Welcome to season 3 of the True Fiction Project Podcast! I was delighted to speak with Mrinalini Watson, a social justice researcher of Rajasthan folktales. Mrinalini discusses how the caste system works in Rajasthan and what social injustices she’s experienced while visiting. She spoke about how stories are shared throughout the villages and how folktales are created. Mrinalini then shares a folktale of Lalan and the Kathiawadi Horse, which tells the story of a woman who fulfills her dying father's wish when her brothers refused. At the end of the episode, we discuss how fiction stories come alive from actual events. Tune in to hear more about how folktales impact the world, the similarities between stories in different cultures, and how they highlight issues that we all share.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[2:18] What does it mean to collect folktales, and how did the folktales come to be?
[6:44] Were the social injustices relevant when Mrinalini visited Rajasthan?
[9:20] Why do women have to cover their faces and take off their shoes? Why would they get in trouble if they didn't?
[11:48] What is the caste system, and how does it work?
[17:43] Mrinalini Watson shares a folktale of Lalan and the Kathiawadi Horse, about a dying father's wish to give a horse to each person who had supported him as king and how his daughter made it happen when his sons wouldn't.
[23:37] How much of this story is true or steeped in mythology?
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
IN THIS EPISODE:
[2:18] What does it mean to collect folktales, and how did the folktales come to be?
[6:44] Were the social injustices relevant when Mrinalini visited Rajasthan?
[9:20] Why do women have to cover their faces and take off their shoes? Why would they get in trouble if they didn't?
[11:48] What is the caste system, and how does it work?
[17:43] Mrinalini Watson shares a folktale of Lalan and the Kathiawadi Horse, about a dying father's wish to give a horse to each person who had supported him as king and how his daughter made it happen when his sons wouldn't.
[23:37] How much of this story is true or steeped in mythology?
KEY TAKEAWAYS: