Week 10: Famous Last Words

It is almost the end of the semester... about one more month until graduation. I am ready to get out of school but at the same time I am nervous about finding a job.

I can't believe Indian Epics class is almost over. I really enjoyed this class. There is a lot of work and reading in the class but most of the material is interesting and fun to read. I'm also getting use to blogging and fixing up my writing skills. I've mentioned my horrible habit of getting my past and present tenses confused but I feel like it is getting better. At least I hope it is! I have issues with comma splices too! It is kind of embarrassing that I'm still having grammar issues and I'm a senior in college but this class really helped me on improving my skills. I noticed a lot of interesting storybooks and portfolios too. Everyone is creative and put in a lot of effort into their writings. I think everyone did a wonderful job so far.

So far life has been pretty stressful especially with school. I am not doing well in one of my classes and well I really need to try harder. The class is hard and the professor expects a lot of the students but with effort I'm sure I'll be able to pull myself up again. Other than that I've been working on topics for research papers and preparing for finals. I know it sounds early but with so much on my plate right now... it is better to prepare ahead. Graduation is coming soon and I haven't even found a job yet. I'm planning to get my masters in legal studies but debating on whether or not to stay at OU. I kind of want to explore different cities outside of Oklahoma. I lived here all my life and need a new experience yet I don't want to leave my friends and family here...

Yesterday, I found out that my best friend since grade school is moving to Dallas for her job. I am a little sad and Dallas isn't that far away but the thought of her leaving makes me sad. I am happy she found a great job but with her moving away we won't be able to meet frequently and have our Sunday brunches anymore. I guess that is the part of growing up... people moving away.

This is a personal photo of mine. 

My friend Lan the one I grew up with is on the left and my other best friend Trung is on the right.

Storytelling Week 10: Arjuna as Brihannala

(Arjuna's thoughts)

Oh that Urvashi! How dare she cursed me to become an eunuch! I rejected her nicely and even offered her a compliment that she looked like my mother and now she had cursed me in dancing and singing with women! I need to relax... I am mad right now but I must make the most of it.

(Dancing with the women for a year)

It's been a year now and all I had done was performing with these lovely ladies. Everyone is so nice and treated me like a sister. I had been hiding the truth that I'm a man for the longest time. I also want to see if I can return home and become a warrior again. I will ask my father Indra but first I must tell these ladies the truth. They had been nothing but nice to me and hiding the truth about my real gender makes me feel guilty...

(Walking up to the women)

Ladies, there is something I want to tell you for the longest time now and it is a long story. I don't even know where to begin. First, I am indeed a man disguised as a woman for awhile now.

(Gasps in the crowd of women)

I know... I know.. please just explain. I was cursed by Urvashi because I rejected her love and called her my mother. She was furious and cursed me to become an eunuch for the rest of my life. My father Indra reversed it to one year and now my time is over. I tried to accept the fact that I will be with you beautiful women forever and indeed the past year I've spent with everyone was wonderful. We performed together and traveled all around India. I am happy to call you all my sisters but I'm not satisfied being an eunuch. My real name is Arjuna and I am part of the Pandavas and a true warrior. I want to return being myself and I hope you can all understand that.

"Oh Brihannala! I mean... Arjuna we will support you no matter what! We've been so close these past five years and we all want nothing more than to wish you happiness!" said one of the women.

(All the ladies looked at each other and nod their heads at Arjuna)

Thank you my friends! I hope you all know how much you mean to me but now I must go and find my father Indra to see if he can reverse this curse! I am planning to leave tomorrow morning and begin my journey back home. I will miss everyone and wish everyone well in their lives!

(The ladies embraced each other and the next morning Arjuna began his journey back home)

Arjuna as Brihannala: Eunuch

Author's Note: I decided to do a story over Arjuna as Brihannala when he was cursed by Urvashi and the experiences he had as an eunuch. Arjuna was a positive person and tried embrace the idea of being a woman dancer. Although he found a way to reverse the curse and made it only to one year. He enjoyed his time as a woman and build relationships with the dancers. However, he missed being a warrior and wanted to return home. The story shows connections he had with the women and their friendship. He finally revealed the truth about his real sexuality and the women were not mad at him. Instead they supported him and knew he was always going to be a warrior deep down. I wanted to show real emotions in the story and emphasized on how Arjuna had to tell them the truth. He did not want to leave on bad terms. 

Bibliography: R.K. Narayan The Mahabharata

Reading Diary B Week 10: Narayan's Mahabaharta

p.133-179

Okay... so this part of the battle is pretty intense and bloody. It was a little confusing at first with all the names and everyone kind of fighting at the same time. So I had to go back and read it over again along with the reading guides. I'm a little confused on the part of after Bhima killed Ashwatthaman he called him an elephant? What does the elephant mean? and like the battle scenes are disgusting! they are decapitating heads and mutilating the bodies! And the part where Bhima drinks the blood after killing Duryodhana... I mean gross! What was the point of drinking the blood? Was like a symbol of defeat and you have to drink the blood as some sort of recognition of victory?

So the end of the battle it seems as though everyone is dying... even the Pandavas. The city of Dwaraka is swallowed by the sea and Krishna is killed by the hunter? Well in the end Arjuna survived and had a son who became the ruler of Hastinpura, which continued the Pandavas' bloodline.

So Narayan's Mahabaharta was quite confusing to me. There were so many names kind of thrown all at once. The battle was confusing as well, people were fighting each other and dying. It was chaotic reading the book even the reading guides weren't as clear as I thought. I'm hoping Buck's version would be better to read. I sure like Buck's version of the Ramayana better so hopefully it would be clear!

Bhishma: Mahabaharta

Reading Diary A Week 10: Narayan's Mahabharata

p.85-131

In this part of the book, the most interesting part is the voice in the lake. Nakula goes and find the lake and was forced answer questions before drinking it. However, he refused and the consequences for him was death. Then his brothers followed him: Sahedeva, Arjuna, and Bhima. All of them ignored answering the questions before drinking from the lake and died. Thankfully, Yudhishthira was able to follow the directions and later called upon Yama (the god of death) to revive his brothers but the result was 13 years of exile.

After 12 years the brothers began their journey where they disguise in King Virata's court and poor Draupadi got raped... It is kind of sad that a lot of these women in Indian Epics get raped or kidnapped in the story. Well in this situation it's a good thing that Bhima was able to kill Kichaka. I mean what a horrible thing to do!

The cattle raid was also an interesting part! I really like the character of Arjuna! It was pretty intense and Arjuna won the battle with Drona!

The Pandavas: Indian Epics