Reading Notes: Ghatotkacha

Ladoo (Wikipedia Commons)

You're probably wondering why I used a picture of food for this Amar Chitra Katha. Well, I will explain. There is a movie called Mayabazar which actually follows the tale of Abhimanyu and Vatsala's wedding. In this movie, Ghatotkacha pretends to be Vatsala after he takes her away to Abhimanyu. There is a scene in the movie when Ghatotkacha sees a room full of food for the wedding and decides to go inside and eat the food. However, he is too lazy to eat the food with his hands so he uses his magic to literally swallow the food without ever picking it up with his hands. He also makes himself enormous so that he can eat more food at once. The funny part is that there are a couple courtiers watching all of this happen from the window and they are all confused as to what is happening. As soon as Ghatotkacha is done eating, he uses magic to bring food back into all the plates and turns back into Vatsala. One of the most iconic parts of this film is a part in which Ghatotkacha has ladoos (the sweet depicted in the picture above) flying into his mouth. When I would watch this movie growing up, I used to always be scared of Ghatotkacha because of his appearance. However, reading this Amar Chitra Katha and the various stories on the side made me realize that he was one of the good guys all along and wanted Vatsala and Abhimanyu to live happily ever after.

Reading Notes: Ancestors of Rama

Crown (Wikipedia)

Reading the stories about Rama's ancestors was quite interesting. Considering the fact that Rama himself was a king, so his ancestors were obviously royalty was a thought that crossed my mind while reading this story. I think a common theme when thinking of royalty is the fact that there is usually some element of violence, either a play for the highest position, revenge, or some sort of war. No matter the culture, story, country, etc. I seriously think that royalty will always be perceived in the same light. I think the other interesting part was at the end with Indumati's swayamvara. Not only is it semi-foreshadowing to Rama and Sita, but I also think it's a parallel with the beginning of the Mahabaratha. This comic gave readers a lot of background to the characters of the Ramayana, which is something that is inherent to the beginning of the Mahabaratha. I know when I first started reading the Mahabaratha, I had to draw out a family tree on a dry erase board so that I could better visualize the familial relations. While Rama's ancestors are not quite as confusing, I still thought that this Amar Chitra Katha was really fun to read. 

Class Improvements

After reading the future planning page, I honestly really liked the review weeks to planning weeks and the thematic reading unit options. I began the semester thinking that I would be able to work a lot on my page and storybook throughout the week and ended up dedicating more time on Sundays and Mondays. This way, I was able to hit both the tail end of the previous week and the beginning of the next week. However, that is something that I realized as I progressed through the semester. So, I think that having a planning week would have been helpful in order to create my own deadlines for the future. Creating both a time management schedule and having a planning week would be a great option for some students. I think that the current set up of the class is great and it worked well for me but I could definitely see other students benefiting from a planning week. The other idea I liked on the planning page was the thematic unit option. When we had to start the free reading option, I know I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out what to read. Although there were many categories to choose from, I think it would have been neat to have had some themes in order to focus my options. It also allows for students to explore readings that they would not have previously thought of. Overall, however, I liked the way this class was set up and I'm so glad that I took it!

Reading Notes: Kumbhakarna

Sleeping Moon (Wikipedia Commons)

I think after eating and traveling, my next favorite thing in the world is sleeping. So, I connect with Kumbhakarna and his natural inclination to want to sleep (even though he is rakshasa, Ravana's brother, and eats people) due to the boon that he was granted. In fact, from the time I was a child to this day, my family calls me Kumbhakarni, or a female version of Kumbhakarna, because I like to sleep a lot. However, that's about the only similarity I have with the beast. Reading about Kumbhakarna is interesting because he is depicted to be a character of good traits and a generally nice person (rakshasa?) until you read about his tendency to kill and eat people. It's honestly such a stark contrast. Reading the Amar Chitra Katha and the Wikipedia page makes me wonder what a Kumbhakarna dream would be like, since he sleeps for months on end. I think it would be interesting to write a story about that since it would be a very long and drawn out sleep. 

Bibliography: 

• Amar Chitra Katha, Kumbhakarna: The Sleeping Giant
• Kumbhakarna

Reading Notes: Hanuman to the Rescue

Hanuman (Wikipedia Commons)

I don't know if I have actually ever mentioned this but Hanuman is probably one of my most favorite of the Hindu Gods. He personifies a kind and giving nature, but there is just that subtle hint of mischievousness about him. I think that the cover of this comic book even helps to explain that mischievous side of him because of his facial expression. I think that this comic also does a great job of describing Hanuman since he goes to find Vishalya Karani herb for Lakshmana because he cares about Rama and Lakshmana immensely. Since he does not have time to actually go looking for the herb, he ends up picking up the entire mountain. Later on, since Surya is under the control of Ravana and has to speed up the day, Hanuman literally steals the sun so that the day doesn't end. I've heard this story many times and every time I am amused. The last additional reading is by far one of my favorite stories of all time because it is something that I would have probably imagined as a child. Mangoes are my favorite fruit and I could probably eat mangoes forever. Hanuman mistakenly eats the sun thinking its a mango and creates utter chaos on earth. I absolutely love reading Hanuman stories and enjoy that they often have morals of kindness, humour, and courage.

Bibliography: Amar Chitra Katha, Hanuman to the Rescue

Tech Tip: Blogger YouTube

This is one of my most favorite chef's ever. He is really entertaining to watch and his food is literally phenomenal.

Bibliography: Gennaro Contaldo

Reading Notes, Part B: Narayan

Lotus (Pexels)

I think the lotus is representative of this video because of the references to both Brahma and the cycle of life and death. As mentioned in the video, in Hinduism, death isn't viewed in an end-all-be-all type mindset. Life and death is a constant cycle. While the physical manifestation of life and death is personified within a person's body, it is the soul that eventually lives on. As stated in the video, "the soul whose sleep leads to destruction and whose awakening leads to creation." I think the lotus is a great personification of this idea of a manifestation of a person in more ways than one. A person's soul is one that takes some work to realize and you have to peel away at the layers to get to that point. In that way, the lotus also signifies that there is beauty in all aspects of the flower, similar to a person. However, when bringing it back to the idea of life and death, it is that beauty of life that one must go through (symbolized by the multiple petals) to get to the heart and soul of it all. When at that point, the soul is free-flowing. Tying it all back to Brahma and Vishnu, Brahma is known as the creator and he resides on a lotus flower. Vishnu is the one to control the idea of "What Dies is Always Reborn," the notion that is present with the cycle of life and death.

Bibliography: Devdutt Pattanaik, Part B: Narayan