Reading Notes: Raja Rasalu Part A

Raja Rasalu playing a dice game against a King

By: John Dickson Batten on Wikipedia

A Raja named Salbahan had two wives, one wife with a son and one wife without a son. The wife without the son, Lona, poisoned Salbahan’s mind against his own son out of jealousy of not being able to give Salbahan a son of her own. Salbahan then had the son’s hands and feet chopped off, and he had the son thrown down a well. The son was granted a miraculous survival and was rescued by the holy Guru Goraknath, who then converted the son to become a disciple. The son went home and forgave the evil queen, and blessed her with a son. The catch was that she would have to lock the son up in a cellar for 12 years. If she saw the son before the 12 years were up, she would die. The son left the cellar a year early to see his parents. The parents, without looking at him, sent him off to do his own great things without him. A snake who destroyed all things within 12 miles of the son’s campsite approached the carpenter during his night shift. The snake attacked but the carpenter one and kept the fight a secret. Next, a horror attacked the son during the night and the son won. The carpenter and goldsmith left for home after seeing the horror leaving the son alone. The son entered a town and learned of a giant that would kill sons. He offered to take the place of a poor woman’s son to take on the giant. He killed all of the giants but one. The giantess fled to a cave where she starved to death out of fear to leave the cave. The son was travelling after a short stint as a king when he took shelter in a graveyard. He was lonely so he brought a headless corpse back to life. The corpse warns him about playing a dice game with his brother a king. So, the son fashions some dice from some bones he found that would level the playing field. He also saved a cricket from fire and was given one of his feelers to toss in a fire if he should ever need help. Some maidens of the city challenged him to separate millet seed from sand. The son summons the cricket who brings more crickets, and the crickets do the separating in one night. 

Bibliography:

 Tales of the Punjab by Flora Annie Steel, with illustrations by J. Lockwood Kipling (1894). Link

Story: The Voyages of Sinbad

Whiskey glass on a bar

Photo found on pixabay

It is 2am on a Tuesday. Sailor’s Pub is a pub in the outskirts of Baghdad. The manager, who also tends bar, is preparing to close the bar for the night. All customers have left and the pub is quiet. When he looks down the bar, he sees an older man with a scruffy beard and baggy eyes. The man is sitting quietly alone with his head down and a glass of whiskey in his hand. The manager walks over to the man to see if he is alright. The man lifts his head slightly and whispers, “I’m not a bad person.”

“What?” says the manager.

“I did it to survive…does that make me a bad man?” says the man.

The manager realizes that he cannot just kick the man out of the bar. The man is clearly troubled, so he pours himself a glass of whiskey and asks, “What is your name?”

The man replies, “Sinbad.”

“Well, Sinbad, tell me what is bothering you,” the manager softly says.

At this point in time, Sinbad raises his head to stare directly into the manager’s eyes. With a surprisingly calm demeanor, Sinbad dives into the story of his fourth voyage….

“You see, I was once a merchant. I sailed many voyages. The fourth of my seven voyages brought out the worst in me. We were sailing the great sea when our ship wrecked on an island. Me and my crew were captured by some inhabitants of the island. These people…they were…they were crazy. They drugged my crew, taking over their brains. I refused to take the drug because I knew I must keep my wits about me. They began to fatten my crew up like they were pigs for slaughter. One night…my crew just disappeared from our sleeping area.”

At this point both the manager and Sinbad take a large sip of whiskey, and the manager softly says, “Continue.”

Sinbad continues.

“The next day I was walking around the camp looking for my crew…All I found was human remains. They had been eaten by these cannibals. I knew, then, that I must make a move at an escape. I waited till no one was watching and I bolted. I ran as fast as I could through the jungle, ducking and dodging trees. When I hit the shore, there was a merchant ship anchored. The merchants were kind enough to take me in.”

The manager intercedes, “Well, escaping without your crew doesn’t make you a bad person. There was nothing you could do.”

“It gets worse…” Sinbad replies as he takes another sip of whiskey.

“The merchants took me to their island. They gave me many treasures and treated me with much care. They even gave me a beautiful wife to marry….”

