Storybook Project Topic Brainstorm

In today's post, I will be discussing four possible topics for the semester-long Storybook Project. I chose a broader variety of possible topics because I am not quite sure what I would want to write about for the rest of the semester. I might end up doing the Portfolio Project, because I love the idea of writing about a variety of topics and getting the chance to revise past stories, but looking through topics such as these makes it harder to decide!

The first possible Storybook topic is apsaras, divine nymphs in Indian mythology. This topic interested me because I had never heard about apsaras until they showed up as a random topic on the Readings and Resources website for the course. Skimming through the Wikipedia page, it seems like it would be very easy to either write a new story about an existing apsara or to create an apsara and rewrite an existing story to include her (similar to what I did with rakshasis in my Week 2 Story). Below is a carving of an apsara that was done on a stone wall: 

(photo found on Wikimedia Commons)

Speaking about rakshasis, another possible topic would be to write about Ravana, the king of rakshasas (rakshasa is the male form while rakshasi is female). I don't have a lot of ideas about how I would tell a story about Ravana, but because I already know a little about rakshasas it could be an interesting Storybook project.

A storybook topic that would definitely make sense for a Music Education major would be to write about the music of India. I had a world music course that had a heavy focus on Indian music, so I could put some of those resources towards this storybook project, but I honestly would not know what to write about. There are so many points of focus in such a rich musical tradition, I think I would find it difficult to focus on just one.

The final possible topic would be to write about Vishnu and Lakshmi. I'm a little bit of a romantic, and the idea of a divine love where the two find each other in their human avatars is endearing. For this topic, perhaps I could write a collection of stories about them in their different human avatars? The possibilities are endless and the idea is intriguing!

Writing out all these possible topics makes me want to cover all of them, it'll be difficult to focus on just one.