#vanara the musical

[aaaaaa-musical-trash]

i made an eva noblezada version!!!

left to right first row: vanara workshop/ayla the musical, yellow rose, les mis

left to right second row: hadestown, the great gatsby, miss saigon

christian borle eras

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Monkey Man and why I loved the heck out of it

At it's core, it's a Bollywood flick presented to the West with familiar nods to previous action films - I definitely picked up hints of Tony Jaa's influence on Asian action flicks throughout.

It's heavily focused on police corruption, something commented a lot about in India, and here, more importantly, Indian films. Just like America has its love affair with mobster flicks, Bollywood has a long history featuring films that showcase police corruption, sometimes tied into political extremism, fanatical or greedy religious leaders, and Monkey Man comments on all this as well and pays nods to that commonality. We've got televangelists and religious leaders in the states funnelling money, preaching prosperity gospel, and using it to influence politics and fund lavish lifestyles here.

Monkey Man shows this happening in India, and is filled with Indian culture and symbolism through out. The focus on Hanuman, the god and one worshiped by the strong, chaste, wrestlers, champions, and fighters. It's a common thing to have a household deity if you will. Some families might choose to focus worship on Ganesh, others Hanuman, some might do Mata Rani or Lakshmi. Here, it's the divine Vanara (monkey people race) - one of the Chiranjivi - immortals/forever-lived.

Hanuman. Themes of rebirth, common in South Asian history and mythology are present from Kid being a ringer, beat up fighter getting whooped for money to being reborn and facing his trauma through a ritual/meditate process that I don't want to get too much into to not spoil the movie. Post that, he begins his own self alchemy to really become the true Monkey Man. Nods to Ramayama, and an unapologetically Indian story featuring dialogues throughout in Hindi - don't worry, there are subtitles.

And of course a love for action flicks before it, all the way back to Bruce Lee. A beautiful use tbh of an autorickshaw (and you might know them as tuk-tuks in Thailand) which are popular in India with an added kick...I swear, that thing had to be modified with a hayabusa motor. Which is an actual thing people do - modding those dinky rickshaws with motorcycle engines, and considering they weigh nothing at all, they can REALLY FLY once you do that.

Monkey Man brings to the big screen other elements of India people might not know about, such as the gender non conforming and trans community that has a long history in India, presenting them as action stars as they go up against a system of corrupt elites oppressing part of the city, marginalized communities, and minority voices as depicted in the film. I'm not sure if people are going to get all of that without having the context, but I love that it does it without holding anyone's hands.

It's a fun action flick to see in the age of superhero films, and I say that as an obvious superhero/sff nerd. Also loved that Dev included a little bit about Hanuman's own story in the film, and the loss of his powers - almost mirrored by Kid's own loss of self/skills, strength until he confronts his trauma and is reborn, and in fact, remade (not necessarily the same). Also, the use of music was brilliant, including one scene with a tabla (the paired hand drums of south asia) - and Indian music is central to Indian stories.

This is a culture with evidence going back to the Paleolithic with cave murals showing art of Indian dance nearly 30,000 years ago. Yeah, that far back. As well as Mesolithic period art depicting musical instruments such as gongs, lyres, and more.

Indian music is some of the earliest we can find that has high developed beat and rhythm structures such as 5, 7, 9 and now the extremely common and known 4/4 and 3/4 - which so much of Western music is built upon. The foundations and experimentation of/in Jazz. John Coltrane and John Cage were heavily inspired by Indian music and incorporated a lot from it into their works. And Monkey Man blends Eastern and Western music through the narrative as comfortably as it does an Indian story in a very familiar Western accessible structure.

Dev did a wonderful job. And thanks to Jordan Peele for bringing it to screens.

[aut2imagineart]

After creating the mermaid pirate I wanted to create concept art for a her crew. Like their captain, they all exist within the Gladius universe thus originated from different worlds before they merged in the Great Chaos. As result of the Great Chaos, the surviving inhabitants gained access to new technologies, magic, and knowledge as this crew demonstrates. Here's a quick rundown of them.

First mate: Originating from the African world (where humans never left Africa), he is first member of the mermaid pirate's crew and the most impressive human swimmer she has ever met. He is stern, rational, and unwaveringly loyal to his captain who he has formed a deep connection with.

