As I was reading the beginning of the Ramayana, I was very intrigued because there were many stories which I haven't heard before and many that I have, but not in such detail. Here are some of the thoughts/questions I had about some of the stories in Reading A:
Vishvamitra
I really liked this idea of a mentor, kind of guiding Rama and Lakshmana through the forests and cities. He allowed Rama to obtain and realize his full potential as a leader, which was really neat. I could write this in many ways, because there are many stories in which a mentor guides a student. For example, Professor Dumbledore guides Harry Potter in many ways. In my version, he could guide the Patil sisters. Also, Oogway and Shifu were both great mentors in Kung Fu Panda, which is another setting I could use. Lastly, if I went along with my Lion King story theme, I could use Rafiki as the mentor (sage Vishvamitra) and Simba as the mentee (Rama).
Ganga
I had actually never heard the story of how the river Ganga came to be, so I thought this story was really interesting. The Horse Sacrifice was something new to read about, and I wasn't sure where the story was going until it mentioned Ganga coming down and cleansing the bodies of the people that died trying to find the horse. It was weird reading how Ganga and Shiva were making Bhagiratha go back and forth, but it was even more interesting to see his determination of praying to the gods for thousands of years for the salvation of his ancestors. I also found it interesting that all the holes Sakara's sons dug up to find the horse became "the oceans of today." I'm not sure if I will rewrite this story, because I can't think of a more interesting way to write this; or at least, I think I could write more about other stories than this one.
Ahalya
I don't usually see gods in an evil light, so when Indra is shown in such a negative way, I was really surprised! I had never heard of his infatuation with Ahalya and what he did to try to receive her love back. I do think it was a little harsh of Sage Gautama to punish her to become a stone for years, though, because she was not aware that Indra had taken her husband's place. This was a fairly short story, but there are still many stories about unrequited love that I could replace the three main characters with.
Sita
I loved the part where Sita and Rama first meet. It was simply adorable and the typical "love at first sight" scene. I could actually picture it in my head. I don't think I could write stories about this one, it's too historical to change :-)
Ram's Exile
I was so upset when reading about Kooni and how she manipulated Kaikeyi to be harsh towards Dasharatha and Rama. Kaikeyi was actually happy to see Rama become the next King, until Kooni told her she was being absurd. Kooni is the one that brought up how Kaikeyi still had two boons, and told her exactly what she should demand. I don't think Kooni had any right saying those things and disrupting a perfectly happy Kaikeyi and her family. I was also surprised about how quickly Kaikeyi changed her views and immediately became so cruel towards Dasharatha and Rama, so I wonder if she actually had the same thoughts as Kooni but did not realize them until they were brought up. I could go with my Lion King theme again here, and replace Dasharatha with Mufasa, Rama with Simba, Kaikeyi with Scar, and Kooni with the hyenas that assist Scar. I'm not sure who would play Bharata, so I might have to add in a character for Scar's son.
Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana, Part A.
Vishvamitra
I really liked this idea of a mentor, kind of guiding Rama and Lakshmana through the forests and cities. He allowed Rama to obtain and realize his full potential as a leader, which was really neat. I could write this in many ways, because there are many stories in which a mentor guides a student. For example, Professor Dumbledore guides Harry Potter in many ways. In my version, he could guide the Patil sisters. Also, Oogway and Shifu were both great mentors in Kung Fu Panda, which is another setting I could use. Lastly, if I went along with my Lion King story theme, I could use Rafiki as the mentor (sage Vishvamitra) and Simba as the mentee (Rama).
Ganga
I had actually never heard the story of how the river Ganga came to be, so I thought this story was really interesting. The Horse Sacrifice was something new to read about, and I wasn't sure where the story was going until it mentioned Ganga coming down and cleansing the bodies of the people that died trying to find the horse. It was weird reading how Ganga and Shiva were making Bhagiratha go back and forth, but it was even more interesting to see his determination of praying to the gods for thousands of years for the salvation of his ancestors. I also found it interesting that all the holes Sakara's sons dug up to find the horse became "the oceans of today." I'm not sure if I will rewrite this story, because I can't think of a more interesting way to write this; or at least, I think I could write more about other stories than this one.
Ahalya
I don't usually see gods in an evil light, so when Indra is shown in such a negative way, I was really surprised! I had never heard of his infatuation with Ahalya and what he did to try to receive her love back. I do think it was a little harsh of Sage Gautama to punish her to become a stone for years, though, because she was not aware that Indra had taken her husband's place. This was a fairly short story, but there are still many stories about unrequited love that I could replace the three main characters with.
Sita
I loved the part where Sita and Rama first meet. It was simply adorable and the typical "love at first sight" scene. I could actually picture it in my head. I don't think I could write stories about this one, it's too historical to change :-)
Ram's Exile
I was so upset when reading about Kooni and how she manipulated Kaikeyi to be harsh towards Dasharatha and Rama. Kaikeyi was actually happy to see Rama become the next King, until Kooni told her she was being absurd. Kooni is the one that brought up how Kaikeyi still had two boons, and told her exactly what she should demand. I don't think Kooni had any right saying those things and disrupting a perfectly happy Kaikeyi and her family. I was also surprised about how quickly Kaikeyi changed her views and immediately became so cruel towards Dasharatha and Rama, so I wonder if she actually had the same thoughts as Kooni but did not realize them until they were brought up. I could go with my Lion King theme again here, and replace Dasharatha with Mufasa, Rama with Simba, Kaikeyi with Scar, and Kooni with the hyenas that assist Scar. I'm not sure who would play Bharata, so I might have to add in a character for Scar's son.
Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana, Part A.
Source: Rama breaking Shiva's bow, which gained him Sita's hand in marriage.
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