Reading Notes: A Flowering Tree, Part G

I continued reading A Flowering Tree and Other Oral Tales from India for this weeks reading. I read stories forty-eight through fifty-two. There stories are very odd and they all deal with somewhat similar concepts, mainly about adultery. It seems that in almost every story, the wife is cheating on the husband with another man and eventually, their lover is somehow killed.

I really like how in "Princess of Seven Jasmine", the prince must complete separate tasks in order to win the princess' hand in marriage. This seems like it is a common theme throughout many epics from India. I also like how the prince helped other creatures, who eventually came to him in his time of need.

As I was reading, I was thinking of ways that I could rewrite some of these stories. They are as follows:

49. The Pomegranate Queen

• I could write where the mother of Indra doesn't approve of the pomegranate queen and so Indra cannot marry her

50. A Poor Man

• I could write where Ganapati did actually give the poor man 5000 rupees and in turn the poor man had to give all that money to the merchant

51. Princess of Seven Jasmines

• I could write where he has more modern tasks to accomplish

52. Prince who Married his Own Left Half

• I could write about hours leading up to the operation in the eyes of the father, prince, and surgeon
• I could write how son dies in surgery
• I could write how he did solve the riddle and the wife had to kill herself

Bibliography

A Flowering Tree and Other Oral Tales from India, J.K. Ramanujan, Online Source

Photo of a Jasmine Flower, Web Source