Reading Diary A: Week 7

We are so close to being finished with the Ramayana. I just needed to let that out, for my own sake.

Malyavan

• Chief advisor to the Emperor Ravana of Lanka.
• Some relational view to Vibishana: also opposed the war being fought against Rama.
• All I could think of his flashback was an old dude in slippers freaking out at the family reunion about past duties. PTSD is a messed up thing.
• Does Shiva physically take him? It almost sounds like Malyavan dies on the hill top -- taken by Shiva. I feel like this should be more obvious, but it definitely is not.

• The scene of him being taken from Lanka could be a somber but beautiful one

Jambavan

• He's the master of disaster. So much blood and gore in this scene caused by the annhilation of Rakshasas.
• I might have missed it in a past reading, but why is a bear king in with this party? I found out on wikipedia that Jambavan is sometimes also described as a monkey king, which makes his presence more sensible, but bear kings are really cool, obviously.
• The two magicians / wizards on the hill would be a nice addition to the brothers' storybook I read the other day. I don't think they reappear, but just making stories about these demon magicians could be really awesome

Ravana preparation

• I'm not very good at this type of storytelling, and I can't see myself attempting a foray anytime soon, but SOMEONE needs to write a story about the epic wind dance party that Ravana throws the night before an epic battle. Ravana is clearly a partier, and while he earned himself a charioteer in his dance, he also could show off some sick moves to Sita in his final attempt to win her over.
• Time comes to nag Ravana, which sounds like an annoying little sibling at his dance party, too

There's not much to write about from the epic battle. My initial storybook project was going to be centralized around weapons, and the astras in the final battle are the most varied and intriguing of the entire story.

I'm also so relieved that Sita did not have to prove herself to Rama after she is saved but instead is reunited through Agni, the fire god. Agni is super interesting, and is shocked whenever Rama either refuses or does not recognize his true deity name. It's probably just Rama being humble again.