Reading Notes: Krishna Part B

Krishna and Radha

My favorite part of Part B of the Krishna videos has to be the part of how Radha and Krishna grew up together and their love story. I am still not a big fan how she Radha to see how faithful she was to Krishna but the testing itself was interesting. Radha had to drink milk and Krishna tongue was blistered. The only way for his tongue to heal was by the help of Radha. I do like that Krishna played a part of the testing too instead like in the Ramayana where Sita had to be basically set on fire.   I think that in my retelling I would like to maybe switch places of and have Krishna being tested than Radha or write in her perspective. 

Krishna Reading Notes: Part A

Yashoda and Krishna

I decided to watch the Krishna Epified videos because I saw how so many people had done stories over them last week. I love watching the epified videos so this was an easy choice. I wasn't disappointed. I would have to say that my favorite part is Krishna being switched a birth. This is definitely part of the story I could have fun writing a story about. In my portfolio, I have written in the perspective of women and I think this would be a great addition to it. 

Krishna Epified, Part A.

Eastern Stories and Legends Reading Notes: Part B

Book Cover

Like most of the Jatakas that I’ve read, Part B’s Reading is filled with stories that have a lesson behind it. This kind of reminds me of parables. One story that stuck out to me was The Man who Overcame All Obsticles. For what I got from the story was that a man made a grave mistake that could have killed all his friends but instead of freaking out and accepting his fate, he was able to think his way through it and solve his problems.

Title: Eastern Stories and Legends

Author: Marie Shedlock

Year: 1920 (originally published in 1910)

reading link

Eastern Stories and Legends Reading Notes: Part A

Book Cover

I read a lot about the Jataka Tales and I really enjoyed them so when I saw there was another reading about Jataka Tales, I couldn’t resist. This reading has the monkey and the crocodile story which I am very familiar with. I think I’ve said before how much I loved reading as a child (and now) and I used to have these children encyclopedia set of books. One of those books had a bunch of stories and Monkey and the Crocodile was one of those stories. For those people who are familiar with these stories and enjoyed them as children, I think they would like to here a retelling that keeps the similar aspects of the original but still unique. I think a lot of the problems with remakes is that they can’t live up to the original and yet they try to. Maybe changing the characters to humans, the situation, or the point of view the story is written will work.


Title: Eastern Stories and Legends
Author: Marie Shedlock
Year: 1920 (originally published in 1910)
Reading Link
Photo link

Jataka Tales:Reading Notes Part B

A Pigeon and A Crow

The Pigeon and the Crow was my favorite story in Part B of the Jataka Tales. Even though there were other stories in this section that had more of a mythical aspect, this story stood out to me. It kind of reminded me of parables. I haven’t written a story that has a meaning behind it and I think that adding a story that teaches something will help me expand as a writer. 

Title: Jataka Tales
Author: H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas
Year: 1916

Link to reading

Jataka Tales: Reading Note Part A

Depiction of the Monkey King

I've read Twenty Jataka Tales and loved the different stories so much that I decided to do read some more tales. My favorite story by far was the Monkey and the Ogre. I love reading stories that have to do with fantasy and anything with mythical creatures and talking animals gets my attention in a way no other genre can. I noticed with my writing that there is more of a realistic way about it. Even when writing about the epics that are filled with shapeshifters and demons. Reading this story makes me want to add those kind of characteristics to my stories.

Title: Jataka Tales
Author: H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas
Year: 1916
Link to reading

Reading Notes Part B: Twenty Jataka Tales

Twenty Jataka Tales Cover

Part B of Jataka Tales was as intriguing as the part A. The first story was really unexpected. I was surprised that pigs were the choice of animal for what happens in the story. If you think of a pig, you think of a loud, huge animal that rolls around in mud. When it comes to animals that embody wisdom, pigs are not your first choice. I think that adding aspects to my story that are unexpected like this first story can really make it better.

Title: Twenty Jataka Tales
Author: Noor Inayat (Khan)
Illustrator: H. Willebeek Le Mair
Year: 1939
Link