Week 2: Storytelling || Dasaratha, the innocent boy, and the blind parents

The day was calm when Vishikh embraced the opportunity to fill his families weekly water pitcher. Being the solitary caretaker of his blind parents, Vishikh found himself in a constant state of companionship with the desire for a solitary moment. Filling the pitchers became Vishikh’s weekly chance to rest and meditate in the midst of his exhausting life of giving and never being given back to. As he approached the river he spoke softly, with the clarity of 1000 sun rays, and said, “Om sarveshaam swastir bhavatu. Sarveshaam shantir bhavatu. Sarveshaam poornam bhavatu. Sarveshaam mangalam bhavatu. Sarve bhavantu sukhinah. Sarve santu niraamayaah. Sarve bhadraani pashyantu. Maakaschit duhkha bhaag bhavet" (1). This is a shanti mantra Vishikh meditates on each week at the river with intentions of imparting fortune, peace, fullness, prosperity, happiness, health, and no sorrow to all people.

After his tenth repetition of the shanti mantra, he decided the time had come to fill the water pitchers and return home to tend to his disabled parents. The first two canisters were filled and he began replenishing the third when he was suddenly struck by an arrow through his abdomen. He shouted in agonizing pain, laying on the ground next to two full pitchers, and watched as the third navigated down the river after being released from his grip, when a frightened stranger rapidly approached him.

“You are no elephant. What have I done? What is your name, dear son? What can I do to help you?”

“I am Vishikh, the son of two blind parents. I am their sole caretaker and they will not survive without my aid. Please, inform them of my death. Our home is under the only visible northern star of the day. If you can, take my body with you on your journey.”

Vishikh took his last breath before the man who shot him could respond to his dying wish.

King Dasaratha was still unnerved by his misfortune in killing an innocent boy, but he composed himself and set forth on his journey to Vishikh’s home. He carried the boy and the two water pitchers for many miles until he reached the home of the eyeless, childless parents.

Dasaratha and the blind parents

 
“Who is there? That does not sound like the footsteps of my son, Vishikh. What have you come for?” said Vishikh’s father.

“I am King Dasaratha. When the sun was with me I hunted in the forest. I thought I heard the noise of an elephant drinking water from the river, but it was your son filling your water pitchers. I tragically shot your son and he is lifeless in my arms. All of your wishes will be granted if you can forgive my catastrophic mistake.”

“Forgive you? How will we live? Curse you! You too will lose a son and know the pain in our hearts. You will never be forgiven for your life-taking shot. You will die as we will.”

Once the father’s curse concluded, he and his wife collapsed to the ground. Dasaratha was terrified but felt obliged to bury their bodies and properly send them to the afterlife. Upon the cessation of the private ceremony, Dasaratha began the journey home, never to speak of the murder of an innocent boy, deaths of his parents, or the curse of the broken.

Author's note: I used a story telling style very similar to Narayan because I find it to be easy to follow, yet intriguing. My goal for the story was to convey the interaction between Dasaratha and the boy he killed, and ultimately the severe reaction of his parents and their deaths.

Works Cited: 

(1) "The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh" by Sri Swami Shivananda. Website: Shanti Mantras.

(2) Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 2: Reading Diary B || Rama's Exile

Throughout the second part of the reading, the reader becomes witness to Rama’s physical and emotional strength. It seems as though Rama is the only character able to notice and thrive from any positive moment. Upon being notified of his imminent exile by his step-mother, Kaikeyi, he translates the loss of the throne into a type of learning opportunity to progress his spiritual existence. As Rama begins his journey, we are able to comprehend the depth of Rama’s spirit when Dasaratha, Lakshmana, and Bharatha define their detest for Kaikeyi, twice calling her a serpent and renouncing her as a member of the family.Rama only acts in ways that ultimately improve the goodness of the world surrounding him.  

I made note of when Rama was notified of his father’s death and it was the first time the reader witnesses a moment of weakness in Rama’s character. The reader perceives Rama’s strength, honor, and spirit as unfaltering, even when faced with the news of his father’s death. Although fleeting in comparison with Lakshmana, who mourned for five days, Rama lamented and “after a while” began the resting ceremonies for his father. In comparison with his brother, Lakshmana, who is short-tempered and illogical at moments, Rama calming calculates his every move and the emotions and movements of those around him.

On page 68, we read of the effect Ramas existence has on Soorpanka. Appearing almost as love-sick as Sita and Rama once were for each other, Soorpanka is in torment to be with Rama again. We saw this type of emotional breakdown before in Ayodhya when news of Rama’s exile spread. These emotions for Rama made me wonder if everyone loves Rama or if it is the underlying desire to be attached and affiliated with a god (Vishnu) that drives the frenzied loss of Ramas presence.

Later, on page 76, the same uneasy, lovelorn emotions are poured out of Ravana when he hears only of a description of Sita. Sita is the incarnate of Lakshimi, Vishnu’s wife, so maybe the same elements are at play here as well.

