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5000 years ago, Krishna, whom you have all heard of at this point, lived in a beautiful town called Vrindavan. He descended from Vishnu to cleanse the Earth of all evil. These stories from Krishna’s childhood teach us to be pious, brave, and to stand up for what is right. Enjoy!!

Kaliya was a terrifying, many-headed serpent who was sent away from the mountain of Vishnu. As it turns out, he chose the banks of the Yamuna River near Krishna’s home, Vrindavan.

Kaliya was so venomous that his presence turned the water toxic, causing it to churn and bubble, turning black and killing every flora and fauna. Nobody in Vrindavan dared to visit the river or go near for fear of dying.

One day, Krishna and his friends were playing near the banks of the river. While playing, their ball fell into the river. Krishna jumped into the water after the ball. His friends tried to call after him, warning him about the terrifying serpent.

Krishna ignored all of their warnings and cries, making sure that he could retrieve the ball for his friends. Everybody in the village rushed to the river, terrified for Krishna, but nobody could go into the water.

Under the water, Kaliya attacked Krishna. He tried to dig his fangs into the Krishna and eject him with his poison. But Krishna, being all-powerful dispelled the venom. Kaliya wrapped his body around Krishna and dragged him deeper into the river, trying to crush him. Krishna grew to be giant, forcing his release.

Krishna dragged the serpent to the river surface, started playing his flute, and danced on the head of the monster. He assumed the weight of the entire universe in his lotus feet. Kaliya started to die, vomiting venom and blood. Kaliya’s wives came to Krishna to beg for his life. Krishna granted mercy after Kaliya understood the error of his ways, he begged for forgiveness and left, never tormenting anybody else ever again.

The waters cleared up as Krishna walked through them. Every living thing came back to life, blossoming with the beautiful power of Krishna. I captured this story in a recent piece of mine done in mixed media ranging from ink and colored pencil, for the foreground, to acrylic for the background. I hope you enjoyed this week’s story and art!! As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stood out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts!

 

References: https://www.tell-a-tale.com/kaliya-daman-krishna-tames-serpent-kaliya-indian-mythological-story/

 

~ Riya

 

Personal website:   https://riyarts.weebly.com/

Every musician encounters this never ending nightmare sometime. This winter break, I encountered it head-on, Pachelbel’s Canon in D. I had this recording gig to play at my friend’s church. They actually specifically requested Pachelbel. Honestly I have nothing (only a some bit) against the Canon, but somehow this piece just haunts every musician. It’s goes on forever and in this case, I had to play most of the extra lines. ~sigh~ Honestly, this piece gave me such a headache because it never went anywhere; it was same chords over and over again. This is reality for a musician in the 21st century though. There’s gigs to do and every wedding wants to walk down the aisle with this in the background. Just gotta grit your teeth and give the people what they want. AND THE PEOPLE WANT CANON IN D!

Happy New Year!

I’ve heard a lot of people vocalize this sentiment about how going home feels off. And while I get it, I never quite heard a good elaboration of what this meant for people. They (including myself) liked to use the vague words like “off” and “weird” that only describe the surface of an emotion that is hard to dig through. This process, of finding what going home means to you, is largely personal and varies wildly from person to person. However, I feel there are some congruencies from person to person, which is why I always like to ask people about it. It’s interesting.

This poem is my summation of it. To me, there are two sides.

In my first year of college, I was organized, determined, and focused. I had made a schedule and loved sticking to it; I felt productive and like I had really come a long way from my where I was before. Every day was a step in the person I hoped to become. Now, when all this personal progress and development takes place in your dorm room where you stay for 2 uninterrupted months, going home, (the place of what felt like 17 years of stagnation) it killed my momentum. No matter how hard I tried, I tumbled back into bad habits and felt terrible for it. I didn’t have the drive of a fish-out-of-water.

On the other side, home is home. It’s where my parents cook for me. I had my own room to myself. Even the shower, (though not nearly as good as the ones at the dorm), was welcoming. No matter how much I grew in college, I didn’t lose my first tooth on the Diag. There are memories that you connect to at a childhood home, even the bad ones, and that vulnerable feeling can’t be replicated. As well, there’s less urgency. Homework, projects, lectures, student orgs. Those are all on campus, which is where you escaped from. There’s less pressure to impress a roommate, room to stretch.

One friend, after reading this poem, summed it up as, “being home sucks, but also everything feels a little less real and a little less overwhelming.” That struck pretty close to the heart of the issue for me.

I had to go home for 2 weeks to dog sit my parent’s 2 favorite children. And, while I was there, I was productive! Diving into Judith Weston and Akira Kurosawa I wrote and I got better at the ukulele. All while including time for recuperation. It was really great, and it showed me that the twisting I originally felt didn’t last forever. I was glad to come back to my apartment, but I’m looking forward to the next time I’m home for a while.

Have a good one.

-Jonah J. Sobczak

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