SUMMARY SHEET Stories from

------Winner of British Council's CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD ------Stories from Mahabharata 1

Hello! Did you enjoy meeting the memorable characters from the Mahabharata? Here’s a quick summary of what we covered in the workshops. SUMMARY OF WORKSHOPS Here, in a nutshell, we present the main stories we shared in each session, just so that you will remember them. This series was all about Bhima, the most powerful among the . Bhima duelled with the fearsome Bakasura and the mighty and won easily. He overpowered a deadly poison and emerged stronger than before. Finally, it was a wily monkey that taught the mighty Bhima a lesson in humility. Gurus and Sishyas This interesting workshop spoke about ’s skilled archery and his focussed concentration, which made him his guru’s favourite. A poignant ‘guru dakshina’ by the brave showed his devotion to his guru, while shishya ’s white lie resulted in a terrible curse befalling him. Oaths and Promises Difficult oaths and heartfelt promises filled this session. Princess ’s fearsome vow made her be reborn as , and sounded the death knell for . The promise of the river goddess resulted in a chain of heartbreaking events for King . A man-snake conflict resulted in a dreadful vow taken by the snake Takshaka to wipe out the Pandavas. Karna Karna was the quintessential tragic hero of the Mahabharata. He could never say no to a request and always chose friendship over family. This session was filled with stories of the difficult circumstances that dogged his life, and people who made cruel demands on him. A series of unlucky curses led to his death at the hands of his own brother and ended his saga.

------Winner of British Council's CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD ------Stories from Mahabharata 2

Curses and Boons Curses and boons make for much excitement in any story, don't they? Lord tested Arjuna in archery and gave him the boon of the mighty Pasupatastra, making the Pandavas stronger than before in battle. It took a hundred curses for the vengeful Sishupala to get punished by . Arjuna turned into Brihannala at the opportune moment to avoid recognition, and turned a curse into a boon. The Wicked Ones These are stories about characters we love to hate. Nahusha was a very good king who turned wicked when his power went to his head, and was cursed to live the life of a ‘sarpa’ or snake. played a double game and planned the downfall of both the Pandavas and the ! Ashwattama, the ‘chiranjeevi‘ ( one with eternal life) was cursed to live forever with physical deformities, because of an unpardonable act. Krishna - the Mastermind In the Mahabharata, Krishna is like a puppeteer, controlling people, events and circumstances. The valiant sacrificed his life for the greater good on Krishna’s advice. The mighty Jayadrata was defeated by Arjuna, but with the help of some clever manipulation by Krishna. A clever ploy suggested by Krishna resulted in the death of the valorous while Bhima defeated with the help of a discreet gesture from Krishna. Crucial Turning Points This workshop looked at some crucial turning points in the epic. A palace built of flammable material burst into flames but the Pandavas were saved by an ingenious plan. A friendly game of dice turned into a deadly gambling match and sent the Pandavas into exile. The lion-hearted broke into an impregnable battle formation but sadly did not know how to come out of it.

We hope you enjoyed these stories and would like to listen to more stories on Indian mythology. We look forward to seeing you in more of our workshops soon. Warmly, Team Storytrails

------Winner of British Council's CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD ------Stories from Mahabharata 3

ACTIVITY SHEET Now that you have attended some of our workshops on the Mahabharata and have an idea about the beauty of the epic, we have some exciting creative work for you. We have designed a set of questions for you to tackle. Just pull out all the stops and let your imagination flow. Send your answers to [email protected], and we promise to get back to you with feedback from our team of writers.

Make your own comic strip

Take any scene from the Mahabharata that impressed you the most. Try creating an illustration depicting that scene or story. You can do it in black and white, or with colours. You can use speech bubbles too, if you want. And if you are really inspired, put a few illustrations together to make a small comic strip. You can draw one frame, or ten. It is entirely up to you.

Looking for some inspiration? Here are some illustrations that our team of artists put together. Each illustration depicts one scene from the Mahabharata. Get the idea?

Travel back in time Imagine you were living in times of Mahabharata. What would a typical day in your life be like? And how would it be different from your life of today?

Tell us about your favourite character Who is your favourite character in the book? Tell us why you like him/her so much.

Explore, Enjoy, Learn…

------Winner of British Council's CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD ------