Storytelling for Week 7: The Statue of Sita

Rama’s life was never the same when Sita returned to her mother, the earth. He missed her dearly each and every day, but he knew why she did what she did.

Rama made up for his loss the best he could. He kept a golden statue of Sita next to him at all times, to fill the palace rooms with her presence that he so greatly missed. He had been ruling for a thousand years without the real Sita by his side. Each and every year became harder and harder for him. Rama knew he would not see his love again until he left one world and moved on to the next, so that’s what he would do.

Before they moved on to Heaven Rama traveled to Sita’s favorite spot by the Ganges where she liked to relax in the beautiful green grasses and listen to the wind blow gently through the trees. On his trip he carried the golden statue of Sita, which sat delicately beside him on the chariot Pushpaka.

When he arrived at the Ganges Rama felt an overwhelming sadness about leaving his beloved Sita there, but knew that he would soon be reunited with her in heaven. Rama lifted his golden Sita from the chariot and set her in a beautiful field of grass, right next to her favorite tree.

(Golden Statue of Sita. Source: Wikipedia)

Rama and many of his followers passed on from Earth to their final resting spot in Heaven.

For years Sita’s statue sat undisturbed by the river. Grass and vines slowly crawled up the statue. The once beautiful golden statue was now green from years of no one taking care of it. Sita’s eyes were the only things that had not been encompassed by the wildlife surrounding her. It was as if they were left open so she could see the beauty surrounding her.

Many more years passed before anyone passed by Sita’s final resting place. Kusa and Lava were walking by the river when they noticed a weird shaped bush. They were startled when they walked up and realized it was the golden statue of their mother, they had been looking for it for many years now. They each had a sense of peace in their hearts when they saw the statue. They knew their mother was happy in Heaven with their father.

Little did they know but Hanuman had visited the statue of Sita from the day it was left there. He stood over her and protected her from all the harm that could come to her. Hanuman would always love Rama and Sita and this was his way of showing that love.

Author’s Note:

This is about the golden statue of Sita that Rama carried around after he lost Sita twice. He brought it with him wherever he went to remind himself of Sita. In the original story when Rama leaves to go to Heaven we do not hear about what happens to the statue, so this story is about what would have happened to that statue after Rama left.

Since we did not know what happened to the statue I created this story to look at what would have happened to the statue once everyone left. I based this off of the fact that Sita loved the spot near the Ganges; it was where she went when she was pregnant. I thought it would have been a good spot for the statue to eternally have a rest.

Bibliography:

• Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Week 7 Reading Diary B: Back to Ayodhya

As Rama and Sita fly away on Pushpaka the chariot. On their way back to Ayodhya Rama describes to Sita all of the things he experienced while coming to find her. He tells her that he let snakes crawl all over him because he could not think of anything else but her. To me this really shows how much Sita means to Rama.

When they landed in Kishkindhya we really see how happy everyone is that Rama beat Ravana. I think this is a special moment in the book, because it truly shows that everyone was worried, but now they are excited.

It still surprised me when I read that Rama sent Sita away after hearing the rumors going around about her. It is also weird to me that it is after 10,000 years that he finally hears these rumors and decides to act on them. Pg. 192

When Lakshamana is telling Sita that Rama told him to leave her there he calls Rama a coward. This was very surprising to me, because he admires Rama very much. Pg. 194

I really liked when the book had the two boys Lava and Kusa talking to Rama. This was the first time we were really able to “hear” their voices when reading this book. I know that they were telling the stories the whole time, but we forget about that as we are reading. It was nice to see the interaction between Rama and his sons, even though they did not know that he was their father. It was also a special moment when Rama realized that they were his sons and sent Lakshmana to get Sita. Pg.407

(Lava and Kusa. Source: Wikipedia)

Week 6: Famous Last Words

For this past week I believe that I did my best writing in my Storybook post. I spent a lot of the week writing this post in order to get it as perfect as I could! I had to do a lot of research, because the vahanas are not necessarily mentioned that much in the books. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the research thus far. I did struggle to get into the groove to write this post though, because I could just not focus. I had to just put in my earphones and blast some music.

These storybook posts are really taking a lot of time for me because I have been using a lot of dialogue, which is very hard for me for some reason. I have enjoyed working on it though. I have also struggled with putting these stories into my storytelling style, but I’m getting there, I am happy that we can keep editing it throughout the weeks.

I plan on sticking to this style because it is the style that I picked to write my storybook in. I am happy that I am sticking with it because it will hopefully give me time to master it by the time I am done with this project.

(Hearts. Source: Pixaby)

This weekend I attended an event called Red Dress Gala. It is the Philanthropic even for my sorority, in which we wear red dresses and sell tickets to the event to raise money. Red Dress Gala helps to raise money to donate to the American Heart Association, and women’s heart health. This event is always one that I enjoy attending because we get raise money for something very important, and my parents came to the event. Heart disease is currently the number one killer of women, killing 1 in 3 women, so I am proud to be in a sorority that helps to raise awareness and money for research.