Marksman: A mischievous Pukwudgie (from Native American mythology), he is fascinated with firearms and trains with them daily. Combining a set of stolen prosthetic arms and the natural talents of his species, he has made himself one of the deadliest marksmen you could meet.

Shipwright: He's the first example I've drawn of an inhabitant of the tech world where humans experienced more technological development thus most of them have widely varied robotic bodies. The Shipwright technically stowed away on the vessel he built when the mermaid pirate stole it and agreed to join her crew to continue working on it.

Doctor: A crafty and unpredictable Vanara, his vast medical knowledge makes him simultaneously effective at healing, incapacitating, and killing people.

Musician: She is an eccentric siren/harpy who uses her voice to hypnotize the crew's targets, primarily luring them in and wiping their memories afterward. Passionate about music, she is always learning new songs and instruments with her instrument of choice being a Cretan Lyra.

Navigator: Marred by her past, the Navigator is an elven mage who is as stoic as she is highly educated. Her most prized possession is an arcane spell book which she uses to perform storm magic, changing the local weather to fit the needs of her crew.

I'm going to draw the remainder of the crew and their vessel next before I move on to other projects like those short story panels.

As always, comments and critiques are welcome.

[dailycharacteroption]

Faith Singer (Bard Archetype)

(art by Renato Prezioso on Artstation)

 While every faith has its worshippers celebrate in different ways, music is perhaps one of the most universal expressions. After all, if a species is capable of deriving joy from sound, they will likely find ways to incorporate it into other things that bring them joy.

Now, I have no doubt that plenty of players have had their clerics or other divine casters take ranks in a perform before to illustrate their devotion through song, what happens when someone with bardic training turns their talents towards expressing their faith?

Whether they are part of a formal choir, a musician for services, a bard that found purpose through faith, or part of a culture where faith and music are blended, these faith singers, though not always vocalists, do put their musical talents towards expressing various hymns, shanties, and folk tales associated with their faith. Though they are not divine casters, they are blessed with a measure of divine favor as well.

This archetype was brought to us courtesy of Healer’s Handbook, but it doesn’t necessarily grant any sort of healing ability, only some powers associated with clerics. As such, it’s quite versatile for character concepts and the many religions that fill the Lost Omens setting, as well as any other setting you come up with.

 Naturally, as individuals blessed with divine power, these bards must align with their deity or faith’s beliefs at least somewhat. What they get in return for this is the ability to tap into the spells of one domain, starting with the least powerful, but mastering the first five such spells by the ends of their career. However, their ability tap into this wellspring is limited, allowing them to cast these spells only once each.

While supremely simple as an archetype, the versatility of domain (and subdomain) choices means you’ll have a lot to think about when coming up with your character. You lose out on versatile performance, but the bard is already a highly skilled class to begin with, and depending on what domain you choose, you may yet have plenty of versatile utility anyway.

 The sheer number of domains and faiths in the core setting along means that not only do you have to consider what domain to pick, but also how their choice of deity colors not just which domain they have and how it is interpreted, but also their music. Consider one with the air domain whose drums emulate the rumble of thunder before calling down bolts of lightning Raijin-style, or perhaps one who sings of the virtues of scalykind through deep bass kulning, or maybe even one who conjures an otherworldly pipe organ to fill the air with sound.

  The festival of the Mountains’s Crown, in which the sun passes directly over the summit of Mount Ishaan, is a sacred time for the vanara that dwell in the mountain city of Bakyana. Many performances will be held, particularly renditions of The Mountain God’s Coronation, an opera based on the state religion’s most important fable.

 Most prayers to the Huntress are meant to be silent, reflecting the stillness of their goddess, but the catfolk of Moro have one prayer that is sung aloud, one for the praise of the warrior who has slain an unnatural monster… or died trying. The song has many variants based on the danger and death toll of the creature in question, as well as whether the hunt succeeded, and the priest-singers who devote themselves to master it have to be able to perform every version.

 The current lord of Ogfleur recently converted to the faith of the Iron Keeper, and suddenly rival faiths in the city are facing a slew of sanctions against them, particularly followers of the Muse, with numerous “noise complaints” being the primary factor, despite their faithful being a beloved part of the city.

