Reading Notes; Mahabharata

I am enjoying the Mahabharata this week which is written by many authors.

So far the stories center on the Pandava brothers (which I continue to keep reading as the Panda brothers in my head, I can’t be the only one…) and Draupadi. I think it is interesting how closely this story parallels Rama’s own story. They are in exile and have a very difficult situation faced before them. I think it is interesting how Draupadi is a part of all of this. She seems to now be very upset about the fact that she has been married to these five men and that they are in exile. I used to like her, but she is very whiny in a lot of these stories which is annoying. It could be interesting to see her side of all of these stories because of how she is not used to this way of living.

I also like that this part of the Mahabharata mentions a lot of gods, goddesses, and mythical creatures throughout the stories. There is a good mix of cultural references throughout all of these stories and I hope to use some of this in my story this week. I have really liked learning about the different gods and goddesses, such as Indra and Varuna. I may try and incorporate them with my characters Jonathon and Mr. Piddles.

I really like that the Himalayas are also included in the stories as a setting. This could be a great environment to try and tell different stories. I think that these mountains are a large part of India’s history and how they developed as a country so I am glad that we now have them as a backdrop for future stories.

This week I am not sure which story I will exactly choose because there is so much material, but I look forward to writing it! 

Hanuman