He continues telling the story of living in peace on the island.

“One day my wife became very sick and eventually disease took her. I was devastated. What came next was even worse. It was custom for a widower to be buried alive with the remains of the dead spouse… They snagged me and lowered me into a tomb deep in the ground with minimal provisions to survive. I began to give up hope on the fifth day….But then…then…”

Sinbad trails off and looks away. His eyes begin watering. He chokes up and does not know if he can continue. The manager lets Sinbad sit in silence for a few moments before putting his hand on Sinbad’s shoulder and softy saying, “You don’t have to continue if you don’t wish to.”

“I need to. I need to clear my mind of this,” Sinbad replied. He took the last gulp of whiskey and the manager gave him a refill. He took a deep breath and continued.

“On the fifth day in the tomb, another couple was lowered into the hole. The woman was the one alive. She had a fresh amount of provisions. I…I needed to survive…I had to make it home. I killed her.”

Sinbad begins to cry but continues telling the story.

“I killed every person who came down the hole, and I stole their provisions. I am a bad person!”

Sinbad is frantically weeping. The manager tries for another thirty minutes to calm Sinbad down. When Sinbad finally calms down, he explains how he stole jewels from the tomb and escaped through a tunnel that an animal dug out. He found his way home and sold the jewels for money, all of the jewels except one necklace. It was the necklace of the first woman he killed in the tomb. He keeps it to remind him of the things he’s done.

By this time, it is nearly 4am and Sinbad has stopped crying. The manager explains that everyone does bad things, but that doesn’t make them a bad person. He assures Sinbad that there is still time to turn his life around and do some good. He then walks Sinbad out, and they shake hands. At this point, Sinbad thanks him for listening, and the manager then closes the bar and goes home.

Author's Note:

Sinbad went on seven voyages that all ended with him shipwrecked and finding a way home. The fourth voyage involved him being buried alive and killing innocent people lowered into the tomb. It was easily the worst thing that Sinbad had to do to survive, so I imagine it took a toll on him. I decided to write the story about the toll it took on him by having Sinbad finally tell the story of his survival after many years of holding it in. In my story, Sinbad was very ashamed about what he did, but refused to retell the story. When someone has a secret that they are ashamed of, it can slowly eat away at their conscience. It is better for someone to talk out their feelings with another person, whether that be a therapist or, in this case, a friendly bartender. Alcohol can sometimes loosen up a person’s lips, and allow them to spill their feelings. Sinbad finally could not hold in his secrets anymore. Afterwards, Sinbad could finally move on with his life after letting go of his past. This is an overarching theme in life, you must let go of the past to move on with your future.

Bibliography:

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). Link

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sinbad Part B

Sinbad's Fifth Voyage

By Gustave Dore found on Wikipedia

Sinbad went on a fifth voyage. This time he set sail on his very own ship with a crew of merchants from other countries. On the journey, they saw a giant bird egg with a beak sticking out. Sinbad warned the crew not to go near it; however, the crew decided to hatch the egg and eat the baby bird meat. The mother bird came back and destroyed the crew and ship, leaving Sinbad alone again. Sinbad drifted to another island with a lot of fruit and a crystal stream. He saw a man who wanted help getting across the river to the fruit. The man would not let go of Sinbad for a few days. Sinbad got the man drunk and the man relaxed his grip so that Sinbad could get free. Sinbad killed the man and was rescued by a ship. Sinbad learned the man was a creature who ends up strangling victims. They ship then gathered many coconuts and Sinbad returned home, once again rich. On the sixth voyage, Sinbad crashed into a mountainous island where sailors never return from. He finally floated down a cave river and collected jewels on the way. He landed at a beautiful city and became friends with the King. He explored the island before returning home with many gifts and riches. On his seventh voyage, he agreed to carry gifts back to the King of Serendib. On the trip home, his crew was captured by pirates and he was sold into slavery. Sinbad and his master killed many elephants to sell for ivory; however, one day the elephants learned what was happening. They took Sinbad and his master to their graveyard to use already dead elephants rather than killing living ones. Sinbad was released for showing the merchants where the graveyard was. He was afraid to sail the sea anymore so he traveled home by land and never left again.

