Edit: new version of this story is now available at elizindianepicsportfolio.blogspot.com
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| Vishnu and Lakshmi commons.wikimedia |
Date October 1st,
10495BC
Dear Diary,
This is my first attempt at journaling my thoughts, but
supposedly it will help my decision making. Personally I think my choices are
excellent. True, as the God of Love and Desire, sometimes I can wreck a little
havoc on people’s lives. However, what is life without a little craziness?
Today was one of my personal bests. My dear friends Vishnu and Lakshmi are
currently reincarnated as mere mortals, Rama and Sita. Vishnu and Lakshmi’s
love is one of my greatest achievements. They respect each other greatly and
are the epitome of fidelity and passion. I couldn’t just let their mortal forms
miss out on each other!! So, I made sure to infuse the purest breath of desire
into both Rama and Sita. True, I probably breathed a little to heavily in
Sita’s direction but it will be fine.
Right diary?
What harm could possibly
come from making Sita alovelorn to the point that she is almost suicidal?
It’s
fine.
The extreme desire will die down in the coming years. In that time I’m
sure Vishnu and Lakshmi’s souls will have recognized one another through the
guises of Rama and Sita. I’ll be honest though. It was complete luck for me
that Rama could string that bow. If Vishnu’s human form hadn’t been strong
enough then Rama and Sita could not have married and the desire I gave them
would most likely have driven them insane. Whoops. Oh well, I’ll just have to
be a little more careful with my next couple.
I suppose I should find someone
for Lakshamana. Heroes tend to want worthy partners and I aim to please. I’ll
make sure not to infuse as much desire though. The last thing someone as hot-tempered
as Lakshamana needs is more passion. I’ll get started on that first thing
tomorrow. For now I think its time to get some rest, creating true love does
take a lot out of me.
Authors Note/Bibliography
Narayan's Ramayana, Guide A
The major plot points of my story stay true to the original story. Rama and Sita see each other and instantly are obsessed with one another. Sita is almost inconsolable. Rama is allowed to marry Sita because he can string a god's bow. My story is Kamadeva (the god of love's) commentary on their love story's origin. I wanted to play with different tones for Kamadeva and will probably go more serious next time.
I really enjoyed reading this story, especially since it was from the God of Love's point of view. It's always interesting to see it play out from commentary. One time I went to go see the Shakespeare play, Othello, and throughout the whole play they had an actor playing out a behind the scenes person wrecking havoc on the cast. It also slightly reminded me of Gossip Girl for some reason, but I liked it. You did a good job!
ReplyDeleteHi, Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteI like how you are retelling the story in a diary format and from the perspective of God of Love and Desire. To begin, you started off introducing yourself. I like how you share your opinion on Rama and Sita’s love story through Kamadeva. You kept most of the points the same as the original story, but you indeed made it more interesting and easier to read.
Elizabeth, I thought that it was fun and interesting that you decided to write this story from the perspective of the God of Love. You definitely gave him a very aloof and frivolous personality. I think that this is great, because the God of Love has had more character than anyone from any other story I have read in this class so far. This level of personality kept me engaged. As you mention, I also wonder what would have happened if Rama had not been able to string the bow. Would Rama and Sita have actually gone insane? Also, what if you added some more "diary" entries after this one, so that we could see the God of Love's life in a collection of random days? I think that we could potentially see many side of the God of Love in this way, including some times when his plans do not go as he intended them to.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth I loved your take on this story. Reading the thoughts of your character really allows us to get into their mind, and allows a lot of room for creativity on your part. I think the diary route was a genius way to go for retelling your story!
ReplyDeleteOne thought that came to mind when reading was that I wonder why she feels the need to intrude on people's love lives? I think answering this background question will give a little more room for some drama. Like what if she's never been able to find love for herself, so she just gets into everyone else's business to make up for it? I think it would be interesting to see some diary entries about her own insecurities and struggles. The best part about diaries are the secrets people put into them that they don't wish for anyone else to know! It would be cool to play around with that.
Cant wait to read more of your stories!
Hi Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a fun take on the main story! It's always so intriguing to see behind the scenes. I love the conversational tone that you gave the god of love. It sounds so natural. Well done. I also love that you incorporated a character that isn't really in the main story much. I did wonder if the god of love wouldn't know that Rama would be strong enough to string the bow? I think maybe that would be a thing that the gods would know? But of course, who can know what gods know? *insert laugh track* I also wondered what would happen if the story elaborated more on the type of woman that the god planned to hook Lakshamana up with. It think the confident, slightly goofy tone would work well for elaborating on that. Of course, the more serious tone you mentioned in your author's note could work for that too, if the god of love was being more analytical about the match, since Lakshamana is not just one half of a pair of gods. Either way, I can't wait to read more!