When Lakshmana cut off Soorpanka’s nose, ears, and breasts after she attempted to capture Sita, I wondered if those three body parts were symbolic and if so, what was the underlying message. Other than the pain she suffered, the loss of her body parts went almost unnoticed. She used her mutilation as a motive for her brothers to enact revenge, but she was not bothered by it. I still wish to learn of the symbolic meaning behind the choice of taking those three parts from a person.

Week 2: Reading Diary A || Dasaratha, Rama and Sita

Before the reader comes to know Ravana, he is mentioned on page 4 as an extraordinarily powerful, reckless character, whose forces are unaffected by the gods. Returning to this paragraph after the first two readings was helpful in clarifying the plot. “Ravana can be destroyed only by a human being since he never asked for protection from a human being,” Vishnu said as he promised to incarnate himself as King Dasaratha’s son, Rama.

Although King Dasaratha eventually dies of depression following the plight of his son, Rama, being instructed to leave the kingdom, not to return for fourteen years, his character initiates with a strong desire to have children to carry on his dynasty. We see Dasaratha instantly love each one of his children while their presence intensifies his quality of life. These emotions are suddenly dilapidated when Sage Viswamithra requests the protection of Rama and Dasaratha’s fatherly instincts must be oppressed in response to the advice of his guide, Vasishtha. Throughout the rest of the reading, Dasaratha is an overjoyed witness to the marriages of all of his sons, but the reader begins to witness the decline of his health and desire to rule as King. The transformation from a formidable, honorable, obliging ruler to one who is decrepit with a lack of desire and interest to rule could be influenced by the increase of Rama’s strength and widely known reputation. It is possible Dasaratha is feeling defeated by the great virtues his son carries, leading to his consequential retirement as King.

Quickly I wanted to mention the initial encounter between Rama and Sita and their effects on one another. As stated on page 23, Vishnu is married to Lakshmi, the current incarnate of Sita, and both Sita and Rama become distraught with fear of never seeing each other again. I did not know if their reactions were due to their reality of being married, or for some other reason. Maybe someone can help me out with that thought process.

The significance of a promise and the pressure to honor it is a concept I find very interesting. When King Dasaratha decides to name Rama as his successor and Kaikeyi becomes so overwhelmed with the ideas Kooni imparted that she ruins the Kings legacy, the unforgiving importance of a promise becomes apparent. The cheerful regard with which Kaikeyi first reacts to news of Ramas future as King is paradoxical to her correspondence with Rama and Dasaratha after Kooni instills in her false ideas.

I have a character list typed up, but I think I am going to post it with the next post.

Week 1, Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Mary. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is my senior year at OU, but I'll graduate in May 2016 because I changed my major a few times. I finally decided on studying accounting and biology. So officially I am a Duel Accounting and Biology student, which means that when I graduate, I will receive both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science. With these degrees I plan on going to graduate school for Health Administration. I enjoy my course work from semester to semester because the business courses are evened out by my awesome biology courses. My favorite class I have taken thus far is Medical Entomology with Dr. Heather Ketchum.

Here's a picture of a secondary screwworm, Cochliomyia macellaria, I took while looking at it under a dissecting microscope last semester. Look at that sponging mouthpart!! 

This semester I am starting Big Brothers Big Sisters and I will be a Big Sister. I'm pretty excited about it. Speaking of siblings, I have two older brothers. Richie, who is six years older than me, went to Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY and is now the Master Brewer at Bacchus Brewery. My other brother, Andy, is four years older than me and went to Suffolk University in Boston, MA. He works in California for a start-up company. My dad has been a medical malpractice attorney for over 30 years and my mom just started a realtor staging business.  

I took Italian 2 and Veterinary Entomology over the summer at OU. Veterinary entomology is the study of arthropods in veterinary medicine, so we learned about the transmission of vector borne disease and various arthropods who positively or negatively affect the quality of life of livestock, domestic animals, etc. Toward the end of the summer I cut off 11 inches of hair and donated it to locks of love. I also worked for my dads office, going to the courthouse, filing in the office, answering phones.. Anything I could do to help.

Looking forward to a great semester!

Week 1, Storybook Favorites

The first storybook I chose is called Indian Horror Story: Tales of the Lingering Souls. This title popped out to me because I watch the TV show it is inspired by. After reading the poorly labeled introduction to the story, I noted the authors creative use of language and descriptive words and phrasing. Being a biology major, any papers I write are usually lab reports or other scientific research that does not benefit from highly ornate description. Using descriptive language for our blog posts this semester is going to be difficult for me. Also, the layout and design of the webpage reflects the eerie tales. 

Because I found the title intriguing, I chose The Four Elements: Birth and Death Stories as my second storybook. I am not familiar with the birth and death stories of the Indian Epics characters, but I am familiar with the concept of the four elements: earth, wind, water, and fire. The title is descriptive enough to inform the reader of the contents of the story, while also being intriguing. Descriptive words and compelling sentences are used throughout the introduction here as well. In comparison with the previous storybook, the layout and design of this webpage could have included more references to the four elements with a background design or colorful text. Although clean looking, the design does not intrigue the reader nearly as much as the story itself. 

