Dear Kaikeyi,
I regret to inform you that Bharata is VERY angry with you. It seems as if you betrayed him, as well as the entire city of Ayodhya.
Vasishtha came to me today revealing your actions and expressing how livid Bharata is. I would like to get your side of the story; is it true that you used the two promises King Dasaratha granted you to exile your stepson and heir to the throne, Rama, for fourteen years and to make your own son, Bharata, king?
I am led to believe that Vasistha tells me the truth. Apparently, King Dasaratha was so heartbroken about losing Rama that he passed on and is transitioning into his next life.
I am sorry for your loss. I am sure you grieved after your husband’s death. Perhaps you feel as if his death is some sort of penance (that is assuming that Vasistha is telling the truth and you did, indeed, use your two promises). Unfortunately, Dasaratha’s death was a consequence from his own actions and I must proceed with different penalties for your situation. With any action that occurs in this world, I must perform at least one outcome according to that action.
Vasishtha displayed a lot of emotion. So much so that I could feel Bharata’s anger in Vasishtha’s words. The conversation was tense and full of worked up thoughts. Therefore, I must warn you, that in order to ease Vasishtha and Bharata’s minds, I gave Vasishtha a list of consequences that you will experience. Again, these consequences will only occur if Vasishtha is telling the truth AND Bharata does not forgive you. You may view the list below:
· You will find it challenging to tell right from wrong
· You will have many doubts
· You will become close-minded
· You will crave flavors, but never taste them
· You will be viewed as wretched and ugly
· You will lose your desire to learn
· You will desire sleep and never rest
· You will become poor and beg people for food
· You will live in a kingdom led by fear
· You will receive many teaching skills, but forget your lessons and appear a fool
· You will eventually resort to gambling
· You will not be able to perform good deeds, no matter how hard you try
· You will betray your friends
· You will lose others’ trust
· You will lie to the people who need the truth the most
· You will argue your beliefs and values to those that don’t wish to hear
· You will never see Rama return to Ayodhya
Before I act upon any decision made in this world, I believe it best to gather all of the facts. Hence, this letter. I would appreciate it if you respond to me with your side of the story in ten days or less. If I do not hear from you, I will assume that Vasistha told me the truth and will conduct research to see if Bharata forgives you.
I wish you the best.
Sincerely,
Karma
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| An endless knot. Related to Karma because Karma can be considered endless. Source: Wikipedia |
Author’s Note
The major changes include a letter-format with Karma’s perspective (he is not technically introduced in Buck’s version). Also,Vasishtha informs Karma of Bharata's anger towards his mother due to her deeds.
This portion of the story snagged my attention because I believe Karma was at work. Kaikeyi decided to use her two promises and a lot of possible consequences crop up (Vasishtha’s list of what will happen to her) from those actions. I wanted to write a letter from Karma’s perspective explaining to Kaikeyi what would happen to her if she was not forgiven.
I chose an endless knot as my image to display Karma. I feel as if this is perfect imagery since Karma is everywhere and will always be in existence.
Bibliography
Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
Emily, this idea of a letter to Kaikeyi is brilliant. I’m impressed with the novelty of something like this. I imagine that Kaikeyi would be shocked while reading something like this. I found it equally impressive that you were able to incorporate a majority of the content from the Ramayana into this story. It would be interesting to see a storybook consisting of Karma’s letters to characters from the Ramayana.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I think this adaptation and idea of a letter to Kaikeyi is great! I know there was a lot going on at this point, especially with Bharata being angry and Dasaratha's death. But I think your idea of using a letter to Kaikeyi from Karma is a great idea! I like the way you structured the letter, including a list of what would happen if Bharata didn't forgive her. Great writing and I think you did such a great job at explaining what happened in the story and yet giving it your own spin. Also, wonderful job on your author's note!
ReplyDeleteHi Emily! I really enjoyed your story as I've never read an epistolary storytelling post as of yet. My favorite part about your story is how neutral and detached your character Karma is. They list the facts straightforwardly and explain the consequences of Kaiyeki's actions. Your style of writing is very clear and coherent. The only issues I found were very minor: the line "I would be much appreciative" might sound better as "I would appreciate it if..." and the line "lead by fear" should be "led by fear". I also like the image that you chose for your storytelling post. The image really shows the endless cyclical nature of karma, and how it affects people like Kaiyeki. Overall, your story is very well done. Would there be letters to or from Bharata or Kaiyeki as well? I'm curious to know how far this epistolary style could go. Great job on this story, and I look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteHello Emily! I have to say that this is one of the best storybooks I’ve read yet ths semester. For starters, I love the letter format that Karma writes in. As for me, I am mad everytime Kaikeyi’s name is brought up in the stories. She betrayed Rama and he is my favorite character. Karma is an interesting concept that some people belive in and others don’t. In this instance, Karma is definitely repaying her because of what she did to Rama. As the story progresses, I thought it was interesting that you listed all of the consequences that would happen to her based on what Karma knows thus far. However, as the letter goes on, Karma is quite merciful in saying that he will change the terms and conditions if she decides to defend her point of view. In conclusion, the unending knot was a great depiction of how Karma is never ending. Great creativity with the letter and also great Author's note!
ReplyDeleteI love how you formatted your story as a letter. I love the concept of Karma, so I loved that you made the letter be from Karma to tell Kaikeyi the negative consequences that would befall of her due to her actions. I enjoyed how you portrayed Karma, because you gave it the characteristics of being very formal in the writing, but it was also sympathetic. I am sure that if Karma were to write letters like this to all who required one, it would have to be sympathetic and understanding, yet also stern to get its point across.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I missed it before, but I really like the use of the Portfolio Guides! You did a great job with something as simple as your title. Since I know a little about Kaikeyi's background, I am a more than interested in seeing what Karma has to say to her. I like how Karma ask's the Queen questions instead of just laying punish down on her. It seems as if Karma is prodding her to do some self reflection as she is reading the letter. I also like how Karma doesn't act as if they are all knowing, and is giving Kaikeyi some benefit of the doubt. You did a great job using a letter style for this story. As I was reading the tale, I was wondering where you got inspiration. Now I see exactly where you're talking about! You took such a small part of the epic, and created a great story out of it. There was not anything within the text, or it's flow, that has jumped out for me to critic on. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story, but I would have liked to have a little more explanation about who some people like Vasishtha are as it has been quite a while since I read this story and I was always bad with keeping the names straight. A short little blurb in the same sentence he was introduced in would have worked. It might have been nice to have one for Bharata too. Or if you didn't want to do that you could have put your author's note at the beginning. I loved that you gave a whole list of consequences that she would experience, It would have been good to know why he chose those particular punishments for her and to know if they would extend into her next life or just be part of this life. It also would have been really cool if you'd had another letter underneath this one that told her side of the story and also good to know if Bharata did indeed forgive her or if she got punished.
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