Week 6: reading Diary B

During the the Pandavas exile, there are visited by many sages and even krishna who tell them of stories and give them wisdom. Krishna said that revenge will brought upon the men who sent them into exile. During this Arjuna is in his own exile, while on his adventures he meets Shiva. Shiva then grants him a power divine bow called Gandiva which should only be used in dire circumstances. Arujna then travels to his Hiranyapura. There Indira , his father, praises him for conquering many obstacles so far and gives him a chaim of gold and a war shell. The remaining Pandivas and Draupadi decide to travel to the himalayas and meet Arjuna along the way. Kama is born and if given vasava from Indra. It allowed him to slay one powerful foe. During Duryodhanas attack on King Virata, The Pandavas come to his aid.Now that exile for the Pandavas is over. Vows of revenge are bound to take place. In an attempt to make peace krishna intervenes between the factions to avoid conflict. He later attempts again in form of Vishnu both War is till inevitable. Krishna then tells Karna of his origin and he then returns to the Pavadavas as there elder brother. Karne decides to remain loyal to Duryodhana and acts as general. There are two sides, Duryodhana and the Kauravas or for Yudhishthira and the Pandavas.

(pandavas, websource: indiaopines)

Week 6: Reading Diary A

Prince Vidura warned his mother and brother thay Prince Duryodhana wants to burn them. The house ended up burning down causing the men of Varanacata weep for the family. This caused Prince Duryodhana and King Dhritarashtra  to believe that queen Kunti and Pandavas had burned. They ended up escaping and enter a forest with many beasts. Bhima and the rakshasi Hidimbi have a love affair..After he defeats the rakashi in battle he now faces a new foe an asura named Bakasura. At thus point The Pandavas are still hiding but this time they are disguised as brahmins. Arjuna ended up winning Draupadi as his new wife under her mom's one condition that all five pandavas will be come Draupaid's husbands. Arjuna is then exiled because he violates the established living arrangements between Draupadia and the other four Pandavas. The recently exiled arjuna meets the Naga princess Ulupi. Arujuna then goes on to meet Chitra. They get married and have son. However, his son stays his wife's city of Manipur to become the king there. Arjuna then goes on to marry another women named Subhadra who is the sister of Krishna. Arjuna and Krishna then meet the Maya the Divine

(Maya, Websource:IrisMaya)

Architect of the gods. The Mayasura then builds A grand palace for the Pandavas.Prince Duryodhana thenw ins a bet which Draupadi to be his vassal and slave in his palace. Bhima then makes a oath to seek revenge on Duryodhana.

Thoughts About Comments

I think comments are great way to learn something new. I have been told to thrive not one praise but on criticism because it is the only way to improve yourself. There is no better way then getting better at something one you figure out what you ares doing wrong. Comments can be harsh sometimes but as long as you ignore the blatantly mean one (like on youtube) there all for your benefit.

Week 5: StoryTelling

Ever since man has conquered space, there has been feud between two major royal families. Each individual in these families were gifted in someway and they always excelled in one field far beyond that of a normal person could achieve. Under different circumstances children of these two families were brought up together. For Bhima and Duryodhana achievements for there respected family name is all that matter. These two traveled the universe conquering different planets. After a long trip, the two were very tired and hungry, They decided to have a feast like barbarians would in the old days. Duryodhana, who was jealous of not only the strengths of Bhima and his feats, poisoned Bhima's drink. As the night grew old, Duryodhana noticed that the drink began to take it's affect. Bhima slowed down. Staggered and weary he laid down and fell into slumber. His slumber was deep, Duryodhana thought the poisoned actually killed him instead of put him to sleep. He placed bhima's almost lifeless body into a space pod and shot him from the ship. Soon after Bhima's pod crashed into a planet. The loud crash managed to wake him from his comatose state.  As he got out his pod he didn't recognized were he was but he noticed weird snake monsters. Bhima then said to himself, "Nagas......I only read about them. i did not think they actually existed. If there are nagas here then Vasuki , king of the nagas, must be here."  Not knowing King Vasuki heard this loud crash on his world. He went up to Bhima and instantly noticed who he was. "Ah I seen you before. You  have been conquering a lot  planets lately. Its good to see a someone new grow strong . What is it you need?" roared King Vasuki in a thunder voice. Bhima explained his situation in great detail and wanted a way to get back home. "Ah so you were betrayed by your comrade Duryodhana. Well before you leave you must do something for me. See...Bhima I like you...People like you keep this wide empty space above interesting. I want to give you this." Vasuki responded. He order his servants to bring back a draught of liquid and a bowl. He then said, "Drink this  Bhima and Duryodhana will surely regret what he did to you." Bhima drank eight bowls of the liquid. Each bowl revitalized him. he felt stronger, faster, and smarter. He felt like he reached heights he never thought he could. "I feel as strong as giant." proclaimed Bhima. "You should, that is liquid we keep sacred. Do not waste this opportunity Bhima," responded Vasuki. Days later Bhima acquired a ship and returned to meet with Duryodhana . Coincidentally,he arrived at his funeral. He told his family what happened and made sure to keep his new found strength.

