Storytelling Week 6: The Hubby Bros

The Hubby Bros

The Pandavas with Draupadi, in a playful mood by Mahayug on Behance

Welcome to the show "The Hubby Bros"! I'm host Ali and in this episode we are going to have a one on one session with Draupadi and have her elaborate on how she met the handsome Pandava brothers, their wedding, and how she handles being married to the brothers! Without further introductions here is the beautiful Draupadi!!!

Hello everyone! I am Draupadi and I am married to the five most famous men in all of India! This is about our lives and how we get along and live together. Some people may think it is crazy, but we manage to make it work!

I remember the first time I saw my husbands. They were all disguised so no one would recognize them. My father was holding a contest to see who could string a bow and then knock a fish out of a bowl. I know it sounds weird, but my dad likes to try to keep things interesting. After several men attempted in vain to knock down the fish, Arjuna stepped forward. He strung the bow and then released the arrow knocking the fish right out of the bowl! I was excited someone succeeded and was ready to meet my future husband! He and his brothers were all still very cautious of revealing who they really were. They took me to meet their mother and soon revealed who they really were. Their mother was so sweet, however, she decided that I could not just marry one of her sons. If I was going to have one, I must have them all!

You can only imagine how I felt at the time I heard her say that. I started laughing! I thought it was a joke! I had never heard such a thing! One woman with five husbands! It was absurd! However, it was not a joke. Before I knew it I was being prepared to walk down the isle to my five husbands on the other end! I was so nervous. However, when I saw each of them looking at me with love and respect in their eyes I realized I had the biggest blessing a girl could ask for. I would not only have one husband that would love me unconditionally but five husbands! I only hoped I would be able to love them as much as each of them loved me!

We have now been married for five years! My husbands have the running joke that we have really only been married one year. One for each. They think they are so funny. It really is not as bad or as crazy as you would think! I really try to spend as much time with each of them and not favor one over the other. That sometimes this is difficult not because I favor one but because there's only so many hours in the day. Think about it, there are only 24 hours in a day. Not counting sleep, my daily duties, and eating that is less than 5 hours per husband. This can make things interesting when trying to help your relationship grow with each husband. One of my husband's make it jealous when the other gets more time, but we eventually figure it out. I mean we've been living this crazy lifestyle for five whole years! I think we can figure out anything life throws at us.

Author's note: I chose to do this story as a spin off to "The Sister Wives" because as soon as I read that Draupadi married all five brothers I realized that this sounds like something that would be a reality show in today's society. I wanted to reflect off of the moment that Draupadi realized she was going to marry the Pandava brothers in Draupadi's Swayamwara and The Wife of the 5 Pandavas. I chose the picture because it really represents my story. The idea of the photographer was to capture what the Mahabharata would look like if it happened in present day.

Week 6 Reading Diary: Mahabharata Part B

Mahabharata PDE

Bhima and Hidimbi  from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

I thought this was an interesting story. I would like to go more into depth of the wedding between Bhima and the demon woman. I feel like it would be difficult to really care for and love a demon. Also, to have a half demon spawn. I am sure that kid has some problems. Besides being a demon, he is also a bald child. I am sure that kids made fun of poor Ghatotkacha as he was growing up.

Bhima and Baka  from The Indian Heroes by C. A. Kincaid (1921).

The story really intrigues me. The tax that the chief set as payment for protection was really insane. I would like to go more into depth of how the family felt trying to decide among them who went to sacrifice themselves for the town. I may write it so there is not a happy ending to show how the previous families felt before Bhima was there to rid them of this monster.

Draupadi and the Pandavas from Wiki Commons

Wife of the 5 Pandavas from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

This story sounds like a reality tv show. If I would write a story about this that is exactly what it would be. Can you imagine being the wife of 5 men? Not to mention the fact that they are all brothers. That would definitely be some sort of reality tv show today. Instead of "sister wives" it would be "Hubby bros" except they really are all related! I can almost hear the drama with living that kind of life. I would never be able to share a spouse! I feel like this would definitely be a MTV show.

