Reading Notes: Swami ChinmayAnanda

Modern Life Meets Ancient Wisdom
This is the story of Swami who was a super smart child. He could memorize poems by reading them only two times. he was always the smartest in his class while he was in school. When he grew up he went to work for a newspaper. He eventually quits this job and goes to his hometown. He then decides to travel around meeting people and learning from them. He became known for his expansive knowledge and wisdom resembling leaders from the past despite living in a modern era.

Photo found Here. Book is available at the Bizzell Memorial Library.

By: Margie Sastry

Reading Notes: Ghanshyamdas Birla

A Builder of Modern India
This comic book starts by telling the past of his father and how he humbly made a name for himself and his family. When GB was born he was raised with a normal childhood despite his family being wealthy. After he finished school he went to secondary school but ended up quitting and going to work in the family business. At the age of 13 he decided to expand the operation on his own. He was successful at this and life was good until one day his mother became sick. This was a hard time for GB until he met Gandhi one day. Gandhi became a mentor to GB. GB eventually became a leader for business in India.

Photo found Here. Book is available in the Bizzell Library.

By: Yagya Sharma

Reading Notes: Anant Pai

Anant Pai

This book describes the great storyteller that Anant Pai was. He was born in 1929 which was the year Tarzan came out. this comic tells the life story of Anant and the struggles that his family went through. It talks about the great teacher he had while he was in college and how he helped shape Anant. This comic shows his slow growth to becoming famous for his comic books. It describes the struggle he went through to become India's most known writer. I found this comic very intriguing because I have been reading a lot of Anant's work. I do not think that this would be a good comic to write about because it is so matter of fact. 

Photo found Here. This book is available in the Bizzell Memorial Library. 

By: Gayathri Chandrasekaran

Reading Notes: True Friends

Kanni the Unlucky

This story is about Kanni who is very unlucky until he finds his childhood friend who is a king. The king brings him into his home and give him a job. He begins to regard Kanni as family and he trusts him immensely. The kings business partners told the king he should not trust Kanni. The king did not listen to his advisors and continued to trust Kanni. One day the king had to take a trip and he gave Kanni the keys to his house so he could look after it. Kanni overheard some burglars talking about robbing the house and he began to come up with a plan to defend the house. He gave the workers instruments and they were all very loud. The burglars heard this and feared that the king had returned home already so they fled. The next morning the kings advisors found the weapons and footprints of the burglars and were amazed that Kanni could be trusted.

Photo found here. Book is available in the reserves of the Bizzell Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma. By: Margie Sastry, V.B. Halbe, and Anant Pai

Reading Notes: The Hidden Treasure

The Hidden Treasure

This is the story about a boy who was to be the son of a king until the king was killed. This made his pregnant mother flee the country and the boy grew up unaware of his past. One day he found out that he was the son of a king and decided that he wanted to become a king. One day he left for the land his father once ruled while at the same time the king of that land was dying. That king decided that the person whom his daughter chose and also passed three challenges would become king. The boy came into town and impressed the princess and eventually passed all the challenges to become king. He brought his mother home and became a great king. This sounds like the story I wrote regarding Rama becoming king. Therefor, I do not think this would be a good story for me to write about.

Photo found here. Book available in the reserves of the Bizzell Library at the University of Oklahoma. By: Meera Ugra, M.N. Nangare, and Anant Pai. 

Reading Notes: The Mouse Merchant

The Invaluable Treasure

This is a really funny story about a water carrier who works for enough money to buy just two meals a day. Until one day he gets a little extra so he stores it behind a brick in the city wall. One day he gets married and wants to buy nice things for his wife so he sets off running on a very hot day to retrieve this coin. The king sees this man and tells his guards to go get him. The king was curious as to why the man was so happy. When the king had the man in front of him and found out the man was running to get his treasure he wondered how much the treasure was. When he found out it was one coin he offered to give the man one coin so he did not have to run anymore. The man said thanks but he would still go retrieve the coin as well as take the one the king offered. The king raised the offer trying to get the man to forget about the one coin but the man did not change his mind until the king offered half of his kingdom. The man gladly accepted this offer and agreed to forget about the one coin. Until, the king asked him what half of the kingdom he wanted and the man chose the side that the coin was hidden on so he actually got the coin in the end.

