Week 14 Reading Diary B - Peter Brook's Mahabharata

For this week, I am watching Peter Brook's Mahabharata. Part two was a bit more engaging that part one, only because there was more action with the battle scenes. Parts of this section of the film were actually fairly violent and disturbing, which was unexpected considering how light and a little laughable the style of the conflicts had been in the first part. Overall, I greatly enjoyed watching this interpretation, even though I watched it at 2x the normal speed to be able to fit it into my schedule. At some point I'd like to go back and watch it normally, perhaps over the course of a week or so.

Peter Brook's "The Mahabharata"

Week 14 Reading Diary A - Peter Brook's Mahabharata

This week I wanted to do something different, so I decided to watch Peter Brook's Mahabharata.
I think this is one of my favorite readings (watchings?) of the semester. It gave a different life to the story of the Mahabharata than what I had pictured before. Although this was a film, it did feel more like a play, as was mentioned in the guide. What was most interesting to me were the casting choices. It was unexpected to see how characters were cast from a wide variety of ethnicities, rather than portraying a traditional Indian cast. To me, this made the myth feel less realistic and more about a tale of humanity on whole than a myth based in history. My only complaint is how long the film is since it's a bit time consuming.

Vyasa and Ganesha write the Mahabharata

Week 13 Reading Diary B - Monro - The Pandava Brethren

I have finished the second part of this week's reading. This week I have chosen to read W.D. Monro's version of the tales of the Pandava brothers and their escapades. I thought it was interesting how the latter half of the story is dedicated to the battle. In the other versions of this story that I have read, it did not seem to me like the battle was as large and prominent as this author portrays it. I also thought it was interesting how the author contrasts this particular battle with those of Homer's Iliad, which put the enormity of the slaughter into a different perspective for me. In this version, I was able to understand more that the Pandava brothers had not originally known that their enemy was their half-brother all along.This made the ending more tragic, in my opinion. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this author's perspective on this tale.

Krishna and Arjuna

Week 13 Reading Diary A - Monro : The Pandava Bretheren

This week I decided to return to the Mahabharata/Pandava Brothers by reading the Stories of Gods and Heroes by W.D. Monro. I decided that I wanted to get some more background on the characters of this story to continue working on my portfolio assignment.  What I liked about this version compared to some of the others was that I was able to discern more about the motivations of certain scenarios or character decisions, like why Duryodhana disliked the brothers and how Draupadi came to choose her husband.

A Javanese shadow puppet of Duryodhana

Week 12 Reading Diary B - Sister Nivedita's Krishna

For this week, I am reading in Sister Nivedita's Cradle Tales of Hinduism, which can be found here.
Specifically, I am reading her versions of the life of Krishna. Whereas the last reading section focused on Krishna's childhood, this section focuses primarily on Krishna as more capable, although still young.

My favorite story from this section was of Krishna lifting the mountain in order to protect his people and their cattle. I though this was an interesting way to show Krishna as both supernaturally strong as well as caring.

Krishna lifts Govardhana hill

Week 12 Reading Diary A - Sister Nivedita

A bronze figure of Krishna as a child.

Previously, I read Sister Nivedita's versions of tales of Shiva. This time, I decided to focus on the tales of Krisha. I thought it was interesting how Krisha was worshiped from an infant, and how he even grew from an infant state, since it appears that many figures in Indian epics/mythology are born in a fully adult form.

This reading comes from Sister Nivedita's Cradle tales of Hinduism, which can be found online here.

Week 7 - Reading Diary B - The Indian Storybook

Draupadi and Her Five Husbands

I am reading the Mahabharata in The Indian Story Book by Richard Wilson online.

After finishing this week's reading, I can say that I prefer Wilson's version of the Mahabharata better than the Public Domain Edition that I read last week. Mostly, I feel like Wilson's flows better and is more cohesive. It doesn't have as many tangents that the PDE has, but also maintains the important elements of the story. I thought the the final battle had a different element of richness, since it was told from a different perspective. I was glad that it ended after the final battle, since the rest of the story in the PDE edition felt like a huge digression for me.

Week 7 Reading Diary A - The Indian Story Book

The Ordeal of Draupadi

I am reading in the Indian Story Book Online version of the Mahabharata

I liked reading this version of the story a little bit better than the Public Domain Edition that I read last week. It was easier for me to follow along and learn the characters and their roles. It was also more concise to read a single interpretation and style than what was presented in the PDE.

As before, my favorite part of the story is the swayamvara of Draupadi.

Week 6 - Reading Diary - PDE Mahabharata

 I am reading in the public domain edition Mahabharata.

Part A: It was interesting to see how the two main epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata) are coming together and interweaving some. There are similar patterns to both stories with exiled princes, mistaken identities, battles with demons, kidnappings, etc. It is easy to see how the Mahabharata was influenced by the Ramayana. It was also nice to see the familiar character of Hanuman. I had heard of the Bhagavad-Gita before, but didn't realize its connection to the Mahabharata.

So far the battle scene is really exciting and I can't wait to see how it ends.


Draupadi The Fire Born Princess by tararojing on DeviantArt

Part B: As expected, the battle scene was fairly exciting. I thought it was interesting how it was described. Some of the details were very gruesome, while others were really elaborate.  For example, when Abhimanyu is killed, the act which actually kills him is that someone "dashed out his brains," but the moments after he dies are painted with really complex and flowery imagery.

Also, keeping with the comparison of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, I noticed how both stories end with a horse sacrifice and the main wife character being honored.


