Skip to main content

Week 2 Reading Overview

Far my Ramayana readings, I have chosen the public domain edition. I preferred this edition as it is more accessible, free, and even offers an audio version that could be used for long drives. I also enjoyed the illustrations. If the language poses to be too difficult to understand, I might purchase Narayan's Ramayana to read. 

One of the comic books I am interested in is the Tales of Shiva . I have always had a personal interest in Shiva stories as my name Neal symbolizes blue in my mother's tongue, Telegu, and is in relation to the blue skin of Shiva. I am interested in reading more stories about him because of this personal connection. Another comic book I am interested in is Bird Stories. My interest does not stem because of the bird aspect, but mainly from previous experience reading Indian folktales in my Mythology and Folklore class. I have always enjoyed reading stories where cleverness beat out raw strength and physical power, like the traditional rabbit and tortoise story. 

For the videos, I was immediately drawn to Harry Potter meets Hindu Mythology. As a huge Harry Potter fan, I wanted to see how some of its aspects paralleled Indian epics. It was neat to see how the books I loved so much as a child actually had some comparisons with other stories I read. The second video also looked at comparisons. It was the Indian and Greek Mythological parallels. Again my interest in Greek mythology from reading Percy Jackson and my readings in Mythology and Folklore sparked my desire to watch the video. I have always thought there were some parallels, so it was interesting to see other examples I did not know beforehand.  



Wishing you all a blessed Maha Shivratree! May Lord Shiva bless us all with peace, prosperity and happiness! May the spirit… | Lord shiva, Shiva shankar, Hindu gods

Shiva; the god of which my name was inspired by

Labels:

Comments

  1. Laura GibbsAugust 14, 2020 at 9:22 AM

    This sounds great, Neal! I'm worried for everybody's safety being back on campus... but having access to the comic books in Bizzell is going to be really nice; the Indian Epics class lost access to all the comic books in the second half of the semester, which is exactly when they come into play in the reading. I hope that everybody will get to make use of the comics this semester. ALL the Shiva comic books are really cool, and there are also lots of folktale comics that make good reading after the long-and-intense epics!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 9 Story: Bhima and the Nagas

Duryodhana was a jealous warrior. He could not stand if anybody was better him, no matter the competition. From archery to running to strength training, he saw how his Pandavas cousins performed at the highest marks. However, no made Duryodhana more angry than Bhima. Now Bhima was the best of the spot. He could bench over 300 pounds, squat 450 pounds, and run a mile in less than 6 minutes. No one could match him physically and for this Duryodhana plotted to get rid of Bhima. He knew he could not do it face to face combat, so he decided to poison his food during dinner. He extracted poison from the venomous King Cobra and sprinkled onto Bhima's dinner for the night. As Bhima took his first bites, he passed out and laid asleep on the ground. Duryodhana seizing his opportunity, gagged Bhima and threw into the holy Ganges for him to forever lie. Yet, as Bhima fell into the river it was fated by the gods that he was not to die. His destiny lied far ahead in the future. Thus when Bhima...
3 comments
Read more

Week 14: More Jataka Tales Part B

 For Part B of Week 14 reading, I continued the Jataka Tales. Specifically for the week I read The Elephant and the Dog. What really sparked my interest to read the story was the title. As a fan of dogs and knowing the importance of elephants in Indian culture, I was curious to see how the two animals interacted in the story, and I was definitely not disappointed. I loved the heartwarming story of the dog and elephant's friendship and how they needed each other to live. It is always surprising to me how animals from different species are able to form friendships, but I think it highlights how even in animals, love and friendship has no boundary. If I were to retell the story, I would probably add a personal touch such as replacing the dog with my own dog, Max. He is a German Shepherd who loves to hang out with other dogs, so I think he quickly make friends with the elephant. Additionally, I think adding dialogue between the two animals could help showcase their friendship and add m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Comment Wall

  Shiva and Parvati with their son, Ganesha  Link to Storybook 
15 comments
Read more