Reading Notes: Paley's "Sita Sings the Blues", Part B

Bibliography: Nina Paley's "Sita Sings the Blues"

Most of my stylistic comments from the video can be found here, but in terms of story-telling, there really wasn’t anything in the second part of this video that I haven’t found in other versions of the Ramayana. So, I didn’t write many reading notes so much as I just enjoyed the video and the visualization of the story.

Sita Being Purified
Source: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: Paley's "Sita Sings the Blues", Part A

Bibliography: Nina Paley's "Sita Sings the Blues"

This animation is surprisingly entertaining! I do think that the bodies are pretty unrealistic… Lakshmi’s waist and breasts are largely disproportionate. I wonder if that’s a feature of cultural in general, or if that’s due to the westernization of the story? Just a thought. The conversation surrounding the story does a great job pointing out some of the ridiculousness of the story. If I had been talking about this story to my friends, this is totally how I would have portrayed the story. I had always assumed that it was Shurpanakha who was the golden deer.

Story telling- what if this story was done with classic musical songs instead of old-school jazz?

Story telling- what if Sita had some kind of special jewel or something similar that housed Rama’s power? Like, he literally needed her in order to do his thing.

Again with the not real bodies.

Lol I love how they point out how slightly silly it is to assume that Sita dropping her jewelry.

I didn’t realize that both Shiva and Krishna both had incarnations in the Ramayana.

I find it interesting that, when Ravana speaks, all ten of his heads speak. I have always imagined each head doing its own thing… ten heads, ten brains, ten different patterns of speech, right?

Story telling- Ravana’s heads each conflict with each other.

Lol “must love cat”

The half-man, half-monkey thing reminds me of the capitalized Monkey versus monkey in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (which was the book that inspired the movie).

Story telling- cross over between Wicked and the Ramayana?

I love Sita’s smile when the battle happens at Ravana’s.

I LOVE THE ROMANTIC REUNION AND THEN RAMA BEING A TOTAL BUTT. RAMA IS SUCH A REGRETTABLE CHARACTER. LIKE DUDE. COME ON.

The Gods Attest to Sita's Purity
Source: Nina Paley via Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part D

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata

Bhishma Falls

Story telling- Bhishma couldn’t kill anyone born a man

Drona in Command

Story telling- Drona trades his life for Bhishma

Abhimanyu and Jayadratha

How weak is Krishna that he can’t just obliterate these mortals

Ghatotkacha

Story telling- Abhimanyu and Ghatotkacha were actually lovers, a fact which is only revealed after their deaths

Death of Drona

Why isn’t everyone filled with that same “courage and hope”?

Bhima and Duhshasana

Story telling- everyone forgives the debts of the other and goes him

Arjuna and Karna

Why didn’t these two people just fight in the beginning? Might have saved everyone a lot of bloodshed instead of requiring that everyone fight a battle for their lord.

Story telling- the gods intervened to stop Karna’s cheating

Duryodhana in the Lake

Story telling- Duryodhana just stays in the lake forever and builds a kingdom under the sea

The Raid

Ashwatthaman's Jewel

Story telling- The jewel is actually a mind-control device

Mourning

Story telling- Dhritarashtra stopped the battle before it started because he’s the father of basically everyone and patriarchy seems to be pretty important

The Pandavas and Bhishma

Wait he was never guilty of a sin? Ever?

King Yudhishthira's Horse

Story telling- Krishna has to be careful of what he says because everything that he says becomes fact/reality

Parikshit

Horse Sacrifice

Story telling- no horse comes forward to be sacrificed

The Mongoose

Wait huh

The Forest and its Ghosts

Story telling- the women don’t die for their husbands

Death of Krishna

That was quick.

The Pandavas Depart

Wow, these gods are not messing around. Those are such minor sins.

The Afterlife

#TheCakeIsALie

Yudhishthira and the Dog
Source: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part C

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata

Life in the Forest

So did the copper pot contain just SOME food? What kind of boon is that?

Story telling- the copper pot was a portkey

Krishna's Visit

Story teling- Draupadi doesn’t act entitled to anything because of her gender

Arjuna and Shiva

And again, the hero gets the weapons he needs to win.

