Comment Wall
Hello everyone! Welcome to my Comment Wall for my Storybook: The Magic of Maya.
 |
| Maya is oftentimes associated with sleep. A wise sage saw Vishnu's Maya as an infant asleep on a fig leaf. Source: Wikipedia |
Introduction to Ish
Hey everybody! My name’s Ishan, but I go by Ish, like fish without the f. I’m a sophomore and I’m majoring in both Biology and Letters with a Pre-Med track. I hope to practice medicine, but I’m still unsure of the specialty I want to work in. I’ve been fascinated with neurosurgery, but the extensive schooling and long, risky procedures made the field less appealing. I recently read Do No Harm by Dr. Henry Marsh, one of the world’s best neurosurgeons, and the various stories demonstrated the difficult lifestyle of a neurosurgeon. As a result, I’d be more interested in a neurosurgical specialization of a field I found appealing, such as a neuro-ophthalmology, but I’m open to all options. I was born in Frankfort, Indiana; it’s an extremely small town relatively close to Indianapolis. My family and I moved to St. Joseph, Missouri when I began preschool, before moving to Terre Haute, Indiana when I began 3 rd grade. We then moved to Edmond, Oklahoma when...
#/media/File:Kamchipuram_4015.jpg){kind=link}
Hi! I just looked at your homepage and read your intro. Good job so far! It looks like your storybook is already coming along and I am definitely interest to read more. So far it looks like it is going to take kind of an ominous tone with focus on the Maya and the illusion. I am not familiar with any of this, however I am excited to see the stories that you will add over the course of the semester. It seems like you definitely have focussed in on a topic and seem comfortable and confident within that topic. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThe image of Buddha you have as a header for the introduction of your storybook is amazing. I really love the background behind him. I knew nothing about Maya before reading this. In fact, I don't think I had even heard Maya used in that context before this. I think you did a really good job of explaining everything in your introduction.
ReplyDeleteI would maybe break things down into more layman's terms, so the readers can digest the information easier. I minored in philosophy, so I understood what you were saying for the most part. However, I think if I didn't have that background, I would not be following as easy. I feel like I would need further explanation about Maya somewhere along the way.
I think that this is a really interesting topic you're working on and I am very excited to see where the semester takes it.
Hello Ish. I just finished readying your first story and introduction. I really liked it and I could see that you put a lot of work and thought into it. I think it is really cool that you are focusing on the theme of Maya as it seems like there are a lot of cool stories you can tell using this theme. Focusing on your first story. I liked how Vishnu taught Narada about what the illusion energy of Maya was. Instead of explaining it to him using just words he showed it to him. I liked how the story also seemed somewhat surreal. For example, Narada proposed to his wife immediately after meeting her and she accepted it. Something that would not happen in real life, but because Narada was being influenced by Maya he did not think twice about such an unlikely event. Anyway I thought it was a cool story and look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteHi Ish! Your storybook is absolutely fascinating so far. I think it was a great idea to take a philosophical concept that you obviously know so much about and turn it into a series of stories. I’m very interested to see what other aspects of Maya you reveal in your stories.
ReplyDeleteI think it was wise that your introduction is an explanation of what Maya is. Some of it was above my head, as I have no formal background in philosophy. You could try to add some more basic information if this is similar to other feedback you get, but I also thought your first story did a good job of clearing up the concept.
Narada’s story was definitely clever and also shocking. I predicted that he would get in trouble for forgetting his commitment to Vishnu, but Vishnu seems cruel for destroying his entire world. I suppose that’s part of the point, though! Like I said, I’m interested to see what other stories you tell about this concept. It's all great so far!
Hi!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, your page is so aesthetically pleasing. I love the font, the structure, and the pictures. The pictures really caught my eye a lot. I love the idea you had to for your storybook and I am so interested to see what you do in the future. The introduction is very useful and really explains what you are writing about to the reader in a simple, but also interesting way. I love how you use the Indian gods and goddesses in your story and how you make them behave. Overall, this was a super cool storybook and I cannot wait to see how you continue to develop your ideas and thoughts in this storybook. I can already tell it is going to be a good one.
