Wikipedia Trails: From Sports in India to Aravinda De Silva

Sports in India

Cricket is the most popular sport in India but their field hockey team gets the most publicity worldwide due to their eight Olympic gold medals.  India beat Germany 8-1 in field hockey during 1936 Olympic championship game.  Badminton, soccer, basketball, shooting, wrestling, boxing, tennis, squash, gymnastics and table tennis.  There are many championships for professionals in these sports in India and throughout Asia.    Many of India sports arose when they were under British control.  Since India's independence, the country has hosted many sporting events including, the Asian Games, and Ministry of youth affairs and sports, and Cricket World Cup.

Indian National Field Hockey Team: Wikipedia

1996 Cricket World Cup

India hosted many cricket matches in the 1996 Cricket World Cup along with the countries of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.  There were 17 matches played in 17 different cities in India.  Using one of these matches as a setting of one of my stories could be really interesting.  Sri Lanka won the tournament in the final match.

1996 Cricket World Cup Final

The final match of the 1996 world cup was played on March 17 in Pakistan.  The underdog Sri Lanka beat Australia.  In the post, it was really hard for me to understand how the scoring works but I know that Sri Lanka got off to a great start.   Throughout the rest of the game, Australia caught up.  A Sri Lankan player named Aravinda De Silva won the match on a game winning knock of 107 point.  That must have been super exciting!

Aravinda De Silva

Aravinda De Silva was a professional cricket player from Sri Lanka.  He was the captain of the Sri Lankan national team.  He was also known as one of the best batters to ever come out of Sri Lanka and is the only cricket player to play in 3 World Cup finals.  He started his professional cricket career in England and ended his career at home in Sri Lanka in 2003.  After cricket, he served time on cricket administrative committees.  He might be a great character to introduce in a story!

Reading Notes: The Golden Feathers

The Golden Feathers

A poor man looking to provide for his family went away to make money

When he left, a fairy turned him into a goose with gold feathers

Thinking that he could use this gold feathers to give wealth to his family he went back to them

He let them take and sell the feathers a couple times.  

He would fly away and return each time.

Fearing that the goose would not return, the wife took all of his feathers and put him in a barrel.

She was greedy and selfish so the goose flew away when his feathers grew back white.

He never returned to his wife.

There are many lessons to be learned from this story.

1.  Money cannot buy happiness

2.  Family needs to stick together

3.  Greed can drive away the people you are closest to

As the man/goose, it would be extremely difficult for me to leave my family behind.  His intentions to provide for his family are pure I think, but if I was his family I would much rather be with him and without him with a lot of money.  I really enjoy the part of the plot where the fairy turns the man into a golden goose.  I definitely could use this idea in one of my stories.  I might not use a man turning into a goose, but I could definitely turn a man into a different animal.  I could also switch from animal to animal.  This idea connects a little with the reincarnation but it is in the same life.   

This story inspires me to include lessons in my upcoming stories.  An interesting story is great, but it becomes so much better when a theme or life lesson can be learned.  Stories can give rise to wisdom in a reader, and I hope to accomplish that this semester.

A Golden Feather: Public Domain Picture

Bibliography

Twenty Jātaka Tales, retold by Noor Inayat

Feeback Thoughts: Good Mistakes

                   

Happy Little Accidents: Flickr

Why It's So Hard to Hear Negative Feedback: Tim Herrera

Negative feedback can be hard to take.  Often times we do everything we can to avoid it and miss out on opportunities to grow our minds.  I find myself continuously craving comfort.  I do what is easy and reward myself for doing well on tasks that were not much of a challenge to begin with.  I was once told by a mentor in my life that growth comes from doing the uncomfortable.  This article really reminds me of the truth of that statement.  If I step out of my comfort zone, try something new, and receive negative feedback, I have not failed.  Quite contrarily, I am taking a step in the right direction.  Many times in my life I have stepped out of my comfort zone and growth has been the result.  I remember the first time I sang in public.  It was an incredible experience and a learned a ton from my choir teacher who helped me sing even better the second time.

I also really like that this article motivates people to give better feedback.  I find myself sugar-coating my feedback in an effort not to offend whoever I am giving feedback to.  Now, I should not be rude or hateful in my feedback, but I should give feedback that will actually be constructive.

Giving Creative Feedback – A Guide for Those Who Aren’t Creative: Deborah Maue

I love this article because of how practical it is.  It gives step by step instructions for how to give better feedback.  Often times when I try to give feedback I pick apart the smallest details and overlook the big picture.  Other times I do not even know how to critique other's work.  I like that this article gives questions you can ask yourself when trying to respond to someones work.  Some of these questions include "How does it make you feel?" and "Will it accomplish the objective?"  These are questions that I plan to ask myself as I strive to give feedback that will help my classmates grow.

