HI KUPPAIAH

Happy Birthday

Looks familiar?

Continuing the nostalgia, here's a chance for everyone to go back to thier childhood....this is a page from the Chandamama of April 1959! You can download this and other editions from 1947 (the 1st ever Telugu Chandamama) till 1980. The link: http://www.chandamama.com/archive/storyArchive.php

Download while the link lasts and Enjoy Maadi.

Summer Vacations

Tirupathi was a small town those days. We used to roam the streets without fear.
The house was a big, single story building. The roof was of wooden planks that were topped with mud. It used to become dry and grass grew on it after rains. (A veritable rooftop Lawn) In summer it used to be cool and in winter it was warm.
The rear half of the house (kitchen, store room, bath room, well, and latrine) was higher by about 6 feet. We had to climb these (fairly wide steps) to go to the kitchen etc.
Did I mention my favorite hiding place? It was a wooden loft in the kitchen (with a wooden ladder too). Goodies like tamarind were stored there and we used to enjoy a ball of tamarind with salt and jeelakarra.
The well was a means of communicating with Bali Chakravarthi. To draw a bucket of water it used to take 3 mts. And the music it made!! (some folks call it irritating!!!)
There was a municipal water tap in the bathroom. Water was supplied for 3 hrs a day and there used to be a mad scramble in the bath room. The thotti was huge ( 8'X4') and it was never filled.
(refer 7th class maths--if it takes a tap to fill the tub in 3 hours and with 20 kids in 4 batches, each batch emptying it in 30 mts, how soon will the tub be full?) About 6 or 7 boys at a time will take a community bath ( you soap my back, I'll soap yours) There used to be yells and songs--no appreciable difference between the 2. The GURRLS of course used to bathe singly. The door was never bolted from the inside --(some were not high enough to reach it and those who could, did not, as it used to jam on occasion locking kids inside and causing panic.) So how was privacy to be ensured? A set of female clothes hanging on the door warned everybody not to come into the corridor itself. There was enough Pachi (slime) there to cause at least 2 tumbles a day.
A special mention of the latrine--it was the scavenger type (Younger generation can get an explanation from their parents) YECH!
One could see and smell several deposits made by others earlier. We boys used to visit Lake Ramachandra (Ramachandrudi Gunta) for our needs.

All in all a jolly house with merry kids and full of funny and joyous memories.
Alas!Alack! all such houses (I DONOT mean the brick and mortar structures) are a thing of the past.
I am happy, that at Kavali at least, we had several such good years together.

Done with GRE

Thanks for the wishes....My GRE score is 1330.I scored a 800 in quant(maths) and 530 in verbal(english).[Do comment on the scores]
The first part of giving the gre exam was one big thing and i managed to finish it..I have absolutely no idea about the second part of applying for the universities.So, this is a request to everyone in the family...please do a bit of research work and suggest a few universities...also i have no idea how to proceed from now on..please give me a step by step procedure of what i have to do.
I'll be taking my TOEFL in September.
Special request to krupakka, sudha vadina and vidya akka.....

Happy Birthday Amma

HAI EVERYONE THIS IS SWATHI

i am at kvl with my frnd sathvika.

Best of luck Mruduls

HBD Krupa

Many Happy Returns of The Day

Vighneswara Pooja

well folks, here is a small offering for Vinayaka Chavithi. I should have colored the text and its background but by then I was getting lazy. so, left it like that.
As my son repeatedly tells me, I have borrowed the images (3) and one sound file from somebodies' pages (the pages are--
for the images
http://my.opera.com/magic_mania/albums/showpic.dml?album=32778&picture=357057
http://www.hindunet.org/day_as_hindu/images/1606616.gif
and for the sound
http://www.tradebit.com/usr/soundjay/pub/9003/handbell-preview-1-2.mp3)
I had to do a bit of editing for the sound file and one of the images.
So there, I have acknowledged the authors!
If only God had given me the talent, I would have drawn those things! But Kya Karen, Things ARE not so. Enjoy.
Ganesha Pooja

congratulations gouramma

the poem is very good and the vruththam is resonating.i think it is thristup in chandas.it is like the native poornam boore

Krishna Krishna!

Here is a poem for Sasi and the rest of the clan. Little belated, as the release was scheduled for Krishnashtami but due to pressure of no work, it was delayed.

కృష్ణనామం కృష్ణకాయం కృష్ణలోహితవర్ణినే
కృష్ణభాతృం కృష్ణస్యాలం కృష్ణకావ్యకధాపతే
కృష్ణవర్తననిధనశూరం కృష్ణఫణిశిరమర్దనే
కృష్ణసారక వంశీ హస్తే కృష్ణశారకనేత్రినే

కృష్ణం వందే జగద్గురుం .

