Ryeli's Blog

A trail of crimson ran down Ekalavya’s hand and onto the dirt. The boy used his free hand to apply pressure to the new wound, his thumb now missing. Drona looked down at Ekalavya, stone-faced, as emotionless as he could be. He was mildly surprised that the young archer had completed such a serious request with no refusal. When asked to cut off his right thumb, listened to the words of his teacher, someone he had not even trained with in person, and did what was asked of him.             “What a shame,” Ekalavya said to himself, quietly.             Drona raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”             Ekalavya looked up at the taller man, his deep brown eyes brimming with tears. Drona assumed the tears were in relation to the pain of losing a thumb in a brutal fashion. “I could’ve been great. You k...

Notes! Back at it again! Technically, it's also storytelling day, but it's fine. I can do both. My internet went out last night as I was finishing up the videos for this section, so I just gave up and went to bed, if I'm being honest. It happens. I digress.  There was a lot more tension in the videos for this section. There's a lot to say, but I think Pandu and Madri dying was kind of wack. Like, I don't think she should've gotten into the fire with him if he had forced himself onto her. Again, I think the women in the story don't get a fair chance or are treated... very poorly. I understand her devotion to her husband, but Kunti didn't go with them. So, I don't get it I guess.  The part where Kunti was given Karna was funny to me for some reason? The language the narrators used to describe the scene was just very comical to me. It seemed like the sun god showed up, gave her a baby, and peaced out. I still think what happened to Karna wasn...

For this week, I chose to watch the video series. I'm finding it very enjoyable. I love the animations and I think it makes understanding the story easier. The Mahabharata is complex and complicated at times with many characters, seeing it in an animated form makes it easier for me to understand and keep up with. I don't know why, but throughout my reading of the original, I would frequently forget it supposed to represent the cosmic principles of karma. In the first video, they said a line about it and I was like OH. Duh. That's why everyone was a train wreck the entire time!  On the episodes themselves: I like the style that they're done in. I find that they're dramatic, reminding me of soap operas in the way that they're told. Maybe not entirely the same stylistically, but both are very dramatic and full of twists and turns. I like Bhishma... kind of. I know how things turn out, but I do like the story and think he's an interesting character. I found h...