Week 3 Story: Interview with Padma
Valmiki's Interview with The Padma (Lotus Flower) on the 7th Avatar of Vishnu
Image Source: Wikipedia
{Announcer} You’re listening in on Valmiki’s Corner! Here is the man himself! The one poet who sings of the Ramayana, the only one who tells the truth, here’s Valmiki!
[Applause! from audience]
{Valmiki} Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me here at Valmiki’s Corner. Today we have a special guest who has seen more than most of us have ever had the privilege to see. I am interviewing… The Padma! Our lotus-flower friend will be divulging an exclusive on the 7th avatar of Vishnu! Everyone, say hello to Padma!
[Applause! and theme music]
{Padma} Hi, thank you for the welcome. It is nice to be here again at Valmiki’s Corner.
{Valmiki} It is so wonderful to have you here again, the Bean of India. Last time we saw you, you were blooming out of Vishnu’s bellybutton with Brahma sitting on your petals. How is the Lord of Creation these days?
{Padma} Brahma is doing well. He is usually wondering about with Hanskumara, his hamsa or bird, these days. We don’t spend as much time together anymore but honestly listening to him run all four mouths is a little exhausting.
{Valmiki} Ha-ha, I can imagine! Let’s get another round of applause for the Lotus’ great work!
[Applause! from audience]
{Valmiki} Wonderful. Now let’s get down to the real reason we’ve asked you, such a sacred and well-known icon, to join us today for an interview. I wanna talk about the absolute hunk everyone is dying to hear about! Is Rama really as handsome as the Ramayana says? They say he is like a blue lotus bloom and we wanna hear is from the lotus, himself, if that is true!
{Padma} [laughs briefly] The legends are very true. He’s as handsome as I am, my friend. There are few who can match his beauty, or gain such strong favor from his father. The kid is a real sweetheart.
[Audience whoops]
{Valmiki} Charitable too, letting you come out here today. Since we are on the subject of the personality of Rama, I have a question. How is Vishnu different when he is the 7th Avatar?
{Padma} Well, as you know, the divine and mortal are inherent opposites. Because of that it is always a little strange at first when Vishnu appears as an avatar. But I would say Rama is a very strong representation of the god’s preservation of Good. He’s compassionate with others, which mimics the behavior of Vishnu himself. The duality contained in one body can be a struggle for the avatars, but Rama has proven himself capable of deciding between the good and bad. He is a really wonderful presentation of divinity taking on the lesser form of man and still holding onto the morality and Dharma of Vishnu.
{Valmiki} Well, you heard it here folks! Rama and Vishnu are everything any of us have ever dreamed! Up next, we have Ravana’s take on what happened in the Ramayana.
Author’s Note: I read the Public Domain version of the Ramayana, in which there is a link to in my bibliography. While reading the Ramayana, I noticed the different usage of the lotus for comparison. I researched more into the importance and symbolic significance of the lotus and found how it was connected to Vishnu. In most iconography, Vishnu carries the Padma or lotus flower in his lower left hand. When Rama was compared to a blue lotus bloom, my curiosity was really peaked and I wanted to investigate. It made sense once I realized that once potential symbolic meaning behind the lotus is that it can be a sign of realization of inner potential and a symbol of what is divine or immortal in humanity. The cultural significance of the lotus would not have been lost on readers or listeners of the Ramayana so I felt it was something worth exploring as a character. It helped, for me, concrete the idea of Rama as the Seventh Avatar of Vishnu.
Bibliography:
Hi Jessica, this was amazing to read. At first, when I saw the format, for whatever reason, I could already picture the interview taking place, and from there on, it carried along in my head. You didn't even need the audience reactions, but those were great to include because they solidified the interview experience. One thing that I'm curious about is the other Avatar's of Vishnu. There is comparison that is trying to be achieved in this interview (i.e., Rama compared to all other men in terms of hunkiness), and I actually did not know what it meant to be a 7th avatar up until now. And why do reincarnations occur? Is it based on need or a timeline? It might be interesting to compare the 5th or 6th avatar of Vishnu to the current Rama in order to flesh out his characteristics even more. Overall, this was hilarious and a fascinating story to read!
ReplyDeleteThis had a very well-done back-and-forth dialogue. It definitely felt like a real interview. The audience reactions really painted the whole scene in my head too. Padma's descriptions of of Rama sound realistically personal and are what I'd imagine from a person, had they met someone like Rama in person.
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story! Structuring it like an interview was a great idea, and made the story very entertaining. The character Valmiki seems to have a lot of personality. Was this a made up character or was he or she in the Ramayana? Maybe, you could explain his backstory in the author's note or in the story if he or she is made up. I also like how you named the Lotus flower Padma and provided a little bit of a backstory on this flower character. Is the name Padma a reference to anything? If so, maybe add that in your author's note. How does Padma, the lotus flower, know Rama? Explaining a little bit about their relationship in Padma's background would help the story. Great story!
Hey Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your story! Since being in this class, I believe you're the first person I've seen, who used an interview-type format. I liked the fact that this really seemed like an engaged interview and there seemed to be a lot of work put into this. As our fellow classmate, Jessie, mentioned, I believe an introduction over Valmiki would be nice to have, so that readers can use it as reference. I actually think that having any sort of intro would be helpful in this case, because it seems as if you just started off with your announcement and straight into the interview. I enjoyed this interview and I hope I am able to read more coming from you!
Lauren, that was a super unique and attractive story idea that is sure to catch the attention of readers like me! I love the fact that we can get to know Rama from the perspective of someone who doesn't immediately put him on a pedestal as a divine being like the narrators of Ramayana and those who know him closely in the story, like Sita and Rama's father. While I love Padma's perspective on Rama, I would love to see Valmiki ask Padma more questions about him/herself. As a reader, I was very intrigued about the part where Valmiki mentions Padma blooming out of Vishnu's stomach and I think that would be a great place to include more detail about that story that allows us to learn more about Padma's orgins, as well as it's interaction with Vishnu.
ReplyDelete