Wikipedia Trails: From Karna to Margaret Jones

Wikipedia Trails: From Karna to Margaret Jones

I started off the trail with a character from the Mahabharata, Karna. I was curious about knowing more about Karna because he is one of those characters that made me question if he is really a hero or an anti-villain in the epic. I felt like I needed to do more research on him to decide what I wanted to categorize him as.

From the Karna article, I was led to the article about the University of Cambridge. I've always had an interest in Cambridge mostly because of my fascination with England. I've always wanted to go to England and know how universities across the pond are. I got to learn quite a bit of the history of this university through the Wikipedia page. 

Next, I went to the page of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I felt curious about this because this is one of the topics from any US history class I've had that has always been really interesting to me. I love knowing the history behind early settlements such as the first 13 Colonies. 

Finally, from the last article I went an article about Margaret Jones. She was a Puritan wife that was the first person to be executed for witchcraft in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the witch hunt. I thought this would be cool to read about because I've alway had an interest in the Salem Witch Trials. This was the first time I saw anything about a witch hunt on the other side of the country so naturally I was curious. 

Courtyard view of the Peterhouse College at the University of Cambridge. Source: Wikimedia. 

Tech Tip: Adding a Video

Tech Tip: Adding a Video

During this week, I made some more revisions to my portfolio story and I decided to add a video to it. I found a video that had the war theme music that was used in the exact same fight sequence in the tv show, Mahabharat, on the Star Plus. I thought it would be perfectly because my story, What Arjuna and Karna Were Really Thinking, is about the major battle they had that ended with Karna's death. I also put a little note to play it while reading my story for a more optimal experience. 

Reading Notes: Epified, Part B

Epified: Mahabharata

Epified. Source: Viki.

For the second reading of this week, I continued watching the Epified videos. I was actually more eager to watch these because these videos are when the main characters of this epic, such as Karna and the Pandavas, are all introduced. 

The Epified version definitely has some differences than the PDE version. One difference that I saw was how Karna came to be. In the PDE chapter, Kunti and Her Son, it said that secretly and in time Kunti became pregnant with Karna. In the Epified version, it made it seem like Kunti magically got Karna instantly by hugging the Sun God, Surya. 

Another thing that I was slightly confused about was in the Ekalavya chapter, where Drona demands a reward from Ekalavya because Drona is his teacher. I thought it was weird that Drona would ask for  his right thumb. In the Epified version though, it all made more sense. It is called "guru dakshina." This means that the student repays the teacher/guru in some way. In the PDE version, there isn't more to the story about Ekalavya except that he went back to the arrow shooting contest. However, in the Epified version, the story is more expanded and you can see Drona's emotions and how he felt about making Ekalavya sever his thumb. 

Overall, I'm enjoying watching these videos because it gives more insight into emotions and perspectives of all the characters than the other readings. 

Reading Notes: Epified, Part A

Epified: Mahabharata

Epified Source: Viki.

For this week's Mahabharata reading, I decided to watch the videos option instead of doing more reading. I watched the videos for the Part A portion. I really liked watching the videos because the illustrations were being drawn right as the narrator was speaking. This made it very easy to follow. Plus, I am a visual person so I was able to understand the story much more easily this way.

In the PDE version of the Mahabharata, it's also pretty easy to follow but there was definitely somethings that I couldn't fully grasp. Such as, the differences between the sons of Vyasa. They're characteristics are briefly mentioned when they are first introduced. In the Epified version, they are all characterized and drawn distinctly so the reader/watcher can easily tell the difference.

I think for anyone who is also a visual learner like me, they should try watching these videos. They are short and straight to the point. They use simple language as well so it's easy to understand.