Week 3: Threatening the Sea (Storytelling)

So, let me tell you about my one encounter with the great and powerful Rama.  At first, when I heard Rama was coming to cross my sea, I was so excited to meet him. I would keep my waves calm as he sailed over. I assumed he brought ships for his army to take across the sea.

Little did I know, he had no ship and was in a terrible mood. I mean, I understand that losing Sita upset him. Also, he had been fasting for a couple days so he was probably very hungry. But it was impossible to have a normal conversation with him.

So, he summoned me, Varuna, the god of the sea between his shore and Lanka. I appeared to him immediately, excited for the chance to meet Rama and to help him defeat Ravana. I was ready to discuss ideas with Rama when he said, “Make way for my armies.”

For a second I just stared at him as I tried to decide what to say. I mean, he had to put some effort into it. I couldn't just move all this water. So I said to Rama, still trying to be patient and helpful, “I am as much subject to the laws of nature as other elements. What can I do?” Now, I thought Rama would realize his mistake and understand that I did not have unlimited power to help him.

Before I knew what happened, Rama’s face turned red and he began shouting at me. No one ever treated me that poorly in my entire life. His unintelligible shouts and curses cut through air.  I even heard him threaten to shoot me with his arrows and evaporate my water.

I stared at him in shock. What could I possibly do to make my water move for him? Unlike the Red Sea, I couldn’t just part and return to normal at the will of a staff. Moses was such a show off. I had much more water in me than the Red Sea. I also had the fish to consider. They hated being bunched up together. Finally, to stop Rama’s curses and shouts, I tried to find some middle ground. “What if I helped you build a bridge?” I asked. “You could get your army to help. Between all of us, you could cross soon.”

Rama considered this for a moment before nodding, his anger gone as quickly as it came. “So be it,” he said simply before stalking off, shouting orders at his army of monkeys to bring materials for a bridge.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I resumed my normal activity, being careful to keep waves away from where Rama and his army worked. I watched as Rama’s monkey army and woodland animals worked together to make the huge bridge to Lanka.

The stories I heard about Rama’s greatness are undoubtedly true, but I avoided him for the rest of his stay on my shores. Thankfully, everything worked out for all of us. Rama found Sita and I returned to my regular routine.

Before Rama, no one threatened to evaporate my waters, nor anyone since. Hopefully I won’t be in a situation like that again.

Monkeys and Bears build bridge to Lanka. Wikimedia. 

Author's Note: For this story, I changed the point of view to Varuna, the sea god that Rama summons when he is trying to cross to Lanka. Besides the perspective change, I didn't change too much, as I just wanted the opposite perspective of Rama's. I also modernized the language some, although I kept much of the dialogue between Varuna and Rama the same.

In this scene of Ramayana, I thought Rama was being kind of ridiculous. I particularly chose this story because of how Rama acted in the original.

 Everyone who meets Rama is in awe of his greatness and he usually acts quite heroic and good-natured with people who are helping him. However, there are times when he acts very judgmental, rash, and a bit whiny. He almost  seems like a child who is used to continually getting his way, and then when something happens to change that he throws a fit. A tantrum was kind of what I saw from his behavior in this scene from the original story.

The sea god was bound by natural laws and yet Rama threatens him in the hope that he will somehow do the impossible. It's lucky the sea god was not irritated about his encounter with Rama and still agreed to help the hero get across to Lanka to save Sita.

For anyone who isn't familiar with Christianity, the mention of Moses, his staff, and the Red Sea in the story is a reference to a story in the Christian Bible. In the story, to escape with the Jewish slaves from Egypt, Moses parts the waters of the red sea with his staff, allowing them passage.

Bibliography: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana. Pg. 132-133.

Storybook Topics Brainstorm

The first idea for my storybook is to have one that focuses on stories about the rakshakas or demons. So far, this is probably my favorite idea, although it does need more development. Most of what I know about the rakshakas is from Narayan's Ramayana and a little, I looked up on Wikipedia. Each of the four stories would focus on one rakshaka, probably the lesser-known ones than Ravana. In addition, I would try to find stories (or make them) where the rakshakas are more sympathetic. For example, one story may be about Maricha being threatened and therefore persuaded to trick Rama when he just wanted peace after his family was killed. For this storybook, I would have to decide what rakshakas I wanted to focus on and who I wanted to tell the story and who they were being told to. I think this would be an interesting topic, because most of the side stories in Ramayana that really interest me or that I wished I had known about involved a rakshaka.

