Week 9 Story: Ekalavya's Journal

Training day 4,000

Whew......today was a dream and a nightmare all in one.

I started this morning like every other. I did my morning meditation with Drona and then warmed up my archery. The sun was directly overhead when my stomach interrupted my practice. I asked Drona if I could leave and find food and he did not seem to oppose it......in fact...I felt as if he was pushing me away.....pulling me into the forest.

So off I went.

After walking a while I heard a dog barking. I was very hungry.......before you think I am a monster.....dogs are like way too cute to kill. I was hungry and there happened to be a dog. I did not kill it..... I promise......

Honestly, I have always wanted a dog. Like a big fluffy dog. One that barks really loud but also cuddles. Gosh....I want a dog so bad....

Anyways,

Where there is a dog, there are typically people. Upon finding the dog I decided to silence it. I tried to coax it over and give pets. The dog wanted none of that. I tried throwing it a piece of fruit from my bag, but oh my gosh the dog wouldn't stop.

I did what needed to be done. I shot several arrows quickly in the dog's mouth. I made sure to fire them rapid enough that they only hit each other in the dog's mouth. I am not a dog killer......I legit just wanted some peace and quiet.

Some guys emerged.... they said they were the Pandavas??????

One guy was really rude. His name was Arjuna. He kept asking me who taught me archery.

I wanted to seem cool so I told him Drona......M-I-S-T-A-K-E

Arjuna and the other guys were furious...... they said something about Drona being a traitor......

I regretted trying to seem cool....

THEN DRONA SHOWED UP

I really regretted it now......but like also this was super cool because Drona is a star.

Anyways, I tell them how I tried to get trained by Drona a long time ago, but he denied me. I tell them how I have practiced in front of his image to gain my skill.

Then Drona tells me to cut off my right thumb........

well.......

I obviously did it because it is Drona......but I can no longer pull my bow back...

I really regret trying to seem cool now.

I keep telling myself when one door closes, another opens. Tomorrow I plan on finding a big cuddly dog and maybe that will make me feel better.

The Big Fluffy Dog I Want (Wikipedia)

-Ekalavya 

Author's note:
I loved Ekalavya's Story from the Mahabharata online youtube video. While I wish I could make a video that cool for this story, my technology skills are not there yet.

That was one change I made retelling this story. I took a video with audio and images and made a text based story. I also changed Ekalavya's story from third person to first person. The story is written as a journal entry from Ekalavya's point of view. This gave me the chance to add more detail and more emotion. I decided to make Ekalavya a dog lover just for fun. I thought it made him more relatable. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you for reading!


Bibliography: Mahabharata Episodes Part B: Ekalavya's Story,  found on Youtube by Epified