The Makhaan Chor

Hello World!!

"Thank you for helping me move in!" I told my neighbor, the old lady. 

It was my first time living all alone and I was so excited! Vrindavan was such a beautiful city! I couldn't wait to explore it. 

"Are you listening to me?" I suddenly heard the lady screech. 

She had stopped at the door and turned around to face me. I had been so busy day dreaming about exploring Vrindavan that I had no idea what she was trying to tell me. 

"Could you repeat that? I am not sure that I heard correctly," I said with a smile hoping that she wouldn't realize I hadn't been listening at all. 

She glared at me as she started again."Beware of the Makhaan Chor, or the Butter Theif! Make sure that you hide your makhaan in a place no one will suspect. We all have to worry about our makhaan disappearing, but since you are new here you will be his next target guaranteed. Keep the makhaan safe." 

She turned around and crossed the sidewalk to her house as I rushed to shut the door before I collapsed onto the ground overtaken by laughter. She wanted to warn me about a makhaan chor? That was her big important warning? I concluded that the old lady had become senile. She had obviously lost her mind. Who would need to steal makhaan? You can buy it at the market at any time. I, myself, had bought around four packages. It wasn't even possible for someone to steal that much or even eat that much makhaan at once. I shook my head in disbelief and went to retire for the night. It had been a long day trying to move in not to mention the five-hour-drive here from my parents' house. I suppose that was a plus point as well though. The farther away from them a little bit the better it would be for me! 

~~~

I woke up the next morning to my stomach growling. I knew that I was craving my usual toast with butter for breakfast. I couldn't start my day without it! All of a sudden I heard the sound of glass breaking in the kitchen. I picked up the baseball bat that I had left against my nightstand and slowly got up from my bed. Once I got to the kitchen I saw a little boy standing in the middle of it. I lowered my bat and spoke in my best scary man voice, "What on earth are you doing in my house, little boy?"

I heard him swallow as he slowly turned around. He was the cutest little boy ever, and I am saying that. I hate kids yet there was something about him that entranced me in some way. I couldn't stop staring at his adorable grin and those huge brown eyes filled with mischief. He reminded me of my little brother.

"I am just here to welcome you to our neighborhood!" he mentioned. "I didn't want to scare you!" He looked at the ground as the grin on his face was replaced with a sad frown. He began to draw circles on the kitchen floor with his foot. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

"Don't worry, little man. How about I make both of us some breakfast? Then I can drop you off to your house on my way to work." I was in awe that these words were even coming out of my mouth, but the last thing that I needed was for everyone to hear about how I screamed at a little kid.

"Okay! Do you have any makhaan? I always have some for breakfast!" He sounded so excited that my smile was back.

I nodded as I walked over to the fridge and stuck my hand in the drawer only to find... nothing. NOTHING?! I knew I had bought four packages of butter! I was planning on making a big feast for all of my friends coming over this weekend and knowing that I would be at work all day I had chosen, for the first time, to be prepared. I ran my hand over where the makhaan used to be once more and found a piece of paper. "Welcome to the neighborhood," it read and it was signed The Makhaan Chor. It had to be the little kid! No one else had been in my house since the old lady left! I turned around to find the child gone. So this was what he wanted. Alright then. It was time for a war....

 

The Makhaan Chor, Source: Spiritual India Gallery

Author's Note:  

I really enjoyed learning about Krishna and his love for makhaan! I thought that he was adorable and I kept imagining this scene in my head of what his various thefts of makhaan would be like. I had to write at least one down, and this one was the one that I choose. I got all of my knowledge about Krishna from the Epified videos all about Krishna. I still adore how people make him out to be such a mischievous child. It makes him seem incredibly endearing. He was naughty but he still somehow found a way into everyone's hearts. He was such a cute character that I couldn't help but write about him in some aspect. I would love to know more about him and Radha as well! I find that I enjoy romantic stories but especially more so when there is some mischief involved. I also found this story to be a change from my usual stories as well. I think that it was time for a change. This class is all about finding out who we are as a writer and exploring our creativity, so I assumed that challenging myself would be a good thing!

Abandoning Love

Hello World!!

The village man’s voice echoed in Rama’s head. Rama had been sitting in his office trying to get some work done for the past hour, but all he could do was think about the village man. He braced himself as he heard the voice once again.

“I am no different from Rama! He accepted his wife even after she lived with Ravana for six months. Who knows what happened then? We are simply living in the example of our leader.”

The voice got louder and louder until it became a scream in his head. Rama saw the man’s face with the gap tooth and mole on his left cheek.

“LONG HAIL RAMA!!”

The village man’s laugh echoed in Rama’s head putting every single part of Rama’s body on fire. Rama jumped out of the chair. There was a loud echoing thud as it dropped to the ground. This was it. He couldn’t take it anymore. Something needed to be done about the constant taunting he had to deal with. It was getting out of hand. The voices needed to be stopped. The jeering and laughing. The pointing and whispering. The village man had gotten everyone talking! Rama gripped the desk in front of him with both hands to steady himself. Sita needed to be taken care of. He couldn’t handle it anymore.

