Possible Storybook Topics

Possible Topic 1: The Sidekicks. For this I would focus on the main sidekicks in the Ramayana: Hanuman and Lakshmana. I know that both are major characters in the Ramayana, but I see them as the sidekicks to Rama. I would like to maybe write a storybook featuring these two as the main characters completing their own quests.

Research so far: So far I have clicked on the two Wikipedia pages for Hanuman and Lakshmana. I know a little bit about each of them, but I know more about Lakshmana because he has been a more prominent character in the book so far. I know that they are both very devoted to Rama, and I was interested to read about Hanuman ripping open his chest, and showing that Rama and Sita were in his heart.

(Rama Feeds Hanuman)

Possible Topic 2: Animals. I was immediately drawn to the topic of animals. A possible topic would be to research and talk about the different animal incarnations that Vinshu came to earth as. I think it is interesting that different characters could change their appearance to look like certain things. The storybook could be about Vinshu’s life as he is incarnated over again. Like he is reliving his life over and over, and he remember’s his past lives, and has to do something different each time he is incarnated.

Research so far: I have read about the different incarnations of Vinshu. I found the one about Matsya to be very interesting, because I noticed a similarity between that story and the story in Genesis about Noah’s Arc. I have also researched into Narashima, and know that he is one of the most loved gods, he is known as the ‘Great Protector.’ I still need to do some research on the other incarnations and see how I could create stories from these.

Possible Topic 3: Animal Vahanas. I found this topic to be very interesting to me. I love animals and think of them as great companions. When I was looking at the animal section I noticed this topic and found it to be right up my alley. Many gods used these animal vahanas as vehicles to move around, and I found this to be interesting to research. I could potentially write stories about the Vahanas as the main characters instead of them just being associated with a certain god.

Research so far: So far I have looked at the Wikipedia website for Vahanas, and the specific Wikipedia websites for Airavata and Garuda. A vahanas for a god is an animal that the gods are known for riding, or are used as the symbol that represents the specific god. Both Airavata and Garuda are the Vahanas for great gods. Even though each of these is connected to certain gods, they also have their own great stories where they are heroes in their own way.

(Airavata, Vahanas for the god Indra)

Possible Topic 4: Gurus. For this topic I was interested in the guru’s because they are seen as teachers. I wanted to look at potentially focusing on stories where the guru’s pass on their knowledge to their students. Or tell stories of specific teacher student relationships.

Research so far: So far I have the example of Vishvamitra teaching Rama the knowledge of weaponry. Another example I read about in Wikipedia was the relationship between Rama and Hanuman, who teaches Rama some oral history, but I need to look into this more. For this, I learned more about Visvamitra and Rama’s relationship on Wikipedia.