[themurtiwalaa]

Uncovering the Meaning of Keeping a Ram Darbar Idol in Hinduism

In the unpredictable embroidery of Hinduism, the Ram Darbar holds a respected spot. A quintessential portrayal of heavenly congruity, it depicts Ruler Ram, his partner Sita, his dedicated lover Hanuman, and his devoted sibling Lakshman. This consecrated outfit represents a fanciful story as well as encapsulates significant otherworldly rules that resound with enthusiasts across ages. The act of keeping a Ram Darbar idol in homes, sanctuaries, and consecrated spaces conveys huge profound, social, and philosophical ramifications, rising above simple strict worship.

Exemplification of Dharma

At its center, the Ram Darbar addresses the encapsulation of dharma, nobility, and uprightness. Master Ram, respected as the seventh symbol of the Hindu god Vishnu, is the embodiment of moral honesty and optimal sovereignty. His life, as chronicled in the legendary Ramayana, fills in as a directing light for disciples, showing the victory of good over evil, obligation over want, and penance over personal responsibility.

The presence of Master Ram, Sita, Hanuman, and Lakshman in the Ram Darbar idol fills in as a consistent sign of the standards they embody. Master Ram's unflinching adherence to his dharma, Sita's undaunted dedication and flexibility, Hanuman's endless commitment and strength, and Lakshman's resolute faithfulness highlight the significance of maintaining honorableness in one's life.

Solidarity in Variety

The Ram Darbar additionally exemplifies the soul of solidarity in variety. Master Ram, a manifestation of the heavenly, generous acknowledges Hanuman, a Vanara (monkey) lover, and structures a tough bond with Lakshman, his sibling and friend. The consideration of different characters in the Ram Darbar highlights the Hindu ethos of acknowledgment and amicability in the midst of variety.

In a world frequently defaced by divisions in view of station, ideology, and ethnicity, the Ram Darbar fills in as a powerful image of inclusivity and solidarity. It helps enthusiasts to remember the comprehensiveness of heavenly love and the inborn interconnectedness, everything being equal.

Reflection Practice

Keeping a Ram Darbar idol isn't only a ceremonial demonstration yet a significant reflection practice. Fans frequently enhance the idol with blossoms, incense, and contributions, participating in day to day supplications and customs. Through these demonstrations of commitment, experts try to develop a more profound association with the heavenly and soak up the ethics exemplified by Master Ram and his heavenly partner.

The presence of a Ram Darbar idol in homes or sanctuaries makes a hallowed space where fans can look for comfort, direction, and motivation. It fills in as a point of convergence for otherworldly consideration and fellowship with the heavenly, encouraging a feeling of inward harmony and serenity.

Social Legacy

Past its strict importance, the Ram Darbar is a necessary piece of India's rich social legacy. The epic of Ramayana, whereupon the Ram Darbar is based, has pervaded each part of Indian culture, impacting workmanship, writing, music, and dance for centuries. The portrayal of Master Ram's life and lessons in different works of art, including compositions, models, and exhibitions, has served to protect and propagate this ageless story for people in the future.

The Ram Darbar, with its immortal message of dharma, solidarity, and dedication, keeps on motivating large number of lovers around the world. As an image of heavenly elegance and everlasting qualities, it rises above the limits of reality, offering comfort and motivation to all who look for shelter in its heavenly hug. Keeping a Ram Darbar idol isn't simply a strict practice however a significant otherworldly excursion, directing fans towards the way of uprightness, love, and illumination.

[song-of-the-rune]

back on my rikky bullshit. this post is a mess.

the party's going to try to zone of truth him and I am soooooooooooooo looking forward to it because

He's a bastard and he never stops talking so there are going to be some confessions. they surely know he's genuinely evil by now but the realization that he's SO MUCH WORSE than they realized is imminent.