Bibliography:

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sinbad Part A

Sinbad the Sailor: "Having balanced my cargo exactly..."
Drawing by Milo Winter (1914) found on Wikipedia

Sinbad inherited a lot of money from his parents. He did not manage the money well, instead spending almost all of his wealth on riches. Then had a realization that being old and poor would be awful so he began salvaging what he had left. With his remaining wealth he fitted a ship with some other merchants and set sale. They traded at many different islands, and one day decided to take a break on a small island. The island began to shake, and next thing they realized it wasn’t an island but a huge whale’s back. Sinbad was left behind in the water during the scramble to get on board and set sail again. He drifted slowly till he washed up at an island. He climbed the cliff and rested. He found edible herbs and spring water. Then he found a horse and a man appeared. He was lucky to find these men before the left that part of the island because the island was confusing and uninhabited. The next day they reached the capital and Sinbad was well cared for. He spoke with other foreigners of news of Bagdad, and searched for a way home. He made his way home and saw a ship unloading his very own crates. He asked the captain who the crates belonged to. He responded that they were a sailor named Sinbad’s and Sinbad told him that was him. The captain did not believe that Sinbad was alive and claimed that Sinbad was trying to steal. He told his story and then other merchants began to recognize him. Sinbad was given his things and gave some to the King who saved him. Next voyage, he was napping on an island and again left behind. He strapped himself to a legendary bird that carried him to a valley full of prey. He could not escape and the valley was full of diamonds. One night the valley was being filled with large meat by merchants who hoped the meat would collect diamonds and be carried away by birds to be collected. He strapped himself to meat with diamonds in his pocket and was carried away to a merchant. The diamonds made him rich. Next voyage, Sinbad’s ship washed ashore. Most were eaten by a giant. Then washed on another shore and all but Sinbad were eaten by a snake. He was rescued by the ship that left him on the island in the second voyage. His fourth voyage, he shipwrecked on an island. The crew was drugged and eaten but he escaped and was rescued by merchants who took him to their land. He married a woman but when she died it was custom to bury the husband alive with the body. He lived off killing new arrivals and eating their provisions until an animal tunneled in. He followed that tunnel out. He took all the jewels from the tombs which again made him rich.

Bibliography:

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). Link

Feedback Thoughts

Quote by purehappylife.com found at Flickr

Personally, I think I am rather good at receiving feedback. I am pretty good at taking negative feedback and turning it into positive motivation. If someone tells me that I did something wrong or that I can’t do something. I almost always use it as motivation to do better. Where I struggle is getting positive feedback. I normally do not like the attention because I am a shy person. I liked the article about the difference between self-esteem and narcissism. My older brother could be considered a narcissist because he was always good at everything and everyone told him this. Now he puts in very minimal effort into everything he does. I, on the other hand, was less talented but I put in the work to succeed which keeps me more humble than him.

Story: Illiad of a Home

Fight!

Photo by Aislinn Ritchie. Flickr

There were once four brothers named Parker, Jimmy, Peter, and Michael. Parker was the oldest and biggest of the four. Jimmy was the next oldest and bigger than Peter and Michael. Peter was the third child who was definitely the quiet peacemaker of the four. Michael was the poor little brother who the others always picked on.

 One day, it was raining outside, so Peter, Jimmy, and Michael were forced to stay inside all day while Parker was at work. After a while, Jimmy and Peter started to get bored and antsy. Boredom usually led to fights, and fights usually led to punishment and intervention by their parents. Michael was playing with his Gameboy in the playroom. Peter was also in the playroom but he was sitting quietly on the couch watching television. All was going well when suddenly Jimmy burst into the room. He immediately locked his eyes onto Michael’s Gameboy. Michael was the only brother with a Gameboy. Naturally, on a rainy day, Jimmy decided he would entertain himself with Michael’s Gameboy, even though Michael was using it. He stealthily walked over and snatched the Gameboy from Michael’s hands. Michael jumped up and tried to take it back. Jimmy, with one arm, shoved Michael down. Michael, crying, ran downstairs to their father and complained. Their father was tired of all the fighting, so he sent everyone to their rooms.

