Epics from India

                                                                 Image Details: Feedback, Source: Pixabay In the article " Why rejection hurts so much — and what to do about it ," the author explains that rejection is a concept that we fear and is a common emotional wound that we deal with in our lives. We are constantly surrounded by rejection through many common apps that we see in our daily lives such as social media, dating applications, and even texting. Furthermore, the article explains that we are vulnerable and susceptible to rejection and due to this we are hurt by it. I think this is fascinating that we are constantly surrounded by situations that have made us vulnerable to rejection. The author brings up an important point that our brains are programmed in a way that when we are hurt by rejection then we fee...

Topic 1: Ravana Ravana is known as the main antagonist in the story of the Ramayana. He is often associated with the terms evil, conniving, and terrifying. In the Ramayana, Ravana kidnaps Rama's wife Sita in order to exact revenge on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for cutting of the nose of Ravana's sister. I picked this topic because I thought that it would be interesting to delve into and try to understand more about Ravana's character. Sources say that Ravana was a great scholar, ruler, and devote follower of Shiva. However, I would like to understand what circumstances had caused Ravana to commit his actions as well as lead to his eventual demise. If I would retell a story, I would like to do it from Ravana's perspective. Topic 2: Rama and Sita Between the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is probably my favorite Indian Epic. It is story about duty, love, sacrifice, loyalty, and how good triumphs over evil. One of my favorite parts of the Ramayana is...

The Demon and the Foolish King                                                     Image Details: Turtle, Source: SVG Silh  In a kingdom far, far away, there lived a king with his two sons. One day while traveling through the jungle, the boys wandered off while their father attended to his kingly duties. While the boys chased each other, they stumbled upon a small cottage. The cottage was surrounded by huge trees and vines. The roof of the cottage was covered with a thick layer of moss, while thick vines covered the cottage. There was a small vegetable garden on one side of the house and a huge fountain in front of the cottage.  One of the princes said, “This place looks creepy. Let’s go back.” The other prince looked at his brother with sneaky smirk, “What’s wrong? Are you scared and want to go back to daddy.” The more sensible b...

Week 2: Anthology                                                              Image Details: Baby Turtle, Source: Wikimedia One story that really caught my attention was the story "The Turtle and the King." The story starts out with the king building a lake for his children to play with. However, one day the children discover that there is a turtle in their lake. They call for the father, believing that there is a demon in their lake. Right when the king is about to kill the turtle, an old man tells the king to throw the turtle into the river as it will surely drown. However, when the king throws the turtle into the river, the turtle swims to safety. In the story, the old man is afraid of water; hence he believed that the turtle would die if it was in the water. However, we can see the king as being ignorant as he doesn't rea...

Week 2: Reading I chose to read to the "R.K. Narayan's" version of the Ramayana as I have already bought the book at the beginning of the semester. Also, I prefer to read books in the actual book format as I can mark in the book and make physical notes in it as well. Also, I usually tend to read more if I have the physical copy of a book rather than an online version.                                                            Image Details: Kuchipudi Dancer, Source: Wikipedia Since I was kid, I have always admired classical Indian dancing because it is very intricate, precise and beautiful. For that reason, I was really interested in the comic book " Vasantasena, A Dancer ." Also, I thought that is it was interesting that this story was similar to a Shakespearean comedy. This story reminds me of an Indian story called "Manichitrat...