They have their suspicions that he's a lich. they have their suspicions that Kaz has something to do with it. They know Kaz is undead. They have NOT figured out that Kaz is a lich. I wanna see that realization hit. :3

I have decided to give him a crush on my fiance's character. for many reasons that could constitute their own post but also because *I* think she's pretty and this is my character. anyway. funny if that comes up, she's a melee-er so. suddenly melee combat will seem very awkward. hope you prepared some offensive ranged spells. (no seriously i need to write a whole thing on this because i have Feelings about male NPCs with interest in female PCs that are very personal and very much not universal but i need to get them out at some point.)

You're going to try to keep him in the circle? how. he's a champion. and higher level than you. and a vanara. many issues with this plan.

The god of necromancy is obviously at odds with the god of death, but also, the god of death is the god of truth, so the fucking gall to come into this priest's house and cast this spell of all spells is -- ohhhhhhhhh he's going to be so angry.

A fight is going to break out I can sense it I'm gonna prep a special playlist for it I'm gonna plan everything out it's gonna be beautiful. rikky's workshop is difficult terrain for everyone besides himself. okay i'm getting off-track. also this is somewhat sad because my music taste is what is generally considered "cringe" and so i have to be careful so as not to derail the session with distracting playlist entries.

I had this concept of him just filibustering through the spell because he knows he's going to say something that could be used to hurt him -- or worse, Kaz(???? this instinct to protect someone else is not a feeling he's used to btw and he's hanging on by a thread justifying it as a roundabout self-defense). so he just keeps talking about anything and everything.

I doubt the party will take it but. I love when the villain says "you want this from me? how about a trade" so he's gonna ask to trade questions back and forth instead of just giving everything up.

idk if the party will catch on that he can just straight-up lie by omission. zone of truth doesn't force you to say the truth or the whole truth... just nothing but the truth. 'technically the truth' is also fine.

I want to see the party's reaction when they realize that this guy talks so much because he's being fed potion-that-makes-you-talk-a-lot, and he knows it, and he's allowing it because he thinks it's funny and wants to pick the funniest possible time to reveal that he already figured out that this is happening. dude is just out here suffering for the bit. (well. let's be real, talking a lot is not suffering for him. but it'll be suffering when suddenly he can't lie for a few minutes.)

[aniketsanimationblog]

Hey, it's me, Aniket!!

You know, while I am excited about Star Trek: Prodigy coming to Netflix on December 25th, I have decided we will take a Break Discussing about ST: Prodigy for a while and let's talk about some new other topic.

Or else, People will think, this blog is more focused about Star Trek: Prodigy!!

So let's talk about an animated series which, some of you don't know, this even exists!! Because, you haven't heard of this series yet or unknown about!!

Look, I am from India, the mostly populated country and developing country in the whole world!! And when we talk about Animation in India, there might be a chance, you won't know anything about Indian Animation. Because, for years, India's Entertainment Industry, didn't even rely upon Animation. Especially, Bollywood Industry. Because, Bollywood Industry haven't been relying upon Animation, a Vast Medium of all things Live-Action Counterpart cannot achieve. Granted, there are VFX existed on Live-Action things, but not Animation!! Because, People are Unaware of that "Animation is not for Kids Only, it's for Everyone."

As an Animation Fan, you know, discovering new things is a habit.

I always think, when will India create their own Super-Creative Animated Series?? If Australia can create Bluey, then why not India??

But then, something happened in Early 2021, that is Unbelievable!!

Before I touched upon ST: Prodigy, in 2021, there was an Indian Animated Series, which I think, it could be the next big thing for Animation!! And it has the Potential to be India's "Avatar: The Last Airbender"!!

Yup, I am talking about "The Legend of Hanuman"!! It's an Original series from the Indian Version of Disney+, called as Disney+ Hotstar, labeling as Hotstar Specials!!

No, it's not from Disney or Pixar or Marvel, in fact, it has nothing to do with Disney, whatsoever, except from giving a boost to this series' massive popularity in India!! It is made by Indian Animation and Comics creation Studio, Graphic India!!

It is based upon and Centred around Lord Hanuman, the important character from Saint Valmiki's Ramayana, which is an Indian Hindu Mythological Epic.

For those, who don't know about Ramayana, Google Search about and Research Ramayana!! You will get the Idea!!

This series is about Hanuman's Journey from being an ordinary Vanara (Humanoid Monkey) to becoming a Legend.

This series has the same plot as Ramayana, but centring around Hanuman, he is the Main Character for the show only.