Thoughts about Comments

My favorite comments I have been receiving are the ones about my storytelling posts. I love getting creative with my stories and I love having feedback on those stories. The encouragement I receive from those comments are awesome! I have also received some good critiques that I have tried to apply to future posts. I also always love hearing how cute my dogs are from my introduction post. I mean, how can you not love those faces?? I think there is always room for improvement in everything. Therefore, I could improve my comments. I could go more into how the stories made me feel or give suggestions with how they could improve their blog. I think one thing that makes comments stand out is the questions people may ask. If someone asks me a question, I am likely to answer it. This gives the author and the reader a chance to interact with each other than simply stating what they liked about the blog post.

Week 5 Storytelling: Tournament of the Lotus

Welcome to the Tournament of the Lotus!!

Lotus Flower from Spritual Journey Guide

I am your host Ali and let me tell you the prize is INSANE this year for the winner of this already prestigious tournament. What is this prize you ask? Not one, or even two, but THREE princesses!

The prince to beat in this tournament would have to be Shawn. He is the regions best archer and no one could pass him in a chariot race. However, we do have some new faces. Representing the kingdom of Shantanu, we have Brayden. We have yet to see his skills for the tournament but he does not look like a guy to be ignored or messed with.

The chariot races are the first event. The princes are all lined up. Shawn waves at the crowd and blows the princesses a kiss. The flag is waved and they are off! The race this year is just one lap around the rest of the tournament activities. The lap itself should take a total of 10-12 minutes for our contestants. They are rounding the first corner and Shawn is in the lead with Brayden not too far behind! Brayden cuts the corner a little too sharp and almost loses control of his chariot! That is going to set him back a bit, I don't know if he will be able to recover from that. Shawn is already half way through the lap, it looks like he is going to be our winner and he knows it! You can see that smile for miles, he stood up a little straighter to give the audience a good show. Wait! What is that? That is Brayden! Somehow he has been able to make up for his sharp turn at the beginning of the race and has now caught up to Shawn! Shawn is still racing for show he doesn't realize that he is about to be passed and he is! Brayden just passed Shawn and has gained a lead before Shawn could recover! Folks this is hard to believe but I am seeing it with my own eyes and Brayden just passed the finish line! He has won the chariot race! Brayden is a true contendor for these princesses! I am interested to see how he will do in the other competitions!

Now we have come to our final event of the tournament: archery. Today has been a true battle between Shawn and Brayden for our victor. Brayden surprised us in the chariot races as well as winning the ax throwing event. However, Shawn has kept Brayden on his toes. He has won the swordsmanship event and horseback riding event. That's right folks! We are all tied up going into the last event of the tournament!

The way this works is each contestant gets a chance to shoot at a target. They are attempting to shoot an arrow into the very middle of the target and get a "bullseye". This is very difficult to do so the winner is the person who can get the closest to that in three shots. Since Shawn won the last event, he gets to go first. His first shot is no good. He got a piece of the target but is far from the center. The second shot is better but is to the right. His final shot is GOOD! HE GOT A BULLSEYE! Brayden still gets his turn but Shawn set the bar high for this event. If Brayden does not get a bullseye then he will lose the tournament and Shawn will win the Tournament of the Lotus and win the three princesses! The crowd is silent as Brayden grabs his bow and three arrows. You can feel the tension as we all wait to see what will happen in these next three shots. Brayden shoots his first arrow. He is close, within a couple inches of the center. It is a good shot but not good enough. He shoots his second arrow and.... I don't believe it. It is a BULLSEYE!! Now Brayden has a chance to end the archery event and this tournament right now. It is a long shot, but if he mangages to split his arrow and hit the bullseye he could win it all. Brayden takes a second to compose himself and gets his final arrow ready. He takes a breath and let's the arrow fly. The arrow cuts through the previous arrow like butter and finds its mark.