Arjuna and Indra

Story telling- the apsaras stage a coup

The Himalayas

Time passes so quickly in this universe

Who is this Markandeya?

Bhima and Hanuman

Story telling- Hanuman tells Rama’s story as a means of sustenance. He goes insane because he must continue to tell it.

Duryodhana and the Gandharvas

Karna and Indra

Story telling- Arjuna and Karna reject the “natural order”

Jayadratha and Draupadi

Well that was quick

Riddles at the Lake

Where do all of these Brahmin come from?

Are there more than three worlds?

The Court of King Virata

There’s a whole goddess for giving boons? All anyone seems to do is give boons.

Bhima and Kichaka

Story telling- Kichaka is punished by the gods for being a rapist

The Cattle Raid

Preparations for War

Krishna loves himself some drama. Also, someone needs to make a family tree

Krishna and His Army

Story telling- Krishna rejects Arjuna

Krishna's Mission to the Kauravas

Story telling- Krishna accidentally kills everyone

Krishna and Karna

The Armies at Kurukshetra

Seriously, where is the family tree? This is going to make the annual reunion really awko tacos.

Bhagavad-Gita

I’d love to read that in the original Hindi (if I was able to speak Hindi of course)

Statue of Ghatotkacha in Bali
Source: INK361

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part B

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata

The House of Fire

This is one of the first times that a “lowly” individual has been considered competent

Story telling- The royal family pays the miner

Story telling- Purochana succeeded

Bhima and Hidimba

Oh come on she’s offering to help you out

Bhima and Hidimbi

The concept of strength at twilight is really interesting

Story telling- the demons are only strong at incredibly certain points during the day

Bhima and Baka

Much Brahmin very wow

Birth of Draupadi

Story telling- the princes are the one’s referred to as “slender-waisted”

Draupadi's Swayamwara

A bow? Where have we heard that before?

Story telling- rank doesn’t matter

Wife of the Five Pandavas

Why is everyone so bound to the things they say?

Indraprastha

Story telling- this city is taken over

Arjuna and Ulupi

How exhausting that must have been for all the husbands to have all those restrictions

What? That child was sudden.

Arjuna and the Apsaras

MORE RANDOM MAGICAL POWERS.

Story telling- the alligator is a guy and they fall in love

Story telling- Arjuna didn’t get the magical power from the water nymph and dies

Arjuna and Chitra

Arjuna just keeps having children.

Arjuna and Subhadra

Story telling- Subhadra and Draupadi fall in love

The Burning of the Forest

Again, why do we need magic weapons if we are heroes of legend?

Draupadi and the Pandavas
Source: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part A

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata

Vyasa and Ganesha

            Why was no one else worthy?

            Why did Ganesha want that condition?

King Shantanu and Ganga

            1/8^th for each Vasus? Doesn’t that make him 100%?

            Mother fighting to make a son holy… sounds like Achilles

King Shantanu and Satyavati

            Almost an Immaculate Conception?

            Virginity and odors? Interesting.

            Story telling- all the men have odors based on who they sleep with

Devavrata's Vow

            How is that terrible?

Bhishma at the Swayamvara

            Story telling- the women fight for the man

Amba

            Story telling- the women actually marry each other and leave the kind without wives

Dhritarashtra and Pandu

Kunti and Her Son

            Lots of parallels to Greek mythology… nymphs anyone?

Pandu and His Wives

            Why celibacy?

            LOL so for all of the talk of austerities, sex is actually something that is a universal good?

The Sons of Pandu

            Wait what?

Gandhari and Dhritarashtra

            Wait, so a physical deformity led the boy to be evil?

Pandavas and Kauravas

            Sounds kind of like the plot to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Bhima and the Nagas

            This is a very sudden twist of events

            Story telling- the Naga just ate him

Drona

            Immaculate concept anyone?

Drona Trains the Princes

            The fact that obedience is characterized as an important value is interesting… generally the most         talented and exceptional are those that have their own ways of doing things

Ekalavya

            Wow. Anti-aboriginal sentiments aren’t too well-hidden here.

            Story telling- Ekalavya is actually a more accomplished warrior

The Contest

            What even is the point here? Like, “prove your worth against yourselves”?