(King Vasuki, Websource: Sites.Google.com)

Author's Note:
It was hard thinking of how to make this weeks reading my own. So I decided to changed the setting from India to space and add a little. I thought it would give it a different science fiction feeling and bring  Vasuki and Bhima closer to the reader.

Bibliography:
"PDE Mahabharata: Bhima and the Nagas" (2013) by Laura Gibbs, Websource:ouocblog.blogpsot.com


 

week 5: reading diary A

The epic starts with Valmiki telling the story to the elephant headed god Ganesha. The main character Devavrata  also know as Bhishma is human a man with the vast power of the Vasus which is eight gods. He born and thrown into the ganges by a goddess. His father Shantau Abandoned his first wife Ganga and meet a new women called Satyavati. Devavrata then makes a terrible oath and is renamed Bhishma. He then battles for three princess of Kashi to be brides for son of Satyavati and his father. However only two women will be the wives of VIchitravirya, Devavrata step brother. He then dies before he could bare any children and Vyasa is called to be heir. Karna who was the son of Kunti was introduced. We learned about a feud between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Kunti who has been recently widowed then goes to Dhritarashtra who raises her five Pandu sons as Kauravas. Bhima then faces a scheme by Duryodhanas. He then travels to the underworld and faces the nagas. He returns a man who has becomes super strong.  Dronas a teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas is best friends with Kig Drupada. The Pandavas grow strong uner Drona and jealous of Duryodhana grows . Now both family had become great warriors and wanted to display there new skills in a tournament.  In a  practice fight between Bhima and Duryodhana, Duryodhana takes things a little to far. arujuna then shows off his skills and meets Karna. he is Arjuna brother as they both sons of Kunti. However Arunjuna does not realize this because Karna was casted out. Pavadava then succeed in getting revenge agianst  Drupada.

(Vyasa, websource Wikipedia)

Tech Tip: Websites

So this was the first time ever hearing about Google sites. Using i thought it was actually pretty cool. You could always use Facebook, twitter, or other social media but there is always a lot thing you can't do on those sites. Google sites a good way to let people know about something your interested without having to pay a fee. Your can customize your page, create different pages with in your website and upload pictures too.

(I.T , WebSource: MemeCDN)

Week 4 - Story Telling

Interviewer: So I see you were a private in this group, yes? Can you tell us what happened down there?

Anonymous:Yeah I was. Is this thing recording?

Interviewer: Yeah it is. Start whenever you feel like it.

Anonymous:Well I don't really even remember when it happened but I think it was around the forties. The damn Nazi's just invaded France and we were behind enemy lines in a small town in Germany. We were led by two men, Captain Jackson and Sergeant Cooper. These men...I don't know if they were related but they acted like brothers. However, Captain Jackson was unlike any man I have ever seen. He always strongest, the fastest, and smartest out of all of us.

Interviewer: So what were you guys suppose to do?

 Anonymous:If I remembered correctly we were tasked with meeting up with some Private. I think his name was Ryan. Captain Jackson planned to jump from town to town and at the same avoiding as many skirmishes as possible.