Yeah, yeah, I know, there are many series and Movies made upon Lord Hanuman and Lord Ram!! But for me, after Ramayana: the Legend Of Prince Ram by Indian Animation veteran Ram Mohan and Japanese Animator Yugo Sako released in 1992, this series has etched a special Place in my Heart and Mind, to be honest with you!!

First of all, the elements in Animation, it's not like movie quality like Star Trek: Prodigy, as it's aspect ratio is 16:9 HDTV Format, but the quality is still up to the mark, especially when you rewatch this series entirely or freshly watch it. You will get some good quality Animation in it.

And the Visuals and VFX, all are outstanding!! Every aspect you see is detailed!!

Second, is the Audio mixing, Voice Dubbing and Music. Most of the People voice casting in this series in The Original Hindi Version are the people who excelled in Hindi Dub, for example Sanket Mhatre as Lord Ram, Damandeep Singh Baggan or Da Man as Lord Hanuman etc.

Third, the Direction. Sharad Devarajan, Navin John and Jeevan J. Kang, are just delivering best directing in one of the Animated Series based upon Hindu Mythology Epic. Even Sharad Devarajan said, that he was inspired from Japanese Animator Hayao Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" to make this series.

And finally, this series has so much story to tell about Lord Hanuman and his journey from being an ordinary Vanara to Serving Lord Ram and his brother Lakshman to save Lord Ram's Wife, Princess Sita to becoming an Icon for everyone, a legend.

It has Two seasons both released in 2021 with 13 episodes each and The Third season is in production and releasing on January 2024.

As I said, before it is available on Disney+ Hotstar in India, and for the US Viewers, they can watch it on Hulu (Merging with Disney+ later in 2024) in the Hotstar Hub. This series has been dubbed in 7 different Languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Malayalam, and Marathi and Subtitled in English.

And talking about 9.2/10 on IMDb, it's the first Indian Animated series to cross 9/10 Rating on IMDb!! For other than India, Only I know as of yet, A:TLA and Bluey got this rating above 9 out of 10

It has a record 9.2/10 Rating on IMDb and in fact, in 2021, according to Ormax Media, it has become the first Indian Animated Series to cross 8.5 million Viewers in the first 10 days after Season 2 of it was premiered!! A Whopping 8.5 million viewers!! No animated series in a paid streaming service in India has done it before, and proof that Indians are very optimistic about "The Legend Of Hanuman" and praising the Animation and the Creative Lore of it!!

If you have time, please watch "The Legend of Hanuman" on Disney+ Hotstar in India and Hulu in the US, it is the series you really need to watch out for and worth the Time and Money!!

And I cannot praise more and I also cannot wait for what's in Store for Season 3 of it!!

[himawarriblog]

Kecak Dance @kecakdance_ubudkaja Balinese Hindu music and dance like a musical. The performance depicts a battle from the Ramayana, in which the monkey-like Vanaras, led by Hanuman, help Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance. #kecakdance #puradalem #unknown #ubud #baliindonesia #150men #balinesedance (at Pura Dalem Ubud (balinese temple)) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp_wOb4vXbo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[anitosoul]

tripreport.016: The Rise of the Disco Samurai

August 2021

love, loss, grieving, healing, wounding, zen ☯️

Key Inspirations

Four Tet, specifically his set at Nowadays Nonstop (Music artist)

Luzon, Philippines (Place)

Deee-Lite – Infinity Within (Music album)

Yaeji (Music Artist)

Samurai Champloo (TV Show)

Paradise Garage Reunion (Event)

Filipino Indigenous Headhunters (People)

1582 Cagayan Battles (Historical event)

Larry Levan (Music Artist)

Mindfulness meditation (Activity)

Dead & Company (Music artist)

Persona 5 (Video game)

Kingdom Hearts (Video game)

Nowadays Mister Sunday Parties (Event)

Vanaras (Monkey army in Hindu epic The Ramayana)

The Rise of the Disco Samurai Tracklist

Panoram – The Question

Madvillain – Great Day (Four Tet Remix)

Yaeji – IN THE MIRROR 거울

Harrison BDP – Shuto Expressway

Sofia Kourtesis – By Your Side

Jayda G – All I Need (DJ-Kicks)

