Week 2 Story: The Marriage of Rama and Sita...but Gender-Swapped

Back in the days of Very Long Ago, a blue baby was born. Her name was Rama, daughter of the Maharajah Dasharatha. The Maharajah had prayed for a son and made sacrifices and very likely put a lot of guilt on his four wives…but instead he was finally given a daughter.

              

  The Maharajah couldn’t have been too upset for long however, because they quickly figured out that the bright blue baby girl was the Avatar of Vishnu, born to win a great victory someday and rid the world of a dreadful enemy. So, with minimal grumbling, the Maharajah raised her with all the education and combat training that a male heir would have received.

                

Somewhere else in the same time zone was born a baby boy named Sita. He too was an avatar, hosting the goddess Lakshmi. His father, the King Janaka, was a little more overprotective, and thought no woman would be good enough to marry his son. When Sita was of age, his father presented a challenge to any eligible woman for his hand in marriage. There was a divine bow that only Sita could bend, and if any woman could match his strength and bend the bow, then they would be married.

                

Rama, in all her blue glory, strength, and education, decided to give the competition a try. She presents herself to King Janaka and his son, picks up the bow, and steels herself. She begins to bend it as the watching crowd gasps in awe, when SNAP! The bow breaks cleanly down the middle.

                

The king and his son freeze in wonder and incredulity; so far no one had been able to even bend the bow, and this woman had just broken it with minimal effort. Nonetheless, the guidelines of the competition were clear, and Rama and Sita were married soon after, quickly finding themselves in a genuinely happy union. (Who wore the pants at the wedding? We don’t know. That detail was lost to history.)

Rama and Sita's Wedding (Creative Commons)

Author’s Note: This is a retelling of the traditional story of Rama and Sita’s marriage, except gender swapped. Why not switch up the gender roles? The story shows that they were almost equal in strength anyway.

Bibliography: “Rama wins Sita”, from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A Mackenzie. Web source.

Reading Notes: Ramayana Online Part A

• Rama: Avatar of Vishnu
• Son of Maharajah Dasharatha
• One of four, born from horse sacrifice
• Is actually Vishnu, a god come to earth in human form to defeat Ravana 
• Donald A. Mackenzie, Indian Myth and Legend
• Slayed a rakshasa woman (Thataka)
• Shot off her arms, nose, and ears, she turned invisible, then he shot and killed her just by hearing
• This killing was at the request of Vishramitra, who was very excited at the rakasha's death
• We learn that Rama can just think about his celestial weapons and they appear
• Donald A. Mackenzie, Indian Myth and Legend
• Vishvamitra goes on a ton of side tangents telling Rama stories
• Including the story of Ahalya
• Wife of Gautama, she was tricked by a shape-shifting god into sleeping with him, and when her husband found out he cursed them both, turning her either invisible or into a stone, depending on the story
• The relevance here is, apparently the arrival of Rama is supposed to break the curse and bring her back to life
• Ralph T.H. Griffith, Valmiki's Ramayana
• Rama falls in love with Sita
• Who is also an avatar, of the goddess Lakshmi
• And these gods were in love anyway, so they share quite the connection
• F.J. Gould, The Divine Archer
• BUT King Janaka sets forth a competition, that whoever can bend a certain bow can marry Sita
• Rama didn't just bend it, he snapped it down the middle
• So Janaka blesses the union
• Donald A. Mackenzie, Indian Myth and Legend
• Rama marries Sita (yay!) and his brothers also find wives from the same family
• Romesh Dutt, Ramayana
• Dasharatha, their father, has to choose an heir
• He chooses Rama (he's blue - what's not to like?) Also he's moral, virtuous, skilled at music, and generally beloved
• Sister Nivedita, Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
• BUT the king's youngest wife convinces him to send Rama into exile
• So her son can be the heir instead
• Rama accepts without question...he's a good son
• His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana insist on going with him
• Donald A. Mackenzie, Indian Myth and Legend
• They're exiled for 14 years
• Dasharatha's Death
• He remembers that because he accidentally killed a young boy while hunting many years ago, the boy's father cursed him to lose his son, and this is Karma kicking in
• His older 2 wives are with him when he dies, but none of his sons
• Romesh Dutt, Ramayana

Rama Breaks the Bow of Janaka (Evelyn Paul, link here)

Time Strategies

Time management is a topic that has been researched and lectured for years, yet most people still struggle with it. This proper management will be especially relevant for this class because it lacks physical meetings to act as reminder of things due, and no peer pressure from people seen in class to get tasks done.

