Mariah's Indian Epics Blog

Varanasi, India Image Link Chipko Movement For my storybook I will be focusing on important symbols from the environment. This was an article recommended to me by Laura so I thought I'd share what I've learned from the little bit of research I have done. The Chipko movement began in 1973 with the intent of slowing deforestation. It is widely known today that environmental destruction has a disproportionate negative impact on women so it is very interesting that women were the driving force behind the deforestation protests back in the 1970's. The women and villagers of this movement helped inspire many more in the quest to protect their natural environment. Prosopis cineraria The attempts at saving this type of tree in the 1700s was a major inspiration to the Chipko movement over 200 years later. This tree is worshipped by the Hindus during the Dasahra festival. The tree also makes an appearance in the Mahabharata when the Pandavas place their...

TED Logo Image Link First off, I love TED talks and I'm really upset that OU couldn't get its act together and TEDxOU has been moved to the fall after I've already graduated. I've gone the last three years so I'm pretty sad about this. I watched the TEDEd Videos: Language. I might be an English teacher later this year so I thought these videos could help with more than my own storytelling. These language videos were so interesting. The history behind languages and how they change is something I kind of already knew but not in as much detail. Cultures seem to be a major player in how we use languages. (I can't believe the difference between Old English and Modern English. I thought Old English was just 'thou' and 'ye' but it is almost completely different.) I had no idea our 3 tenses can actually lead to 12 different variations. That is a little overwhelming. I'm grateful English is my first language, not sure how I could learn i...

Lotus Flower Image Link Comment Wall For My Storybook Website Link to site ~~  https://sites.google.com/view/inspiredbytheenvironment/home Website Bibliography The Fascinating History of Tree Conservation Movements in India

Sita with her sons Image Link Notes: The story is starting to take a dark turn. Ravana tries to trick Sita into thinking Rama is dead but his tricks don't work as usual. Indrajit fights dirty. Kumbhakarna is supposed to be this big bad warrior but he is easily defeated by Rama. Indrajit seems to be the better warrior. Hanuman brings back a whole mountain to help heal the monkeys. Vibhishana gives advice that would've been helpful many battles before. They are finally successful in defeating Indrajit. Rama was ready to join Lakshmana in the afterlife, something I don't Ravana wasn't doing as his brothers died. But Lakshmana is healed by Hanuman. It's interesting how the gods decide when and when not to intervene with Rama's mission. Sometimes I just don't understand why the advise and weapons needed to kill Ravana show up way later when they should have been around to help Rama. I don't think Rama is being fair to Sita. I do like how Sit...

Hanuman finds Sita in the Ashoka Grove Image Link Notes: It is nice to find a friend in these stories. Hanuman will be an interesting character to look into. Sugriva and Rama are like kindred spirits. Vali was upset with Sugriva because he assumed his brother dead and made it very difficult for him to return with the living. Once again people have heard of Rama's power and some want to make the right decision to keep the peace. It is not all that surprising to me that Rama kills Vali in a non valiant way. Throughout the story he goes back and forth on whether or not he is really that great of a person. It is kind of sad that Vali died because it was all a great misunderstanding from the beginning. Rama is venting about his exhale and losing Sita. Not sure how great Sugriva is either. It takes some pushing for him to get working on helping Rama rescue Sita. After a month of searching, Sugriva's crew still hadn't found Sita. Sampati gives the search party a cl...