The topic I have chosen for the project will be a combination of my reincarnation idea and my Lakshmi and Vishnu love story idea, since (re)incarnation is so prevalent in the deities’ stories.
My research began with reading a storybook project from a couple years ago called Sita, Sidewalks, Shadows, Stars. When I was explaining my topic idea in last week’s blog post, I had a difficult time articulating my thoughts and ideas for this project and as a result, I did not convey what I wanted as well as I had intended. When I read through this storybook, what the author did was almost exactly what I was thinking for my project, the biggest difference being their story centered around only Lakshmi's/Sita's reincarnations rather than both deities. My idea focused on an “eternal love” motif in which the pair continues to find one another in every lifetime. What I loved about the author’s take on this idea is that they created their own characters, their own reincarnations, which is something I am considering doing rather than just using avatars (and love stories) that already exist, since that could limit the amount creativity I put into each story.
Since the goddess Lakshmi was my starting point for this story, I started my research by looking into a Wikipedia page about her. I chose to look into her over Vishnu because, as far as I know (I could be wrong though), she has fewer avatars than Vishnu and only incarnates onto earth when he does, so I wanted to make sure I paired the correct avatars together.
For my first story, I am undecided about which avatar pairing I will do, but it will cover either Rama and Sita or Krishna and Rukmini. Currently, I am leaning towards Rama and Sita because I am more familiar with their story having read it before and reading it again right now in Tiny Tales of the Ramayana, but that may change. I would like set the story in ancient times, staying true to the epic in that sense. However, I want to alter the plot slightly by not giving Rama and Sita a happily-ever-after moment. That could entail Sita not being saved by Rama or not being saved ever, but either way I have decided to do that to keep on track with my initial idea of star-crossed lovers who cannot have their happy ending in one life, so they meet again in the next.
My second story will take place in the modern era. Taking inspiration from Sita, Sidewalks, Shadows, Stars, I would like to create all new characters who are reincarnations of Rama and Sita (or Krishna and Rukmini) who don’t know they are reincarnations. I want their story to parallel key plot points of the original Ramayana epic, except with a modern twist. But I want to emphasize that the story parallels the epic, not mirrors it exactly. Maybe she doesn’t get kidnapped but it almost happens, maybe she is rescued but not by Rama’s reincarnation, or maybe it is a toxic relationship that ends. I would have to finish Tiny Tales before deciding which key scenes to adjust.
For my last story, I want the characters to have a happy ending and finally be together, which would break the reincarnation cycle. I know from reading a little about Lakshmi that her four hands represent four aspects of Hinduism, one of them being moksha. So I wanted to give a nod to that part of Lakshmi in this story. I would love to incorporate the other 3 concepts into the previous stories, but that is something I still need to think about and work on. I also want to set this story in a sci-fi/tech setting, similar to that of the story that inspired my original idea. Again, I would like for elements of this storyline to parallel that of Ramayana without being identical.
My research began with reading a storybook project from a couple years ago called Sita, Sidewalks, Shadows, Stars. When I was explaining my topic idea in last week’s blog post, I had a difficult time articulating my thoughts and ideas for this project and as a result, I did not convey what I wanted as well as I had intended. When I read through this storybook, what the author did was almost exactly what I was thinking for my project, the biggest difference being their story centered around only Lakshmi's/Sita's reincarnations rather than both deities. My idea focused on an “eternal love” motif in which the pair continues to find one another in every lifetime. What I loved about the author’s take on this idea is that they created their own characters, their own reincarnations, which is something I am considering doing rather than just using avatars (and love stories) that already exist, since that could limit the amount creativity I put into each story.
Since the goddess Lakshmi was my starting point for this story, I started my research by looking into a Wikipedia page about her. I chose to look into her over Vishnu because, as far as I know (I could be wrong though), she has fewer avatars than Vishnu and only incarnates onto earth when he does, so I wanted to make sure I paired the correct avatars together.
For my first story, I am undecided about which avatar pairing I will do, but it will cover either Rama and Sita or Krishna and Rukmini. Currently, I am leaning towards Rama and Sita because I am more familiar with their story having read it before and reading it again right now in Tiny Tales of the Ramayana, but that may change. I would like set the story in ancient times, staying true to the epic in that sense. However, I want to alter the plot slightly by not giving Rama and Sita a happily-ever-after moment. That could entail Sita not being saved by Rama or not being saved ever, but either way I have decided to do that to keep on track with my initial idea of star-crossed lovers who cannot have their happy ending in one life, so they meet again in the next.
My second story will take place in the modern era. Taking inspiration from Sita, Sidewalks, Shadows, Stars, I would like to create all new characters who are reincarnations of Rama and Sita (or Krishna and Rukmini) who don’t know they are reincarnations. I want their story to parallel key plot points of the original Ramayana epic, except with a modern twist. But I want to emphasize that the story parallels the epic, not mirrors it exactly. Maybe she doesn’t get kidnapped but it almost happens, maybe she is rescued but not by Rama’s reincarnation, or maybe it is a toxic relationship that ends. I would have to finish Tiny Tales before deciding which key scenes to adjust.
For my last story, I want the characters to have a happy ending and finally be together, which would break the reincarnation cycle. I know from reading a little about Lakshmi that her four hands represent four aspects of Hinduism, one of them being moksha. So I wanted to give a nod to that part of Lakshmi in this story. I would love to incorporate the other 3 concepts into the previous stories, but that is something I still need to think about and work on. I also want to set this story in a sci-fi/tech setting, similar to that of the story that inspired my original idea. Again, I would like for elements of this storyline to parallel that of Ramayana without being identical.
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