Semester Project: Topic Brainstorm

Depiction of Hindu Cosmology: Wikimedia Commons

     My first potential topic is about the Hindu God Ganesha. Ganesha interests me because of his importance in the Hindu religion and India in general. While I know very little about Ganesha, I have heard of him before taking this class and I knew he is very important in the Hindu religion. If I chose this God as my project topic, I would most likely create a Storybook. Ganesha has a rich history full of information that I can use for my stories and it will make sense to write from his perspective about his creation and from the stories I will read. The book Ganesha Goes to Lunch is a source I will use because of the breadth of epics that are in the book.
     My second potential topic is the Vahanas of the Gods. This topics is interesting to me because of the potential options for the stories I will tell. I only know about the fact that the Gods rode on Vahanas, but I have almost no knowledge about the importance of the Vahanas. I will most likely create a Portfolio if I chose this as my topic because I can delve into more than just one of the Vahanas. Having different stories about the various Vahanas will allow me to have a wider array of stories to chose from for my Portfolio. The class page about the Vahanas of the Gods is a good place to start about the Vahanas because of how many potential sources of information there are.
     My third option is about the Creation Stories. Creation Stories are interesting because they are not about any Hindu God in particular nor any part of the Hindu Gods. They are merely about how the universe started and how the Hindu Gods came to be. If I chose this as my topic, I will most likely do a Storybook. A Storybook will allow me to tell the Creation Stories in greater detail. The Wikipedia page Hindu Cosmology is a good place to start because there are multiple creation stories that I can delve into deeper.
      My final option is the Geography of the Ramayana. The Geography of the Ramayana is interesting because of the importance that it gives to cities. The cities in the Geography of the Ramayana are real, and it is the Indian Epics that give them such importance. I would most likely do a Portfolio if I choose this topic because it would allow me to delve into more than just one city. The Wikipedia pages regarding the geography such as Ayodhya will be very helpful for telling the separate stories.