Shiva by GENZOMAN on DeviantArt

Week 5 Reading Diary B - Public Domain Mahabhatra

I am reading in the Public Domain Mahabharata.

For this reading, I'm still having a little bit of trouble keeping up with all the different characters, but I'm really enjoying the content of the stories. I like how the story is more complex and operates on a grander scheme than the Ramayana.

Some of the stories are a bit funny, even though they are probably meant to be a bit more serious. For example, whenever Bhima defeats his enemies, I keep reading it as if it was some sort of WWE match.

I really liked the image of  Anjura using the bow.

Image Source

Week 5 - Reading Diary A - Public Domain Mahabharata

I am reading in the Public Domain Mahabhatara. 

So far, I like this epic. I feel like it is a bit more to take in than the Ramayana, as there are a lot more characters and it seems like the story is less linear. I've noticed that the style of story telling in the Mahabhatara is fairly similar to that of the Ramayana, but is a bit more ridiculous in some ways. For example, the story of the mating deer that were actually people, and of the children pulled from the mouth of fish, etc, were different from what I was expecting.

It's a bit more difficult for me to keep track of the characters right now, but I'm looking forward to how the rest of the story unfolds.

Bhima fights the nagas

Week 4 - Reading Diary A and B (Playing catchup) - Sita Sings the Blues

For this week, I am watching "Sita Sings the Blues" 


Part A
So far I really like this method of presenting the Ramayana. It's interesting how there are a bunch of different stories combined into one, but it all flows quite well. There is the overall story of the Ramayana; then, that is overlapped by the three narrators; following this is Sita's singing of the blues; finally, all of this is the foreground for the story of Nina and her boyfriend, which somewhat parallels the Ramayana.

I like how the animation style changes with each of these differing methods of storytelling.

Ravana and Sita (from Sita Sings the Blues, but hosted on Wikipedia)

  

Part B

My suspicions about Nina's story paralleling the Ramayana definitely played out, but I especially liked how the story made a circle. In the beginning, I remember the narrators debating about when the Ramayana occurred and whether or not is was actually real, or at least whether or not it was based in factual events. In the end of the film, when Nina is reading the Ramayana and drawing, the question is raised as to whether or not the film itself was inspired by her events. In the same way, it is like how the Ramayana is supposed to written by Valmiki and that the entire story leads up to the realization of this.

The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told

Overall, I felt like this was such a unique approach to the Ramayana and enjoyed how multiple styles of art, music, and storytelling combined to make one larger compelling piece.

Week 3 - Reading Diary B - Public Domain Ramayana

I am reading in the Public Domain Ramayana. 

It was interesting to see how the story culminated and how Rama finally became victorious. I really liked reading the Ramayana, since it exposed me to a different type of mythology than the ones I have studied more.

I was most shocked at how Rama treated Sita once they were reunited and later when he banishes her. It seemed very contrary to the heroic ending I was expecting. Overall, the ending was really different from other epics I have read.

I chose this image below because I found the pose between the two brothers to be very intimate and deep, which is something that isn't necessarily common in artistic depictions of heroes. 

Bharata and Rama (with others)  Image Source - Wikipedia

Week 3 - Reading Diary A - Public Edition Ramayana

I am still reading along in the Public Edition Ramayana.

My favorite story in this section was about Sampati and Jatayu, the birds. I really liked this story because it was a change in style from the rest of this section of the Ramayana and was an interesting story to read and imagine. I also liked how the Vultures were not considered to be negative images, like they often are represented as in Western myths.

Hanuman is also an interesting character to me, because he changes often and has lots of adventures.

Ravana cutting the wings of Jatayu - Image Source Wikipedia

Week 2 - Reading Diary B: Public Domain Edition Ramayana

I am reading in the Public Domain Edition Ramayana. 

I have started noticing different elements of imagery in various stories. For example, in the story where Rama and his brother fight the demon, which has abducted Sita, Sita's fear is described as "trembling...like a plantain tree shaken by the wind." Also, when the demon is defeated, he falls to the ground "in a swoon like a hill riven by the thunderbolt," (Viradha, Public Domain Ramayana). 

I've also been wondering about the style in which the enemies are defeated. It seems like often the arms are either broken or cut off, and facial features are cut off as well. It doesn't seem like these things would cause much harm to a supernatural being (the cutting of ears and noses in particular), so I'm not really sure what the effect of this type of mutilation is in a cultural and historic context.

My favorite part to read from this section was of Shurpanakha and Ravana. I found it to be the most vivid and interesting. My favorite image was of Rama, Sita, and the deer.

Image Source: Sita Sings the Blues

Week 2 - Reading Diary A: Public Domain Ramayana

I just finished the reading for the Diary A assignment. I am following along in the Public Domain Ramayana.  I really like how the style is both different and similar to other epics I have read. The style mostly reminds me of the Epic of Gilgamesh, but it is interesting to see completely new mythology. Probably my favorite section of the Ramayana thus far is the story of Ahalya. To me, this particular tale has a lot in common with the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Where a beautiful maid (Ahalya, Psyche) is taken in with a god (Indra, Cupid) and is becomes aware of the fact that it is a god, and not a man, whom she is with. In the Ramayana, Ahalya's husband curses both his wife and the god, whereas Psyche, when violating the trust of Cupid and seeing his true form, is destined to wander the earth searching for her love. Both female figures suffer a similar fate until their punishment is fulfilled and are either reunited (Psyche) or rescued (Ahalya).

My favorite image was the statue silhouette of Rama and Sita as they go in to exile.

Rama and Sita; photographed by Indi Samarajiva.