Hello Ish, I loved clicking on your project and immediately being interested because of the look of your page. Maya was one of my options as well and think it's a great choice because of the many options for stories you'll have. Starting with the introduction I like how simple it was to get me prepared for the main story. In Narada and Maya there is a great amount of dialogue in your story which makes it feel like I'm a fly on the wall in the story. The images at first glance are confusing but after reading the story make sense. This story is great and hopefully the randomizer has me comment again on this story in the future as I definitely want to see how this story winds up!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that what first attracted me to this story was that my name is Maya! I have never really done much research on the concept of Maya. Wow- what an interesting place to start. I really liked your story and thought that it was well written. I also think that you have a lot that you can still address in this story. The primary thing that I would want to read more about is Narada's personal thoughts just after his family has died. I have to imagine that it would take more than a few words from Vishnu before Narada could overlook his personal pain to see the overarching truth of the Maya. If it were me, the stunt that Vishnu pulled, this familial "illusion", would embitter me against him, rather than redouble my commitment to Vishnu. What about Narada's experience means that he could so easily look past the death of his own family?
ReplyDeleteHello Ishan,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a really good job with putting together your story page to begin with. I liked the imagery, the titles, and I think the page itself was appealing. The story was really well written as well! I had heard a lot about Maya from Indian movies but I had never read about her. So this story was really good exposure to this topic and I think you really did your research. Yet again this story mentions Vishnu and I am surprised at how many stories include Vishnu in the storyline. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to reading more on this topic.
Hi Ish!
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading the introduction for your storybook as well as Narada and Maya. I think you did a fantastic job on all of it. The introduction did a great job at explaining what the reader needs to know for the stories. The story itself is also very well written. I loved writing style and everything flowed well. I wonder why Narada might forget about his desire to learn about Maya? Was part of the illusion a manipulation to make him forget about or no longer desire to learn the information Vishu promised to teach him? Did his earthly desires take that much away from his spiritual attachments? If you expand upon the story, something that may be interesting is exploring how Narada feels once he understands Maya. The life he lived may not have been all that mattered, but it was still real and so is his loss. Would that at all effect how he embraces his spiritual side?
Hello Ishan,
ReplyDeleteYour storybook is really excellent! I am a huge fan of how you introduce the broader concept of Maya and explain some of the alternate conceptions of it, particularly since the premise is that it's a kind of ephemeral illusion. It's also helpful that you state precisely which concept you plan to use - that's something I've found confusing in other stories since so many of the religious theories overlap. The story you told (Narada) was very well done, and I will freely admit that I'm very tempted to hijack the way you separated your author's notes into a distinct page because it's clever and helpful.
I don't know of much I can suggest by virtue of the story itself, but it did occur to me that it would be very cool to use what's called a ":hover" effect on the text in your story - this would cause it to change when a cursor is held over it. I was thinking that having the text change before the reader's eyes would really lend itself to the notion that reality is far more subjective than we realize. Although, to be fair, that might be a little bit too involved. In any case, great work!
Hi Ishan,
ReplyDeleteI love how you set up your storybook! The home page was very helpful with an explanation of what the project would be about and how it is used throughout Indian storytelling. So the first thing the reader gets to see is a definition basically, which is helpful for someone like me who wouldn't have known what the term was unless they looked it up.
Your introduction was very beautifully set up, I really liked your images that you used. The wooden buddha as well as the image of the universe. I think it was really important that you used your introduction to explain in further detail the concept of Maya and how it is used and seen. I love how you have a separate page for authors notes because then it does not take away from the overall affect of your story! I think this was a super smart decision on your part! I may consider doing the same thing because the flow of the pages was just super natural and easy to focus on.
Hello Ish!
ReplyDeleteYour storybook is so easy to navigate and is SO aesthetically pleasing! I think I stared at the Narada and Maya story picture for about five minutes. My favorite part of the set up was how you skipped lines and had spaces between the conversations. Like there was a space between replies and it really helped me follow along with the dialogue.
I like how you mentioned the two approaches to Maya, philosophy and storytelling, and explained the view you chose. Your introduction was very enlightening! I am excited for more stories with illusion. Illusion is one of my favorite themes because of how it can be so creative while really applying to real-life instances. I was slightly confused through the intro when discussing truth, non-truth, reality, and illusion. But I feel illusion is hard to understand no matter what, as it should be!