The Death of Maricha. Wikimedia

My second idea involves heroines from the Indian epics. I saw quite a few past storybooks with this format, but I liked the ones I read. If I did this, it would probably be a mother telling her daughter about the goddesses to teach her something about lessons about women's lives. For this I would focus on one heroine in each story but I might repeat heroines. I would definitely use Sita for at least one story. For example, I may use the story of when Sita freaked out when Rama went to find the dear and couldn't be calmed by Lakshmana's reassurances. With that story, the moral being to keep calm when you don't actually know what has happened. I thought there were very interesting women in the stories and that is the main reason I decided to include this idea on the list. I would have much more research to do to find different heroine's and stories but I would use the Ramayana as a starting point.

My third idea would focus on secondary heroes or heroines in the stories. Lakshmana was one of my favorite characters in Ramayana and I think it would be interesting to focus on him and other secondary heroes (or sidekick type characters?) and tell stories either about them or from their perspective. Hanuman may be another character that I could talk about in this storybook. If I did this storybook idea, I would have more research to do on stories and secondary heroes outside of the Ramayana, as I haven't done much research beyond that yet. For this storybook, I'm not sure how I would have it told. Maybe like bedtime stories or maybe stories being told to a young adult or brother who is complaining about not being as important or cool as someone else to show that the legendary heroes also need support and help from others. This one isn't very far worked out, but I like the idea of focusing on characters who are at and involved in most all of the major events but not the focus of the original stories.

The fourth idea is probably my least favorite, but I do kind of like the concept. The idea of karma has always been very interesting to me, but I've never learned much about it or how it really works. This one would have the most research involved, because now I know almost nothing of the stories I would tell. However, I think it could be interesting to have the storybook feature someone from the Hindu religion using stories from old stories to try to explain karma to someone today. This storybook would be told about ancient myths but the language used would be modern since it is someone trying to explain the stories and concept of karma to someone who isn't well-versed in the ideas behind karma.

My last idea was to focus on the back-stories of small characters from the epics. For example, I thought that there were many interesting characters who were only in Ramayana for a few lines to a page, but seemed like they would have had great stories on how they got to the place they were. A couple of this was Ahalya, who was turned to stone for being tricked into sleeping with someone besides her husband, and Swayamprabha, who Angada and Hanuman find trapped in a cave while they search for Sita. I thought there were many interesting characters in the epic that were quickly brushed over but would have been cool to learn more about. For this I would have to do research outside of the stories on these characters as well as read the next epics to find similar characters to find out more about.

Week 3: Rama vs. Ravana (Reading Diary B)

I thought the ending of Ramayana by Narayan was good. I was glad that Rama made it back before Bharata kills himself for failing to sit on the throne. It was very lucky that the gods were there to help Rama with the final battle and his return to Ayodhya or else he never would have made it in time. 

I particularly liked the description at the end about Rama on the throne with Lakshmana and Hanuman standing loyally around him. Also I liked that Vibishana pronounced the king of Lanka after the battle. I thought that that was a good touch to end on with at least some future for him after all his family was killed and most of the country now had hope. 

I did not like the part of the story where Rama had Sita jump onto a pyre to prove that she hadn't let Ravana touch her. I thought that was very cruel of Rama and unfair to Sita. If Rama had protected her properly she never would have been taking, and if Ravana had forced himself on her, Sita would not have had much way to fight back as she was being held hostage and Rama took so long to find her and rescue her. While it was a good visual to have the god of fire save Sita and pronounce her pure, I was upset that Rama would be so cruel towards her after the trauma she has survived at the hand of Ravana. 

Sita's Fire Test. Wikimedia

Week 3: Rama and Sugreeva (Reading Diary A)

This third section of Ramayana focused on the new relationship between Rama and the monkey Sugreeva (Sugriva). I had trouble keeping up with the timeline of this section. It seems like it's been at least a year since Sita was taken by Ravana by the time Sugreeva's search parties go out to find her. I didn't quite understand why Rama instructed Sugreeva to wait until after the rainy season to find Sita. While it would be more inconvenient, Sita being held captive by Ravana and forced to do who knows what for months on end while Rama waits out the rain.