 Interviewer: Did every thing go as planned?

Anonymous: Of course not, nothing goes according to plan. After all war is war, that's when you will see how people really act.

Interviewer: So what went wrong?

Anonymous: Hahaha everything. It started just fine. We were going over which towns to go to first. There were about fifty of us and we had two tanks. So as the twenty year old, testosterone filled men we were, we thought nothing could hurt us. Under Cpt. Jackson we felt invincible. That's when everything went down hill. Between the first and second town, there was an open field. If we were caught in that we would be slaughtered by enemy infantry. We sent scouts out, but Sergeant Cooper said that in their in report. they spotted no infantry but remnants of a battle. Cpt. Jackson decided it would be safer to go through at night. When we we went out half way through we heard snipers firing. There was nothing we could do. We were like fish in a barrel.  So we just ran...we ran.... and ran. If you fell you were a goner. You got hit, you better keep running or you would never run again.

Interviewer: How many men did you lose?

Anonymous: Uhh I don't even know. I wanna say around a third of our group. So we lost like....uhh

Interviewer: 17?

Anonymous:Yeah yeah.... that sounds about right.

Interviewer: What happened next?

Anonymous:Well it just repeated itself over...and over. Hey can I say something really quick?

Interviewer: Yea sure go ahead

Anonymous:I do not why I'm saying this but i just want to say it. After all this shit happened, Death....like a person's life fading. It did not really...matter to me anymore....I saw it happened to often....so close to me. When they say war changes a man....it does. Getting back to the interview though. Eventually after a couple of towns our tanks broke down and after losing most of mechanics. We had to leave them and walk. A couple of us got injured. I got a bullet through my left arm.

*Raise his sleeve over his shoulder*

Interviewer:Did it go straight through?

Anonymous:Yea it basically went in on one side out the other.

Interviewer:Did Jackson or Cooper get injured?

Anonymous:Well Jackson...no. I cant even imagine someone hurting him in a fair fight. Cooper got hit twice. The second shot cleaned his arm right off. I don't know how but he manage to survive despite all the odds. We finally made to the town were Private Ryan was located. I may not be the most patriotic man but this man was not worth the lives we had to sacrifice to get there. It was too late to turn back now. He handed a manila envelope to Jackson.

Interviewer:What was in there?

Anonymous:I don't know. Some men thought it was money but I know the captain would never do that.

Interviewer:So what happened after that?

Anonymous: Well....we took a days rest....fortified the ruined town and called HQ to tell them that we received the package. I think it was noon when I heard the scouts screaming about 50 infantry and a Tank coming through. They knew where we were going. We didn't have enough time, men, or ammo to defend against it. We rigged traps that would only hold them off for so long. When they drove through they tossed rocks, searched houses all we could do is wait till the tank was close enough. We managed to immobilize it but it take two of our men. For every one our men about three of theirs was taken out. Well we were down to three men. It was the captain, Sergeant Cooper, me and another private. We were surrounded. Jackson covered told me to hide and cover me in the bodies of our fallen brothers. He told me to not make a sound so that our story could heard. I don't know if he saw it coming or what but I saw that bastard Cooper pulled a gun on the captain. He shouted for the file.....and shot Cpt Jackson in the twice once in the hand and the other in the leg. He grabbed the file from Jackson and walked away.

Interviewer: Did you every see him again?

Anonymous: No, I'm glad I haven't. Hell would be paradise compared to things I would do to him....

Interviewer: What happened next.....

(Saving Private Ryan, Websource: Wikipedia)

Author's Note:

Well I took the story far from its original plot. Since most Indian epics play a lot on the concept of brotherhood that is were I wanted to take it. In our readings, Vibhishana betrays Ramayana . I changed the setting and placed it in the WW2 era. I also took out most characters except the two main characters of this story. Captain Jackson played Ravana and Sergeant Cooper played Vibhishana. World War 2 was picked because it is one of the most infamous events in Human History. I also took a little plot and setting from Saving Private Ryan because it is one of my favorite movies. From that movie i only used, the character Ryan, the setting of behind enemy lines, and idea of jumping town to town. I thought the interview style would give my story a hook and make it different. To match with the interview style, I wanted the person interviewed to have a backstory to life changing event. i Never gave him a name because an his character had little development in the story. The growth mindset wanted us to try different writing styles,  This story was a way to write differently. I thought that interview style was something uniquely my own

