Storybook: Story Styles

Hanuman Storybook: Story Styles

Topic: I have decided that my story book will focus on Hanuman, the monkey god. For my story book, I want to highlight many different stories that pertain to Hanuman. I found a few stories already, that I definitely want to expand on. This one story about how Hanuman got his name is very interesting. I also want to incorporate the different stories of why Hanuman was a monkey. The Mystery of Hanuman website went into detail about different stories about Hanuman's origin. And obviously, I will add Hanuman's stories as told in the Ramayana. 

(Hanuman and the Sun. Source: Wikipedia)

Bibliography: 

1. Mythological Story: Hanuman, author unknown.

2. The Mystery of Hanuman, by Nitin Kuman (2004).

3. PDE: Ramayna, by various authors. 

Story Styles:

Bedtime Story. I think making my Hanuman storybook into a children's bedtime storybook would be easy and fun. I could have little installments each week where I write a bedtime story based on a specific story about Hanuman's life. By writing in a bedtime story style, I can twist aspects of Hanuman's stories into more exciting or animated ordeals, something that a kid would like to hear before bed. 

Immortals Among Us. This would be an interesting way to incorporate Hanuman's story into my storybook. If I were to use this style, I would first talk about how Hanuman is alive and present in Norman, Oklahoma in 2016. Hanuman would go around and meet various people and explain his story and how he's still present today. It would be a fun challenge to write Hanuman into the 21st century. 

Breaking News. Obviously this style would be fun to write and read. Hanuman has a lot of crazy stories about antics he got himself into. I can just picture my storybook looking like an online news website, headlining crazy stories about Hanuman. This would be an easy way to include many different stories about Hanuman. I could make it weekly installments about Hanuman on a news site. Storytelling at Hogwarts. I would love to be able to tell Hanuman's stories through the viewpoint of the Patil sisters from Hogwarts. I love Harry Potter and I love Hanuman's stories so this would be fun for me. I did one of my weekly stories in this style already and I got a lot of positive feedback. I could even act like Indian Epics is a course at Hogwarts and the professor is teaching the students about Hanuman for a week. I could even make up spells that relate to Hanuman and his stories. 

Tech Tip: Embedded YouTube

Embedded YouTube

For my tech tip this week, I decided to add a YouTube video to my Introduction post. To go along with the information I put in my introduction, I decided to add The Office theme song video to my post.

Week 3 Reading Diary: PDE Ramayana continued

PDE: Ramayana by various authors

Wow! I am very torn about having completed the Ramayana. I am very glad that I was able to refresh on my knowledge of the Ramayana and learn some things that I had completely forgotten about. This last section was intense. I was on edge as I was reading the sections when Rama almost rejects Sita because of her time in Lanka with Ravana. I really liked the part when Sita defended herself and said, "my body was not in my power, but my heart, that lies under my own sway, is set on thee alone." It was refreshing to read something about how a woman can stay faithful to her husband even while in the midst of another man for so long. I was honestly surprised by Rama for evening doubting or questioning Sita in the first place, because he knew how much she loved him. I was shocked when Sita turned to Lakshmana and spoke, "branded with an undeserved stigma, I will not live." I didn't expect her to choose death over living a life without Rama. 

Like my first reading diary for this week, if I were to choose to write a story based on these sections (Sita and Rama and Sita Tested), I would twist it to where Sita was less dependent on Rama. I want to write a story of Sita's life after Rama rejected her (even though he doesn't actually reject her, he only does it so the people of Ayodhya won't doubt her). A life where Sita doesn't need Rama. 

(Sita proving her purity with Agni Pariksha. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Week 3 Reading Diary: PDE Ramayana

PDE: Ramayana by various authors

After catching up on my readings of the Ramayana, I decided that the sections in Part C were by far my favorite. So far, my favorite moment was when Hanuman got to Lanka and finally found Sita in Ashoka Grove. I was instantly intrigued by the imagery used to describe Lanka. The author used descriptions such as "girt with a golden wall and filled with buildings huge as cloudy mountains." These words definitely made it easy for me to picture Lanka. I also enjoyed how they described Ravana asleep on his bed "decked with splendid jewels, like a crimson sunset cloud pierced by flashes of lightening." The line that caught my attention the most and sparked an idea for a story was when Hanuman mistook Ravana's queen for Sita. He thought to himself, "Without Rama, Sita would not eat or drink or sleep or decorate her person, nor would she company with any other than he; this is some other one." For my story, I want to keep Sita devoted to Rama, but I want to write her character as more strong and independent. In the next section, Ashoka Grove, it says that Hanuman found Sita in a pale and full of tears. I want to add a twist that shows that Sita was able to take care of herself during her kidnapping. 

(Ravana's golden abode in Lanka. Source: Wikimedia Commons)