Picking my brain for some topics! Week 2

Okay, so I sometimes just randomly sit and have these deep conversations with myself. These mental conversations sometimes happen during 3 a.m in the middle of a shift, when delirium usually sets in. And during the past few days I've been attempting to come up with some original ideas that I could possibly use for my portfolio/storybook. A great idea was actually brought up by Professor Gibbs in a comment on my Introduction blog post. As we may or may not know, I'm slightly obsessed with the magical world of Harry Potter, and two of the characters, the Patil twins, would be an amazing way to incorporate my love for this series and famous Indian epics into an awesome story! So here are four different topics that would be great to explore for a big project at the end of the semester. 

• Gods and Goddesses: A topic I always enjoyed exploring, even before this class. Now, one of the Patil twins is named Parvati, which is the Hindu Goddess of love, fertility, and devotion. Since Parvati is named after this goddess I think it could make for a great story line! I just need to find a way to develop a good plot and read some more to really get my gears turning. 



Parvati is expressed in many different aspects. As Annapurna she feeds, as Durga (shown above) she is ferociousImage Source: Wikipedia

• Research: So far I've only delved into the link that Professor Gibbs gave me which was the main Wikipedia page for the goddess Parvati. I have come to learn that Parvati is married to the Hindu deity Shiva. Shiva is "the destroyer, recycler and re-generator of universe and all life". Parvati is also expressed in many aspects, giving her over a hundred different names in Hindu mythologies. 
• Families/Siblings: Since the Patil twins are obviously sisters, I thought this would be a good topic to cover. Apart from Parvati having a name connected to the goddess, Padma's name means 'sacred lotus', 



The Hindu goddess Lakshmi holding & standing on a lotus, Raja Ravi Varma painting.
Image Source: Wikipedia

• Research:  Padma's name means sacred lotus, and in Hindu culture the lotus is associated with god's such as Brahma, Vishnu and Lakshmi. The lotus is also associated with purity and wholesome beauty. According Lotus Sculpture, it is considered the favorite flowers of the Hindu gods and goddesses. It is used to describe feminine beauty and is above all used to describe the beauty of woman's eyes. 
• Rakshasas (Demons): I usually gravitate towards anything supernatural and weird in real life. Being Roman Catholic also fueled my fascination with exorcisms and demons as well. And being a fan of shows such as Supernatural, where demons play a big role I think I can think up some good plots. It will be interesting to try to intertwine some of the stories that are to come in the Ramayana with a more modern twist. 
• Research: So far I'm going to try to read up more on Rakshasas and their role in Indian folklore and such since there is probably a different take on them compared to what I know now. As I read the Ramayana it will add more fuel to my thought process. Although, the origin of the word is quite interesting. According to Wiki, the actual name Rakshasas was given to demons for it was what Brahma uttered after they tried to eat him after he created them. Brahma uttered "Rakshama", which is the Sanskrit phrase for 'protect me!", which prompted Vishnu to come to his rescue. 
• Love Stories: I'm a stickler for romanticism, so  I think I will have fun with this overall theme.  I especially love the courtship story between Sita and Rama, which is why I wrote my own version of it for my Storytelling Week 2. Love stories can take so many twists and turns and it is possible to make them stray away from the stereotypical "happily ever after", which was mentioned in one of the Indian Epics blog posts for the course, does happen between Sita and Rama. 
• Research: Since this theme is so broad, finding a specific source for it might be a little tricky. I'm going to generally count on the reading itself to find a good baseline for my potential stories.