As you can see there are 10 krishnas in my poem. They have different meanings--mostly.
here goes--------------------
1. evident-named krishna
2. Iron bodied
3.Black and Metallic(iron) hued (coloured) bodied krushna= iron
4. Brother of Droupadi ( krushna = droupadi)
5. Brother-in-law of Arjuna (Syala or Syalaka = Brother in law साला) krushna = arjuna)
6. hero of bhagavatham ( krushna kavyam) or hero of Vyasa's ( krushna Dwaipayana's) book
7. the fighter who kills people with bad behaviour(krishnavathanas)--nidhana is killing
8. dancer who danced on the hood of a black snake ( Kaleeya)
9. one who has a black bamboo flute in hand (sarakam = bamboo)
10. one having the eyes of a black deer ( saraka= jinka / deer)

Recession the SWINE way

There used to be a big herd of pigs in front of our house under the neem tree.Now only a couple just VISITING.The reason-----food prices are so high no family is throwing away a single METHUKU(cooked grain of rice)

HBD GOURAMMA

Many happy returns of the day.

HBD KRUPA AND GOURAMMA

Many many happy returns of the day.

HBD Viswam which falls on 14th and Krishnastami, both on the same day.

Many more happy returns of the day.

Quo vadis, Krupa?

Wither Goest thou, Krupa? No word from you for quite some time.

Anonymous Post.

Got it. He is typing the title also in the message window. No title, so no name for the poster.

?????

test

re రాగి చెంబులో చేప పిల్ల

What is SRN doing differently, that he is able to post anonymously?

రాగి చెంబులో చేప పిల్ల

BMKs composition reminded me about అమరావతి కధలు ,one of good books i have read. There is a story with above title in that book.The story is about subbamma who is very particular and foolish about madi.
Here i think author satyam sankaramanchi borrowed heavily from the the charecters acharapu annamma and chadastapu chelamamma of veeresalingam panthulu which were favourites in our family . My father used to refer to the prahasanam always. i should say that he is who intiated us into rational thinking at an early age. I will come to the aspect of singampalli family background in shaping charecters of its members some time later( may be in response to kuppis "words,words, words").

well !!!coming back to the story , she takes hundred baths per day for reasons like seeing an untochable, doubt about having touching some annam methuku and so on.it will be 12pm by the time she finishes her baths in river krishna , come home and start cooking . Her husband is the silent sufferer.One dayshe finished her lunch and drank some water. she is shocked to see a chepa pilla (small fish)in that ragi chembu.Her madi is gone she laments.But her husband says there are so many fish in krishna river in which you are taking holy bath and bringing water for cooking and offering nivedana to god. Dont you have maila inside your body?
Then she understads then that she "ఎవర్నిఅంటకుండా ముత్యపు చిప్పలోముత్యం లాగా బతకాలి అనుకొన్నది.నీళ్ళల్లోచేపలాగా బతకాలి అని తెలిసింది కాదు.
end of story!!!!

yengili ఎంగిలి

All of you are familiar with the story of Sabari.
But is anything in this world fresh and not yengili?

When MBMK (BalaMuraliKrishna) visited Kavali, we had the fortune to be his hosts for Lunch and I cooked everything with my own hands.
When he sat down to lunch, he said "Amma give me whatever you cooked. I am sure it is all tasty. You know I am fond of food." ( BhojanaPriyudini)
I told him" Sir! today I cooked everything with my own hands. I dared not taste it since I can not offer you yengili food. So you have to bear with my cooking and eat it even if it is not tasty."
He smiled and sang one line--
ఏమి సేతురా లింగా ఏమి సేతురా ? గంగ ఉదకము తెచ్చి నీకు లింగ పూజను చేదమంటే గంగ లోని చేప కప్పలు మా ఎంగిలంటున్నాయి.
Then he had lunch and went away for the function.
Yesterday, on TV, we watched a program in which he was the guest being interviewed. He sang the full song.(It is his own composition by the way). Here it is---
లక్ష యావుల పాలు తెచ్చి అభిషేకము చేదమంటే పాలు తాగే లేగ దూడలు మా ఎంగిలంటున్నాయి
తుమ్మి పూవులు కోసుకొచ్చి తుష్టిగా పూజ చేదమంటే కొమ్మ కొమ్మన తుమ్మెదాలు మా ఎంగిలంటున్నాయి
పండ్లు ఫలములు ఏరి తెచ్చి ఫలాహారము పెడదామంటే చక్క చక్కని రామచిలకలు మా ఎంగిలంటున్నాయి
ఏమి చేతురా ---
So there is nothing YOU can touch first and give the lord. So shed ego (అహం ) and be humble.