Photo found here. Book available in the reserves of the Bizzell Library at the University of Oklahoma. By: Subba Rao, Chandakant Rane, and Anant Pai

Jataka Tales: The Deadly Feast

The Deadly Feast

This story has two major kingdoms that come into play. One is always trying to trick the other into losing a battle. In the end the kingdom that is never trying to trick anyone triumphs over the tricky kingdom. They do this by using their brain to overcome the enemies tricks. The enemy takes over many kingdoms and becomes a power in the area but still fails to overtake the smaller smarter kingdom.

This would be a hard story to write about due to its overwhelming complexities. This story is very detailed and takes a long time to develop. I cannot think of any way to modify this while still upholding the integrity of the story. Therefor, i will not do any stories based off this comic though it was a good read.

Picture of cover found at 61jR8OV75HL._SX364_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg book is available in the reserves of the Bizzell Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma

By: Yagya Sharma, Ram Waeerkar, Anant Pai

Jataka Tales: The Magic Chant

The Day the Earth Broke into Two

There once was a rabbit sitting under a tree wondering what would happen if the earth split in two. All of the sudden a fruit fell from above him into a pile if leaves and startled the rabbit. He took off running for fear of the earth splitting. As he ran other animals questioned why he was running and he told them the earth was splitting in two. Obviously they joined him in running away. Eventually this now large group passed the lion who stopped them. He found out why they were running and traced it back to the rabbit. He took the original rabbit back to the spot he was sitting under the tree and found out what had actually happened. He then came back and told the other animals that it was just a falling fruit that startled the rabbit. He told them they were foolish and they could've gotten hurt.

This is applicable today in the world of social media. I often see posts that are just plain wrong and many people are jumping on board with what these posts say and are defending it without actually checking the facts. This goes to show that you should check the facts instead of just joining into an ongoing panic. 

Cover of Book found at THE_MAGIC_CHANT_0__5.1474530483.jpg available in the reserves at the Bizzell Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma

By: Meera Urgra, Ram Waeerkar, Anant Pai

Jataka Tales: Jackal Stories

The Jackal and the Lion
Is a story of a jackal that ran into a lion. The jackal feared for his life so he thought of a plan to survive. He told the lion that he would be his servant. The lion thought about this and decided it was a good idea. he told the jackal that as long as he was a good servant he would allow him to eat the leftovers of the animal he killed. The jackal was given the duty of going to the mountaintop every morning to look for animals in the valley. Once he saw an animal he would go back to the lion and say "shine forth in all your might, my lord." after saying this the lion would go kill the animal, eat, then leave the rest for the jackal. After many days of this occurring the jackal grew fat and eventually thought he did not need the lion. He thought that the power to kill was in the "magic" phrase he said to the lion. One day he convinced the lion to switch role and that jackal went after an elephant. He lunged for the elephants' neck and missed but the elephant stepped on and killed the jackal. this story goes to show that everyone has a place in society and that you should not be ungrateful for what you have. the jackal was killed because he was trying to be something that he is not. He left a great situation because he was cocky and ended up dead.