Hi Ish! I really love the concept that you are basing your storybook over: Maya. What really caught my eye was the sentence in your introduction, “Maya produces a false duality between ourselves and reality” – I found that so interesting. I think that the approach of retelling Narada’s experience with Maya gives a lot of insight to the concept. I liked that you explained the relationship between Vishnu and Narada. The way you gave meaning was amazing! The story was brilliant and helped me as a reader to grasp the concept even more. I look forward to reading more of the stories that go along with your storybook. The topic you have chosen is different and unique, and the way you are presenting it is very interesting. I also appreciate that your authors notes are in a different section, I think it helps to distinguish the changes you have made from the original. Overall, a very well-done job!
ReplyDeleteHi Ish!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I wanted to say I think the design you have going on for your storybook is great! All of your images are really eye-catching and the ones with your stories fit them perfectly! I also really like your font, it just gives me illusion-y vibes so it goes perfectly with your theme of Maya. I had never heard of the concept of Maya before reading your storybook, so I was honestly a little confused at first. Your introduction, while informative, was a bit over my head and I had to read it more than once to try to understand it. However, after reading both of your stories, I understood the concept of Maya much better. Especially the story about the frog. I literally had an 'aha' moment while reading that one, understanding the idea of our experiences dictating what we believe to be true. The imagery was perfect, and you captured the ideas you needed to convey really well.
Hi Ish! Wow- what a great story! I though that the imagery that you were able to incorporate was really spectacular. Also, the image at the beginning of the page was perfect for setting the scene.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I was wondering was of you had been able to write an author's note for this story. I looked for one both on the story page and on the page entitled "author's notes". If you published them somewhere, I am having trouble finding it. If you have not yet published one, I would love to read it! With such a great story, I was eager to read about what had inspired it! I would really encourage you to continue writing with the amount of imagery that you had in this story. I really felt sucked in by that characteristic of your story, and, well, that's what every author wants, right? Great job!
Hi Ish!
ReplyDeleteI decided to visit your portfolio again because I loved your first story, Narada, and how you were able to describe things so deeply. And you did it again! I read the Frog in the Well and the descriptions were fantastic! the "blue-ish green hue," and the "algae-green" water were the perfect descriptions I felt like I was actually looking down in the well. I also enjoyed "He dreamed of a flavor he could not imagine." That really describes how he was yearning for something but he did not even know what it was. I think it could be fun to add a little twist to the story by adding more about the frog's life. I know it doesn't match the the story much because the story has a lot of deeper meaning. I love the way you write, you really help me visualize everything and feel the characters feelings!
Hi again! I wanted to revisit your storybook this week to see what you’ve added to it, and I was not disappointed! I loved the story of the frog in the well and thought it really helped show a different facet of the Maya theme that you’re exploring. I definitely felt like I learned something from your story. You’re very good a rewriting parables/teaching stories because they’re both entertaining and also enlightening. I like that you’ve put your author’s notes on a separate page. That way people can focus on the stories and then see how they all connect together at the end. If you wanted to add something to your author’s note about the frog in the well, I would love to hear you explain how the frog could have properly opened its mind and rejected the illusion of its life to show how a healthy understanding of Maya would manifest in someone’s life. However, your writing is in really great shape, and your website looks wonderful. I’m very impressed with your work!
ReplyDeleteHey again, Ish!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see how your storybook is evolving as the semester goes on - I hope you are doing well, also. I've already commented on the Narada story, which remains excellent, so I'll focus on the Frog in the Well. I think the limited perspective of the frog goes a long way towards the overall goal of making Maya more clear to the reader, so that was a great choice for an addition. I appreciate the lengths you went to in your description of the frog and its environment; that said, particularly for describing the frog, you might be better served by spreading that information out through the rest of the story. I've found that when a reader (including myself) hits a lengthy character description, they have a tendency to gloss over it and miss some of the details - of course, that may not be important for your story, but it's the only thing I could think to add this time.
I still might use that separated Author's Note page idea...anyway, it's great to see another story from you, keep up the good work!
Hello Ish, I loved your stories and the overall look of your page. The bold text is very nice and easy to read. Your authors note is fantastic. I remember reading a similar story to the ones you wrote and it the authors note does a great job of connecting your story to the Mahabharata. Maya being an illusion makes perfect sense and how he can relate to mankind. I love how all of your stories are connected as well which your authors not does a great job of. On your re telling of the Frog Wall I like how it's from the point of view from the frog. This character description of the frog goes in great detail would clear up any confusions about his character. Your writing style and detail oriented description is what makes this project so great. It looks like a complete project to me!
ReplyDelete