Splitting a Wooden Arrow from Cardio Trek

BRAYDEN DID IT! The entire crowd is on their feet cheering on the new Tournament of the Lotus Champion. This tournament came down to the wire, but in the end it was a new face that won the whole thing and is taking home the three beautiful princesses! Man what a warrior! I have never seen anyone with his skill! No one could ever say that he did not deserve this win! This is a day that no one here will easily forget!

This is your host Ali signing off! See you next year at the Tournament of the Lotus!

Author's Note: I decided to write my story this week based off of the tournament that Bhishma went to in order to win brides for his half brothers. In my story Brayden is Bhishma and Shawn is Shalwa. I chose to change the names because the original names are so uncommon and I wanted to make it something easy to read. In the original story, there was not a tournament in the more common sense. Instead, it is all the contestants fighting each other until there is one victor that has all three of the princesses. Whoever has them at the end gets to keep it. In the original story, they talked a lot about how great of an archer Bhishma was. Because of this I decided to make archery the deciding factor for who would win the princesses.

Bibliography: Bhishma at the Swayamvara from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).

Week 5 Reading Diary: Mahabharata

Mahabharata PDE

Vyasa and Ganesha from The Mahabharata, A Summary by John Mandeville Macfie (1921)

The Story of Vyasa's birth is WEIRD. I think it would be a good story to go into why Vyasa wanted the story of Mahabharata to be written and why he thought no one on earth was worthy. I would also like to go more into depth of the scribe. What makes him so worthy? Also another good story would be of the sister Satyavati. Her interaction with the rishi and her desperation to get rid of her "fishy smell".

Ganga brings Devavrata to Shantanu from Wiki Commons

Ganga and King Shantanu  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).

Ganga really intrigues me. I love how she is first described. She must have been quite beautiful. Her story of striking her children almost reminds me of Kronos eating his children until Zeus. I am glad the father of the children took action. I think it could be interesting to kind of intertwine the story with Ganga with Kronos. Maybe they could be at a "I tried to kill all of my children" group and talking about their experiences and why they did it. How did they react to their spouse turning on them? 

Bhishma at the Swayamvara from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).

I really like the idea of the tournament to win the brides. I would love to maybe go more into the festivities and tournaments. I always loved the stories of knights and chivalry and tournaments. It would be so fun to combine this story with that love. 

Week 4 Storytelling: Rama's Dilemma

Rama and Sita from Social Wits

"Rama, I'm pregnant with your son!" exclaimed Sita with delight.

Rama looked at Sita with joy and confusion. It had only been a short time since Rama saved Sita from the evil Ravana, and he immediately began to think of the peasants and commoners that had mentioned to Rama their concerns about Sita no longer being a pure queen. Although he may believe that Sita has only been true to him, it is hard to get a thought out of your head once someone has put it there. What if she has not been faithful to him alone? What if there was another? How can his subjects respect him when they do not respect his wife? However, how could Rama send her away? No one has ever loved another as much as Rama loved Sita. Rama recalled the first time he ever saw Sita. He had never seen anything so beautiful. With her delicate hands and her eyes that are so easy to get lost in, no one in this world or another could match her beauty. He knew at that moment that he would have to have her forever as his bride. They have conquered so much together in life. From their wedding, to being banished into the forest together, to facing all of the different monsters that lived in the forest's shadows, and then finally being reunited after defeating Ravana. How could someone throw away all of that history?

In the end, Rama knew what he had to do. He had tried to find another option but there wasn't one to be found. He had to send Sita away in order to continue his rule over the country. For how could he rule when no one respected him because of his love for his wife? With a heavy heart, he went to go tell Sita the news. She took news about as well as you would expect. She tried to fight Rama saying that she would never disrespect their marriage in that way, but Rama sent her away anyway. Rama watched his pregnant bride leave the city from a window. He watched long after she was in the woods knowing that he would never see his lovely wife again. Wiping away his tears, Rama turned and went back to his duties. Unfortunately he could not have a day off of work, even if needed a sick day from a broken heart. 