Cover of book found at nag581.jpg Copy of book from the reserves at the Bizzell Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma

By:Kamala Chandrakant, Chandrakant Rane, Anant Pai

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales- Stories of Courage

The Brave Pig

There once was a carpenter who lived in a village. On his daily walk he found a pig that had been left for dead and decided to help this pig. He raised the pig as his pet and even trained it to help him work. One day his wife pointed out that other people may see this fat pet pig and decide they want to kill it for food. After hearing this the man decided to let the pig go back in the woods. After a few days the pig found himself a group of pigs to live with but they were all skinny due to their fear of a mean tiger that attacked them every morning. The pig that was raised by humans, we will call him Bill, thought of a plan to fight back against the tiger. He made the pigs all get into a formation to scare the tiger. When the tiger came in the morning he was scared by this at first and left the pigs alone. As the tiger walked through the woods he saw a man he brings pig meat to and the man convinced the tiger to go back. When the tiger got back he figured out that Bill was the fattest pig and also the leader so he decided to kill bill first. He dove at Bill but he ducked and the tiger fell into a pit the pigs had made and the pigs stoned the tiger.

Cover of Jataka Tales of Valour and Victory from the reserves at the Bizzell Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma

By: Margie Sastry, Chandrakant Rane, and Anant Pai

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales- Elephant Stories

The Greedy Forester

This story is about an elephant that was born white and wise. As he grew up he realized how cruel and selfish his peers where so he decided to leave the elephant civilization in favor for a life on his own. After the white elephant left the civilization he began offering his advice to other animals who were in tough situations. Once the white elephant had been doing this for a while he became known as "Good King Elephant." One day a man came walking through the woods who was distraught because he had been lost for a few days and could not find his way to his destination. The white elephant saw the man and went to help him but the man thought the white elephant would hurt him so he ran away. After a while the man realized that the wise white elephant was not there to hurt him so he stopped to talk. The elephant heard the mans predicament and offered to let the man stay with him a few days then help the man get going the right way. The man agreed to this and a few days later he was on his way to Varanas where he would meet an ivory bazaar. It was here the man learned the monetary value of ivory and thought of a plan to get ivory from the white elephant. He went back and told the white elephant the he needed his tusks in order to pay off his debts but he had intentions of selling them for selfish profit. He sold the tusks and realized he wanted more money so he went back to the white elephant. He told the white elephant that he needed more tusk in order to have money to live. The white elephant allowed the man to take the remainder of the tusk knowing the tusk was the secret to his knowledge. The man took them but was then take up by the earth and fire which was condemning the man for being selfish. After this the white elephant was able to live peacefully for the rest of his days.

Photo of a scene from Jataka tales of Nobility: Elephant Stories found in the reserves in the Bizzell Memorial Library on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.

 By: Lakshmi Lal, Ashok Dongre, and Anant Pai

Jataka Tales: Bird Stories

Bird Stories

The Value of Friends

A hawk once lived alone at a large lake. Until, one day a lady hawk came and he asked her to be his wife. She told him she would but that he needed to make friends first. So the guy hawk went out and made friends with a tortoise, osprey, and a lion. After they became friends the two hawks decided to start a family on an island they thought would be excluded from all people. It turns out this island was not far enough away and one day two men came along to camp on the hawks' island. The men were planning to catch the hawks' babies so the guy hawk went and got his friend the osprey. The osprey came and detoured the two men for quite some time. Then the hawk got the tortoise and the men tried to catch him but he dragged them back into the lake. Finally, the hawk went to get the lion who was able to scare away the two men for good. The wife hawk then said that was the reason she forced him to make friends. The moral of the story is to be kind to people because you never know when you may find yourself in a situation in which a friend could save your life. 

Jataka Tales Comic Books by: Kamala Chandrakant, Ashok Dongre, and Anant Pai from the Reserves at the Bizzell Memorial Library

Jataka Tales: Battle of Wits

Battle of Wits

This comic was about a young boy who was born into a rich family after the king dreamt of a large flame. The Kings people told him that the flame represented a special boy who would be born and come to be smarter than the four of the kings people combined. As the boy grows up he shows some examples of being intellectually superior to his peers. Eventually word of this boy gets back to the king and the king decides to do some surveillance on this boy. Overtime one of the kings men comes back with a story regarding this boys actions they conjure up a reason as to why this is just normal behavior. The king senses that his men are trying to cover something up so he goes to meet the boy himself. When the king finally gets to meet the boy he tells him to sit down. The boys father stands up and the boy sits where he was. The king takes this as offensive however the boy was doing it to prove his point that age does not correlate to wisdom.

