Storytelling Week 3: Hanuman's Journey to Sita

Early one morning Hanuman was preparing for his journey to find Sita. He had just left the court of Sugriva. As he went over his plan he knew he would have to cross the sea.  They had word that Sita had been taken to Lanka after the evil Ravana abducted her. How was he to cross the ocean? The sooner he could get there the better. All of a sudden Hanuman got an idea. He could shape-shift, but into what?  He knew he was strongest when he shape-shifted into a larger version of himself… but what fun was that?

 Hanuman's closest friends dropped him off at the coast and of course Rama was there to see him off on his journey. Rama handed him a ring as they were saying goodbye. Rama explained that once Hanuman had found Sita, he should present her with this ring so that she would know it was safe to travel with him.

 

(The Ocean leading to Lanka: Pixabay)

As his friends left, Hanuman took a moment to himself and drew in a deep breath to clear his head. He knew this might be a tough battle across the sea. He then shape-shifted into a giant version of himself and entered the water.  The waters were rough and the wind was wild. There were times when he was ready to give up and head home. There was also a moment when he was ready to just give up then and there and let the sea swallow him up. The sun was blazing and he was worn out but when he lifted his head, he could see land in the distance.  He swam with all that he had and reached land.  He then shape-shifted back to normal size, which luckily restored his energy.

He then started his search for Sita. After what seemed like forever, he found the Ashoka Vana pleasure garden. He entered and there she was, being guarded by demons. As Hanuman approached Sita, he noticed she was covered in dust. He held out his hand containing Rama’s ring. Sita looked up and with surprise and relief in her eyes she took the ring and replaced it with her own piece of jewelry, which let Hanuman know she trusted him. He made himself a giant again and destroyed Ashoka Vana.

Once he knew Sita was safe and hidden, he made himself really small and let Ravana’s son capture him. He knew that way he would be taken straight to Ravana himself.  After a debate and a struggle, Ravana set Hanuman's tail on fire; after a shape-shift Hanuman used his giant tail to set Lanka on fire.  Hanuman collected Sita and set out to return her to Rama. It was a long journey back; it took two whole days to return home. He kept a watchful eye on Sita; he didn’t want her to fall ill or be injured before he could bring her safely to Rama. Once they returned, both Hanuman and Sita were exhausted. Before they entered the city, they decided to stop and rest. Word had already made it to Rama and he was waiting to see the beautiful Sita.

Author's Note:I chose to tell Hanuman’s side of the story through third person style. Since this part of the story is told in the book, I thought it would be interesting to make my own additions to the overall story. I wanted to pinpoint what Hanuman was going through when given such a large task. He not only had to cross the ocean but he had to save Sita from Ravana and return her to Rama. I made this a major change to the story to add a twist. I believe Hanuman's character is strong enough to be the one that brought Sita home. The lack of dialog between Sita and Hanuman was meant to keep those guarding Sita out of the loop regarding his plan to rescue Sita.What a big feat! Can you imagine how you would feel if you were asked to do so? For the photo I chose, I wanted it to show the length that Hanuman had to travel. To cross the ocean is not an easy task. He had to fight the tide, the wind and who knows what other animals and dangers dwell below the surface. I added a few details and changes from the original story to give this tale its own spin in hopes it could live separately from the book, or be an addition/adaption to keep the story going. I wanted to keep the dialog in the story to a minimum because he is alone on the journey for some time. This story is based off of The Ramayana by Narayan, R. K. (1972).

Reading Diary B: Sita is found!

For this reading diary I want to focus on the character Hanuman. Just because if I decide to do my storybook project over Hanuman I might find some details here that I could use later.

First off Hanuman shape-shifts to a giant version of himself to cross the ocean, he then shrinks once he has arrived at Lanka. He finds Sita in the pleasure garden being guarded by demons. He gives her Ramas ring so that she knows, he has been sent by Rama himself. Hanuman is then captured by Ravanas son…which is pretty clever because he will be brought to Ravana at some point. Ravana ends up setting Hanumans tail on fire then Hanuman burns Lanka to the ground.

 

(Screenshot: Hanuman finding Sita)

Ravana is upset he was attacked by a Hanuman. He contemplates several fates for the monkey and Rama. He sends Vibhishana to Rama. Rama builds a bridge across the see. Meanwhile Ravana tries to trick Sita with images of what looks to be Ramas decapitated head. After several battles Ravana is dead. Because Sita has spent time with demons Rama tests Sita to see if she has been affected by them.  Rama is no longer exiled!

I am really starting to think that Hanuman is an even better topic then I first thought. After reading this part of the story! I am already imagining the adventures and internal monologues that could take place.  I want more to read! 

Reading Diary A: Sita is abducted

First off, I am really enjoying this story way more than I expected!

The thing I want to focus on the most is that Ravana abducts Sita. Not cool but like any love/action movie/book, the bad guy always takes the good persons love interest. Which is kind of expected. I also noticed the classic plot twist of the love interest sending their friend/companion to go look for help or in this case to go help Rama who was calling for help. Then the love interest finds them-self right where the bad guy is.  I liked that unlike modern day stories Sita actually told Ravana to go away, which of course he didn’t. In todays modern stories the girl is normally small and too scared to buck up to the bad guy. In the end Ravana abducts her just like he planned too.

(Screen Shot: Sita drops her jewelry)

 I appreciated that someone besides Rama tried to fight for Sita, which was a plot twist I wasn’t expecting. I figured Rama would have to do all the work. To bad he wasn’t able to save Sita, but Jatayu tried. I think my favorite part was Rama and Lakshmana meeting Hanuman. Maybe because I did research on Hanuman for my storybook?  The detail that Sita dropped her jewelry as she was carried off was interesting as well! It was like the breadcrumb incident in Hansel and Gretel. Other things that happened are Sugriva agrees to help Rama find Sita and search parties are sent out.

Famous Last Words: Week 2

With Monday being a holiday this week started off slow but quickly flew into overdrive. I spent Monday afternoon at lacrosse practice, watching my boyfriend coach. I would like to forget that while at practice I had a couple spiders crawling on me…NOT COOL. I contemplated screaming at one point because there was a giant one closing in on me, but having 24 high school boys look at you like you are crazy didn’t seem worth it. Then learning that that’s our home field…I’ll be investing in some bug spray for sure. Aside from that the weather was perfect.

 

(Personal photo: My view of practice; January 2015)

Concerning this class, I think my best writing was my storytelling post. I enjoyed telling the story without any dialog. Which was definitely an experiment but a success in my opinion.  I would like to try it again, along with a piece with a lot of dialog. Aside from those two styles I am unsure of others. Any know of where I can find info on this? Maybe a website with examples?

My design classes are what sent this week into overdrive. I had projects due that I was super confused on but in the end I think they came out well. Then I learned of new assignments that we will be working on while still needed to make minor corrections to those projects we turned in. In typography we get the opportunity to design our own font.  I am not even sure how to begin but that’s why it’s a learning opportunity.  Right?  History of Visual Communications is finally getting to an interesting point. Hopefully that only continues.

Even though tomorrow is Monday I am looking forward to the week. Hoping I can get ahead in this class so that I can make the trip to Texas for the teams first lacrosse game in a couple of weeks!

-Shelly