~~~

Sita continued pacing back in forth in her room. She was so excited she could barely contain herself. She ran over to her nightstand and picked up the pregnancy test for the fourth time. She couldn’t believe she was pregnant. Now they would have a perfect family. Ram, Sita, and their child. She felt her eyes well up with tears of joy. She put the pregnancy test in the drawer, and took a few steps back. She twirled around once. Twice. She stopped and wrapped herself in a hug while tears ran down her face. She cradled her womb and whispered to her unborn child. “Let’s go surprise Daddy and make his day a bit better! Are you ready, love?”

She had been imagining Rama’s face lighting up and glowing. She knew he would go crazy buying gifts for the child as well. Teddy bears and train sets. Dolls and cars. She sprinted to the doorway. She had to find him and tell him now!

~~~

Rama came to a sudden stop when he saw Sita in front of him. He paused to take a look at her. Her big beautiful eyes and glowing face. That smile that he had fallen in love with lit up her entire face. He couldn’t help but smile in return himself. That smile had taken away his problems many times before. “FOCUS RAMA. Focus,” he thought to himself. This needs to be done.

“I have to go to a meeting, Sita. Since it is much farther away from here than I would like, I was hoping that you would be willing to accompany me?” He said it just as he had practiced in his office.

“Of course, Rama!! Let me just change.” Sita smiled and walked back to the room.

Rama felt tears beginning to surface in his eyes. No. Not now. He had to be strong. He went to the office to grab his files.

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They had been traveling for six hours now, and Sita had fallen been asleep for two hours in Rama’s lap. He continued mindlessly stroking her hair and admiring his wife until the driver stopped the car. He turned around and asked, “Now, sir?”

Rama gave a quick nod in response and the driver walked outside and opened the hood of the car.

“Sita, Sita, wake up. The car has broken down,” Rama announced to his wife. This needed to happen as seamlessly and quickly as possible. “Sita.”

Sita woke up and sat up next to Rama looking a little confused. “Would you care to go for a walk, dear?” Rama asked. Sita nodded and opened the car door.

They had been walking for about thirty minutes now when Rama stopped abruptly. “I left my phone in the car!” he stated. “Give me just a second, love. I’ll go grab it and come right back.”

“Let me come with you,” Sita exclaimed

“I’ll be right back. Don’t worry! I run super fast!” He smiled down at her.

“Okay.” Sita gave in and sat down at the tree waiting for him, “I’ll be right here waiting for you!”

Rama turned around and sprinted away as quickly as possible. He needed to leave before he changed his mind.

```

“That’ll be all. Thank you,” Rama exclaimed to the driver.

 “Yes, Sir,” the driver replied as he left. Rama took off his shoes and lay down in his bed. He leaned over and opened the drawer to his nightstand to begin looking for the thermometer. He felt as though his entire body was on fire. The feeling refused to disappear. He felt the thermometer under his fingers and grabbed it. It felt a little different in his hand. He looked down at his hands and immediately sat up. He couldn’t look away. He threw the pregnancy test against the wall and curled up at the front of his bed. He began to rock back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth…..

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Sita strained her neck to see if she could spot Rama on his way back. He had been gone for hours it seemed, but she had lost all track of time. It would be today that she had no phone and no watch. “Maybe I should get up and look for him? No. No. He said that he would come back. He said to wait,” she thought to herself. She placed a huge grin on her face once more, and continued to strain her neck to see if she could spot Rama. She knew it wouldn’t be too long before he came back! After all, it’s not like he would just leave her there! She knew he loved her too much to live without her….

Sita waiting for Rama, Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Sitas_Exile_by_Raja_Ravi_Varma_%281848_-_1906%29.jpg

Author’s Note: I found that this part of the Ramayana hadn’t been given enough detail in my opinion. Once I read about it on Wikipedia, I knew that I needed to write about it. I needed to bring a change in the story to make it a bit more modern. I thought that this would bring about a positive change. I wanted to create a very strong feeling towards the characters. I wanted Rama to be despised yet understood and to create a form of sympathy towards Sita. I think that this allows for you to understand the circumstances and gives you an insight into the lives of both Rama and Sita.

I am including this piece specifically because I feel that while my last story of Rama and Sita showed a strong independent woman there was a side to Sita that was vulnerable that I wanted to capture. I believe that when we are in love we are all a little vulnerable. I wanted to make sure that you saw that in Sita. I wanted to bring the innocence and good heart in a way that you could imagine it perfectly. I hope that you enjoy reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Here’s to trying something new!

