Topic Research: the Lion King

I think my favorite theme out of all my brainstorm ideas was the Lion King one. I have several stories in mind, some of which I mentioned last time. I really like the idea of combining a few themes into one, but my favorite one is the Lion King for now. 

#1) I was thinking about replacing Scar with Ravana, Simba with Rama, Mufasa with Dasharatha, and Nala with Sita in this story. It would work out so well, because obviously Ravana wants something that Rama has, just like in the Lion King, Scar wants the kingdom that Simba will get once he's older. Dasharatha dies and Rama goes into exile all at once it seems, just like in the Lion King, Mufasa dies and Simba leaves his home for years. I could write about the story in a different perspective, maybe of Nala's, since it would be different than how the Ramayana is written (Sita's perspective is not shared as much as Rama's or Ravana's). Or I could write it in the perspective of all of the characters, switching off every paragraph. A resource I could use is A Kingdom of Love in a Lion Pride, which is a storybook done by a previous student, who replaced all the characters in the Ramayana with lions. This is essentially what I intend to do, so maybe I can look at what this student did and decide whether I want to have lots of dialogues between the lions or just do a third person view of the story.

#2) Another idea I had was talking about other animal characters in the Ramayana, such as the bird Jatayu, but having him appear to Rama in the form of Timon or Pumbaa. There are many sages and animals that Ram, Sita, and Lakshman encounter in the forest in the 14 years they are there, so I could have them appear to the characters and help them along their journey. One resource I could use for this is Narasimha. This article talks about the Man-Lion reincarnation of Vishnu, who maybe could come help the trio save Sita from Ravana. I know Hanuman comes and helps Sita, but I wasn't sure if I should take him out of the picture or just have him come into the story as Timon or Pumbaa. Narasimha could be Pumbaa and Hanuman can be Timon, or vice versa. I haven't figured that out yet but I think it would be cool for Ram, Sita, and Lakshman to have characters and friends such as Timon and Pumbaa by their side. 

#3) Lastly, I would like to integrate two or three themes. For example, I could have Nagini from Harry Potter appear in the story as Soorpanaka; it would fit nicely if we had an evil female character just like in the Ramayana. On the other hand, I could make Nagini, or Soorpanaka a good character and have her switch sides in the story, helping everyone take Ravana down. Another idea I had was maybe having the Doctor from Doctor Who come into their world; the reason being he was chasing rakshasas around the world and ended up in the forest where Ram, Sita, and Lakshman are. I'm not sure if this could potentially be my storybook / portfolio, but I'll figure it out soon! I could do three "chapters" sort of, where each time a new theme blends with the Lion King one, or I could start with all three, not sure yet! A resource I could use for this is Rakshasa; this article describes rakshasas as "powerful warriors, expert magicians, and illusionists" which fits into the supernatural theme of things, if I was to go through with that.

Source: Photo of Narasimha, which I would love to use if I were to write him into my story.

Topic Brainstorm!

At first, I thought brainstorming for ideas was going to be really difficult, since it is only week 2 and we haven't read all the stories yet. However, I looked through the Project Ideas Index and found so many options! All at once, different ideas came flooding to me. 

#1) One of the listings on the page was Supernatural Characters of the Ramayana. My mind immediately went to Doctor Who. It is so intriguing to learn about supernatural creatures so I looked at some of the stories listed on the page. They mentioned rakshasas, which I am a little familiar with only because I know Ravana is considered a bad demon. However, I do not know much about the other rakshasas, especially the female ones. I would like to learn more about these creatures and how they are involved in the Ramayana. I like this past story, called Ravana Diaries, because it gives Ravana a voice and we finally get to see the situation from his point of view. I have a few ideas for this story, but I'm not sure which will write better yet. One of my ideas is writing it in first person, where I am the companion to the Doctor in Doctor Who. We would go to the place that Ravana held Sita and help Ram and Hanuman fight off Ravana and the other rakshasas. Another story I could develop is having good rakshasas in the mix, and us trying to figure out which ones are good and bad while trying to fight them off. Another idea I had was giving Ravana or another rakshasa a background story, so that we can see WHY a lot of rakshasas are bad. 

#2) When I saw the listing for Animal Characters of the Ramayana, I thought about the Lion King (which may partially be due to the fact that I am wearing a Lion King shirt as I write this). I am thinking of making the story set in Africa and replacing Simba with Lord Rama, Scar with Ravana, and Nala with Sita. I would like to add Hanuman in there, but Timone and Pumba are a perfect duo so I might add Hanuman as a monkey in the jungle that befriends them before Simba comes along. I want to learn more about the animal characters that assist Rama or Hanuman in the many battles they encounter. I feel like there is a ton I could write about this in the Lion King setting, because Rama was exiled for 14 years, and Simba also left his home for years. Each one encountered many things in the forest, so I could potentially write many stories about different animals they came across and how they helped. Two resources that I found pertaining to animal characters in the Ramayana were Campfire Animal Tales and a Wikipedia page about Nala. I thought it was very interesting that there is a character named Nala in the Ramayana and in the Lion King!

#3) Another listing in the Project Ideas Index was about Nagas and Naginins. Obviously, knowing me, my mind went straight to Harry Potter because Lord Voldemort's snake was named Nagini. In Harry Potter, she was an evil snake, since she carried one of Voldemort's horcruxes with her. In the Mahabharata, snakes, or nagas, are seen as evil also. I was thinking that in my stories, I could make Nagini a good character. I know that Lord Shiva carries a snake on his shoulders, so maybe Nagini could be his pet instead of an evil person's. Snakes in my culture are seen as auspicious and many people pray to snakes and give it milk, as they believe killing snakes would be offensive to Lord Shiva. I would like to learn more about snakes in the Ramayana and Mahabharata and see why some are portrayed as evil and maybe even turn that around.

#4) Finally, I had a few ideas about the Festivals and Holidays listing. My family celebrates a lot of festivals in our home so it would be fun to learn more about each one, the historical background of each one, and be able to turn it into another story. I was thinking I could talk about Diwali, since it is believed that this holiday celebrates the return of Lord Rama after his 14 years of exile. I could combine a few of my ideas by including a re-tell of what Lord Rama encountered in the forest, but also exiling him to the African forest where Simba went in the Lion King. Then I could have Nala, or Sita, come and help him on his journey back once the 14 years were over. I'm not really sure about the other plots as of yet, but I'm sure once I read through the entire Ramayana and Mahabharata, I can combine and mix-and-match some characters to make a story out of this! I also love celebrating Krishna Janmashtami, which is when Krishna is born. I could provide a back story of how he was born or even the stories of when he is a little kid and his first battles. Another resource I could use for this one would be the small stories I have about Krishna as well as many other Gods and Goddesses. (see the picture below)

This is a personal picture that I took of all the little stories and information I have about some of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. I'm hoping to find inspiration for my stories through these.