Dear Diary,
Today was a strange day. I cannot seem to
comprehend all the emotions that are going on inside. I went to live with a man
that I accepted to be my husband. He is a unique man, and I know very little
of him. He looks very much like a brahmin, so I am not actually sure how he won my swayamara. I am still a little confused by this. From what I have seen though, he is kind and strong with a little
quirky personality. He told me his name was Arjuna. I think we will get along
just fine. He has four brothers. All of them are quite nice. I hope that this
odd set of circumstances work out.
Arjuna took
me to his small little hut in the middle of nowhere. It is vastly different than
what I was accustomed to in the grand palace that I grew up in my whole life. I
do not mind though. It is very simple but quiet and peaceful. When we arrived,
his mother was sitting in a chair in the corner. She seemed a little distracted
at the time. I was just awkwardly standing underneath the doorframe when this
little pig came barreling past me to greet the five brothers from their long
journey home. My husband laughed and caught the little pig as he was mid air from jumping up and down at his feet.
“My husband” that just feels so weird to say or
write...
I chuckled as the little pig pushed his nose in my
husband’s ears and on his nose. Arjuna said, “This little toot is named
Hector. We saw him wandering through the forest one day, and we rescued him. It
was a wonder he was still alive when we got to him.”
I finally spoke up and said, “Wow. He looks
just like my father’s pet pig. He wandered off after my brother was exiled, and
we never saw him again. My father never really got over it.”
Arjuna sat Hector down on the floor. Hector was so
excited with the sudden presence of all the people he started running around
the hut every which way. He was bumping and crashing into everything he could
possibly break, spill, or tip over. My Arjuna’s mother was so overwhelmed by
Hector that she told the boys to share whatever they had brought and quickly
scooted Hector out the door. I was very confused by her statement. My heart
sunk into my chest as I realized what this meant.
Maybe she thought that they had brought food? Was
she really talking about me?
I was in shock.
It took everything in my power to not tell her she
is a crazy person. I wanted to run away to my real home. I went from a huge
castle with servants doing everything I wish to a tiny little hut with five men
just drooling over me and a crazy mother-in-law.
Everyone just stood there in a daze. Arjuna seemed
very disappointed in this news. I cannot imagine what he was thinking or
feeling. The other brothers you could tell were so excited but were trying to
play it off cool.
All I know is that I am now stuck with not
only one new husband that I barely know but I am now a proud owner of five new
husbands. FIVE!
Sincerely,
An Incredibly Unlucky Wife
Author's Note: I wanted to really dig into Draupadi's character after
watching Epified Mahabharata. I wanted to depict maybe what Draupadi was
thinking during all of this craziness going on in the Mahabharata. I tried to
explain as best I could the major background information that was needed to
understand what was going on in the story without having to know anything from
Mahabharata. Of course, I had to add little pet pig Hector into the story. Only
this time, I decided I wanted to connect him with one of my previous stories.
My other story he was in was when Rama was exiled, and his father, the king,
was in much despair after being forced to do it. I did put a twist on the story
of the Mahabharata. The brother's mother obviously did not become overwhelmed
by a little miniature pig. Instead, she became overwhelmed when the boys were
hollering at her while they were being attacked, but the mother did
accidentally say to the boys to share Draupadi as all of their wives. Draupadi's brother, Shikhandi was very upset by Arjuna winning Draupadi. I stated in the story that he was exiled. I wanted this to have a correlation with the Ramayana as well when Rama is exiled and his father is in deep despair. I have never
done a diary style storytelling, so it was a little out of my comfort zone.
But, I thought it would be a good style to add to my portfolio.
Epified Mahabharata, Karmic Revolution, January 2016
Hi Jordan,
ReplyDeleteThe title of your story is interesting. I liked your depiction of Draupadi’s character in the form of a diary. I felt that this form allowed me to see her from a different point of view. I also liked that you provided a thorough analysis of previous events that have happened over several stories. Your style was easy to follow. I liked how you broke up your story into paragraphs instead of having one big block of text. One thing I would suggest is maybe changing the font color or the background because it is a little difficult to read. I would also suggest that you add more pictures. It would be nice to have more visual references. The Author’s note gave me insight into the differences between the original story and your version. Overall, I thought your story was very good, and I look forward to reading more of them in the future.
Hello again Jordan,
ReplyDeleteI am here again for the extra credit feedback. I really enjoy Hector being a recurring theme in the two stories I have read of yours. I love him! I liked that you kind of alluded to him when he was in another story.
I also did my portfolio over Draupadi. Having five husbands is a very interesting thing to tell a story about! Even though we both talked about her we had very different stories. I liked how you made it a diary post. I have yet to use that method. You conveyed her feelings very well. I would be very freaked out as well in that situation. My story had the same theme but it was a different character and instead of having five husbands the girl was on a show called, The Dating Game and had 5 contestants.
Very good job on your story and I am sure you will find me here again!
Hi Jordan,
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading another storytelling post of yours and really enjoyed it again. I have liked both of your stories I have read today. You did a great job splitting your ideas up instead of keeping everything together which would make it confusing. This story is very clear and to the point and the plot just like the other story was very cool.
I really liked the Diary addition to the story. I thought it was a really good way to get a different perspective. Also, I thought you captured the voice of Draupadi very well. In the book I’m reading, The Palace of Illusions, Draupadi sounds a lot like the character in your diary post. She is self-absorbed and actually very traditional in her terms of marriage (at least at the beginning). I don’t believe I have read the other story that Hector has made an appearance, but next week I will try to remember to do so. That way I can make the connection this story. I really have nothing bad to say about your story. The story flowed well, the dialogue was coherent. The only thing that through me a little off is the part that the mother-in-law asks the brothers to get rid of Hector. I was assuming it was to feed the Pandavas and I wasn’t sure. I also wasn’t sure what the connection was to Draupadi gaining husbands. Like I said I think I need to read the previous story to understand.
ReplyDelete*threw, whoops.
Delete