Topic Brainstorm: This is Going to be Fun

Idea 1: Lessons Learned Through Indian Sports

I think creating a storybook about Indian sports using the characters from the readings could be really cool.  As a kid, I played every sport I could and really loved the competition aspect of it.  Sports taught me many lessons about humility, perseverance, and teamwork and I think I could integrate these lessons into my storytelling.  My project would be similar "Rama on the Golf Course," except I would try to use a different popular Indian sport and a new main character in every story.  I know that cricket is popular in India but I do not know what other sports are played.  I would learn a ton and it would be a blast to research.

Idea 2:  Indian Music

I was in choir all throughout high school, and I love music and singing.  One lesson I learned about music is that it is supposed to bring about feeling.  If I wrote a storybook about Indian music, I could tell stories about the impact music had on the lives of the characters I read about this semester.  Music has the power to lighten the mood, excite, inspire, and heal emotionally.  Based on the personalities of the characters I read about this semester, I can show music accomplishing these things.  The storybook Musical Demon Slayers gave me this idea.  The characters in this storybook used music instead of physical action to fight evil.  This storybook would also allow me to add videos of different style of Indian Music.

Idea 3:  Medicine

As someone looking to go into the medical field, it might be super cool to write about medicine.  Many ancient Indian medical practices could be incorporated into stories where noble doctors save those who are ill.  These doctors, named after characters in the readings, could show incredible perseverance as they treat never before seen illnesses.  They would display great problem solving skills.  I did not see any previous blogs on the topic of medicine or doctors, but Character Therapy: Healing in Stories was full of stories where the characters found healing.


Idea 4:  Siblings

Adventures of the Brothers Fite gave me the idea to create a storybook about the relationships between siblings.  The bond between siblings is unlike any other bond.  Siblings can come with arguments and annoyances, but at the end of the day love prevails.  I grew up with two siblings, my brother, Robert, and my sister, Nicole.  I could incorporate my family experiences into stories about siblings in India.  Research might be a little harder for this topic as I would be witting stories mostly from experience.

Personal Photo of My Mom, My Siblings, and Me

Week 2 Story: King Crab vs. King Monkey

Updated Story

"Did you hear the big news?" One fish said to the other.  "The Crane who had been terrorizing our lake for years is dead!  He was killed by a Crab who outwitted him!"  "No way." said the other Fish.  "I have to tell every creature I know!"

So the Fish went out and told everyone the good news of the death of the cunning Crane.  Every animal he told became excited, and these animals went out and told every animal they knew.  Soon, every living creature lake knew about the heroic Crab.

A Frog suggested that the Crab should become king of the lake.  He found the Crab and asked "Do you want to be king of the lake?"  The Crab said "Yes! What an incredible honor!"  But the Crab knew that this was an opportunity to take advantage of all the lake creatures.  He was full of deceit.  After all that is how he was able to trick the Crane.

The Crab started building trust within the lake by outlawing any sort of predation from birds.  All the lake animals loved him.

As soon as the Crab built up trust and power, he started to tax the lake creatures.  He announced "10% of all of your collected food must be given to me."  The Crab no longer had to look for food like all the other animals.  All of his meals were brought to him.  He became huge, strong, and powerful.

The Frog, knowing he made a mistake went out to look for animals that could defeat the Crab king.  He came across a Monkey named Brahmadatta.  Brahmadatta was king of Benares.  The Frog told Brahmadatta all about the abusive Crab king and asked him "will you please save us from the Crab king?"  Brahmadatta agreed to help.

Brahmadatta came to the lake and said to the Crab.  "Wow! What an awesome kingdom you have built up.  Have you heard the nearby area called Benares?  It does not have a king yet!"  The power hungry Crab said "show me this land and I will become king of this lake and Benares!"  The Crab had no clue that Brahmadatta was actually the king of Benares.

Brahmadatta and the Crab went to Benares.  The mate of a Crocodile in Benares saw the big Crab and said to her husband "I want to eat his heart."  The Crocodile said to his wife "I will go get it for you."

The Crab did not know about the Crocodiles in Benares and started to explore what he thought was his new kingdom.  Of course, this was Brahmadatta's plan all along.

The Crocodile attacked the Crab and brought its heart to his wife.

Brahmadatta went back to the lake and said "the king Crab is dead!"  All of the lake animals celebrated and lived in peace in the lake for the rest of their years.