The Arrival of Karna
            Again, random divine intervention as a plot device?

Drona's Revenge

            This story is full of random plot additions

Arjuna Statue in Bali
Source: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: Nagpal's Sita, Part B

Reading: Saraswati Nagpal's Sita 

Like the first set of Reading Notes, I'm really only going to note some of the things that I thought could be potential stories because I really don't want to put this book down long enough to take notes.

Sita Drops Her Jewelry by Flickr user Fred Miller
Source: Flickr

Storytelling- Ravana desires Rama as his husband

What's the need for all the protection if she need only be behind the line to be safe?

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Part D

Source: PDE Ramayana

The Bridge

Story telling- The God of the Ocean accepted the sacrifice and joined the fight

That’s a very quick bridge

Rama Attacks

Very smart attacking Sita to get to Rama

So who gets to shapeshift and who doesn’t?

Indrajit

Story telling-Indrajit wins

Kumbhakarna

How did they break Brahma’s decree?

Shocking… Rama used magic weapons again to beat the beast

Kumbhakarna Sleeping
Source: Mewar Ramayana

Hanuman and the Mountain

that’ s a really powerful jump to move mountains and then also cast everyone into the sea?

Indrajit

Yay for magical, sacred places that enable the hero to do things that have little to do with his actual ability!

Ravana’s Lament

Story telling- Indrajit is somehow revived much like the monkey army has been revived multiple times

Lakshmama

Why would he offer to die as well

Indra’s Chariot

Yet another exmaple of Rama doing absolutely nothing but still receiving a huge boost

Rama and Ravana

Sounds like the Hydra

Ravana’s Death

Hold up, has it been fourteen years? Can he enter a city?

Mandodari’s Lament

Sita and Rama

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Sita Tested

Wait, Rama gave his permission for the pyre to be built?

SO HE KNEW ALL ALONG?

Pushpaka

Rama and Bharata

Story telling- the people rebelled after being ruled over by sandals

Rama Crowned King

Valmiki’s Hermitage

DUDE. STOP IT. THE GODS SAID SHE WAS PURE.

Sita Departs

You don’t get to be upset when she disappears. You sent her away.

Rama Departs

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Part C

Source: PDE Ramayana

Sugriva and Hanuman

That didn’t take him long to throw off his disguise

Why can’t the song of a Wind God lie?

Sugriva’s Story

Time is such a loose concept in these stories… everyone has years to just sit around and wait

How did he move a mountain on top of the hole? If a mountain was moved there, wouldn’t the elder brother have greater strength and be able to push it off?

Why does Vali have the authority to take away Sugriva’s wife?

Sugriva and Vali

So being respected by Rama is enough to end a blood feud?

Vali’s Death

Apparently Rama invented guerilla warfare pretty early

King Sugriva

I wonder why monkeys are so popular in India

EVEN AFTER HE KILLED THE KING, EVERYONE STILL PRAISES RAMA

The Rainy Season

The Armies

Story telling- Sugriva has actually kept Sita to himself this whole time

Sampati

Story telling- Sampati’s sight is broken, and while his vision is partially true, Sita and Ravan only stopped in Lanka

Sampati and Jatayu

Very Icarus-like

Rama just seems to fulfill all prophecies ever. He’s like the most “chosen” chosen-one of all time. He’s like the spice that suddenly makes a dish work. A key that gets into any lock.

Hanuman’s Leap

Seriously everyone is just born or given these amazing abilities… it doesn’t seem like people work for them.

Hanuman in Lanka

Story telling- Hanuman disguises himself as Sita

Ashoka Grove

Story telling- Sita fights them all off

Sita and Ravana

Hanuman and Sita

Come on Sita. Let the dude take you home

Hanuman Captured

The description of the demons as heroic is interesting

Hanuman and Ravana

Lanka Burning

But Hanuman didn’t get any special powers otherwise than the fact that the tail wasn’t on fire…

The March on Lank

Why wasn’t he afraid of magic before?

Ravana’s Court

Story telling- Ravana’s Court say nah to the war

Vibhishana

So demons can be good?

Vibhishana Bows Before Rama- A Watercolor from the 1970's
Source: Wikipedia