Author's Note: I based this story off of "Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Paley. More specifically when Rama sent away Sita. I just couldn't imagine Rama being so cold hearted about sending Sita away. They had experienced so much together! I needeed to have him contemplate leaving Sita and have him really be upset about it. 

Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues film by Nina Paley (2008)

Week 4 Reading Diary: Sita Sings the Blues Continued

Sita Sings the Blues film by Nina Paley

Sita from Online Prasad

I think would be interesting to go through Rama's head when he banishes Sita. The pain and turmoil and uncertainty that he goes through when making that decision because he still loves her. Also the need for respect of his people that he doesn't have because he is with Sita is a huge issue for him. Then even more uncertain when he finds out that she's pregnant so soon after getting back. Is it his child or not?

It could be a good story to go more into depth of Sita's relationship with the monk. He was a great support for her and would listen to her when she had no one else. It would be nice to elaborate on that relationship and the types of conversations they would have had.

I feel for the twins of Rama and Sita because they are growing up with a mother that is banished into the forest and a father that has nothing to do with them and yet they still sing songs about drama and how great he is. I feel like they might have had some sort of rebellious stage and it could be interesting to write about. Also, I feel like they should be completely angry that their dad does not want to bring Sita back with them at the end.

I like what they said about the unconditional love of Sita towards Ramayana and how it may be was poisonous to the relationship. He didn't treat her right and it's sad that she can't get over him. However, a lot of women that are abused in their relationships kind of go through the same thing.

Week 4 Reading Diary: Sita Sings the Blues

Sita Sings the Blues film by Nina Paley 

Sita Navami from Online Prasad

I love all of the different songs that are in this movie it's really entertaining! I was slightly confused by the many variations of animations for each character. I really love the first song when Rama is killing all the monsters a while Sita is singing. One of my favorite moments in this movie is when they are making fun of Sita dropping all of her jewelry and trying to figure out where she got the story from. It could be fun to write about this as a treasure hunt for the monkeys.

Another good point in this movie, is when they're talking about how it would have saved a lot of time if Sita just jumped on the monkeys back. It could be funny to write it like this in a sense of the YouTube videos "how it should have ended".

I think it be an interesting story to go more into detail of see his reaction when Roma says that she's not worthy to be his wife. I would like to have see the kind of flipped out a little more and say that that's not okay it's not her fault she was kidnapped. Also perhaps when he finds out she is pure, have her not want to be back with him because he doubted her.

Could also most likely write a story about them on their flying chariots and their journey back. Did they have issues with weather with the wind? was it awkward on the way back after everything they've been through?

Tech Tip: Pinterest Board

Here is the new link to my latest pinterest board: Epics of India Portfolio.

I have used pinterest a lot in the last five years of college. It is the best procrastinating tool! I love using it to find new recipes to try and I also love all of the fan fiction I find based off of some of my interests (Harry Potter, Disney, Divergent). Pinterest makes me have severe wanderlust though. Some of the pictures and places I see look so fantastic. I just really want to go! I also like to find things I feel will be useful in my future career as an occupational therapist.

Storybook Styles

Topic:

My storybook will be about my detective Wolfgang Forrester and having him solve mysteries in Indian mythology and culture. I really enjoyed reading the tales of the twenty-two goblins when I was in Mythology and folklore. I actually used the twelfth goblin's riddle in storytelling for that class "The Bus". I actually loved that riddle a lot! It had an interesting take on who is really responsible for the death of the Brahman and I think it would be a great mystery for Wolfgang to solve. I actually think quite a few of those stories could work as potential crime cases for Wolfgang. I also liked the Jataka tales. One that I think could be a good story is The Master's Test. It is short, but it has a great meaning behind it. Wolfgang could solve what the Master meant for the children to do. Another great one would be The Guilty Dogs. Wolfgang could solve for who ruined the straps on the royal chariot. Perhaps the chief of the dogs would seek out Wolfgang for help so that all of the dogs in the city would not be slaughtered. As I mentioned before I really want to do a story based off of the Missing Queen. It would just be a great case to have solved.

