Topic Research: Jataka Folktales

The focus of my Storybook will be on Folktales/Jataka Tales. These Jataka Folktales contain so much wisdom that can help our thoughts, relationships, and confidence. I have narrowed three Jataka Folktales that my Storybook can further dive into.

1. Elephant Stories: Jataka Tales of Nobility
The term "noble" has been something that has always intrigued me. I think it is something many aspires to be. Some people are born into nobility; while, others work hard to be regarded as noble by those around them. I would love to explore these perspectives. It intrigues me that in these Jataka Folktales, the lessons and wisdom about nobility are coming from the strong, large animal of the elephant. I think this will bring an interesting perspective to the storytelling. Furthermore, in this preview that I found online the Elephant Stories regards the elephant as both patient and nasty. It further asks that if the large elephant can turn nasty, what can smaller creatures do to save themselves? I would love to explore this theme!

2. True Friends: Jataka Tales of Good Conduct
I think these Jataka Folktales will have great wisdom and can teach me a lot about how to be a better friend. These tales look like they will be told based off human perspectives based off the cover. I think it is because of this fact that these episodes can be especially relatable and can teach many lessons. I think the path I would take with this story will focus on the theme on how we can be true friends with others even if we move away and are emotionally and physically in different places in life.

3. Stories of Courage: Jataka Tales of Valour and Victory
The reason I am interested in this story can be simply stated as: I want to be more courageous. I have a shirt that says "Be Courageous - Pope Francis" Personally, I love Pope Francis and part of the reason I wear this shirt on certain days is because I want to be braver that day. The route I would take with this story is focusing on the growth of a character to be courageous at the most epic of times.

The little pig standing up for its fellow pigs against the tiger on the cover of the Stories of Courage: Jataka Tales of Valour and Victory is what I want to be. This story is one of my possible stories that I will chose from to dive into further in my Storybook.

Topic Brainstorm for My Storybook

Diving into different topic listings, I have narrowed my interests into the following four topics:

1. Folktales/Jataka Tales
After reading through the Jataka anthology of short stories and then creating my own story based off the Jataka story The Turtle and The Geese, I noticed I really enjoyed stories with strong lessons and I want to learn about the development of these lessons. These lessons are usually evident by the end, clearly taught, and very wise. The stories use simple characters in order to provide the reader with a simple storyline but impactful lesson. I would like tell and create lessons through dialogue between characters. Based off the lessons in the folktales, I would determine myself if I want to keep that lesson or branch off in another direction or in addition to the original lesson. Looking through the Folktalkes in the Chitra Katha comic books, it seems like a main focus in these books is teaching a lesson. For example, I have looked more into Elephant Stories: Jataka Tales of Nobility through reading a preview I found online and the four pages have already intrigued me.

Folktales and Jataka Tales turns the gears in our mind and helps us learn a lesson.

(Image Source of Lessons Learned Image)

2. Festivals and Holidays
Festivals and holidays are celebrated in such different ways depending on the place. I think anywhere one goes, it is important to celebrate a festival or holiday with locals. These celebrations help define the culture. It is so interesting and amazing to witness and analyze the difference and similarities between the locations whether they are or are not celebrating the same festival or holiday. Simply recognizing these similarities and differences without thinking that one is better, can help us grow as a diverse-minded person. Therefore, reading into the Festivals and Holidays Project Idea, I believe that even if I am unable to go to India right now and am unfamiliar with the culture, I have the opportunity to learn about their culture through doing research and creating a storybook on their festivals and holidays. Maybe retelling these stories would involve a great amount of images of the festivals and holidays.

3. Birth Stories
Recently, I have become very found of my little niece. This little girl has brought back so much energy and life into of my Lola (grandma) who gave birth to nine children and I am so thankful for the both of them. Combining this recent feeling with my amazement of the creation of life, it would be interesting to dive into birth stories as a storybook topic. Even though my previous knowledge about Indian birth stories are very minimal, I believe I can learn through readings throughout the class as suggested in the Birth Stories Project Idea class page. Looking through the Birth Stories Project Idea I have learned about the birth story of Sita and how she faced doom right when she was born as she was ordered to be buried. There are situations like Sita's birth story where her future is challenged as a newborn and she has no say. I think a similar situation to this, but in today's society, is abortion. Furthermore, my idea with these stories is possibly tying it in with a controversial issue in our society.

4. Traveling India
As someone who is not familiar with the country and the culture of India, I believe that creating a storybook about traveling India will help me learn a great amount about the country, its greatest landmarks, and culture. What I do know about India is that depending on the location in India, the culture is very different. Through looking through the Traveling India Project Idea, I believe I will be able to look into many of these different cultures and recognize these differences myself. Furthermore, I looked at a past project titled Letters from My Indian Travels and I think the author was able to highlight the main observations he/she learned because he/she is telling it to another person, in this case her grandma. I think that the act of retelling one's own traveling experiences to another can really capture the highlights of what was learned. The story I would want to tell is my own "travel" through the country, retelling it in a similar to form to letters, but rather through a video, which is more apt to our society now and my generation. I am not for sure if this would be allowed, but I would write the words of the story at the bottom half of the video. When I travel, I like to use my GoPro, so I thought the combination of traveling, video, and storytelling might be a new way to create a storybook.