Battle of Wits By Yagya Sharma, Ram Waeerkar, and Anant Pai from the reserves at the Bizzell Memorial Library

Reading Notes: Krishna Comic Book

Krishna

This story begins with Krishna's parents getting married. His dad was Vasudeva and his mother was Princess Devaki of Mathura. Vasudeva's cousin Prince Kamsa was a feared man and he was the one that drove the newly married couple home. On the way home he was told by a heavenly voice that the couples eighth child would kill him. He got scared and proceeded to kill every child of theirs until the time Krishna, number eight, was born and Vasudeva hid him. Krishna ends up growing up and is doing special things that amaze all around him. In many ways this comic makes Krishna sound similar in some aspects to many stories from the Christian bible. He was seen healing people and escaping from precarious situations. Krishna ends up killing Prince Kamsa after a long series of events and returns the princes crown to the king. There are many different parts of this story that I could use to retell for my story. I like the similarities to the bible that this provides and I think that may be an interesting approach to this story.

Cover Of the Comic Book Vol 501 from the Bizzell Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma
Scripted by: Anant Pai
Illustrations by: Ram Waeerkar
Edited by: Anant Pai

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

Death of Drona
It was known that Drona would never be defeated until his son, Ashwatthaman, was still alive. Bhima was desperate to defeat Drona so he thought up a plan to fake the death of Ashwatthaman and trick Drona. I think this idea was quite cowardly of Bhima to do but I guess thats what it took to win. Brim got an elephant named Ashwatthaman and killed it. After doing so he ran to the king's gates screaming that Ashwatthaman had died. Drona did not believe this at first so he asked his truth teller Yudhishthira if this was true. Three times Yud told Drona that Ash had died but he whispered "the elephant"afterwards. Drona did not hear that part and Yud had his chariot put on the ground, instead of flying, as punishment for lying.Drona lost the ability to use his special weapons so he was unable to fight Bhima. the general of the opposing army came to fight Drona but ended up just cutting his head off. However, before Drona's head was cut off his spirit left his body.

I thought this story was very tragic in a sense because the lesser person won. By Bhima resorting to trickery he lost respect and still is not considered a better fighter in my mind even though he won.

Death of Drona

Source: http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/pde-mahabharata-death-of-drona.html

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Section C

The Cattle Raid
Rajah of Trigartis heard that the mighty Kitchaka was dead he began to form a plot to invade Virata with hopes to capture the king. Rajah got some friends together and they thought this was a good idea. Rajah of Virata was captured by his enemy. The Pandavas went and fought to free Rajah of Virta and Rajah of Trigartis. They Panadavas forced Rajah of Trigartis to submit to them before they would allow hime to return home. Arjuna started to fight the Kauravas with the weapons he goto from a tree. Indra's son flew his horn causing all the Kauravas to pass out and made it possible for Arjuna to kill them all.

The Cattle Raid

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/pde-mahabharata-prince-uttara-and.html

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

The House Of Fire
Prince Vidura guesses the plan that Prince Duryodhana has to kill King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra. Prince Vidura, despite being the son of a slave girl, was very wise. Prince Vidura warns Prince Yudhishthira of the threat that Prince Duryodhana has posed. The Pandavas and queen Kunti get to the place and notice how weird it is for everything to be covered in oil and made of wood. In response to this Prince Vidura calls his family together and tells them about the danger that is looming and about what Prince Duryodhana is planning. They thought up a plan to dig a giant tunnel from the palace to the forest outside. Prince Vidura gets Varanavata, who was a great miner, to come to the place to build this tunnel. Varanavata digs this tunnel at night and during the day they cover it with wood to keep the guards from noticing. When Varanavata finished the tunnel the Pandavas made their escape through it. Once they reached the forrest, Prince Bhima told his family he was going back to the palace to get revenge on the mean guard. So Prince Bhima went back and set the guard tower on fire. This obviously caught the oil slathered, wood palace on fire which just so happened to be holding a group of people that had passed out from drinking wine. These people happened to be of the same number as the Pandavas's and so when the remains were found in the chard palace the people of the city began to mourn. However, when King Dhritarashtra heard the new he began to rejoice because he thought that his plan had worked.