Source Used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita

Portfolio Index

The Makhaan Chor 

After finally moving to a neighborhood a man encounters an adorable child! He attempts to make friends with the child only to discover that the child has a secret! To make matters worse, there is a makhaan chor on the loose in the neighborhood. Will the man be able to put two and two together? 

  Abandoning Love

 Sita and Rama are a loving and wonderful couple, but suddenly something changes. Rama decides to go on a trip with Sita, but something unexpected happens. What does Rama do? What happens to Sita? How does she react? What is the reason for all this chaos? Read this story to find out what happens to the sweet couple.

Sita's Choice

We have all heard the story of Ram and Sita. We all know that they were in love and are the ideal for the Indian culture when it comes to any love-based scenario. Despite all of this information, have we ever been able to see the story from Sita's point-of-view? How did she feel about being abducted or even about having to prove her purity to her own husband? What would have been different? Here I present to you a story of a women with a choice, and I truly hope that you enjoy it.

 Thataka's Story 

 This is a story about a change in destiny for Thataka. We all want to be given a second chance. A chance to mend our mistakes. A chance to help us become better better people. Thataka is blessed with a second chance. What will she choose to do with that chance? Is it possible for her to mend her ways?

Testing New Stories for the Week

Hello World!!

Sita froze as she heard his refusal echo in her head. "I will not take her with me! I just cannot!.... NO! You need to understand!" Rama's voice echoed all around. She felt tears beginning to swim in her eyes. She couldn't even bring herself to look up at him. She had loved him with all her heart, and she would never betray him. Why didn't he believe that? Why was he treating her in this manner? She had done nothing wrong. She felt a tear sliding down her cheek as she felt herself begin to crumble. No. She refused to let this break her. She had been through so much recently. She had dealt with the kidnapping and worst of all with Ravana. This is what she was getting in return. She immediately composed herself as she reached up to wipe the tear. It was now or never. She couldn't take it anymore.

Sita walked up through the trees to Rama and placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned around and immediately stiffened. There was something different about Sita. Some new confidence about her. She had a sudden change in her demeanor. She seemed a bit different, although he couldn't put his finger on it. "Rama, I can prove that what you are thinking isn't true. Nothing has changed. However, I do have one condition which I won't be able to tell you until I prove myself," she said with clarity. He simply nodded and stepped back from her.

A Scene From The Reenactment of the "Agnipariksha", Source:theboldindian.com

She turned around and bowed her head in a prayer to the God of Fire. She prayed for him to keep her safe if she hadn't done anything wrong. She opened her eyes to a large, rectangular pit of fire before her and without any further hesitation she walked into it. She had made it to the middle when the she found a man standing in the middle of the fire beaming at her. It was  the God of Fire before her. He turned her around and presented her to Rama. She looked up to see his proud face filled with happiness. "I always knew you could do no wrong, but I needed to prove to everyone else this simple fact as well," he clarified. He walked over to her to hug her when Sita stopped him. All the people gathered around seemed even more shocked than Rama. "I believe we had an agreement," she stated.

 "Anything you desire my dear," Rama said.

 "You felt the need to prove to everyone that I had done nothing wrong, but if you had faith in me I do not understand how anyone else mattered. I believe that you did what you felt was right, but now I must do the same. I cannot stay with you any longer. I do not wish to have to prove myself to others or even you for the rest of my life. So, all I am asking for in return is for you not to stop me." She finished her declaration with a step away from Rama. She looked to see his heartbreak show in his face. He looked down at the ground and whispered, "As you wish." She turned around and began running. As she ran away, she felt herself free for the first time. She smiled as she continued running as far as her feet would take her. This wasn't an ending, but a new beginning for her.

Author's Note:
I didn't completely agree with this specific scene in the book. I don't find it necessary to worry about what other people think. We should do what we believe in and what our heart allows us to do. We shouldn't bother ourselves with ridiculous notions of how others will react. The only thing that should have mattered in this situation, in my humble opinion of course, is that Rama believed Sita was pure and that should have been the end. I don't believe that anything else should have mattered. This is why I chose to give Sita an ending that while proving her innocence allowed her to be free as well. She can now live life according to her terms without having to prove anything to anyone. I think that in this way she is standing up for herself and allowing herself to be happy and content.

This story is very special to me, because I have found myself fighting or what I believe in during various circumstances. It is unfortunate that even today there are many cultures and places that look down upon females. These cultures place men on a higher status above women. I think that it is important for a woman to show the people around her that she is in charge of her own destiny and is capable of taking care of herself. In this story I allow Sita to make that choice and empower people to make a choice for themselves.

Bibliography:
All information has come from Narayan's Ramayana, (link to Reading Guide A) 

The New Story of Thatarka

Hello World!!