Bibliography:

Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat (Khan). Illustrations by H. Willebeek Le Mair. (1939). Web Source: Hathi Trust
Twenty-Two Goblins by Arthur Ryder. Illustrations by Perham W. Nahl. (1917). Web Source: Sacred Texts

Storytelling Styles:

Detective shares his case - This is the type of style I used in my previous storybook from Mythology and Folklore Fairytale Case Files. I really enjoyed writing in this style and would love to continue this with a new storybook in India.

Wolfgang shares where he's been - In my idea of continuing Wolfgang's adventures, I want him to almost "fall down the rabbit hole" and be transported into the world of India where there are new crimes and cases to be solved. It might be an interesting take to have him filed as a Missing Person in the Enchanted Forest. In this style, Wolfgang would have just returned to the Enchanted Forest and is having to recount where he's been to the police.

Rabbit hole from Freedom Outpost

Clients review - This could be a totally different approach to what I have been doing. In almost like a "Yelp" manner, the clients of Wolfgang could give reviews of how he did on a certain case and tell the story of how he did it. 

Talk Show Host - I feel like after all this time and all of these cases, Wolfgang is becoming a little famous. I mean he's solved some pretty big cases! I think he would be asked to go onto a tv talk show and is asked questions about some of his more recent cases. Wolfgang could talk about his recent travels to India and the different types of cases he had there.

    

Storytelling Week 3: Oh, Where Did Sita Go?

Monkey from How Why Where

"Okay kids, it's time for bed!"

"BUT MOM!" whined Marcus and Elizabeth.

"I know, I know, but you have school tomorrow. I need you to be fully rested so you can learn! How about I read you a bedtime story? Which one do you wanna hear? The Prince and the Sandals? Sita the Warrior Princess?"

"How about Oh, Where Did Sita Go?"

"What an excellent choice Marcus!"

The mother went to the kids' bookshelf, humming to herself as she searched for that very special book. "O hear it is!" She exclaimed as she came back to her kids who were already crawling up into their beds. "You guys brush your teeth? Wash your face?" Both Elizabeth and Marcus nodded fervently. "Okay then! Let's get started!" the mother said as she opened the book.


"Monkeys, chimps, and those with ape-life
Our friend Rama is missing his loving wife.

Go forth my friends and bring her back
Otherwise Rama will give me quite the smack"

A day, a week, a month went by
but the search for Sita still came up dry

"You! With the matted brown hair
Explain to me why we haven't found Sita anywhere!"

"My lord Sugriva, I don't know what to say
I am sure we look in every which way

We could not find her in a bog
We could not find her in a log

We could not find her in a house
We could not find her with her spouse

As you can see
We could not find her in a tree

We could not find Sita here or there
We could not find her anywhere!"

"You monkeys are no help
I will just go do it" Sugriva said with a yelp.

Elizabeth, seeming upset, said "Mom, why would Sagreeva be mean to a cute monkey?"

Chuckling to herself at her daughters attempt to say "Sugriva", the mom replied, "It's hard to say sweetie, not all people are nice when they don't get their way."

"I don't like this story anymore mom. I'm tired." yawned Elizabeth. "Can we go to sleep?"

"That is a good idea!"

"But mom," replied Marcus, "you didn't finish the story!"

"It's late enough honey! Besides, now you can have something to look forward to tomorrow! I will finish the story before bed tomorrow."

Marcus looked at his mom with suspicion "Pink promise?"

Smiling to herself, the mom agreed, "Pinky promise."

"Goodnight kids, I love you"

"Love you too mom!" they chorused together as they soon drifted off to sleep and dreamt of monkeys searching for a princess.