Bibliography

"PDE Ramayana: Vibhishana" (2013) by Laura Gibbs, Websource: http://ouocblog.blogspot.com

Week 4 - Reading Diary B Sita Sings the Blues

This week we had a different type of reading. Out of the list, I picked to watch Sita Sings the Blues. This movie is basically a broad summary of what happened throughout the Epic. It starts off with King Dasharatha having his four kids. Rama is the incarnate of Vishnu. He then marries Sita who is then kidnapped by Ravana. Rama then rescues Sita and kills Ravana. Rama then accuses Sita of cheating, Sita then goes her trials while Rama still retains he doubts. He then banishes her and sixteen years later he comes in contact with his two sons. Sita then returns the earth.

The movie included three narrators, animated musical shorts, and an animated version of the story. It followed the story pretty well. It did leave out stuff like I liked the movie. At first I thought it would be dull and boring . However the bickering of the narrators over the story keep the movie interesting. I thought the some scenes in the film were "trippy". Other scenes were kinda of weird. They had one were there was blood splitting out the necks of Rakshashas and Rama and Sita walked under it. There were other parts that had me laughing like when Sita said to Ravana, "Your ass is grass."

(Sita, Source: Atomkarinca.wordpress.com)

Week 4 - Reading Diary A

After the God of the Ocean caused havoc in the seas. Rama went to Nala for help. Nala ended upcreating a bridge called Rama's bridge. After indrajits destruction and illusion he was finally slayed by Lakshmana. Lakshmana is then almost killed by ravana. Seeing how the battle is progressing, Rama receives help from indra and Agastya a sage they met long ago. Rama then slew Ravana but cleaving him in half using a flaming weapon created by Brahma. After Ravana's funeral, Rama then accuses Sita of cheating on him. Sita then does a test through fire to show her valor. Rama and Sita then return from there 14 year exile just be fore Bharata Kills himself. Rama is then crowned king. Rama then banishes his wife still believing that she had laid with another man. Sixteen later he finds out that Sita has bore 2 sons right after she was banished. Sita then returns to the earth and Lakasham and Rama return to the gods.

(Sita, Websource Wikipedia)

I loved Rama at the beginning but i disliked him at the very end. Even though his wife, Sita, went through fire in front of the gods he still had his doubts. Then he had nerve to cast his wife out for 16 years. i just think it is crazy how a man who fought a war for his wife and just not trust her like that,

Week 3 Styles

Topic:
I picked dharma because it plays huge role in the stories we read, Hinduism, and our lives as well. Since dharma is related to the sense of duty and justice, i think finding a story that illustrates these ideas should be no problem.when i find the right story I will base the story
off of that. So far I am thinking of doing my story over Ramayana as a whole, since I use a lot more information in my story. I think the hard problem is making the story focus on.

(Law and Justice, Websource:  Wikipedia:)

Bibliography:
"PDE Ramayana" (2013) by Laura Gibbs, Websource:http://ouocblog.blogspot.com

"What is Dharma?" Subhamoy Das, Web Source: About.com

Horror
The first topic that comes to mind is Horror. I think its a topic i could have fun with and its an idea that will separate mine from the rest. What I have in mind is that group of characters are trapped in a haunted house. The problems and evil creatures  they have to overcome will have similarities with the rakashas that are in the epics we have covered. The whole concept of Dharma will tied into the villain. I plan on making his character deranged and psychotic. He trying to become a God by enforcing punishments on those he deems unworthy or "dharma-less"

Mystery (my favorite idea)
This idea is like the horror topic. It based off one of my favorite shows, Dexter, The main villain is a psychotic killer. He judges people and based on dharma he decides whether they should killed or not. On the other side, there is a detective that is trying to catch the serial killer, The detective also believes he is acting on the side of justice and virtue. However, the killer becomes more random and obtains an God complex and judges everyone. It will be written in both perspectives, so that the reader can understand both characters.

