Tech Tip: Google Site Title

For this Tech Tip, I changed my Storybook Website's home page title from "Home" to "A Tale of Two Turtles." I also removed the search bar and the link to my sitemap.

Tech Tip: Website

For this Tech Tip, I created a website for my future storybook, which I am thinking will be called Kurma and Karma! I have included a link to my Storybook Website here.

Storytelling for Week 4: Sleeping Giants Need Therapy Too

Kumbhakarna. Source: British Library, Mewar Ramayana

Kumbhakarna had his issues with himself as well as with others and, for this reason, he saw a therapist as often as possible, although “often” is relative due to the fact that Kumbhakarna was only awake for one day out of every six months…

But on this day every six months Kumbhakarna made it a point to see his therapist, who happened to be me. You may be wondering why I am using the past tense but let’s not jump ahead; I’ll get to that eventually.

First of all, Kumbhakarna had a horrible self-image. It didn’t help that he nearly stood twelve feet tall and he was so broad. Now, neither of these attributes are necessarily bad but Kumbhakarna hated how he stuck out like a sore thumb. He also didn’t tend to look at things on the bright side. Often in his therapy sessions, I would ask him to think of the positives to being so tall and strong.

Kumbhakarna would respond “I can’t think of any. I’m too stupid and sleepy.”

“But Kumbhakarna, you can reach higher than anyone else. You can pick fruit out of the trees in the forest and you don’t even need a ladder. That’s amazing!”

“I’m too big for ladders anyway. If I even tried to use a ladder, it would just break.”

“Kumbhakarna, have you ever thought about helping others? I know a little boy who would love for you to help him pick fruit for his family. He’s too small to reach and too small to carry his own ladder.”

To this, Kumbhakarna responded, “I’ll think about it but as you know, I’m only available two days out of the year.”

Next, Kumbhakarna and I would discuss his eating habits, which were of utmost concern. He was especially known for his endless consumption of wild pigs, forest deer, and, unfortunately, human beings. This is something we were trying to work on. Oh, and I mustn’t forget the enormous quantities of wine he could make disappear.  

It's now been almost four months since our last session. Kumbhakarna should be deep into one of his six month naps. At any given moment, men could be found dancing, shouting, and playing trumpets all around his sleeping body, but Kumbhakarna remained undisturbed - it was pretty amazing! Rumor has it that even an elephant can pass over him without a budge! This leads me to the occurrences yesterday. For some reason, a group of the most stunning women took it upon themselves to caress Khumbakarna, and for another unknown reason, this touch prematurely awoke Kumbhakarna from his hibernation, which you can only imagine how hard waking up from that is. 

Next, Kumbhakarna did want anyone would do after being woken up two months too early; he ate everything in sight. Still unsatisfied, Kumbhakarna went on a rampage, so the great Rama felt that he had to stop poor Kumbhakarna.

Author’s Note: I based this story on Khumbakarna from The Ramayana. I really liked the "fairytale" feel of Kumbhakarna's curse, to hibernate for six months at a time; he is portrayed as the typical sleeping giant. This story adds depth to his character from a therapist's point of view. I chose this painting of Khumbakarna because, as Dr. Laura Gibbs mentioned in her post Khumbakarna, it does a great job of showing just how huge he was. 

Bibliography: Khumbakarna from The Ramayana in Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).

Week 4 Reading Diary: The Ramayana Part D

Part D of The Ramayana begins with a storyline that once again brings me back to the parallels between this Indian epic and the Bible. The Bridge reads “The earth and the sea were immediately convulsed, and darkness covered the heavens; lightning flashed and thunder bellowed aloud; the mountains began to break in pieces.” This scene is so powerful due to the intense imagery provided by the author – this in depth description is so beneficial to the reader. Next, an incredible bridge is built to allow the armies to cross the ocean. This story is so similar to that of Moses’ parting of the red sea. In both of these stories, it is the divine as well as the trust in the divine, which enables the miracles. 

Crossing of the Red Sea. Source: DeviantArt

I thought that the introduction of the “magic herb” in Indrajit was sort of abrupt in that nothing like it had been present in the Ramayana up to this point, at least that I had noticed. It is again mentioned in Hanuman and the Mountain as the "four medicinal herbs.". For this reason, I would like to follow the given links to research the Milky Ocean as well as the Wind-God in order to find out the role that such herbs play in Indian culture and Indian literature. The idea of Kumbhakarna being summoned to sleep for six month period and being allotted only one day to awake and feast reminds me of the sleeping giant character in fairytales – what a curse! I wish that his humorous character had lasted longer.

Poster Tech Tip: AutoMotivator

For this Tech Tip, I chose to make an AutoMotivator poster out of a quote that I recently came across and have been reminding myself of lately:

This was fun to make and turned out so well! The image is from Wigflip's AutoMotivator generator and the quote is by an unknown author.

Brainstorming Storybook Styles

Topic: My Storybook will be about turtles as well as the idea of karma! Kurma is actually the turtle avatar of Vishnu, so I really liked the idea that my professor Dr. Laura Gibbs gave me of a storybook about "Kurma and Karma". I would like to incorporate the Indian tale about karma, The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking. I had not made the connection of Rama and Sita in the movie A Little Princess until looking at the books for class site but now the movie makes a lot more sense to me! I would like to incorporate this story into my storybook because A Little Princess is most definitely a story about karma where the good are rewarded in the end and the bad are punished. My professor mentioned that karma is a theme in every story because every action has a consequence, which means that my storytelling style is going to be especially important.

Bibliography:
1. The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking by Ellen C. Babbitt
2. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Possible Styles: 

Under The Sea: I really liked this idea of creating a story set beneath sea level. People are always fascinated by this seemingly infinite and mysterious place, so a storybook here could be fun for me to create. A turtle would also fit well in this environment especially because sea turtles are known for living SO long and also associated with being extremely wise, probably because of their old age.

Sea Turtles are so cool - makes me excited for this project! Image Source: Pixabay

Wisdom Tale: Given this wise character of the turtle, I think a wisdom tale would be a perfect way to tell my storybook. Although the turtle in The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking wasn't so wise, I could that a wise turtle would make more sense than this chatty turtle.

Story of a Name: Telling a story about how Kurma got his name would be perfect! I could explain the concept of Karma in a story of how the turtle Kurma got his name. 

Characters Grown Old: I could also tell my storybook as a reflection of someone looking back on their life. I was thinking that it could be Kurma or even Kurma's parents reflecting on how he got his name. 

At this point, I think that I could incorporate all four of these ideas into my Storybook together. Also, I am actually really glad that we took the time to think about styles for our storybook. I am now feeling a lot more confident about this assignment.

Learning Challenge: Deserted Island Books

1. The Bible: A necessity for me and also a book that I don't think I could ever study enough.

2. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: I am one of those people who has trouble reading the same book twice but Harry Potter never gets old to me.

3. Switch On Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf: This self-help book is revolutionary. I think it would be a valuable read for anyone. Dr. Leaf explains how you can make real changes by simply changing your mindset.

4. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller: A go-to book for me when I need some inspiration.

5. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson: A fascinating biography.

6. American Sniper by Chris Kyle: Although I normally wouldn't like a book about war, this book is very moving.

7. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: Long and complex but such a beautiful book.

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: I just love this book and also the movie.

9. The Giver by Lois Lowry: I am a sucker for sci fi or anything that can capture my imagination, and this book really sparks a lot of thought!

10. Not That Kind Of Girl by Lena Dunham: Just a very honest memoir that left me laughing out loud!

Books. Source: Wikipedia