International Computer System – Mojave

Loner – Pagbabago

Night Tempo – Baby

Lyn Inaizumi – Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There

Loleatta Holloway – Love Sensation

Glenda McLeod – No Stranger to Love

Deee-Lite – Runaway

LSDXOXO – Sick Bitch (VTSS Mix)

Black Devil Disco Club – “H” Friend

Kim Petras – Wrong Turn

Ao Wu – My Name (Edit)

Ultra Naté – Free

Utada Hikaru – Simple & Clean -PLANITb Remix-

J.B. Banfi – Gang (For the Rock Industry)

The Pharcyde – Passin’ Me By

Disclosure, Channel Tres – Lavender

Skrillex, Four Tet, Starrah – Butterflies

Vince Staples – Summertime

Link to my original writeup for this month can be found here.

Love, loss, grieving, healing, wounding, zen. 

The idea for the Disco Samurai came about during the Four Tet DJ set at Nowadays—music and dancing has always acted as therapy for me, but it was especially needed this month. I finally decided to pick up a DJ controller and designate a more active hobby to my love of music to tell my truth and process my life. The persona of the Disco Samurai tied together the healing power of music and dancing with the mental steadfastness and clarity of samurai warriors. One major theme of this month has been the desire to be more unapologetic about my identity and contextualizing my position in the Filipino diaspora. This means doing what I can to de-colonize my brain and reconnect with precolonial indigenous ancestral culture. As any child of immigrants knows, being just one generation removed from your parents’ culture, living in a totally different country from where they grew up, is confusing. In certain spaces and places, my existence has felt invalidated by the intentional or unintentional pointing out of these cultural discrepancies. On a bigger scale, this has been happening to the Filipino people due to decades of colonial influence from Spain, the US, and other Asian countries. The amount of layers removed from that indigenous culture due to time, distance, and colonial erasure has thinned the throughline so much that it barely feels like it exists. This month, I’ve sought to strengthen that link through education, music, and community, finding people and content that also unapologetically celebrate identity and the connection to a pure, true self.

The Disco Samurai ended up manifesting as this narrative of an indigenous Filipino warrior captured by the Japanese, forced to fight as a samurai for his colonizers and eventually removed from his homeland during the (mythological?) 1582 Cagayan battles in the northern Philippines. The 1582 Cagayan battles were a vaguely recorded clash over metals trading between Spanish soldiers/sailors and Japanese/Chinese pirates(/maybe samurai?) in the northern Philippines. Despite being lost and far from his home, the Disco Samurai uses a connection to music to channel ancestral energy and power to cope with the existence of living in an environment that wasn’t made for him. In the same way this character uses soul to deal with the mismatched reality of living in an unfamiliar environment fighting for a cause he doesn’t believe in, I’ve applied this way of coping with life to the modern struggles of mental health, navigating major personal life changes, technological/information overload, and existing in a structurally unsustainable society. Music has been the way I’ve made any sense of the world, and there’s a comfort in knowing that it’s been doing the same for people since culture began. 

[rrcraft-and-lore]

The Monkey King - Sun Wukong who first appears in Chinese stories (Journey to the West) during the Ming Dynasty period 1368 to 1644 CE, well after the introduction of Buddhism to China in about 206-220 CE.

But, was he inspired by another Monkey hero/character of myth?

The prevailing and dominant theory among Asian scholars is ...yeah, likely.

That character, Hanuman, king of the monkeys (the monkey people -Vanaras- of Vedic myth!).

The story follows a Buddhist monk who is accompanied by Sun Wukong and others to travel west to India to obtain sacred Buddhist sutras. Many of their powers and personality traits are similar as well.

We know that Vedic god such as Indra have made their way as far as Japan to take root and be worshipped because of the spread of Buddhism.

As I've talked about before and is shown in texts such as the journey's of Ibn Battuta / Ibn Fadlan, storytelling was a weapon and powerful tool for idea transfer--propagation. Philosophy was huge in the old world - and places such as Nalanda - the first residential university in the world - invited scholars from all over such as Greeks from the west, and the Japanese. Buddhism became a vehicle for trading things such as: martial arts information, medicine, sciences, and of course, myths and stories.