Peter, having done nothing wrong, tried to get Jimmy to apologize and return the Gameboy so that they would be free from their rooms. When Jimmy refused, Peter threatened to take it from him by force. Jimmy laughed off this threat because he was bigger, and, in the world of brothers, the oldest and biggest is in charge. When Peter charged at Jimmy, their father grabbed Peter and told him not to fight. Peter decided to just go to his room and let go of the fight. After about two hours in their respective rooms, their oldest brother, Parker, got home from work. Peter decided to explain the situation to see if Parker could get the Gameboy back and get Jimmy to apologize.

Peter talked to Parker, and he agreed. He went to Jimmy’s room to fetch the Gameboy. Jimmy returned it without a fight but refused to apologize. When Parker handed Michael his Gameboy, he pleaded with his father to stop the punishment. Their father released Michael from his room, but kept the other brothers in their room for fighting. Now that Michael had his Gameboy again, Peter decided it was time to try convince his father to release him from his room. He asked his mother if she could reason with their father. His mother knew that his father had been stressed out and was tired of all the fighting at home between the kids. She reluctantly decided to talk to their father. Their father decided to release them from their rooms on one condition. That condition was that Jimmy apologized to Michael. He decided to send their mother to Jimmy’s room to deliver this message. After their mother talked to Jimmy, he went to Michael and apologized. This released them from their rooms.

Author's Note: This week I read Homer's Iliad. This was a story that involved Greek Princes becoming bored during a siege of Troy. This boredom drove them to invade the city, stealing things including a priest's daughter, Chryseis. Agamemnon refused to return the daughter at the priest’s request. The priest then prayed to Apollo to punish them. Apollo did so, and so Achilles, an ally of Agamemnon, pleaded with Agamemnon to return the daughter. He refused, so Achilles began to attack Agamemnon. Athene, a goddess, stopped Achilles from harming Agamemnon. Achilles stormed off and sent some heralds to get the girl back. It worked but Agamemnon, the king of Greece, basically dishonored Achilles. Achilles then prayed to his mother, a goddess, to help. She went to Zeus and convinced him to trick Agamemnon into attacking Troy so that he would lose. This would then make Agamemnon's people want Achilles back to help them win, effectively getting Achilles' honor back. My story reflects this story because it has children fighting with each other. Then the parents and older brothers have to come break up fights like the gods do with the humans.

Bibliography: The Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church (1907). Link

Reading Notes: Homer's Illiad, Part A

Triumph of Achilles

Painter: Franz Matsch (died 1942). Wiki

Notes: The King of Sparta’s daughter chose a husband amongst many friends. The king made all the men swear not to be a sore loser if they are not chosen by Helen. The men swore that if anything happened to Helen, they would help get her back…and what do you know, something happened to Helen. She was abducted and the Princes of Greece were called upon to get her back. The Princes got tired after 9 years of sieging the city of Troy and gave up. They went and took other cities nearby including a girl. A priest tried to buy the girl back but Agamemnon said “Nope.” So the priest prayed to Apollo who came down and started to shoot arrows and kill people. When the Princes learned that Agamemnon was the reason people are dying, they told him to return the girl. He said “Nope.” People got upset with Agamemnon and left him to siege on his own. Achilles almost attacked Agamemnon but was stopped by Athene. Instead he left and said he would be missed when the Greeks fall to the Trojans. Achilles sent heralds to fetch the girl. The heralds arrived at Agamemnon’s tent and he gave up the girl. The girl was returned and the priest prayed that Apollo might stop his plague since the girl was returned. Achilles then cried to his mother Thetis. Thetis asked Zeus to let the Trojans start winning so that Achilles would be missed by the Greeks and honored. Zeus is concerned this will upset his wife because she thinks he favors the Trojans too much already. Zeus sent a dream to Agamemnon to trick him into thinking he could take Troy. There seems to be much fighting amongst humans that gets solved by the gods.

Bibliography: The Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church (1907). Link