My favorite part of this section was Lakshmana storming into Kiskinda to confront Sugreeva, Angada, and Hanuman. Both Lakshmana's and Rama's anger was pretty intense and the monkey's in Kiskinda could see that. The fear of everyone was almost comical at one man approaching the city, although when he knocks down the barricaded gates, I'm sure that would have been terrifying. It was also funny how instead of Angada going to meet Lakshmana, he runs to his mother and she, with a group of other women, surround Lakshmana until they can calm him and tell him what happened.

Lakshmana confronts Sugriva. Wikimedia

One other thing I wondered about this section was Sugreeva's relationship with Vali. In this epic, what people say is usually the truth, unless the narrator points out that they are lying, as they did with Soorpanaka last section. But it seemed weird to me that Rama would just take Sugreeva's word, who is a complete stranger to him, as to what happened between him and his brother. When Vali and Rama were monologue-ing before Vali's death, I expected Vali to tell a different side of the story that would make Rama question his quick loyalty to Sugreeva.

Week 2: Soorpanaka's Deceit (Storytelling)

I sat in our cottage while Rama and Lakshmana worked outside in the forest. Lakshmana had disappeared into the woods, but I could see Rama working just outside the cottage, humming quietly to himself.  

I went back to my cleaning until I heard Rama’s humming stop. I waited a second, listening before I heard him begin talking, but he sounded dazed. Not like he sounded when he talked to Lakshmana. I peered at the window to see a beautiful woman walking towards him from the woods.

She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She looked perfect with beautiful clothes and an abundance of jewelry covering her person.  No one of this beauty could be a mere human. She must have been disguised, or else been an incarnation of a goddess.

She sauntered over, never taking her eyes off my husband. Rama had stopped his work and was talking to her as she continued to approach him. They stood talking for a while. I couldn't hear what they said, but Rama was shaking his head, ‘no’ and the woman seemed to be getting frustrated. 

I decided it was time to see what was going on. I slowly walked out of the cottage, scanning the forest line, hoping to see Lakshmana, but to no avail.

As I approached the woman turned to me, a look of shock crossed her face as I approached Rama before her eyes darkened in hate. Rama turned to me then, “Sita,” he said as he extended his hand for me to hold as I approached.

The woman’s beautiful face had clouded with anger. She began yelling at Rama, I couldn't catch exactly what she screamed because of her franticness, but I understood enough to know that she was warning Rama about me.

“She’s a rakshasa! A demon! An enchantress!” the woman yelled, pointing at me. “You mustn't trust her!” Rama nearly smiled at these accusations, probably assuming that the woman revealed what she was in her lies against me.

Then the woman changed into her true rakshasa form as rage consumed her. She was Soorpanaka, the sister of Ravana.

Rama cursed the demon. Rama was angrier than I had ever seen him. “Go now! I don’t want you here. Leave before us my brother returns or else he will harm you.”  After some arguing, Rama turned and with his arm still around me, we walked into our cottage, leaving Soorpanaka alone. As we shut the door, her wail echoed around the building. 

The rakshasa's cry of despair must have worried Lakshmana because he soon returned but the demon had gone. “Don’t worry Rama, I’ll stay by the house from now on. I’ll make sure to protect Sita anytime you are away,” Lakshmana said.

“Thank you brother, I appreciate it. But I’m not too worried. She left on her own without any harm befalling her. I think she understood to leave us alone,” Rama stated confidently.

Lakshmana nodded at Rama but I wasn’t as convinced. Before she revealed her true self, Soorpanaka had shown so much distain and hatred towards me. I had little doubt she would be back soon, trying once again to marry Rama. Only next time, I feared she would to get me out of the way first. 

Events of Panchavati Forest. Wikimedia

Author's Note: I retold a part of the epic The Ramayana by Narayan. The section I retold was about when Ravana's sister tried to seduce and marry Rama by tricking him into thinking she was a beautiful, good person, instead of the rakshasa she was. I chose to retell this part of the epic because I felt like it was the beginning of Rama's fight since exile against the rakshasas and directly led to Ravana entering the story as Rama's main enemy. This one event sets into motion the next few chapters and fights for all of the characters.

