dozens of arrows is really quite thirsty work."

With a quick snap of his bow, Arjuna shot an arrow into the ground, creating a spring of water that shot straight into Bhishma's open mouth.

Such a show-off. 

Bhishma on the bed of arrows; Source: wikimedia

Author's note: This story is taken from Narayan's version of the Mahabharata. This whole scene was probably the most striking part of the final battle between the two groups. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a serious story or a funny story this week, but I really liked the idea of seeing more of Bhishma's inner thoughts while he's lying on the arrows, and it was much easier to write him as a snark who manages to live through his injuries just out of pure spite. I chose this image in particular because there are a lot of images out there depicting this scene, but this one in particular shows the look I would imagine Bhishma's face to have while drinking the water. In the original story, Bhishma is much more stoic and calm, as he is throughout most of the story, so I hope this is a fun counterpoint to his original self. I decided to use italics to write Bhishma's thoughts directly instead of narrating them traditionally, and I think this stream-of-consciousness technique helps convey Bhishma's frustration with the other characters.  I was writing the story when I realized the story was becoming a bit like a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so I added a line to reference it explicitly. It really helped play up the more over-the-top aspects of the story.