Kunti and the Pandavas Escape

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/pde-mahabharata-house-of-fire.html

The Indian Heros by C.A. Kincaid

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Vyasa and Ganesha
Vyasa was the author of the Mahabharata because no human was worthy of handling this important material. There was a king named Uparichara, from Chedi, who was so set on being perfect that the Gods thought he was trying to take their power. So they sent Indra down to bribe this King with a flying chrystal chariot. This was a privilege for him alone and no other man. One day King Uparichara was just cruising through the sky when he accidentally drop some semen into the water and it was swallowed by a female fish. So ten months later a fisherman caught this fish and when he cut it open there was a boy and girl inside. The fisherman took them to the king who decided to keep the boy as his own and allow the fisherman and his wife to raise the girl. The girls name was Satyavati. Unfortunately she smelt like fish until one day while helping her father ferry people she met a man who made her promise to stay a virgin in order to rid her of her fishy scent. This worked and she became beautiful smelling. This story was so interesting to me due to it absurd nature. The concept of the whole story is something so new to me and I just sounds insane. This reading has been very insightful to a culture that I was unaware of until now.

Vyasa and Ganesha

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/pde-mahabharata-vyasa-and-ganesha.html

Reading Notes: Monkey Stories

The Monkey King's Sacrifice

These monkeys are in the forest and they start to sense danger. One monkey suspects the humans will find the mango fruit soon and want to find the monkeys forest that hold this fruit. So the monkeys go to great lengths to hide the fruits and keep them from falling in the river. Despite their efforts one mango happens to fall in the river and floats downstream where it ends up in a fisherman's net. He is intrigued by this new fruit and thinks he should take it to the king. So him and his best bud head towards the kings palace to show him this new fruit. Once they find the king they tell him what happened and the king takes the fruit to his nature guy. The nature guy says thats obviously a mango and the king tries it. The king loved this mango and asked where he could get more of these. The nature guy tells him they are upstream a little ways so the king decides to take a military force and they make there way up there. Once there they get in a battle with the monkey so they can take their mangos. As the humans are shooting arrows at the monkeys the king monkey finds a way out and swings across trees on a vine but can't quite make it. The king monkey decides to hold the vine while all the other monkeys climb across. When the last monkey comes across he decides to take out his prior frustrations on the king monkey and knocks him to the ground as he jumps to safety. The king monkey falls and the human king sees this and comes over to praise him for his bravery and leadership. The king offers to take the monkey king back with him so he can be cared for to which the monkey king said he was just doing his duty and to leave him to die.

Picture of the front cover of the comic book

From Bizzel Library. Author: Meena Talim

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part C

Rama and Hanuman
Hanuman transforms into a beggar and approaches two strangers who run out to be Rama and Lakshmana. When Rama discovers that it is Hanuman that he is speaking to he gets excited because that is who he is in search of. Hanuman then realizes that he now has a friendly power on his side that could help find Sugriva's wife and win back the kingdom. Hanuman transforms back into a monkey and takes them both to meet Sugriva.

King Sugriva
King Vali is killed in his battle with Rama. The gods praise Rama's strength and courage. Sugriva is appointed King and the kingdom is restored.

The Rainy Season
King Sugriva promises the help Rama find Sita after the rainy season passes. During the rainy season however Rama must sit outside the city wall due to his exile so he is forced to live in the wilderness. The exile is wearing on Rama along with the absence of his loved one, Sita. While in the wilderness Rama's loneliness grows in the absence of Sita and he professes his love for her. Rama proclaims that soon she with be with him and they will both be happy to be together again.

Rama and Hanuman