However, as with stories, people usually altered/coopted elements and molded them to better suit their cultures and fancy. That's a thing as old as time. I've shared how the panchatantra stories and jatka tales are thought to be the inspiration for nearly 30-50 percent of all nursery rhymes, ballads, "fairy tales".

Anyways back to this theory - Chinese Indologist Professor Liu Anwu of Peking University has dedicated chapters to the comparisons (in one of his works) to further break down this theory focusing on consistent and or similar depictions of beats in Journey to the West that of Rama's story in Ramayama and the Buddhist sutras.

Even though today the story of Sun Wukong is a wholly Chinese story - it's important to note the power of oral storytelling and how it travelled evolved over thousands of years, and, just as important, the vehicles it used to do so. Not just storytellers and philosophers and travelers but religion! Philosophy!

This is a theme heavily commented on and shown in Tales of Tremaine, which is my love letter and sort of self PhD. in comparative storytelling, mythology, and story foundry through an Asiatic lens (hence a silk road analog) stretching along a similar route the silk road did from damn near as far as you can east (complete with the oceanic routes) to as west as old venezia, portugal, and spain.

Also note: this is the most popular theory atm, but the operative word is theory. Experts likely far better than you, Internet, so chill before you comment, are still debating this. I know last week some of you were doctors in sociopolitical relations, the music industry before that, and then you were leading virologists before that. Spare us simpler folks from your mighty genius just now and sit down.

The point here is the beauty of stories and their ability to travel and morph and comment on themes/points ideologies important to cultures while being entertaining and showing that humans like certain universal moments, beats, archetypes, tropes, and progressions in tales.

Now, is that because we've naturally been predisposed liking them, or the opposite in that everyone went, yo, i dig this, took it home and someone else went, this is cool but needs to be more US (insert culture) and retold it. And thus...timemachine noises speed up. Here we are today?

You might not know that about 35,000 Chinese words ( I said this instead of Mandarin because they don't just show up in one language) are derived from Sanskrit as well as Pali (a Middle Indo-Aryan Liturgical Language -- meaning language of sacredness/religious use, in this case connected to sacred Buddhist texts). It is important to make the distinction, because, Internet!

Sanskrit did not SHAPE the Chinese languages. They evolved on their own. This is just a commentary on how words/stories shaped over travel in this case strongly through the spread of Buddhism.

Religion was the mover.

Back from quick bathroom break. Going to add again - INSPIRED is the keyword here.

INSPIRED.

Sun Wukong is his own mythos/character. Influence doesn't nor can claim dominion over everything in a later tale. Sun Wukong has gone on himself to inspire legends and characters Outside of China - re: most famously and legendary?

Son Goku - who is openly a Sun Wukong inspired character.

...hell, tbh, he might be the most famous monkey inspired super powered character now. Dude makes soccer stadiums air his fights. @_@.

[bruce-wayne-simp]

Please tell me 1, 33 and 100 👁️✨

All of these are musical theatre songs so 👀

Prayer to the Moon from Vanara- its soooo good??? Kickass vocals AND its Eva Noblezada 😍

The MegaSIX from Six the Musical- its so good ❤️❤️❤️ Six is about the 6 wives of Henry VIII and this song is a mashup of all their songs

Barbara 2.0 from Beetlejuice the musical- its just so good ❤️ gaslight gatekeep girlboss

[reflection-s-of-stars]

My cover of Prayer to the Moon, from Vanara, by Eva Noblezada!

[roadtohadestown]

please appreciate our queen eva noblezada

[theshadowofsorrow]

Prayer to the Moon is on Spotify now!!!!

[tessalovesbway]

Musical Alphabet with Underrated Broadway Shows

A new brain

Bright Star Close to you

Dames at sea

Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens

Finding Neverland

Groundhog Day

How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying

If/Then

Jacques Brel is alive and Well and Living in Paris

KPOP

Lazarus

Murder Ballad

Nice Work If You Can Get it

On the Town

Parade

Rock of Ages

Side Show

The Bloody Irish

Unauthorized Musical Parody of Cruel Intentions

Vanara

We are Tigers

Xanadu

Zorba