Judge case (my other favorite)
A case between two characters is analyzed by a judge.. In this case the character will represent Rama and Ravana. The case is the kidnapping of Sita. The judge represents dharma and will act as main character in the story, The character will be judged on 10 rules of dharma. I can reference stories freely and bring witnesses in to add more importance in the case.   I have not decided who wins the story since their is still more to read,

Journey
Basically its my version of an epic that has influences from Ramayana and other Indian stories. It follows a character on an adventure to avenge of his father. On the way he encounters 10 obstacles that symbolize  the ten Rules of Dharma. In the end He or She has to decide whether or not revenge is the best thing.

WEEK 3 - StoryTelling

The Game Breaker

Micheal Jordan, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant were walking from the locker room to the court. Jordan smiled and said,"Lebron I bet I can dunk farther than your hair line can recede!" James then snapped,"Fool, who do you think you playing with I am King James! Your airtime would be shorter than your baseball career!" Kobe then interrupted, "Boys, Boys now we all know I can play better than anyone." Sudden out from crowd appeared the god of basketball, Shaquille O'Neal, "Please all of your titles belong to me, Shaq."

Micheal Jordan then said, "Hey now big man I remember you when you were a kid. The moment your pops and ma brought into this world you were hungry. Your parents could barley feed your fat behind. I swear every time I saw you outside you thought the sun was food and kept trying to bite at it. You didn't stop until your mama slap that damn hunger out of you!"

"But go on, let me see what the best player can do ShaCANT O'Neal. You are the face of the NBA after all,"  ranted Jordan. Shaq puffed out his chest and as Jordan screamed, " Come on big boy! You can't make a free through so you better dunk this ball." Shaq raised his head and looking up towards sky. " Shaq, the moon ain't cheese either!" shouted lebron. "Shutup! let me show you how its done!" cried Shaq. He stood their basking in the stadium lights. For a second, He look as if he was still in his prime.

"I will bring this damn goal downnn!....No....No I am gonna bring this whole building down!" roared Shaquille O'Neal. He grabbed the ball. Thud Thud Thud . You could hear the ball pounding the wooden floors. As the seven foot one, 300 pound giant ran down the lane the court everything began to shake with each step! BOOM...BOOM...BOOM! Along with Shaq's added screaming it sounded like a 90's backstreet boys concert. '

He jumped at the three point line, leaving a crater in his wake. "My God" said Lebron James. Suddenly derrick rose, jumped out no where! "I wont let you destroy this stadium!" shouted rose. "Move Derrick, you will career will be over if stay in his path!" screamed Kobe. The instant Shaq's body touch Rose's utter obliteration took place. He shattered every bone and destroyed almost every muscle and tendon in derrick rose's body. Ironically, only his achilles tendon was left untouched. Shaq tore through him like it was nothing.As he inched towards the goal, each player in that arena saw their lives flash before there eyes.

Like thunder snapping or detonation of an atomic bomb, Shaq's hands slapped the rim slamming the ball down.  As the ball went through the net, its sheer speed caused the net to turn to ash. The glass broke so finely that it blew away. The force of the dunk was so catastrophic it changed the atoms within the metal goal creating a new unknown material. Then it happened, cracks spread throughout the court, the walls collapsed, and the ceiling fell all around Kobe, James, and Jordan. Suddenly, He arose out the rubble. Bathing in the cloudy light, he stood strong and said "Told ya."

(Shaquille O'Neal, Websource: Charls Tsevls)

Author's note:
In this story i wanted to test my very limits of my creativity while staying in the bounds of the story. Shaq stars as Hanuman the monkey god. It starts out with the monkeys bragging who could leap the farthest which was represented by the bickering of the NBA players. After backstory of Hanuman is mentioned, the monkey god takes his leap. During this he is attacked by a demon who is played by Derrick Rose. The Monkey God makes quick work out of the demon and jumps over the ocean. he lands on the island to continue his mission. I think this idea sprouted from my childhood being heavy influenced by basketball. When i typed the story, I remembered ,back in the day, playing NBA jam for sega. this really helped me describe the story.  I picked the image because it showed my main character, Shaq. The reason why its not just a regular picture of Shaq is that i wanted the picture to match the creativity in the story. I added a couple of jokes to add some meat to the story. I felt like if i did not add. it would be an empty description with something missing.