I didn't change much of the story. The main change I made was telling the story through Sita's point of view. I condensed the dialogue and didn't use the exact phrases the character said and shortened the exchange between Soorpanaka and Rama. 

Story Source: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana. Pg. 62-69

Week 2: Rama's Exile (Reading Diary B)

For the second section of Narayan's The Ramayana, I liked finally seeing more of Ravana, who seems to be the main villain in the story and in the world of Rama.

I really liked how Bharatha handled the news that his mother tricked and sort of killed his father by cheating Rama out of the kingship and making Bharatha king. I thought he handled it very well and I like the idea of Rama keeping the vow of his father for 14 years but knowing he is coming back to his home to be king afterwards. I was also very happy that Sita and Lakshmana went with Rama to his exile in the woods. 

I think my favorite part of this section was when Ravana was so in love with Sita, despite never having seen, that he kept changing the seasons, sun, moon, weather, and seas to try and make himself more comfortable as he went through his love sickness. I also thought it was interesting watching is sister Sooranaka work to try to hide her love for Rama from her brother while also still trying to win Rama over.

It's incredible how often people in this story threaten to kill themselves. Seriously, whether they are angry or sad or in love or scared, someone is always threatening to drink poison or jump into fires.

I think I remember a different version of the story of Sita's kidnapping by Ravana in the movie The Little Princess (The Liesel Matthews version. I'm not sure if the Shirley Temple version included a story or not.) The story was different from the one in Ramayana but it featured a deer that exiled Rama was trying to get for Sita and Ravana disguising himself as a beggar man to trick Sita before kidnapping her. I like hearing different versions of myths and stories so I thought it was cool comparing the two versions. I'm excited to see how the endings match up.

The Death of Maricha. Wikimedia

Week 2: The Beginning of Rama's Story (Reading Diary A)

So far I've really enjoyed the story in Narayan's The Ramayana. I was very happy for the guide. This was especially helpful when there Rama and Lakshmana were travelling with the sage, Viswamithra and the story jumped between what was happening with Rama and past myths that the sage was telling the boys.

Even with the guide that part was a bit complicated. I liking the story more when it kept with the narrative of what was happening with Rama, through meeting and marrying Sita, and Rama's almost-coronation and exile.

I thought it was funny the affect that Rama and Sita had on each other after just a glance. In so many stories about 'love at first sight' the couple is almost intoxicated and giddy after seeing each other, but Sita especially had a very different reaction. Yes, she couldn't stop thinking about him but she was quite angry afterwards at him and everything else in the world. I thought that her reaction was interesting because of how different it was than other stories of similar encounters in ancient stories.

I was also very interested with Kaikeyi and her plight against Rama becoming King. It was so unfortunate for everyone involved because Kaikeyi's first response and thoughts about Rama becoming King were correct. He wouldn't have harmed or tossed out her, Bharatha, or any of his other family members. But Kaikeyi's mind was so twisted by fear when her handmaiden convinced her that Rama would harm her son and cast her out, that she became the villain. I think in the end the exile of Rama and the crowning of Bharatha is going to end badly for everyone (except Rama, Sita, and Lakshamana.) I also think that Bharatha may feel bad or be angry at his mother, as it wasn't made clear if he even would want to be king.

Dasaratha's grief over Rama. Wikimedia

Week 1: Overview

I'm excited to read the epic stories for this class. I've never learned anything about India or Indian traditions before, so this class will be mostly all new for me. I'm particularly looking forward to learning about the gods and goddesses in the stories. I have not learned much about Indian culture either, although in some of my anthropology or general religion classes we discussed India and/or Southern Asia a little bit, never in much detail.

(Bharata and Rama)

While I've never read any epics from India, I have read other epics from Ancient Greek religion, like The Odyssey and the Iliad. I've also always loved epic stories in books, movies, and TV shows, like the Game of Thrones series, Lord of the Rings, and such. Both of those specifically I have watched and read and are some of my favorite series'.  I am looking forward to reading the epic stories from India.

Rings Trilogy Poster

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

Of the past Indian Epics storybooks I read my three favorites were Hindu Beasts, Hindu goddesses, and How I Met Your Mother. There where many storybooks I liked looking through but these three were the ones that caught my attention the most.

