I wrote a story two weeks ago using the college student Ari to tell part of the story of the Mahabharata where Arjuna is in exile. The story Ari and His Gators actually happens chronologically after this story in the original context. The original stories I found in two different sources. I kept the Ari character to connect these two stories.
In the original version of this story, Arjun's Journey, that I watched on Youtube, Epified Mahabharata
it tells the tale of Arjuna meeting the water nymph that wants to marry him, and he leaves only to go find a beautiful princess and pretending to be a Brahman married the girl and has children with her and then goes back home, running away in the middle of the night. He also had a wife back home.
 |
| image found Warwick Goble—1913, Indian Myth |
Now that Ari was in his junior year of college at Florida State University it was time for him to go study abroad for his degree in Cultural Anthropology. He would be travelling to India. He was very excited about this trip because his ancestry is Indian even though his family had lived in the United States for several generations. He had never been anywhere outside of his country before, so he was naturally curious about what he would discover about himself on this trip. So he decided to start a blog to record his journey. This is what it says:
Day 1 of trip- I finally made it to my destination after nearly an entire day in flight transit! I am so happy to be here, the youth hostel here is nice. I can't wait for tomorrow.
Day 2 of trip- This place is amazing. The food I have eaten today is otherworldly good. Mumbai is, just wow. I have no words. I feel so at home here, like I have been here before. The smells of the city, a mixture of foods and industry that stirs something deep in the soul.
Day 3 of trip- I met some other students here today. It was neat to find others that are here having the trip of a lifetime and also being a little bit blindsided with culture shock. We are all going to meet up tomorrow to go for a swim. I think that will help me to work off some of my nervous energy from such a change of pace of travelling.
Week 2 of trip- One of the guys showed us a spot on the river that is apparently enchanted. A local had told him not to go there. He was curious. He went. So we all went. Then I went back alone. I cannot believe how much time has passed. I thought I was gone a few hours. Weeks have passed. I thought I was having a dream about a beautiful woman....I don't know. I think it was real. She knew my name, Arjuna. This is a little strange because mostly people just call me Ari. She was so beautiful, radiant. She told me she was the daughter of a Naga king. I don't know her name, I can only remember her eyes....Oh, and curiously we were in a water palace. She wanted me to stay there with her. I ran away. If I didn't know better, I'd say I was kidnapped by a water nymph.
 |
| The underwater city Ari visits. |
Week 6 of trip- I want to go home. I came here to study abroad, and I thought it was going to be an academic experience. What I have learned is that these women are lovely, but will be the death of me. I accidently got married. Don't judge me. Bollywood is alluring. I do not know how to handle my liquor. She is gorgeous and very wealthy, her father is a bit of a movie king. She is also pregnant. My mother is going to have kittens she will be so mad at me.
 |
| Ari's accidental wife- |
End of trip!!!
I am so happy to be home on American soil. I love India, but I think India may love me a bit too much. I really missed American pizza. I think I will load these photos onto a flash drive, get some pizza and call it good.