(Hanuman, Websource: Wikipedia)

Bibliography:
"PDE Ramayana: Hanuman's Leap" (2013) by Laura Gibbs, Websource:http://ouocblog.blogspot.com

Week 3 - Reading Diary B

Rama and Lakshmana meet Hanuman the monkey god, After Lakashama tells him their story, Hanuman is overjoyed and joins them in helping find Sita. However first he takes to Sugriva to help him retake his kingdom and find his wife.

(Hanuman. Websource: Wikipedia)

Sugriva then tells his story about a misunderstanding between between him and his older brother. Vali ended up fighting a death battle with Sugriva. They both held their own until Rama interfered and shot Vali. Tara and Sugriva both weep for Vali. Sugriva says he will help Rama once it stops rainy. Since Rama is still one exile he impatiently sits and waits until he can enter the city. While waiting Rama finally get irritated and reminds Sugriva of his promise. After rainy season ends Sugriva tells Rama that Sita is in Lanka. Hanuman enters the city lanka and find Ravana sleeping but he still cant find Sita. Hanuman then dins out that Ravana is trying to convince sita to leave rama. Hanuman is soon captured by Indrajit and brought to Ravana. He escapes and returns and Rama. From there they march to Lanka with their army. Meanwhile in Ravanas court they are deciding to give back Sita to please Rama. Vibhishana , Ravana's Younger brother argues for return Sita. After angering Ravana, Vibhishana then leaves to join Rama's Army's.

What surprised me most in this reading was the conflict among brothers. First the misunderstanding between Sugriva and Vali and how it escalated to a fight to the death. In  the conflict between Ravana and Vibhishana , His younger brother values his moral than his family. It really made me think better of Vibhishana.

Famous Last words

When I started this class out I was not used to the work schedule anf grading your own assignments. I was turning everything in last minute or a minute late and missing things that needed to be included in your blogs. After this week though I think i have a pretty good  idea of how to get things done on time and efficiently in this class. My favorite part about this weeks reading was when Rama broke the bow to win Sita's hand in marriage. I think my best writing this week was Story Telling 2. I could of done better but I ended up wasting up some time and having to rush some things. In week three, I plan on changing my writing style up to see what can do and where i can go with it.  I saw a lot of great stories, i liked how anu's made her into a children's story with a moral at the end and also nicole's story including both perspective of Dashartha  and his wife. This week has been pretty different. I went to OUIS event and meet some new people. I started working during the week and the weekend. It is gonna be hard to balance work and school but If i can focus I can get done.The weekend began by coming home and immediately having to yard work from saturday morning to the afternoon. Then right after that I had to cook on the grill for my family's cookout. On sunday, I usually work with my dad fixing people A/C and blowers. I tried to decline this week because of upcoming tests and homework but i still went anyways. It ended up pushing back all my homework with i try to get sunday (which why i'm still writing his 7 minutes before its due.) Even Though its been a hectic week, at least it was fun.

(Too busy, websource; Alan O'Rourke)

Growth MindSet - Week 2

I have one huge problem that needs to get fixed and that is focus. Focusing to start a task, to stay on track, or to end task is something i need to get better at. I find hard to start studying and sometimes it will take upwards to an hour of goofing off to get something done. I'm a fast learning so when i study i can cover a lot in a short time but I can never stay focused. I always last an hour or two. Then I go back to goofing off. I'm always told that Its hard for me to finish anything. I never realized until last semester but its true I never finish what I say I will.  I have tons ideas into how i can improve myself this semester. One I am going to stay on campus to finish school work. Second, whenever I need to use to internet when i stay Im going to block sites like reddit until i'm finished studying. Lastly, I stumbled upon this book call De Brevitate Vitae (On the Shortness of Life in English) written by Seneca the younger, a roman philosopher.  From what i know so far, the book talks mainly over how to make lives meaning in the short time we have. Now all i left to do is to finish this book and accomplish this goals

