Reading Notes: Raja Rasalu, Part B

Today, I took notes over the second part of the reading for Raja Rasalu. I really liked the first story in the Part B reading, so I decided to take notes over these today. The interactions with the hunter and Raja are just the precursor to the events that unfold. I tried to take note of things that happened after the hunter failed to comply with Raja's conditions.

• Again, the poetry in this story is important.
• I really liked the exchange between the buck and doe in the south woods.
• The looming fate of the hunter is such an integral part of the story.
• I think I would like to include similar foreshadowing in the retelling.
• I like the dialogue of the doe as she ponders death after the buck dies.
• I think the dynamic between the buck, doe, and hunter is very interesting.
• There is a lot of self doubt and anguish associated with the dynamic.
• This would be something cool to manipulate or recreate in the retelling.
• Mirshikari is a very confident man and did not understand the weight of his actions.
• Raja Rasalu is very wise and knowledgable. 
• It seems that Raja associates himself with others as entertainment.
• He constantly uses riddles as a way of messing with mortal men.
• I think he is very clever and his cleverness is a reoccurring theme in each story.
• The king is unable to solve Raja's riddle and seeks confirmation of the hunter's death.
• There were many who doubted the death of Mirshikari. I believe this is a testament to his strength. This only reinforces the fact that Raja is so far beyond the strength of other men.
• The story ends by Raja alluding to another king.
• I could possibly transition into the next story.

I think that there is a lot of value in the first story. It spans across four different sections and includes much detail and thought. I can do a lot with this story. There is a lot of possibility for change. I could also focus on one specific section and retell it in my own fashion.

(This is a photo of deer in the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary in India. This is how I imagined the deer in the story would look. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography: Raja Rasalu from The Adventures of the Punjab Hero Raja Rasalu by Charles Swynnerton. Source: UnTextbook