Author's Note: For some reason when I read the story "the Armies" and "Sampati" I imagined the monkeys looking here and there and not finding Sita anywhere. After that, I really wanted to try to write this with a Dr. Seuss vibe. More specifically, I was thinking about "Green eggs and ham" and having the monkeys describe where they searched for Sita. I chose the title "Oh, Where did Sita go?" as a spin off to the Dr. Seuss classic "Oh, the places you'll go". It seemed like a fitting title for the story and I feel it really tells the reader what the story will be like before they even start reading it. It was fun to figure out different places Sita could be while making sure everything still rhymed. However, it was more difficult than I thought! This is why the storybook portion is smaller than I had originally planned for it to be. I had to have a mom read it to her kids because I immediately think of my mom reading Dr. Seuss and other books to me as a child. I basically kept to the story of the monkeys searching for Sita. I chose the cartoon of the monkey because I feel like it is a very child friendly image that could easily be found in a children's story.

Bibliography: The Armies from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913), and the verse portion comes from Ramayana, The Epic of Rama, Prince of India, condensed into English verse by Romesh Dutt (1899) and Sampati from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914). 

Week 3 Reading Diary: Ramayana Part 4

Ramayana PDE

Rama vs Ravana from BBC

Rama Attacks from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

I would love to go more into depth of how Ravana tricked Sita. The hurt that Sita felt and then the relief and anger when she realized it was all an illusion. The story did a great job talking about it, however, I don't think they went far enough. I really think the readers should feel what Sita is feeling in this story. 

Indrajit from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914)

Wow this is a great battle scene! It has great imagery I would love to play with. My favorite is "But the monkeys were panic-sticken, and if even a straw moved they deemed it to be a rakshasa." War is gruesome and those poor monkeys had lost thousands of friends. I would be terrified too, especially if I thought my great leader was dead. What is an army without their leader? It goes down hill really fast. I also feel sorry for Sita. Again, she is shown the body of Rama and now Lakshmana. She is just really going through a lot of emotions at the moment. Not to mention, at the moment she still doesn't know that Rama and Lakshmana are in fact alive. She must be distraught! 

Ramayana and Lakshmana from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

I went through a moment of panic with Rama over Lakshmana. I was not going to be happy if he died! Thankfully, he was saved with herbs! Like when I wanted to go into more depth of Sita's pain and loss over Rama, I would like to do the same with Rama and his pain over what he thought was losing his brother. They had experienced so much together and had survived so much of this battle it would be heart breaking to see your best friend and brother die. 

Week 3 Reading Diary: Ramayana Part 3

Ramayana PDE

Baby Ginger Monkey from Wiki Commons

The Armies from  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913) and Ramayana, The Epic of Rama, Prince of India, condensed into English verse by Romesh Dutt (1899)

I think this would be a great story to recreate. One of the first things that comes to mind is telling the story from a monkey's perspective. Follow their journey to find Sita. Maybe he could be really annoyed with Sugriva and complain about his boss. I think this would be a fun story to write about. Another idea with this story is to write it like a Dr. Suess book. Perhaps give it an "Oh, the places you'll go" or a "Green Eggs and Ham" vibe. It could be difficult finding a way to make it rhyme, but I think it would be so fun! 

Sampati and Jatayu  from The Iliad of the East: The Ramayana, by Frederika Richardson Macdonald (1870). 

I love the talk of a bird race! I could have a lot of fun with that! Maybe it's a bird race competition and there is a tragic accident that ends up with one racer losing both wings. Afterwards, you can see how he is coping with it. Perhaps he is telling his therapist about the incident. Another take on this is to go off of the sentence "Of what good is life to a bird who has no wings?" I think I could create a great tragedy based off of this. Or talk about how that sacrifice, although painful and with lifelong consequences could be worth it to save someone you love.  

Sita and Ravana from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).

I would like to go into more detail on the interactions Ravana and Sita had. I can definitely imagine her painting a great story of how her Rama would defeat him for her. I also believe that each time he came it would be more colorful and dramatic. It could be funny to have him walk in there asking how he was supposed to die today and Sita having an entire story already planned out for him.