Topic Brainstorm

(Image of the Goddess Lakshmi, by Raja Ravi Varma, on Wikipedia.)

 Sita - A Pure Life 

    Reading through the Wikipedia page about Sita I saw something about her husband, Rama, asking her to prove her purity by an ordeal of fire in order to accept her, and that this caused Rama's brother to be angry with him. I love reading stories about powerful women, which is why I was initially interested in writing about Sita who is a large figure in Indian Epics, it seems, but I would like to know more about this ordeal of fire and how it "proves purity". From the website I came across about the ordeal, it seems like a trail they would give to witches during the Salem Witch Hunts. The only previous knowledge I have is the storybook I read last week about Rama and his brother. It was written in the Mario Brother's universe, and Sita was being rescued from a fortress just like in the video games. I think for this story I could just write from Sita's perspective of being asked to and then going through the ordeal of fire. I assume she had a lot of emotions around this ordeal and I think it would make a compelling story. 

Rama and Sita - A Loving Couple

    While reading about Sita and Rama I was also interested in their initial love story. On the Wikipedia page about Sita, they say that she choosing Rama from a bunch of suitors who are competing for her hand in marriage. I don't know anything about the story or what the contest is, but that plot of suitors competing for a princess's hand in marriage gives me the same vibes as Merida from Brave, which I liked that movie a lot. A Wikipedia page I found about the contest said that Rama had to string and shoot a boy to win her hand, so it would be interesting to see what is so special about the bow. Other movies I like a lot are romantic movies, and I feel like a story about the romance between Sita and Rama would be interesting. I would like to learn more about the contest, and what Rama and Sita's relationship was like. For the Storybook I could write the beginning of their love story into the same kind of plot used in romance novels, like using a meet-cute and having a love triangle, if there is another suitor that Sita was interested in. 

Draupadi - The Tragic Heroine 

    Reading over the Wikipedia page about Draupadi I felt bad for her. She had a lot of misfortunes throughout her life, more than most. The event in her life that intrigued me the most was her thirteen years of exile with her husbands. I don't know anything about Draupadi or her life. I would like to learn more about why she was sent into exile, what she did during those thirteen years, and how life was after her exile. I think I could make a couple stories about this, depending on what I find interesting. One thing I am most interested in at the moment is her initial exile since it seems like it's her husbands that get exiled and she just has to go with them. I could write about per perspective of finding out that she is now exiled for whatever reason, and having to leave her home. 

Lakshmi - The Goddess of Wealth, Fortune, and Prosperity 

    I don't know anything about the Indian Goddesses, but after looking over the Devi Wikipedia page Lakshmi caught my attention. The first thing that I thought interesting was that she was not only the goddess of material wealth, fortune, and prosperity, but also of spiritual wealth, fortune, and prosperity. I would like to learn more about her four hands, symbolizing four goals that humans should strive for. I could write a storybook about someone going through trials to reach each of these four goals, almost like A Christmas Carol, but an Indian Goddess instead of ghosts of Christmas past.