The Hindu Beasts storybook caught my attention because it was different a lot of the other storybooks in its theme. While many focused on gods and goddesses I didn't see many that talked about animal deities. I also liked that the stories were being told to kids as bedtime stories. Of the stories, my favorite was of Hanuma The Brave. I thought it was a well written and very interesting story.

Screenshot Source

The Hindu Goddesses storybook was also very good. Once again I liked that the storybook was bedtime stories. I also loved the background and page theme of this storybook. The pictures were all perfect and the storybook was very well written. I liked that this storybook had more interaction with between the mother telling the story and the little girl. My favorite story of this storybook was the story of Parvati. I thought this was an interesting story and it was a lot of fun to read. This was probably my favorite storybook that I read.

Screenshot Source

The last storybook that I'm going to talk about was the How I Met Your Mother storybook. I absolutely loved the setup of this storybook. I thought it was really creative how the author used the quotes from the tv show and used it to tell stories to different kids to different mothers. The references to the show sprinkled throughout the stories made them fun and entertaining. My favorite story of this storybook was the story of Nala. I liked how this story was told and thought it was very unique. This was really close to being my favorite of the storybooks I looked at.

Screenshot Source

Week 1: Introduction

Hi, everyone. My name is Kelsey and I’m a junior at OU. I’m majoring in Professional Writing and minoring in Religious Studies and Anthropology. I don’t plan on doing much with my minors after I graduate, but I love learning about other cultures and religions. Also I think knowing about others will help me in my writing.  

I’m originally from Fruita, Colorado, which is a little town close to the Colorado/Utah boarder, although my family recently moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming.  When I’m not at OU I live with my parents and my little brother. Our family has three dogs, Bonnie, Kirby and Maggie, and two guinea pigs, Sophie and Paige.

Photo taken by me. These are our dogs. From left to right: Bonnie, Kirby, Maggie.

As for other hobbies, I love read and write. I read and write a lot of different genres and kinds of books. However I don’t read or watch any horror. I’m a chicken. I read Stephen King once and barely slept for days. Same goes for horror movies. Right now I'm going through the Game of Thrones book series and the Divergent book series. 

I also like TV shows a lot. There are quite a few shows I follow regularly. My favorites right now are Doctor Who, Sherlock, Supernatural, Game of Thrones, and NCIS, but there are others I still watch often. I also like they YouTube community. I often watch the Vlogbrothers, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, Mamrie Hart, Emma Blackery, Connor Franta, etc.  

Three of my favorite YouTubers, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, and Mamrie Hart.
Photo by Micheal Dunn Wikimedia Commons.

When we lived in Colorado we would hike and fish some, which I really enjoyed. In Colorado we lived in a high desert valley, so the mountains were only a 20 minute drive away. Since moving to Cheyenne we haven't been able to do those things as often. My brother and I both like history. We often go to historic sites and museums together, particularly during the summers. Cheyenne has many interesting museums and historical sites.

Photo taken by me. Cheyenne Historical Train Depot

I’m looking forward to the Epics of India class this semester and getting to know all of you from your blogs. Thanks for stopping by!

Week 1: Bear Encounter (Storytelling)

There were once two young men who had been friends for years. Their names were John and Marcus. Both spent most of their days together working as blacksmith’s apprentices. While forging swords for the knights, both men had said they would fight for and protect each other, as they were like brothers. 

However, those promises never required action, as the men led simple and uninteresting lives. When work was slow, John would practice with the swords, while Marcus would read about the world. He read about life in the deserts of the South, the oceans to the West, and the forests that surrounded their town. “You’re always reading those books,” Said John as he struck the blade into one of the wooden poles in the room.

“Yes, I am,” Marcus laughed. “I want to be a blacksmith who’s as clever as one of the fancy scholars.”

“Well,” said John, “If you want a skill that is actually useful in the world, you should train with me. I’m becoming as brave and strong as a knight. A book won’t save your life.”  But Marcus kept reading, and John kept swinging his sword.

One day the men were working when the blacksmith entered. “Boys,” he grunted, “I need you to go to the next town for some new tools.” The old man instructed them on what they needed and sent the boys on their way. They hadn’t gone on an errand before for the blacksmith, so both were excited for the adventure.

Later, John and Marcus were walking through the woods, on the narrow dirt road. The men were talking and laughing, telling stories from their childhood, and complaining about the old blacksmith. Then they heard something in the trees off to their left. Both froze.

The stood still and listened. They hadn’t seen another person on the road for over an hour and were still well away from the next town. The sound went quiet for a moment before continuing moving closer to them. They backed away and stood on the far side of the road, watching and waiting. After a moment, a huge brown bear came out of the tree line. The bear wasn’t paying the men any mind, at least not until John squealed in fear. The bear looked at the men curiously and began walking toward them.

John shook and began scrambling towards the trees behind him, knocking Marcus out of the way as he rushed away from the bear. When John reached the trees he scrambled up the nearest one, climbing half way to the top.

Marcus seemed calm outwardly, as he was trying not to startle the bear more. However, his mind was racing. He thought, Forests. Bears. Bears in forest., Bears killing people in forests. I must have read something about how to not get killed by bears in the forests. Then he remembered, he had once read that bears wouldn’t mess with the dead. As the bear neared him he dropped to the ground. He lay still, holding his breath, with his eyes closed. 

He could hear the bear moving towards him, and soon he felt the bear’s breath on his face and neck. The bear sniffed him a time or two, and then nudged his neck with a huge black nose. The bear soon became tired and lost interest in Marcus. As the bear lumbered back into the woods, Marcus sighed in relief, with ragged breaths, and slowly sat up.

After the bear had completely disappeared, John jumped down from the tree, still shaking. He collapsed next Marcus. “I thought you were dead for sure,” John said, staring huge eyed at Marcus. “It looked like he whispered to you, he was so close.”

“He did,” Marcus said still trying to catch his breath.

John looked at his friend skeptically, “Bears can’t talk.”

Marcus nodded, “This one did.  He said, ‘find a friend who’s brave like a knight and won’t let you get eaten by a bear.’” John turned red with embarrassment and Marcus laughed, though he was still angry with John. “The bear also said to keep reading books, as I would be dead if I depended on your bravery.” Marcus laughed again stood. John soon joined him and they continued down the road.

While the men worked together and remained friends. They never made any promises to one another again. Both men had seen how fear affected John. The encounter with danger had shown each of their true natures.

By: John and Karen Hollingsworth. "Big Brown Bear Urcus Arctos" Public Domain Image

Author's Note: This is a retelling of Aesop's fable entitled, "Two Travelers and a Bear". The story is of two men who are walking in the forest when they encounter a bear. One man leaves the other and climbs a tree, the other pretends to be dead to fool the bear. The bear leaves and the man on the ground told his friend that the bear said, "It is not at all wise to keep company with a fellow who would desert his friend in a moment of danger." The original fable and many others can be found in the book listed below, which is online for free by The Project Gutenburg. 

Bibliography: "Two Travelers and a Bear" from The Aesop for Children with pictures by Milo Winter (1919) Web Source: The Project Gutenburg

Week 1: Grand Junction, Colorado: My Favorite Place

My family lived near Grand Junction, Colorado over ten years before moving last summer. The town is nestled in a valley in Western Colorado, close to the Utah border. It is the most beautiful place I've ever been. The mountains around it are all unique and different and there is always fun things to do. The Colorado National Monument is to the South of the valley (Pictured below). Grand Junction can be seen with its green trees behind the Monument.

 By Daniel Schwen "CONM Independence monument 2"  Wikipedia Commons.

Below is a picture of  the Grand Junction skyline when coming down from the Monument. Behind the town is a section of the Rocky Mountains called the 'Book Cliffs'.

 By Eleaf "Grand Junction Colorado Skyline" Wikipedia Commons

Below is Grand Junction's Main Street, which is downtown. There are a lot of restaurants, theaters, parks, and stores. They also have a small outdoor water park during the summer and Farmer's Markets weekly. 

 By Wusel007 "Grand Junction City Centre" Wikipedia Commons

This is the Book Cliffs, seen from the picture before, which set to the North of Grand Junction. To the right  of the shot is Mount Garfield. 

By Sean Davis "Near Grand Junction" Wikipedia Commons.

The city and surrounding areas of Grand Junction are always fun and beautiful, with many different activities throughout the year.

First Blog Post of Spring 2015

Hi! My name is Kelsey Link and this blog is for the University of Oklahoma class, MLLL 4993: Epics of India.