HA SGK VIJAYA

Heading says it all.

belated greetings

happy marriage day&wish you many more of the same

Follower

Did anyone notice that the dashboard lists a follower for the first time?
And guess who it is?
The most organised man in the group --MADHAV.
Come on folks --show some interest.

Words, Words, Words

Sorry about the long post. Since Babai complained about lack of activity, I am overcompensating :-)

Hind Swaraj and other writings, a Cambridge Press publication, is an excellent read not just for Gandhiji's pithy dissertation on non-violence, but also for the 60 page editorial introduction that prefaces it. If Hind Swaraj is the sumptuous main course, Anthony Parel’s editorial makes an excellent appetizer and some mellow desserts follow in the form of letters, speeches of Gandhi that relate to this work.

The editorial plays an important role in the book. Gandhi's insights are classic and powerful- but the grime of age can cake the original gilt of the grandest golden towers. It was up to Parel to lovingly polish this masterpiece and frame it in the original context in which it was written. And just as an aficionado revels in finding new nuances in his favorite work, Parel doesn’t tire from discovering new insights in this tour de force.

One such facet he examines is the literary influences that helped form Gandhi's strong opinions on Swaraj. He puts forth in great detail how profound an effect some books had on the Mahatma’s thinking. The preface of the HS mentions that Gandhi had ‘read much’ and ‘pondered much’. As per his own autobiography, Gandhi showed ‘unflagging interest’ in his legal studies, which gave a jurisprudential touch to his activism. Plato’s Apology had ‘the qualities of an elixir’ and formed his thought about morality in society. The Kingdom of God is within you ‘overwhelmed him’ with its missive of non-violence. Unto This Last put ‘a magic spell’ over him with its message of dignity of labor and produced an almost instantaneous change in his behavior. The Bible, the Quran, the Buddha and the Gita all left their indelible mark on him. And so on.

Do books really influence who we are? Are our thoughts, values and actions an amalgamation of our reading or are they merely atavistic responses in a Darwinian world?

In the case of Gandhi, reading evidently had a profound influence. A student of history will also recognize the power of the written word on the mass. Humble Parisians shouted Liberte’, Egalite', Fraternite' as they pulled down the gates of the Bastille. Governments collapsed as Marx & Engels rewrote a new world order with their pens. The question then is about the influence of literature on the ordinary individual, when he is away from the surge of the mass. What subtle drifts in the stream of consciousness are wrought by the gentle pressure of words?

For this worthy topic of enquiry, I found myself a suitable subject for two reasons: I am an average Joe, and I have read a bit. Having decided the topic and the subject, all that was left was to determine the research methodology. The difficulty was in determining the right books- how to sift through the detritus of a 30 year old memory and identify those few that left their mark.

Despite the entertainment they provided, I had to eliminate the Asimovs, the Archers, the Forsyths and the like- the books that form the common minimum of any lending library or street side vendors anywhere. More reluctantly, classical heavyweights had also to be rested. Hence, no Mr. Micawber, no Dr. Jekyll (or Mr. Hyde) and no Long John were to adorn this list. There was to be no Poirot (doubtless complaining about my lack of the leetle grey cells), and about Mrs. O'Hara- well, I didn't really give a damn! This was to be no top 10 list, as is evident from the final selection.

As we launch into the list, a disclaimer: any virtue I may seem to be granting myself is strictly a compliment to that book and not a self-congratulatory pat on my back.

Comics: Indrajal, Disney, Dalton and Amar Chitra Kathas fired the imagination and rapidly expanded my knowledge of the world. Xanadu, Denkali, Duckburg are important landmarks on my mental atlas till today. Thanks to them, the world became a lively and interesting place for me.

Chandamamas: If comics was the telescope to look at distant worlds, Chandamamas allowed me to turn the lens inwards towards rural India. The simplicity and beauty of the India painted in those pages is a world inaccessible to the children of today.

Enid Blytons: A couple of seasons ago, I clocked 800 KMs on my bicycle between home and office. I attribute this and other eccentricities such as gliding to a staple diet of Enid Blytons. They gave me a juvenile enthusiasm for adventure and the outdoors that I still retain.

Sherlock Holmes: Here's finally a classical heavyweight! The Hound of Baskerville was probably the first real thriller I read. Besides the sheer enjoyment he provided, Sherlock taught the value of perfection- and how a certain astringency and asceticism adds piquancy to such perfection.