When one is deceitful, mean, and cruel, they eventually get what they deserve.

Authors Note

I really enjoyed the theme of the "Cunning Crane and the Crab."  A line in that story said. "People who try to deceive others often pay for it themselves." I wanted to include this theme while adding characters like Brahmadatta and the Crocodiles from "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart." I was also saddened for the Crocodile at the end of that story. He was devastated that he could not bring his wife the heart she wanted. I wanted the Crocodile couple to finally have some satisfaction, so that is how I ended the story. I also took the news spreading elements in the plot of "The Foolish, Timid Rabbit" to begin the story.

Bibliography

"The Foolish, Timid Rabbit" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web Source

"The Cunning Crab and the Crane" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source

"The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock. Web Source

Image Source: The Lake Kingdom: Pixabay

Reading Notes: Jatakas

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit

A rabbit thought the world was breaking because a coconut fell on the ground near him
He ran and told many others what was happening, they followed and told others who followed
Its like a game of telephone
Could relate it to a story about gossip
The Lion was called the wise beast and discovered that the sound was a coconut falling


The Cunning Crane and the Crab

The fish were in a hot pool of water that was small
The crane, looking for food, asked if he could carry them to the lake nearby
The fish were hesitant to go, but decided to give it a shot because they didn't want to be in the pool any longer
To gain their trust, the crane flew the one eyed fish to the lake to see it
The one eyed fish told all the other fish about the lake and they all agreed to go
One by one the crane took the fish to a tree to eat them
The crane went back to the pool to see if there were any more fish.  He found a crab
The crab was more clever then all the other fish and convinced the crane to carry him while he was clasped onto the cranes neck
The crane started taking the crab to the tree but the crab said he could kill the crane if that happened
The crane flew over the lake and instead of letting go, the crab pinched off his head
The crab lived happily ever after in the lake
A good line: People who try to deceive others often pay for it themselves, and that is what happened to the Crane.
Maybe could expand on the story by telling a story where the crab gets deceived.

The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart

The wife of a crocodile wanted to eat the heart of Brahmadatta king of Benares
The crocodile husband came up with a plan to get the onkey in the water
The crocodile told Brahmadatta about all the fruit filled trees on the other bank of the Ganges
He told the Brahmadatta he would give him a ride
The monkey got on the crocodiles back
Out in the middle of the river the crocodile started to plunge and the monkey calling him "friend" asked "why?"
The crocodile told the monkey about his wife and how she wanted the his heart.
Quickly Brahmadatta came up with the fib that monkeys leave their hearts in trees
The monkey agreed to take the crocodile to the tree of his heart (a one full of fruit)
The monkey climbed the tree and told the crocodile that he outwitted him.  His heart was in his chest just like all the other animals.
The crocodile went away defeated.

Bibliography

Ellen C. Babbitt, The Foolish, Timid Rabbit
Marie L. Shedlock, The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart
W. H. D. Rouse, The Cunning Crane and the Crab

Crane and the Fish: Illustration by W. Robinson

Week 2 Reading Overview

For weeks 3 and 4 I plan on reading Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition.  I like that this version of  the Ramayana comes with many authors.  The many authors have different writing styles and perspectives that I think I can learn a lot from.  The illustrations will help me both grasp who the characters are and where the stories take place.  I will also really enjoy following along with the voice recordings.

The first comic book that caught my attention was Krishna and Narakasura: Confidence Versus Arrogance.  As a kid who really loved sports and played every one I could.  I was told by many coaches to play with confidence but not arrogance.  In sports, believing in yourself is important, but the moment you become arrogant is often the moment you are humbled.  This comic book is not about sports, but I think it is an important lesson.

They second comic that caught my eye was Harishchandra: The King Who Chose Rags Over Riches.  Today's society pushes the idea that money leads to happiness.  Many studies done on this topic show that this statement is false.  I do not think true happiness is found in money so I am curious about what happens to the king who chooses rags over riches.

The first video that I was intrigued by was The Stages of Life.  While Indian culture is different from American culture, I found striking similarities in this video.  The stages are called different names in each culture, but the events that happen in the stages are very similar.  Young humans go to school, young adults get married, older adults retire, and the elders reflect on the most important thing in life.

The other video I really enjoyed was Hindu Creation Stories.  The creation of the Earth has always fascinated and bewildered me.  Every culture has a different explanation, and a lot can be learned about a people group by looking at how they think the Earth was created.  I learned from the video that Hinduism has more than one creation story, unlike many other belief systems.

Brahma, the four headed god who created the Earth:

Wikimedia Commons