(motivation, Websource: Celestine Chua)

Storybook Topics

Topic one: Dharma
I like the concept of dharma. The concept of dharma is not just visible in Indian culture and history but I feel like different conceptions of dharma are available in a lot of civilizations. I feel like this concept is  touched on in readings of Rama.  
Research:
According to Wikipedia, it is in many different religion like Jainism and Buddhism. It has multiple meanings relating to justice like laws, duties, and virtues. Though they mean the same thing each religion that includes dharma has a their own concept of it.  If you look on the flag of Indian the symbol on it is actually the symbolizes Dharma.

(India Flag,  Web Source: Wikipedia)

Topic Two: Traveling India
This is one of my favorite topics because you can do almost anything with it. I have traveled to India several times, in and out of my parents home region, Kerala. I think this topic will be good way to give actual experiences with famous temples like Madras.
Research:
India is huge and though it may seem that all of India may share the same customs and culture, that is not true. From personal experiences, traveling from state to state, you can see many changes in everything. There is an abundance about India that I do not know. Using hinduism.iskcon.org, there are seven ancient cities, four holy dhamas and many more sacred places.

Topic Three: Vishnu
I picked Vishnu because he mentioned several times in Rama. Though he plays a huge role in the story (being incarnated into Rama), I do not know any thing about him. From the story I have gathered, he is a very important god; very similar to Zeus. Since he is a very important God in Hinduism, he must also have a large list of interesting stories.
Research:
On Vishnu's Wikipedia page, he is labeled as the supreme god. he also holds the title of Preserver or the Protector. Compared to western ideas Vishnu looks different. He is pale blue and has four arms. Usually he manifests himself into many different heroes to slay demons and to protect people.

(Vishnu, Websource:Silenttruth.co.uk)

Topic Four: Brahma
After researching Vishnu and reading about Shiva, I have found there is another god named Brahma. I picked  Brahma because even if he is one of the main gods, I have never noticed him at all. He has a very interesting backstory and being the god of creation, he should have a lot of stories revolving around him.
Research:
Shortly after finding out who Brahma was, I learned that he was one of the three main gods (Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma). He was born second out of Vishnu's belly button and is labeled the creator god. Usually Brahma is depicted with three heads.

(Braham, Websource: Wikipedia)

Storytelling Week 2

In the world of old there were two kingdoms. One was the kingdom of the great valley and other was the kingdom the great mountain. Separated by several thousands kilometers,  these kingdoms held the some of most beautiful cities in the world. In the capital of the great valley was called Valei. This city was renown for its vastness and architecture. The city seemed almost endless and the yellow given of by the buildings made the entire valley shine like the sun. The people of Valei were prideful of their city and their people. Not one day would go by were a person was not fed. The capital, Moubei, rested at the very top of the Great Mountain overlooking the entire world. Though it was cold the business of the city and the kindness of its residents were enough to keep the Moubei warm.

The King of Valley, Khang, was rich, strong, and powerful man but there was hole in heart that needed to be filled. Even though Khang had a Queen Quinn and hordes of women wanting him, he could not produce a male heir for the throne. Khang had then decided to sacrifice a great beast to appeal the gods. Later that day he fought and killed a giant forest tiger. He said, "Oh gods, with this offering can you please grant me with a righteous Heir." Three Months late Quinn gave birth to four sons Anson, Stanly, Duvan, and Tyrone.

Meanwhile in a High plane, the gods were in constant war with a beast named Akuma. This creature was cruel, violent, and held a hatred for the gods. Akuma was impervious to any god and so he could not be killed by them. The head god, Zeus, then reincarnated him self into a human so that he could slay the fowl beast who killed so many of his brother. Zeus then came to earth imbued his powers into Tyrone.

As time came to pass, Tyrone and his brothers went from children to grown young men. A shaman named Tobin arrived to palace and asked the four brothers to slay a demon that has been destroying villages in close by.  Tobin then Tyrone and Anson to slay the demon, Roy. When they got village, they saw that Roy was man with a snake body, whose hair was like little snake appendages. The men backed up from beast. Tyrone ready his arrow, tilted his bow, and killed the beast in one shot. The monster then turned into a pen. Confused Tyrone picked up assuming it would come into handy later.