I read two articles about time management, the first being How to Beat Procrastination (link here.) This was a very useful article because it soothed that procrastination is perfectly normal, then went into thought processes and actions to help overcome it. One of the points that stood out to me was about procrastinating because we do not think about the effects of not getting the task done. I procrastinated planning my Study Abroad trip until senior year because I was scared of it, and as a result I had to pick an awkward term that gets me back to school a week and a half late. Pros and cons apply to not getting things done as well, not just accomplishing things.

The second article was Eat The Frogs First Thing in The Morning (And Other Better Work Habits) (link here.) It was about completing the most unpleasant task you have to accomplish (such as eating a frog,) first, early in the morning if possible. By getting that out of the way, other tasks will seem much more doable. This is a fair point, and prioritizing, for example, the longest reading guarantees more success on it than delaying until the last moment and not really processing the information.

My best time management strategy is writing lists, but nonetheless I tend to leave big tasks I don't want to get to at the bottom, putting them off until it's time to write a new list. This semester, I will try to eat the frog and break the procrastination circle for better success.

Why do it now when you can do it later? (Via eBaum's World)

Technology Impressions

As a self-proclaimed Grandma of the Friend Group, technology often concerns me. However, everything for this course looks fairly straightforward. Most of this technology I've seen used before, but the array of different platforms and websites is unlike any of my classes in the past. I'm glad that the web update only requires Chrome which my laptop already has. I think I'll be fine in this class because of the very explicit, step-by-step and illustrated online instructions.

Technology is complicated (Via Cheezburger)

Assignment Impressions

My first impression about the assignments was "oh God, how am I going to get all this work done?" And then I reminded myself that not only am I only taking 12 credit hours this semester, but also that I had been sent a customized tentative work schedule for the course. A sigh of relief was had.

I am intrigued by the storytelling portion of the assignments. Almost every course says to read the material then put it into your own words, (which no one does because really, who has the time? And spare brainpower after drudging through tens of dry pages?) This course actually enforces that learning method by making it an official assignment, with much more interesting material. Retelling a story is said to really help retention, so I'm excited to see how that works out.

I'm also curious about the HEART extra credit assignment. This is not something I have heard about before, but I'm fascinated and would love to learn more.

Procrastination (via Pinterest)

Thoughts on the Growth Mindset

I had never heard of Carol Dweck before this assignment, yet I think her theory on growth and success is fascinating and applicable to everyday life and learning.

I can definitely see both a lack of this and a later application of it in my personal life. As a kid, I was one of those annoying "gifted and talented" students who sped through the work like it was nothing, was spent to special supplemental classes during free periods, and read books at recess instead of socializing. Everything was easy, and as Carol pointed out, it was very likely things I had already known so I was not actually learning. Later on, in high school chemistry, I started struggling with school for the first time. I didn't know how to deal with the difficulties and failures that I faced, because at no point had my previous educational experiences primed me for anything but excellence. I declared then, and still hold today, that I simply suck at chemistry, and fortunately I have never had to face it again.

In college, I joined the ROTC program and was plunged into the world of physical fitness. Previously I had been on the dance team, but pirouettes and stretching my way into a perfect split did not at all prepare me for running, push ups, or any core strength whatsoever. Unsurprisingly, I failed my first physical fitness test. But instead of declaring that I must suck at running and giving up, I kept working to build the fitness I needed. I failed many more fitness tests that semester, but each time I focused on the five more sit ups I was able to do, or how my run went thirty seconds faster, and soon I was able to pass and keep improving myself.

It really is all about focusing on the positives and the progress instead of letting yourself get down about the failures, and I will apply this to my final semester of college - at this point any small failures are just a drop in the ocean of what I have achieved throughout college.

