Week 2 Reading Overview

For this week's assignment, the Ramayana I have chosen to read is the PDE Ramayana online version. Many factors played a role in why I chose this version over the Narayan's Ramayana. Although both had pros and cons to them, the public domain version was free to use, unlike the other version that required a purchase to be made. I also liked how this version had several illustrations and notes to guide the reader as to what is going on within the story. I am a visual learner so being able to have images that can help me create a picture in my mind as to what is happening in the story will be very beneficial. I also liked that the Ramayana online had a free audio version. Since the book has old-fashioned language, it might be helpful to have someone read it so I can understand the story better. I think also having the option of reading the book than being able to listen to it again through the audio version, could help with comprehension.

This week, we were also able to browse through some of the Comic Books and India Video playlists. While browsing through the comic books, two especially caught my eye. The first comic book I liked reading a summary about was the Ancestors of Rama. What first drew me to this comic was the cover image- it intrigued me and made me wonder what the comic was about. I thought the concept behind Dilipa being cursed for not listening to Surabhi and being tested to see if he could be blessed with children was interesting to read about. I like stories that have to do with a character overcoming obstacles or learning valuable lessons because sometimes I can take away a message from the story as well. I also liked that it followed Dilipa's son, Raghu and his adventures surrounding being a king, in a similar situation as Dilipa, and also being blessed by a son.

Ancestors of Rama

The next comic book that I was drawn to was Shiva Parvati. I am a fan of reading stories that have something to do with love and so this comic book immediately caught my attention. I loved the story behind Parvati being tested to see if Shiva's love could truly be won. Although the characters face multiple obstacles, I always love a happy ending so I was excited to see that is what ended up happening.

Shiva Parvati

Like mentioned above, we also got to browse India Video playlists. Immediately when I clicked on the link, I was excited to see a video titled "Harry Potter Meets Hindu Mythology", I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and so I thought this video was really cool combining the two kinds of stories together. The video was also cool because it was a comic-book-like video showing a storyline about Harry Potter. I also thought the video "Why We Worship Trees" was very interesting. I had never known that trees were worshipped because they were associated with gods. I liked how the video talked about the role trees play in the world and that no life form could survive without them, which gave them a very meaningful role to humans. The title was what drew me in at first, but then I was glad I clicked on it because I was able to learn something new.

Kurma
This image captured my attention because sea turtles are my favorite animal. I like how in the India Epics Images, I can find images that grab my attention, and then read the story behind it. This visual is Kurma, Vishnu's avatar.