Soon after Tyrone fell in love with a women named Sara. There love fell within two bounds heavenly and earthly since Sara was reincarnated version of Athena. Unknowing to Tyrone, Sara was the daughter if Lord Keith of the Great Mountain Kingdom. Tyrone went to city of Moubei After hearing Lord Keith's declaration. If any man can shoot an arrow and strike the bell at the very top of the mountain can become a Sara's husband. Picking up the bow Tyrone strung arrow back. He carefully aimed it and adjusted for wind. He let the arrow fly and it whistled through the air. The arrow flew at lighting speeds.  Until a boom was heard. The crowd thought it was thunder but Owhen they heard the second boom they knew that bell had been struck. The couple soon got married along with all his brothers.

King Khang growing old has to make a decision for the throne Tyrone is the clear choice but his Uncle wanted Anson to get the throne so he could control him. after manipulating the king, Anson weas chosen as the next heir and Tyrone was Banished.


Authors Note:
In this rendition of the story. The main thing that has been changed is the Characters and the setting. The style too was changed so that it was easier to understand. I changed the Hindu gods to Greek gods so that the story would be less confusing to a person who never studied Indian mythos.

(Hindu Dieties, WebSource: wikipedia)

(Greek gods, WebSource: Wikipedia)

Bibliography:
"Ramayana."by Valmiki websource: ouocblog.blogspot

Week 3 Reading Diary B:Public Domain Ramayana

While reading A focused more on Rama and his ascension to the thrown, reading B started showing how much Rama loved Sita. This reading was also more action packed than reading A. This action helped keep the chapter more interesting. Part B also relied less on the story building aspect that part A had. A lot of the chapters focused on different stories of Rama slaying Rakshasas which are demons. With each demon he slayed, Rama would "level up" by getting his hands on a new weapons, I feel like this little side stories help keep the reader interested in the story. Ravana his brother then convinces Maricha to turn into a golden deer in order to lure Rama and Lakshama. Ravana fought Jatayu a bird who was trying to protect Sita.

(Golden Deer, Source: Wikipedia) 

After Jatayu failure in protecting her, Ravana kidnaps Sita but doesn't notice the trail of jewelry she left behind. In the search for Sita, they meets Shabari who reaffirms Rama's destiny before dying. One thing that confused me was when the author reintroduced older characters like Maricha or brought in characters like Jatayu.Another thing i noticed was that other than  Rama's loved being showed, his character stops developing. I liked this because I feel like in the future we can get deeper into Rama's Adventures.

Reading Diary A

This Indian epic ,Ramayana, reminds me of fairy tales and epics we hear about in school.  We have King Dasharaha who married three wives and is eventually blessed with fours sons. This epic focuses on his son Rama. Rama is becomes an avatar for the god Vishnu.

Thataka

In this part Rama does battle with a female Rakshasa which is a demon. Rama eventually slays her using a great arrow with the help of his brother Lakshmana. This story reminds of when Greek heroes would fight monsters. For example when Hercules fights centaurs or other beasts

King Janaka and Rama Wins Sita

King of Mithila, Janaka, made a challenge. If any suitor could bend Shiva's Bow, he could marry his beloved daughter Sita. Rama accepts the challenge and ends up breaking the bow of Shiva. the resemblance from Greek mythos comes from the return of Odysseus. Where a challenge to bend the bow of Apollo announced and he is the only one who can accomplish such a feat.

(Parashurama, Source:wikipedia)

Rama is Banish

In the previous chapter, Rama who was selected to ascended to the throne is to be exiled due to the intervention Kaikeyi. In a conversation between Rama and his father he follows is fathers decision and accepts exile. While his youngest brother, Bharata,  was now to inherit it. I thought it was crazy how Rama who is the avatar of the god Vishnu to be exiles. Out of the four sons, he was the most accomplished and liked so becoming a king would be no problem for him.