Ravana: Roar of the Demon King, A graphic novel detailing Ravana's life from his own perspective, Author: Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia, Artist, Sachin Nagar
Author's Note:
This story is set about midway during the war between Rama and Ravana, from the Ramayana. At this point, Ravana has been losing severely to Rama's army, and it's not looking good for him. It's told mostly from Ravana's perspective. The letter in the beginning goes over the current state of things, and the following CV lists the highlights of Ravana's life, according to him.
I wanted to have a little fun this one. My story is given in the form of a hiring letter and CV. I got the idea from the interview storytelling style. Ravana actually has a lot of achievements in his life, both good and bad. I thought this would make for an interesting resume. I wrote a CV because (in the US) it's a bit more detailed than a resume.
I came up with the letter in the beginning while I was about halfway through the CV. I was looking for a good story to wrap around the CV, and I thought it would be great if it was part of a hiring letter. I was going for a kind of dystopian style with the letter, giving it a very polite tone over a very unsettling idea.
Greetings,
If you are reading this letter, you have received the honor of being called upon by the almighty Ravana to serve in his army. As you may know the King of Lanka has engaged in a military campaign against the warrior Rama. Regrettably, there have been losses sustained by our great army, thanks in large part to the betrayal of our nation by the monkey people of Kishkindha. Due to this, we have had several openings come up in the Lankan army, and you have been selected as one of our candidates. If you are interested in the position, please bring your resume to the Palace of Lankapura no later than next Monday. We have attached Ravana's curriculum vitae for your perusal so that you might become familiar with his military exploits and experience. If you have any questions please direct them to the guards' office at the palace gate. Please have a nice day.
Sincerely,
Indrajit
1st Lankan General
Note: All recipients who fail to comply with the aforementioned recruitment will be investigated for treason, punishable by life imprisonment and/or death.
Curriculum Vitae
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| Headshot of Ravana From Ravana: Roar of the Demon King |
Personal Details:
Name: Dashananda a.k.a. "Ravana"Address: Palace of Lankapura, Lanka
Birth date: c. 1560 BCE
Webpage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana
Nationality: Lankan, formerly Bisrakhan
Education:
1556 - 1542 Studied under the great Brahmin, Vishrava, the mind-born, son of Pulastya. Materials studied included martial arts, music, literature, language, and religion.Honors and Achievements:
1493 Utilized clever strategy to capture the beautiful Sita from the warrior known as Rama, in order to make her my wife.1513 Negotiated a valuable treaty of alliance with Vali, the ruler of the Kishkindha nation.
1523 Seized the Pushpaka Vimanana from the city of heaven for my personal use.
1525-1523 Launched a successful campaign upon the city of heaven, defeating several of the gods and obtaining untold riches.
1529-1526 Conquered the underworld after a long military campaign covering much of the Earth's surface. I granted the domain to one of my most valiant generals, Ahiravana.
1530 Created the rudra veena out of my own flesh and veins so that I might play music in honor of the god Shiva.
1530 Lifted the mountain of Shiva in order to bring him to the home of my dying mother, so she might worship him directly.
1535 Peacefully seized the kingdom of Lanka from the former ruler, Kubera, through powerful persuasion
1534 Granted several boons by the god of creation, Brahma, after cutting off own head ten times to show devotion. Boons include: a potion of immortality, a book of shape-shifting mantras, and supremacy over gods and beasts alike.
Professional Experience:
1535 - Current Title: Lankeshwar, absolute ruler of the Kingdom of Lanka. Current holdings include: Balidweepa, Malayadweep, Angadweepa, Varahdweepa, Shankhadweepa, Yavadweepa, Andhralaya, and Kushadweepa1542 - 1535 Served as a Daitya Prince under the rulership of the mighty rakshasa, Sumali.
Additional Skills:
Military strategyKshatriyan combat
Extensive knowledge of the four Vedas and the six Upanishads
Musical Instruments:
Veena
Ravanahatha
Bill,
ReplyDeleteI love the style of your story. I also obsoletely loved the letter! At first I was a little confused because it seemed like Ravana was asking nicely if they wanted to join his army. Then I saw the note at the bottom. Very nice touch. I also like the detailed bio of Ravana and how you told the story though his history.
Nice job.
This is super creative! At first I was confused because I thought this was two separate posts but I figured it out! I like that the feel of the letter sounds very old but then you used a modern resume style to detail Ravana. The way the note is written - with the exception of the last line - it sounds as though the recipent were specially selected! Ha! Nice work
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ReplyDeleteBill, I was intrigued by your resume for Ravana. It was so creative and detailed. It seems like you researched a lot to be able to do this and I also learned a lot from reading over it. You should think about doing something like this for your storybook or project. I look forward to reading more of your imaginative storytelling!
ReplyDeleteWilliam,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading your stories because they are very unique and creative. Starting off the story with a letter for the application process is brilliant. It is very accurate to what we might see today, just in a less professional sense. The resume setup is also wonderful both aesthetically and contextually. The timeline on the resume is perfect for showing experience and accomplishments throughout his lifetime. I like how “talked up” his resume seems to be; his worst quality is actually still a good quality? Haha. Great job!