Told in first person, I chose To Sumitra, With Love as my final storybook. The moment I noticed the introduction was told in the first person, I was hooked. I imagine first person storytelling is the most enjoyable and compelling way to hear a story. The title did not reflect what the story is about, but I think that it is an appropriate title. A bit overly detailed, the introduction seemed to drag on until the final paragraph when the character made a reference to how a daughter always cherishes the stories of her father. I love my dad more than I can explain, I get teary eyed just thinking about how much I love him, so that final sentence was the hook for me. The overall design was not the most impressive, nor did it reflect the story all that well, but the fonts were good.

After looking through those three storybooks, I have more ideas for the design and content of my own story.

Week 1, Indian Epics

As I watched Nina Paley's, Sita Sings the Blues, I was first intrigued by her costume and make up. I then noticed that she had four arms and was holding different objects in each hand.. and then she blew up. I have never thought about what the symbolism behind four arms is, I'm sure it will be interesting to learn about. I am also curious about why this man has a revolving head with many faces. Very interesting symbolism going on throughout the entire video. I only watched 10 minutes of the film, but I noticed there has not been any singing yet.
I will definitely watch this film in its entirety when I have the time. Maybe I'll add more to this blog post. This video has drawn out a desire to educate myself on Indian culture and understand the big picture of their history.

Week 1, Storytelling, The Wolf and the Lion

Residing at the University of Oklahoma, a council of students were appointed to uphold the standard for academic integrity. These students have the authority to examine and penalize other students academic misconduct in accordance with university policy. In an eloquent room coated in mahogany, a particular case was brought to the council regarding a student who plagiarized on his final research paper. Upon submitting his final paper, the professor instantly recognized and made note of the conspicuously unformatted, copied sections within each paragraph. One week later, the student was informed via email of his required attendance at his hearing for academic misconduct. Ignorant of what constitutes plagiarism and oblivious to the repercussions, he shouted in anger, “I didn’t do anything wrong! I wrote that paper. What the heck is this about?!”

Following the evaluation of the paper through various plagiarism sites, the professor and council agreed that the paper would receive a grade of zero. After being informed of this sanction, the enraged student in question attempted to argue his case by announcing to the council, "That's my work! My property! I worked hard to research, copy and paste that information. I added my own input on parts! How dare you give me a zero!" While the exasperated student paused to catch his breath and calm his heartbeat, the head of the council replied, "Oh, its your property? Did a magical fairy come and implant those words into your head? Did you write each sentence and choose each word? No. You stole those ideas from another person and you will be held responsible." Before the student could breathe another word, the council adjudicated a semester suspension and a mandatory Do You Understand Integrity course upon his return to campus.

After his semester suspension, the student returned to campus with an improved understanding of plagiarism and a new-found cognizance that nothing is accomplished unless it is accomplished with your own talents and abilities. Although he did not pass the course and had to re-take it, he recognized his fault and later admitted to being thankful for the critical mediation.

Ron Burgundy from Anchorman, 7 Meme Lessons

Authors Note: Aesops fable, The Wolf and the Lion, is a story of a wolf who had plans to eat a lamb until a lion stole the lamb from his mouth. The hungry, shaken, defeated wolf ran a distance away from the lion and then turned around to inform the lion of his frustration for stealing his meal. The pretentious lion told the wolf that the meal was never his to begin with. The moral of the story is "What is evil won, is evil lost" (Aesops for Children). I adapted this parable to reflect the phenomenon of plagiarism that has plagued the University of Oklahoma's campus and many other college campuses across our country. I visited the idea of the wolf representing a student without education on the definition of plagiarism and the lion as the distinguished council of students whose role is to teach the student a lesson for his benefit. 

Works Cited: “The Wolf and the Lion” illustrated by Milo Winter, from Aesop for Children (1919). Web Source: Aesops for Children.

Week 1, Blogger Templates Tech Tip 1

I chose the "Picture Window" design because I liked the way the text box had a solid background, rather than one where the words are projected onto an image and move along the image as you scroll down to read. I customized the design by adding a background image of colorful vases and used the advanced settings to adjust the font and color.

This is the first time I have blogged so I'm not sure I have any concrete opinions on it yet. Blogging is a useful tool for those who have an interest with sharing information with large volumes of people.

Week 1: Wrigley Field... My favorite place

Home of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, its history in baseball, and my memories of being there are why it is my favorite place. My parents were born in separate suburbs of Chicago and my dad grew up going to Cubs games as often as he could. Although I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, my parents made an effort to take my two older brothers and I up to Chicago at least once every couple of years. I have many happy memories of running around Wrigley when I was too young to appreciate the game and equally as many sitting in our seats watching and enjoying our Cubbies play ball. 

Personal photo of my older brothers, Richie and Andy, 

and my three year-old self at a Chicago Cubs game

First post

My name is Mary and I am a duel accounting and biology student at OU.