We had all heard of Thataka's story. We all knew not to cross into the region where she lived, but ever since I had been a little boy I had wanted to do nothing else. Something inside of me pulled me towards her. Something unknown. I had grown up in the world without any family, but was thankful to Saint Agasthya for taking me in when no one else would. He had taught me many valuable lessons of kindness, hope, and faith. Most importantly, however, he had taught me to listen to my heart, and my heart was telling me that I needed to go see Thataka.

I thought back to the dreams I had been having since I was little. The one with the three men who went about destroying things. One of the men looked older than the other two. Perhaps they were related to each other? Family? Who were these people? Why were they destroying everything in their path? I remember the shock on Saint Agasthya's face when I had asked him. I remember telling him I felt like I knew them. The man in particular. Every time it was the same thing, "It is all in your mind Aditya," he always said to me. I knew that it wasn't, and I needed answers, and something kept telling me that Thataka is the only way I would get them. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The older man appeared in front of me. There was a woman with him. She was crying. She held out her hand to the old man.  My eyes snapped open immediately. The woman. She was in pain. I needed to help her. Maybe then I would be able to find my own answers. I needed to find her.  I sprinted to the Saint's room to seek his permission. 

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I was incredibly surprised that all Saint Agasthya had asked was if he could come with me. It was almost as if he knew something I didn't. I was surprised by the desert around me. I had expected it to look as it did in my dreams. The beautiful flowers and trees, but things were the exact opposite here. Everything encompassing us was dried up and dying. It was unbelievable. I had assumed these were just stories. I thought I wouldn't have found anything. I pulled out the bag of seeds I had brought with me and began to plant them in various places around me. "Child, what are you doing?" asked the Saint. 

"Trying to right was has been wronged," I explained. I walked over to a dead log which looked as though it had been uprooted.  I walked over to it and placed my hand on it. Suddenly I froze. It all came back to me. It was me. That man was me. Those sons were mine, and Thataka... tears began to pour out from my eyes as I dropped to the ground. I sat there on my knees hugging what was left of the log when I felt Saint Agasthya's hand on my head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was wrong. So wrong." I wept as he smiled down at me. "I always knew it was you, Sunda. I simply wanted you to learn the error of your ways," he explained. "I can only pray that it isn't too late for Thataka." We both stopped as we heard the stomping of feet. "I wish you the best," he said as he turned to walk away. 

Quote about love, Source: cathy4worldequality.wordpress.com

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 Thataka grabbed me up in her enormous hands and proceeded to lift me to her face. I stared at her in disbelief. "My dear wife, what has become of you?" I said as I bored my eyes into hers. I felt every inch of her freeze. I reached up and put my hand on her cheek. "Please, Please don't continue on like this." Her expression grew softer as she whispered, "Sunda. Is that really you? You're alive?" I nodded at her with a smile as she placed me back on the ground. Her grin grew wider and wider until suddenly it disappeared. "It is too late now. You must leave." she said with a deep pain in her eyes. "It is never too late to apologize, Thataka. You can also learn to change as I have! Just apologize with a clean and pure heart." I replied hopefully. She closed her eyes and bowed her head as she bellowed, "Please forgive me my sins and allow me to start life anew. Please give me a chance to rectify my mistakes. I vow to never hurt anyone or anything again. Just please allow me to live my life with my Sunda." Tears streamed down her face as she opened her eyes. "You are forgiven, my dear," echoed the Saint's voice. I looked over to see my beautiful Thataka once again. She hadn't aged since I last saw her! The curse had frozen the true beauty inside her. The curse that punished her husband through death, and her through pain. The pain of not having any life around. The pain of destroying everything around her as a result of the destruction her husband had once caused.  I ran to her and held her in my embrace. We looked around to see that the Thataka's tears had given water to the seeds, and the saint had enchanted them to grow big and strong. This would a be a new beginning. We would make sure that this time everything we touched was filled with life. 

Author's Note: 
I decided that it would be incredibly interesting if we could see the story from Sunda's point-of-view. I also wanted to give Thataka a chance at redemption as well as a happy ending. I have always believed that love had the power to heal as well as destroy and I wanted my story to demonstrate that. I thought that if her punishment had made her so terrifying and ruthless, then love coming back into her life would allow for her to become loving and caring unlike ever before! I do realize that my story is far from the original and not many people will agree with how there is now a happy ending, however different doesn't always have to be a bad thing! I really enjoy having hope for a new beginning and that is why this story is so close to my heart. I found that Sunda was punished very quickly, and I feel that if he had been given another beginning he would have chosen differently. It amazes me how much we ignore people telling us what we are doing wrong. Constructive criticism can be a good thing if it is taken in good spirit. Sunda had the ability to gain a second chance, but we don't have that ability. I feel that this story is a good reminder that we need to make good decisions and truly listen and be aware of what we are doing. Listen and learn!

Bibliography:
All information has come from Narayan's Ramayana, (link to Reading Guide A)