It's up to you! (From the Growth Mindset Memes blog)

Introduction to...An Army Girl Abroad

Hi y'all! My name is Alana Humason, and I happen to currently be in Spain, typing this up on my laptop at 7:01 pm but knowing it's still 12:01 pm back home.

I'm actually abroad right now due to my major: European Studies, with a focus in Spanish Studies. Much to the chagrin of my bank account, OU would not let me graduate until I traveled to Spain, and I somehow procrastinated this until my senior year. Thus, I had to scramble to find a program that wouldn't hinder my graduation date this spring. The task really seemed impossible and I had almost resigned myself to studying abroad over the summer and delaying my graduation, until I encountered this January "J-term" course, which would last 3 weeks from December 30 through January 20. Unfortunately, that exact timeline gets me back to OU a week and a half late (also factoring in the two days of flights I will be on to return to the States.) Thus, this is the only class that isn't currently docking points from my attendance grade...and boy do I appreciate that, though it's surprisingly hard to find free WiFi in Seville to get these assignments done.

Another reason that delaying my graduation would have been Really Bad (and the source of most of my personality traits) is that I am also in Army ROTC. I've been doing that for the past 3.5 years to prepare for my commissioning which is speeding up here in four months, in which I will swear into the US Army as a Second Lieutenant. I already know that I will be trained as a Quartermaster (in charge of supplies, logistics, and all that actually really important stuff,) and in a month or so the Army will tell me where I'll be stationed for the next few years. Because of this, I am very into fitness and plan on spending almost all of my free time this semester at the gym...in between coffee breaks, because Spanish coffee has really been doing a number on my caffeine addiction.

Sunset over the ocean in Cadiz; Personal Photo

Seville from above; Personal Photo

Storybook Favorites

Today I had the pleasure of skimming through a myriad of fellow students' writing, and selected three favorites.

The first notable story was "Retelling the Ramayana" (with the link here.) It was a retelling of a classic Indian myth about a princess named Sita who defeated a fearsome enemy named Ravana. I did not have previous knowledge about this topic, so it was interesting to see it presented in a modern, easily readable dialogue format. The introduction offered the question "what if..." which is always an irresistible pull into a story. The story had descriptive and beautiful pictures to embellish the story, and the bar at the top made it very easy to navigate the pages.

The next story book which I enjoyed was "The Good Place: Karma" (which can be seen here.) It took another classic Indian tale and translated it into the modern story of a TV show called "The Good Place" which is also about heaven and hell. Though I knew the TV show (and enjoy it immensely,) I was not familiar with the lore and this served as an excellent introduction. The author goes deeply in depth with explanations about their choices both from the show and from the folklore; I did not actually enjoy this feature and will likely not use it in my writings. Nonetheless, they also very effectively employed images to enhance the reading experience.

The final story I have selected is "Voldemort's Reincarnation" (which you can view here.) It once again took an ancient story and put it in a modern context, utilizing Harry Potter to illustrate the balances of dharma and reincarnation. I was unfamiliar with this concept too but now am very interested to learn more about it. The title was just vague enough that I had to click on it to see what the story was about, which could be considered both a positive and a negative. I have also come to realize that I will very likely use this form of putting folklore into a modern media to tell the story, as I definitely prefer to read those adaptations and would probably enjoy writing them too. The use of pictures was a little bit lacking and disjointed in this story, but it was a good work nonetheless.

Reincarnation, as noted in most of the readings. Via Wiki Images

My Favorite Place

My current location of choice is Seville, Spain - where I happen to be right now. For my required Study Abroad Experience I ended up here to enjoy the culture, food, and most importantly practice the language, along with cramming in a two-week course over the three religious groups in ancient Spain (Christians, Jews, and Muslims.) The class walks the city every day, yet we still manage to find more major landmarks and structures to see, climb, or eat on. This is a picture I took of the sun setting over the city of Seville, viewed from the top of a major architectural structure called Las Cetas (The Mushrooms.) The high vantage point allowed for an excellent view, and the setting sun created some pleasant mood lighting.

(Image information: personal photo of a sunset from the top of Las Cetas: 

Photo from January 12, 2020)

Test Run

Mic Check, one, two, three