Overall it was a great week!

Storytelling for Week 6: Hanuman the Cat

I cannot let Rama down. This thought passed through my mind countless times as I looked at Lanka. He is counting on me to find Sita, so that he can get her back safely. I just jumped across the sea, and now I must enter Lanka to find Sita and have her tell me what to do. But how will I get in without being noticed?

Think, just think, Hanuman! Oh, I’ve got it! I will change into a cat, and no one will notice me walking down the streets of Lanka. They will just think I am somebody’s pet, or a stray cat looking for some water and food. This is perfect! I will just walk in find Sita and talk to her, and then Rama can come and save her.

I took a few deep breaths to prepare myself to alter forms again. Every time I do this it is hard for me to adjust to my new shape. My whole body changes, it’s hard on my joints. In out, in out, breathe deeply, I tell myself. In my head I pictured what I wanted to look like, a small black tomcat, and I felt my body slowly start to change.

My whole body was covered in a tingling sensation, that’s always the first sign that I am turning into something else, that it’s working. I noticed my skin tighten. It felt like I was being baked in an oven, the heat pulling my skin together. Making myself smaller is always harder for me than becoming larger. I do not know why that is, but it has always been that way for me. My bones began to shift inside my body as they shrunk down and reformed into the new ones I needed as a cat. Last, but probably the most painful, was when all of the short black hairs broke through the surface of my skin, it felt like thousands of needles were being pushed into my body at the same time.

I was finally a cat! This was my first time turning into a cat. It was a weird feeling being on all four legs, I was used to walking on two as a monkey. I took a few hesitant steps to get my bearings straight. My whole body felt as if it was run over by a chariot, but this didn’t worry me too much since I had just undergone such a drastic transformation so that stiffness made sense. I put my front paws out and stretched my back; I felt a tiny pop and was ready to go.

(Black Cat Stretching. Source: Wikipedia)

As I looked out of my newly transformed eyes I was startled. It was like I was seeing the world in a new light. Everything seemed to change colors from before. Things that were usually red turned blue, oranges looked green, it was such an unusual experience for me. I was so worried something happened to my vision, but I had to keep going. I walked forward and was astounded at how large the trees looked beside me. I was such a tiny creature now, which was just what I wanted. I looked across the moat at Lanka, a city that before was huge, but now looked to be the size of a country. I did not like being this low to the ground; I bunched up my body and pushed off of my back legs onto the tree beside me. I wanted to be up high to see things from a better point of view. I quickly climbed the tree.

I looked through the limbs of the tree at Lanka and knew I had wasted enough time getting used to my new body. It was time to get to Sita. Once again I bent my legs, contracting the muscles in them to jump far across the moat into Lanka. I pushed off the tree and flew through the air to land in Lanka.

Author’s Note:

This is based off of the story that happens after Hanuman lands right outside the entrance of Lanka. The story is about Hanuman trying to get into Lanka to find Sita, but the only way that he can do that is if he changes from a monkey into a cat. He believes that turning into a cat will make him inconspicuous to people walking on the street. His only goal was to get to Sita and then figure out what to do.

When I decided to take this small section from the Ramayana I thought it would be a good time to focus mostly on the actual physical transformation that Hanuman makes. In the book Hanuman knows he will turn into a cat, but in my story I made it so he had to think about what would be the best thing for him to do and why. I then focused the story on the transformation made, and how things looked different to Hanuman after he changed. I thought it would make it interesting to write a story from Hanuman’s perspective and show how the change affects him.

Bibliography:

• Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Week 6 Reading Diary A: Hanuman Goes to Lanka

I plan on writing my storytelling post about Hanuman as a cat in Lanka, so I focused my notes on this subject.

Hanuman turns himself into a cat so that he can easily walk around Lanka and not be noticed by people. He is immediately stopped by the Goddess Lanka who does not want to let him cross into the city. He tells her he is a monkey and then kicks her. Because of a prophecy she had heard she lets him into the city.

(Hanuman Jumps to Lanka. Source: Wikipedia)

Hanuman spends a lot of time looking at how beautiful the city is. He also talks about how pretty the moon is. He also describes many of the different Rakshasas that he sees while walking along. During his time Hanuman looks through many different windows of families, this is easy for him because he is a cat.

The book describes that at midnight the humans are in love and sleep together peacefully, while the Rakshasas go out at this time and eat flesh and blood. I thought this was an interesting comparison. They are very stark contrasts to one another.

The book also talks about how Hanuman hears many different sounds as he is “prowling” around Lanka. I think this is interesting, and definitely something that I will have to keep in mind for when I write my story.

Throughout this whole section of the book it really focuses on all of the details that Hanuman is seeing, hearing, and experiences. I think this will be important for me to remember when I am writing my storybook post.