Books by Y Perelman (and other Russian books written for children): Like the Chandamamas, the valuable literature of the Russians is no longer accessible to children today. What a loss that is! Y Perelman demystified science and math and made them magical.

Giants of Science: if Perelman educated me on basic science, this book introduced me to Davy, Faraday, Curie, Priestly and numerous other scientific geniuses. Between these two books, I have learnt more about science than the rest of the books I read- and they were very absorbing books too. This too, is an extinct species.

Les Miserable’s, A Christmas Carol, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, To Kill a mocking bird: More classics! These books moved me profoundly and taught me the importance of mercy and altruism and how rate these qualities are. Les Miserable’s, with its powerful chapter on the Priest and the Candlesticks made a lasting impression.

Wodehouse: His books singlehandedly improved my vocabulary a hundred-fold and gifted me a sense of humor. More importantly, they taught me the value of farce, concepts such as Nobles’ Oblige, chivalry, and about the ultimate sin of the Wodehouse-ian world: to take oneself too seriously. I owe Wodehouse my first guffaw- a hard, stomach pain inducing, rolling on the bed, tears in the eyes laugh. For that and several such, I am grateful to him.

Plato’s Apology: A work common to Gandhi’s own hit list! But this wonderful work gives a simple message: the only wise are those who at least recognize their foolishness. I can’t help but wonder if Wodehouse himself was not a fan of this work- how else would one explain that the worst sin in his world was to be an insufferable know-it-all?

Books by Srila Prabhupada: These powerful books are treasure houses of information about the Hindu religion and helped reaffirm my faith. For the first time, I understood the highly logical structure of the Hindu world view and am relatively more devout.

The Hindu, Amartya Sen: Besides the enjoyment this newspaper’s high quality prose gives me, it gradually awakened my social conscience. Now, as I lounge passively on my bed, perhaps I sometimes shift uncomfortably as I feel the pinpricks of my civic dereliction. Day on day, brick by brick, it laid the foundation of my aspirations of being a social, environment-conscious, patriotic Indian. The Argumentative Indian cemented this foundation and made me stridently anti-communal and pro-secular.

All books about (and by) Gandhi, Nehru, Rajagopalachari and others: It was like reading comics again: the superhuman exploits of that generation left me awed. Being intellectual giants, their sacrifices were given in cold blood and full objectivity, which requires that extra measure of courage compared to a hot-blooded rush. These people are utterly unique in human history and it is sad that they are not lionized more. They gave me renewed pride and hope in our country and leave me obligated to think of doing something for society as well.

What then is the conclusion of this overlong thesis? Books seem to have definitely touched me- and a millpond with the mud astir is surely better than a stagnant swamp. Perhaps this is the case with most people- I invite you to reflect on your own list to prove it to yourself.

It seems appropriate to end this dissertation with a quote from the man who started me on this path:

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. – M Gandhi.

HA SSVGSK

Best wishes on your First Anniversary.

A good whodunit after a long time

I just finished reading 'A nice quiet holiday', a debue novel by Aditya Sudarshan. It meets all the important criteria of a good whodunit:

1. An eccentric but brilliant crime solver and his Watson, both very likeable

2. An intelligent plot that keeps you guessing at each turn

3. A good atmosphere with a nice mix of humor and melancholy

It features Delhi sessions count judge Shinde as the crime solver and Anant, his clerking lawyer, as his Watson. The amiable judge is full of pithy aphorims and neat insights into human nature, usually ill-timed, much to the irritation of his excitable ward.

To quote him contrasting his method of detection from that of the police:

"Some might call it psychology, but I would avoid that term, because the essence of the method is that it is not specialist. You need no expertise in either the art of forensics or the art of browbeating- just a healthy, commonsensical, layman's ability to think. Properly speaking, it ought to be called the method of the judge, for the judge is the quintessential man on the street. But at any rate, it is a very different method from that of a policeman's. It involves, you see, the ability to make a friend- to have a friend. It involves sympathy."

The author has a background of law, which helps with authenticity. All in all, a very good read and I will be looking forward to the next few adventures of Judge Shinde.

Congrats ra Summi

FCD!

HBD Gopal

Sravana Pournami nee puttina roju kada? Emi chesthunnaru?

h.b.d.gopal

many happy returns of the day gopal on sravana purnima

summi passed first year

sumana passed first year with 70.5%.

Sravana Pournami

Hi Gopal! Yellunde Sravana Pournami.

Why no posts?

Come on guys and gals. Say something.