Ramayana I : Adventure

the plain white rice represents a life without adventure and the onions represent things learned through experiences and life trials

“You shall not have your rice unseasoned. I’ll throw in a bag of onions,” (1007). This is consolation Red Eyebrow offers Swallow’s mother when she is bargaining for possession of her beautiful daughter. The story of Swallow was added to the Ramayana later in order to frame the classic Indian epic, but was this addition necessary? I think so. Though there are always those who believe the original in its purest state is far superior to any modern rendition or translation. And usually I would agree that something is lost rather than gained by adding to or changing a work from its original composition, because even the perceived mistakes or archaic language tell us something about the time and situation in which it was composed. Admittedly something is lost in translation with the Ramayana, but as I cannot read Sanskrit, the translation will have to suffice. With a story as ancient as the Ramayana however, the translations have themselves become “works of great literary merit…” and without them this great epic would not have reached so many people (1004G).

Much like a story changes slightly every time it is passed orally from one story teller to the next, the Ramayana has undoubtedly been recited with incalculable nuances. Every rendition is an important piece of history in its own right and to say that a translation or an addition should not be considered with the same esteem as the original is denying history. In a way, the continually shifting nature of epic stories actually distills the story in the long run, contributing to its cultural potency. Orally, the story of Rama is never told in the exact same way, and in written language, many of the original Sanskrit words have no perfect translation in other languages. The only thing that stays consistent is the basic series of events, the outline or skeleton of the story. When comparing this skeleton with the skeleton of all other epics the world over, certain archetypes and moral lessons become evident. Epics usually involve quite a bit of supernatural events, and besides teaching children cultural values and ethics, these stories also instill in children a sense of wonder and curiosity because they must suspend disbelief. I consider this lesson just as important as any other lesson an epic can teach. It encourages creative thought and mystery at a young age, which I consider an extremely important part of childhood.

The Ramayana certainly provides the mystery and wonder that I mentioned as well as a sense of adventure. It tells children that the best things can sometimes be gained in times of the greatest discomfort and uncertainty and it can be beneficial to leave the security and comfort of home. Rama goes into exile almost voluntarily; he could easily have avoided leaving for his father’s entire kingdom with the exception of Kaikeyi was one his side. Initially Rama was content to accept his father’s throne, but when the idea presents itself to Rama of giving up his possessions and living as a hermit he cannot resist call for adventure. And indeed an adventure Rama gets; if he had not left the kingdom the story would not be nearly as interesting or appealing to children.

an example of people seeking adventure.

The story of Swallow contributes to this encouragement for children to seek adventure. The Ramayana alone seems too disconnected with reality of the average reader’s life and it is difficult to relate to. The suspension of disbelief that is required is such a stretch that Rama’s adventure becomes just a good story rather than something to emulate. Swallow is more similar to the average child that might be exposed to the Ramayana. Her story is very similar to Rama’s in that she at first reluctantly leaves a place of comfort and consistency to go out into a world of uncertainties, but does so partly to save her parents but also out of curiosity for the mountain Wu Shan and in search of the better life it may hold. The supernatural aspects of Swallows story are more believable and the way her story develops into the Ramayana makes the Ramayana more believable because it portrays its true nature as something more open to interpretation. Whether the story of Rama and Sita is a true story form the past or just a dream from Swallow’s imagination is not made totally clear. Even Swallow’s realization that she is Sita and that the Hermit of Wu Shan is Rama is not entirely believable and could be just a metaphor for how two people fell in love. For people who do not totally believe in past lives, Swallow’s story is still inspirational and motivating because of this slight ambiguity. Children can more easily relate to the story with this framing addition. Swallow’s adventure is thus more influential in encouraging children not to be content with the plain unseasoned rice they are given and to throw in a bag of onions every once in a while to season the blandness of a life without adventure and self-discovery so that you may later look back at your own life and say to yourself “’How you are grown!’” (1077)

Gardens: Completely Free

There is a quote by Louis Kahn, my favorite architect, which seems relevant to the Other Side of the Hedge story and the Tower Garden. Kahn said, in reference to his Kimbell Art Museum, “a museum needs a garden. You walk into a garden and you can either come in or not. This large garden tells you you may walk in to see the things or you may walk out. Completely free.”
A garden at the Kimbell. Completely free.

