Indian Epics Reading: Week 9

Just like back in Week 5 when you read a short version of the Ramayana, you will be doing the same thing here: you've completed one Mahabharata, and now you will take a look from a different perspective. You can see all those options here: Mahabharata Reading: Week 9. Just like last time, there is a wide range of options to choose from including an animated video, graphic novels, and free books online. 

Schedule. Now that we are in the second half of the semester, you may need to make some changes to your schedule so that you can get the reading and storytelling done each week at a time that is convenient for you. If you want to let me know what 6 hours you have available each week, I promise to find a way to make the assignments fit that schedule; just let me know.

Reading Notes posts. You didn't have any new reading last week, so you might also want to take a minute to review the Reading Notes Guidelines to get back into the spirit of reading-like-a-writer. 

EXTRA CREDIT READING

The extra credit reading options are the same this week as in Weeks 3 and 4:

Make up missing work. The extra credit option is always available if you miss one of the reading assignments during the week. So, for example, if you just did Part A this week, then you can use the extra credit reading option to read Part B.

Get ahead / learn new things. There are some great resources both in Bizzell and online that you can use to expand your Ramayana awareness:

• Krishna Dharma's Mahabharata. This is a modern version of the Mahabharata that is available free online. Most of the free online books are old (pre-1923, therefore in the public domain), but this is a recent translation made available online thanks to the generosity of the author. It is a big book... REALLY big... so I've divided it up into 16 "chunks" of reading. You can see from the table of contents what part of the story is included in each chunk, so for extra credit you could read any of those those sections - A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P - and write up your notes in a blog post. So, if you want to read more about Draupadi's swayamvara, you could read Part B; if you want to read about Bhima's meeting with Hanuman, chose Part F, and so on.

• Bizzell: Indian comic books. Did you choose comic books as your reading option for Week 9? If you did, then you can read one more comic book for extra credit. You will find all the Amar Chitra Katha comic books on reserve listed here: ACK Comic Books.

• Devdutt Pattanaik: Seven Secrets video. If you can't make it to Bizzell, there is an online videobook option you can use for the extra credit reading: Devdutt Pattanaik's Seven Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art. Start with Ganesha's Secret; watching that video and writing up your notes counts as a reading assignment that you can use for extra credit. You can then move on to Part B, Part C, and so on. There are six "chunks" of video to watch, so that means you could do the Seven Secrets videos for extra credit for six weeks if you want. Then, in the second half of the semester, maybe you will want to choose to read one of Devdutt Pattanaik's books; we have several of his books in Bizzell for checkout.

Indian Epics Reading: Week 5

If you finished your chosen version of the Ramayana last week (Parts A-B-C-D), that's great! The goal this week is to experience the Ramayana once again... and there are many different versions of that epic! I have collected here some reading options that you can use this week, including one versions that is an animated film by Nina Paley, focusing on Sita's story. You can see all those options here: Ramayana Reading: Week 5. I hope you will enjoy getting a new perspective on the story now that you are already familiar with the characters and plot.

If you did not finish the Ramayana during Weeks 3-4, then you can use Week 5 as an opportunity to finish up. If you have two more parts left to read, then that gives you the reading material you need for this week. If you just need to finish one last part (Part D), do that, and then choose a half-week reading to finish up; any of the extra credit options below is something you can use for the second half of the required reading this week. I hope that makes sense, and if you have any questions, let me know. It is really important that you finish the Ramayana this week so that you will be ready for the Mahabharata next week. 

Schedule. If you get out the Schedule Planning email from Week 1, you will see when it makes sense for you to do the reading. You might be doing both parts of the reading on the same day, or it might be on separate days. You need to finish the first reading assignment of the week on Tuesday at the latest, and the second reading assignment is due by Wednesday at the latest.

Reading Notes posts. You might also want to take a minute to review the Reading Notes Guidelines. By now you should be getting a sense of what kinds of notes really help you for the storytelling assignment each week, and that is the goal: read-like-a-writer, taking notes that can inspire you when you tell your own story.

EXTRA CREDIT READING

The extra credit reading options are the same this week as in Weeks 3 and 4:

Make up missing work. The extra credit option is always available if you miss one of the reading assignments during the week. So, for example, if you started a new version of the Ramayana this week but only did one reading assignment, you can finish up that version of the Ramayana for extra credit now.

Get ahead / learn new things. There are some great resources both in Bizzell and online that you can use to expand your Ramayana awareness:

Krishna Dharma's Ramayana. This is a modern version of the Ramayana that is available free online. Most of the free online books are old (pre-1923, therefore in the public domain), but this is a recent translation made available online thanks to the generosity of the author. It is a big book, and I've divided it up into 8 "chunks" of reading. You can see from the table of contents what part of the story is included in each chunk, so for extra credit you could read any of those those sections - A, B, C, D, E, F, G, or H - and write up your notes in a blog post. So, if you want to read more about Hanuman in Lanka, read Part E; if you want to learn more the final battle between Rama and Ravana, read Part H, and so on.

Bizzell: Indian comic books. If you have time to go to Bizzell, they have an AMAZING collection of Amar Chitra Katha comic books from India available at the Reserve desk for two-hour checkout any time that the Library is open. Each comic book counts as a reading assignment, so you can pick a comic book, read it, write up a Notes post just like for the regular reading, and count that for extra credit.  I would recommend the Ramayana comic books for right now, but you might also be interested in the comic books about the Gods and Goddesses.

Devdutt Pattanaik: Seven Secrets video. If you can't make it to Bizzell, there is an online videobook option you can use for the extra credit reading: Devdutt Pattanaik's Seven Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art. Start with Ganesha's Secret; watching that video and writing up your notes counts as a reading assignment that you can use for extra credit. You can then move on to Part B, Part C, and so on. There are six "chunks" of video to watch, so that means you could do the Seven Secrets videos for extra credit for six weeks if you want. Then, in the second half of the semester, maybe you will want to choose to read one of Devdutt Pattanaik's books; we have several of his books in Bizzell for checkout.