Week 5: Thoughts about Comments

 I would have to say that the most exciting comments to read are the ones posted on my introduction. I think it is because it was a bit more informal, and people write back in an informal way. I am all about correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but I also love seeing some type of an emotion in the text! Throw me some exclamation points!!!!!! Maybe not that many, but you get the point. I am also a very, very sarcastic person. You may not see it through the computer screen, but I am. Feel free to take advantage of my personality. 

I also want to say that most of the comments left on my posts have just been positive. I love the fact that my stories are intriguing people and that they like them, but I also know I'm not perfect. Tell me and I will take the feedback! In college, you cannot be scared to make suggestions as long as they are relevant and credible, especially in the context of writing. I mean, we all have that lovely Capstone research paper heading our way (and many more to come in the professional world). 

I try to leave comments explaining exactly what I liked and what I had a problem within a post. Hopefully, I say my reasoning behind both! If I leave only positive feedback, it means I absolutely loved everything about it! Sometimes I have to really think about what the writer could change to make it better. Other times I still cannot come up with anything, and I tell the writer that in my comment. Like I said, I'm only human! 

(Image Information: Kitty doing bad things. Source: John Chow)

Week 5 Storytelling: Bhima the bachelor

This season on the Bachelor...

Meet Bhima. A one-of-a-kind guy. This man is intelligent, strong, and did we mention his arms are as big as the trunks of elephants? There is no other word to describe this guy except for "Dreamy".

(Image Information: The Bachelor. Source: Sheokhanda)

He is the true "Alpha Male", and as we saw in his encounter with Hidimbi, he is willing to protect women from the cruelties of others. There are a few things any woman should know about this man before she gets involved. He was born with superhuman strength, which he discovered when he was a child. Because of his strength, he needs to fuel this great usage of energy with a large meal. One of your duties as his bride (that is if he gives you the rose) is to make sure you are preparing enough food to sustain him. That also means that if he believes he is not getting enough, you will be expected to give up you food for him. Another situation you should know about is his family situation. Bhima's father died while Bhima was still young, and he had to be raised with his cousins, one of which is
Duryodhana. Duryodhana has been jealous of Bhima and his side of the family since they were young. Due to this jealousy, Duryodhana has tried to harm Bhima and his followers and family more than once. As Bhima's bride, keeping an eye out for these scemes will be cruical to your health and well-being. You should not worry, however, because Bhima has, on more than one occasion, showed his strength to his enemies and slayed them upon encounter. It is also important to note that he has been married once. His marriage was a happy one, and he did have a child with her. Also, his wife was a man-eating demon... in which he killed her brother before marrying her (but we are sure that was just a one-time occurance... we hope). OH, and he has a terrible fear of snakes. It has something to do with him being poisoned as a child and being thrown into the Ganges. There are some more things we should probably tell you, but you will most likely find out as the season goes on, and we don't want to give out any spoilers!

What can we say... we said he was dreamy, not easy to deal with!

Author's Note: While I was reading the stories of Bhima, I just had this sense that people thought he was a very dreamy guy, and would do a lot for him (I mean, Hidimi literally followed him around and begged him for marriage). I also had this sense that he had a lot of problems that people seemed to ignore, so I decided to write down some of his faults, from the standpoint of someone talking to a potential follower of his. In this case, I chose the Bachelor, and by doing so I brought the context of the stories into a modern day. (I'm not sure how well I did because I have never watched the Bachelor or Bachelorette). 

Bibliography: "Bhima and Hidimbi" Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)."Duryodhana's Jealousy"The Indian Heroes by C. A. Kincaid (1921)

Reading Diary B: Online PDE Mahabharata

I absolutely loved the second story in this section, "Bhima and Hidimba". I enjoyed that fact that Hidimba sent his sister to capture Bhima and his family for food. Rather than doing that, she fell in love with Bhima and tried to convince him to come with her and be her husband. Hidimba had become so angry at this site that he planned to kill them all, including his sister. 

I have really liked Bhima in all of the readings, however, in this piece he sounded really full of himself. "I have arms like the trunks of elephants." Like....... okay?

I thought it was strange that the sister actually got Bhima to marry her. This very powerful man not only married this demon, but he was happy with her and had a child with her. And then just one day they all go to visit Bhima's family and she leaves off with her son. 

(Image Information: Bhima defeating Hidimba. Source: Yama's Tattoo Parlor"

Reading Diary A: Online PDE Mahabharata

I found it very interesting that a deer had a large role in this epic, just like the Ramayana. It also just so happens that the fathers in both stories (Pandu, Dasharatha) were cursed. As I began reading further into the pieces, I had an idea of the miseries that were to come. It all started in "Pandavas and Kauravas" in which the relationship between the groups of children was described. It was very interesting to see how the leaders of each group were presented (Bhima being a powerful leader and Duryodhana being more envious and evil-minded when it comes to power).

I definitely foresaw what the next few stories held. As the story goes, Duryodhana attempted to kill Bhima with poison and dump his body. I thought the part about the venom of the snakes neutralizing the poison from Duryodhana was a very cool aspect of this story. I enjoyed the fact that because of Duryodhana's jealousy, Bhima actually gained a lot out of being attacked (such as super-human strength). I also enjoyed the fact that all of Pandu's sons agreed it was better to leave this a secret for the possibility of an unexpected advantage in the future.

(Image information: Bhima the Warrior. Source: Harishankar)