Kahn means that a garden provides a transition from inside to outside and visa versa. But he could also mean that they provide an escape from the troubles of life, because they are welcoming and free. You can easily walk into a garden and forget about your insignificant problems and at the same time be reminded of nature and the larger world. The narrator in The Other Side of the Hedge is so concerned with getting somewhere that he doesn’t realize it when he’s already gotten somewhere worth staying.
This lesson is a truth about life and the skewed values of people in the modern age. So many are so concerned with achieving their preconceived ideas of success that they overlook the things that really make a person successful.
Money is a big concern in capitalist society and it is usually the first thing people associate with success; however, most people would agree that money does not always bring happiness. What is the reason for this inconsistency? People view money as an indication of success, yet there seems to be little to no relationship with money and happiness. The only conclusion I come to is that success and happiness are viewed as two separate goals, even conflicting goals. The conflict between happiness and success can be seen in this statement by the narrator of Forster’s story about his brother, “he had wasted his breath on singing and his strength on helping others. But I had traveled more wisely, and now it was only the monotony of the highway that oppressed me…” (Forster). The narrator’s brother is happy, yet the narrator views his own unhappiness as the wiser more successful route and his brother’s happiness as foolish. This paradox is so surprising in the context of the story, but it is so consistent with the way people actually behave. People are so careful about spending money or time doing something that they know will make them happy just so they can have that money and time later, but for what? What makes some later acquisition money or time better spent than a current one? It is true that immediate gratification can frequently result in a much less happy future and that sometimes people must make sacrifices for their future happiness, but people can so easily get caught up in the idea of saving money that they never stop to think what they are saving it for and if this ultimate goal is even worth all the sacrifices they have made along the way. People spend all of their time working, neglecting family and friends for what they think is a worthwhile cause, but in the end they have done nothing but waste life that could have been spent in happiness. Retirement is what many Americans spend their entire life looking forward to. They say ‘I hate my job, but it will all be worth it when I retire,’ but will it? That seems like a complete waste to me, to spend the majority of life doing something you hate. What level of happiness could possibly make all of those years of unhappiness worthwhile? The narrator of The Other Side of the Hedge sees the paradise and leaves it because it does not lead anywhere. He would rather spend an indeterminable amount of his life in misery and monotony trying to get somewhere rather than enjoy what he has already found.

A garden reminds us of what we have already found. The Tower Garden is more like Kahn’s vision of a garden in that it is completely free, allowing students to walk in or walk out at any point. Forster’s garden is not free in the sense that you can easily walk in and out, but it is in that it frees people from their insignificant concerns and fruitless goals. Similarly, the Tower Garden at UT invites students to take a break from studying, and instead spend some time doing something that they want to do, whether or not it is spent in the actual garden. Maybe this is what Kahn really meant when he made that statement about gardens.
The Tower Garden reminds students not to spend all their time worrying about future goals and success, but to always try to live happily.

Who Are You?

I am Brian Anderson, but then again that’s just a name; if I say it over and over again in my head it even starts to sound foreign to me. There is nothing unique about a name no matter how unusual it is because anyone can just as easily have the same name. There are plenty of other Brian Andersons at UT right now but we are all different people and have arrived here because of different reasons. I am here because I wanted to study architecture at a good architecture school; but I know that’s a cop-out answer because the next question is why architecture? Perhaps my passion can be traced back to the first time I was exposed to the Kimbell Art Museum in my hometown of Fort Worth.

So I answer, ‘I got interested in it after participating in a summer program here.’ Then you ask, ‘What made you want to do a summer program?’ And I say, ‘My friend Johnny told me about it.’ And then you ask, ‘Who is Johnny and where did he come from?’ And the questions never cease because the answers are always insufficient at explaining why I’m here.
The truth is that there are an infinite many factors that have lead me to where I am now. I am here by some irreproducible series of events and any minute difference in this series of events would have resulted in a different person—the Brian Anderson of some other dimension. My being at this particular university is insignificant and at the same time its influences are inescapable. I could be anywhere as long as I am somewhere and wherever I am is a part of who I am. Being at UT does not provide any certainty about my future, but because my experiences here could never happen in exactly the same way as if I were anywhere else, UT has shaped me. Whether the University of Texas at Austin has shaped me for the better or worse is indeterminable because there is no better or worse, there is just what is. Who is to say that any one person is better than somebody else? People have come from all different backgrounds to rise to success, if one can even distinguish success from failure. Money is not really important and neither is fame or power or possessions. Happiness is subjective because it depends on what makes an individual happy and even then, how happy can a person be? What is the maximum happiness?
I think the best measure of success is in knowledge and not just in one area, in a whole range of areas. The more information a person has the better off a person is. That is the only way in which a place can predetermine success—in the richness and variety of the information it provides. That is why Universities are important to society and to me as an individual. They are places in which a vast amount of varied information is condensed. The more information the better, and by information I don’t just mean books and data. I am referring to the diversity of student body, variety of sensory experiences, richness of culture, as well as books and data. That is why the University of Texas at Austin is a better bet for me reaching self-actualization than say Lubbock--there is more information to learn from. John Newman hinted at this goal before the founding of this university when he said, “It is a great point then to enlarge the range of studies which a University professes, even for the sake of the students; and, though they cannot pursue every subject which is open to them, they will be the gainers by living among those and under those who represent the whole circle” (Newman). Diversity in students creates a richness of experiences and variety in the environment that is beneficial for all those involved.

However, experience alone does not make a person unique. It is what that person learns from those experiences. All knowledge we take in from the environment we then incorporate into ourselves whether we know it or not. We go from being “knowledge consumers to knowledge creators and interpreters” (Discovery Learning Project). The more knowledge that we interpret and incorporate into ourselves, the closer we are to finding our passions and passion is what allows us to be happy. The surer we are in our passions the happier we can be. The University of Texas has already led me to discover what I am passionate about. Talking about architecture, viewing architecture, and especially designing architecture makes me happy and I am very grateful that life has lead me here. If life had lead me in any other direction, I would have still learned and experienced and searched for my passion. Whether my passion in another dimension is architecture is once again indeterminable, but knowledge would be the only way to find out.
The Salk Institute by Louis Kahn -- a building that makes me happy

I encourage everyone to see and experience as many things as possible. UT is a great place to start because of the diverse atmosphere, but there is no limit to the things that can be observed and learned. Everyone can find their passion if they have enough information.