Week 13 Story: Gandhari's Story
Gandhari listened on from the main hall as her father and Bhishma. She knew they were talking about her and from the sounds of it she had just received another marriage proposal.
“But he’s a prince!” Bhishma insisted.
“My daughter can’t marry a man like that.” Her father replied angrily.
A man like what? Ghandari wondered as she continued to listen on for clues as to whom they were talking about. Suddenly she heard a loud band as the door to her father’s office flew open. She tried to act natural, pretending to be engrossed in a book that had been open in her lap.
“Daughter, Bhishma has a proposal for you. The prince Dhiritarashtra, from Kuru. The only problem is he’s blind. I understand if you don’t want to have to live with this for the rest of your life. Say the word and I’ll send him away.” Ghandari was shocked that her father would think she was that shallow. She rolled her eyes as she thought about it. People in the kingdom were always calling her stuck up and selfish. If only there was a way to fix that. Maybe if she married a blind man people would stop talking.
“No father don’t send Bhishma away. I don’t care about his blindness, only his heart. If he is a good man then I will marry him.” Ghandari was determined to prove how kind hearted she could be. “Could you take me to meet him Bhishma?”
The next day they began the journey to Kuru. By the time they finally reached the sun was setting. A few servants were waiting in the courtyard and they quickly escorted the travelers into the main hall to wait for Dhritarashtra. Ghandari was in awe with the palace before her. SO grand and elegant, she imagined what it would be like to live here. Her father’s palace was nothing compared to this. Greed began to overtake Ghandari as she thought about how this could all be hers. At that moment Dhritarashra entered slowly, guided by a cane. Ghandari let out a small gasp when she saw him. He was hideous! She could deal with blindness but looks was something else. Fear crept us as she realized she would have to live with his face forever. Then she got an idea. She knelt down and grabbed the hem of her sari, ripping a small strip of fabric off. Then she proceeded to wrap it around her face, covering her eyes.
“From this day forth I will be blind also.” Ghandari exclaimed. She may have been blind but atleast now she was rich.
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| Ghandari |
Author’s Note:
I wrote this story based on Ghandari and her marriage to the blind prince. Rather than portraying her as loyal and loving, I chose to make her selfish. I thought this would be an interesting take on the original story.
Bibliography:
Gandhari: A Mother Blinded by Love
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Joanna,
ReplyDeleteI like your adaptation of Gandhari’s story. Reading stories that have taken the narrative and flipped the story's moral has been very entertaining this semester. Your story did not disappoint. I feel like there is a valuable lesson to be learned through these altered stories in that it is easy to see an act as benevolent when, in fact, it is quite the opposite. What a relevant idea to be reminded of in our world today.
Hey Joanna,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a good job adapting this story. You inverted the drives of the characters very wells and it added a lot of intrigue to the story. Ghandari definitely became a more interesting character when she was portrayed in a negative light with selfish intentions. Great work on the story, and good luck in the final weeks of the semester.
Hi Joanna,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that Ghandari is angry that she was shocked that her father would think she was so shallow as to not want to marry a blind man, but then goes on to marry him essentially only for his money, and also chooses blindness over seeing a husband who she doesn't find attractive. Perhaps she really is shallow, and her father knows that, but she can't recognize that about herself.
Hi Joanna! This story was retold well. I think you did a good job with sentence structure and organization. I liked that you flipped her character from loving and devoted to someone who is selfish. It was an interesting take on the story. Good job with your story and best of luck with the rest of the semester!
ReplyDeleteHey Joanna, I like your take on the aspect you went with in your story. Making Ghandari have a negative tone compared to her normal character was interesting to see because I was not expecting it! I think your dialogue was nice as well. Having that incorporated made the story much more interesting, great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Joanna!
ReplyDeleteThis story was very interesting to read. The look of the story was really good. I like how spun the entire story around and made it yours. I like how Gandhari is trying to not look stuck up and selfish and yet that is exactly the kind of actions she makes when she realizes both Dhritarashtra's wealth and lack of looks.