Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part A

Chapter 1 is titled "The Eighth Baby" and is about the birth of the eighth child of King Shantanu. This chapter is an introduction to all the characters and the very, very beginning of the war of the Mahabharata.

Chapter 2 is titled "Enter--The Players" and is about the Pandavas and how they came to be. This chapter introduces the readers to the Pandavas and their births. It also introduces the Kauravas and gives a brief background as to who Karna (charioteer's son, but really royalty).

Chapter 3 is titled "House of Joy--and Ashes" and is about how the enmity started between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. King Dhritarashta (father of the Kauravas) named Yudhisthira the heir apparent of Hastinapur. Duryodhana, being the eldest Kaurava, should have been named heir apparent, so as a result of Yudhisthira being named heir apparent, the Kauravas started hating the Pandavas, and the enmity began there.

Chapter 4 is titled "Bride for Five" and is about Draupadi and her swayamvara. The Pandavas attend Draupadi's swayamvara, and Arjuna wins her swayamvara and marries her. But when she is brought to the Pandavas house, without looking at what they brought, the Pandavas' mother asks them to share what they have brought. In this way, she became the wife to all five brothers.

I would write about how the members of Gokuldham Society share each other's happiness and sorrows.

Click here for a reading guide to R. K. Narayan's Mahabharata.

The Pandavas bring Draupadi home, and their mother, Kunti, asks them to share what they have brought.

Source: (Google Images)

Famous Last Words: Weirdest Week

This week was just the weirdest week I've had this semester. Some really strange things happened that didn't make sense.

One of those weird events was that one of my bosses had some kind of allergic reaction to her eyedrops and her eyes were swollen and puffy, and I had to cover for her a couple of days at work, so that left me with less time to work on homework. I don't know if I'll more time to work on homework this week either. I may have to fill in for her on Monday, and I am also going to the career fair in the Union on Wednesday. But I do know that I have less homework in week 5 than in week 4, so the less time should not be an issue.

Another weird thing was that we got calls about stuff that we are trying to sell at work that we really don't need. That's a project in pending on Monday and has to be complete as soon as possible and with me around, it'll get done quite fast.

I'll just end by saying that I look forward to this upcoming week tomorrow.

"The whole week was weird." Really? Tell me about it!

Source: (Google Images)

Review: Writing About Something New

A few days ago, after submitting an assignment, I got an email from our professor to keep in mind about not writing about something I've already written about. That's kind of hard, but when I start writing about a certain topic, it automatically strikes me about whether or not I've written about it before.

One thing that I really like about this class is that it helps to know myself so much better. It helps me to dig deeper and deeper into myself and to push myself to do better and know that I can.

Something on the class announcements that really resonated with me was the Growth Mindset cat: "Let another's success inspire you". That is a really powerful statement to me. I have always been inspired by another's success. It can really be a catalyst to helping one reach their dreams!

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try." Without trying, you will never succeed. And those who try never fail.

Source: (Google Images)

Wikipedia Trail: From Nooran Sisters to Pawan Kumar

I'm in a mood for singing this week, and there was a picture of Inayat Khan on the class announcements page, so I took this opportunity to read about a singing duo is a really good at what they do: the Nooran sisters.

The Nooran sisters are Jyoti and Sultana Nooran. They always sing together. They sang together in a movie, called Dangal, recently.

Dangal is about the first female wrestler to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, Geeta Phogat, and her sister, Babita Phogat.

In reality, there are four daughters of Mahavir Singh Phogat, who wanted to wrestle for the country but couldn't for some reason: Geeta, Babita, Rita, and Sangita. All four of them wrestle.

Geeta recently got married to another wrestler, Pawan Kumar. He has won bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. My Wikipedia trail ended there.

The Phogat sisters and their father. From left to right: Sangita, Babita, Geeta, and Rita. Sitting is their father, Mahavir Singh Phogat.

Source: (Google Images)

Learning Challenge: Health & Exercise

A week (or two) ago, I wrote about how I am having difficulty with taking care of myself and how I had wanted to go the gym.

After I wrote about it, I made a resolution to go to the gym after getting off work. I have been succeeding and I now go to the gym Monday through Friday, for about 45 minutes each day. I feel so much better about myself. And I am getting closer to reaching my fitness goals.

I used to make excuses, but not anymore. I now make improvements, and I'm proud of myself for it.

Source: (Google Images)

Growth Mindset: Learning About Business Hands-On

Recently, I have been learning about business hands-on, and I have really been enjoying it. It gives me the opportunity to grow and learn so much about what I want to do later in life.

My workplace is truly the best place I can be, and I am extremely grateful and thankful for all that I have learned there.

What I eventually want to do in life: run a hotel. Not necessarily a La Quinta, but it visually describes what I want to do and where my passion lies.

Source: (Google Images)

Tech Tip: Editing a Pinterest Pin

Let's say you have a pin on Pinterest and you want to change what board you want it in. Changing it is really easy.

All you do is click on the pin to expand it, and click Edit (it has a pencil on it). Under board, there is a dropdown menu that you use to change the board.

It's as easy as pie.

What Pinterest looks like when you open pinterest.com. Whoever created Pinterest was truly a genius and deserves a Nobel Prize for such a great creation.

Source: (Google Images)