I wonder when common people of India (Its same everywhere, whether you go to north or south) will start using their own , God – gifted brain to think and act on social issues, rather than getting influenced by few political, selfish minds.

Closed schools – This should be biggest concern in a developing country; closed public services, no cleaning of garbage, RAIL ROKO (as if railways is an ancestral property to these people ) , hitting and attacking other people in the name of DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS – are these the ways to form a state?? Who is going to benefit?? The common people?? No way.. Its only those political people who will get the posts in government. These ways are leading to death of democracy where someone with no control on violent behaviour wants a state, anyhow.

What about the RESPONSIBILITIES?? Aren’t railways our responsibility? Are we not supposed to use public properties wisely and carefully so that we can be benefitted for a long time? Aren’t we supposed to create a good environment for our kids so that they could become responsible and happy adults and thus bring prosperity to our country?

No, we just WANT a TELANGANA to GROW. PERIOD.

Now I really feel pity on people who are causing and supporting bandhs. It seems they have no work to do, therefore they don’t like others to work and grow. Looks like they don’t have confidence in themselves and are highly uneducated, without any vision (may be literate and doing various jobs but yes , uneducated ) that they are not able to see the consequences of what they are doing.

Another big reason is a poor government – YSR Garu was strong leader and he was able to handle disturbing people. But God took him away. Sometimes, a strict action is required against baseless agitations in order to maintain law and order. Democracy doesn’t mean disturbing other people’s peace for your own wishes. What if the things turn other way round??

Thus, dear friends don’t go after selfish politicians. Use what resources you have. Be hard-working and earn money and health for survival, rather than supporting bandhs and asking for a Telangana. Its outdated and Boring .

What surprised me was the fact that how can a man become a puller of such a huge crowd and that’s too a disciplined, non-violent crowd ?? There must be something in HIM !! Hats Off to Anna Hazare ji !!

Many are trying to compare him with Mahatma Gandhi. Well, Gandhi ji fought with Britishers, he spent a lot of time in foreign understanding how english men behave and live (source : his biography – My experiments with truth), he never thought that his own countrymen would be highly corrupt one day. He died before seeing a well established India of todays.

Anna ji has different story. He worked for Army, did not marry in order to sacrifice his life for welfare of society. The best thing he did was changing his village, Ralegan Siddhi, into a model village where water harvesting is done very well in order to face challenging times. Rather than fleeing from his village he stayed there and did the needful for the fellow people. Rest contributions follow this.

What Gandhi ji did was the first step, what Anna ji is doing is the need of Today. I don’t think typical Gandhi ways can survive today – some parts need modification of course, due to change of times. The thing which surprise me most was that our beloved Gandhi ji was killed by our own countryman !!

So, lets not compare these two people – in fact no two persons in the world can be same. But of course, Anna ji is doing what has really become indispensable in todays India.

Look at simple things in life and you will have an idea of how corruption is deeply situated within India - You go to a passport office and pay to middle man in order to get a position in queue. Then comes enquiry part – again you pay to those people. If you are lucky and get it within 1 month for Tatkal (Immediate / emergency) service, be happy but don’t forget to pay your postman who delivered it

Any sudden day sudden time, traffic police will start stopping people who are not wearing helmets – that’s good but if you are smart enough to offer him money and he is not honest and accepts your offer, your work is done. Next day when you go out you will be surprised – there is no checking at all and everyone is passing without any trouble – same route, same people, same traffic police but changed conditions.

Once you park in a no parking area, your car is towed but others are standing, smiling. Why ?? because your car has a number plate of other state. You paid the tax to RTA, the paper is with you, the number sending is delayed by RTA and you still have the old number – This is your fault. Even if you show all papers, you have to PAY.

You apply for a driving licence – Go, fill the form, wait for the call and keep on waiting…….get the call, go on RTA grounds, pass the test, if the officer is honest – you are lucky and get a clean pass. The other story – if your luck is bad, keep on waiting for your call, give some money to middle man, get a call, clear the test, give some money to officer then only you PASS the test and expect your licence to come to you. Another option – Get a person from some driving school, pay him whatever is he asking – give the test – that’s the only requirement – rest all hustle and bustle is taken care of by the driving school person – he has enough contacts and regularly pays the officers so his students are taken care of.

Appointment of Lecturers in Prestigious colleges and universities need influence of ministers or influential people in academics.  Another pathetic situation – A new officer joins indian government post. He tries to be honest on his level, not taking bribes for work done; his seniors start asking him to follow the system. His juniors say – “if you will not take those gifts we will also not get them, why are you doing bad to us”. Even if the new officer fights, he is either transferred or intentionally made a part of scam, so, he chose the other way – slowly becomes part of “that SYSTEM”. There are tremendous examples in everyday life which shows how deeply we are affected by this social evil of corruption.

I don’t say that 100% things take place by the way described by me but of course 90% cases are like that. So, in such scenario what Anna ji is doing is really really indispensable. One most important thing btw – we, the citizens of INDIA, need to be honest ourselves – honesty begins at home.

“Guru Govind dou khade, kake laagon paavn;

 Balihaari guru aapki, Govind diyo banay.”

“Mentor and God both are standing together, whom should I respect first (by touching his feet). Then I thought mentor should be worshiped first because his teachings made someone God OR, even God has a teacher/mentor.”  -  This is the literal meaning of the lines which tell about the importance of a mentor or GURU. If you have a good teacher he will always show you a correct path in life, besides teaching good things in a good way. If you are in sports you need to have a good coach in order to learn all aspects of the game concerned.

Mom - the first teacher of life

The very first teacher of life is mom (or family). The basic things of life we learn from our home – what is good for us what should be avoided etc. Then comes formal education and the role of school and teachers come into play. For a kid a good , healthy and innovative atmosphere of study is essential. There should be no fear of asking questions.

But what I felt , not all the teachers are the same. Some are more liberal, some don’t give much importance to the actual role of a mentor, they just take classes for their livelihood. Some are too strict (and therefore scary) and they need only one thing in class – silence. Only a few are there who are well-balanced in and outside classroom – They are the true mentors who give us valuable advice related to our studies, career and life; for whom our head bows with respect. My geography teacher in school was one of this kind – Excellent knowledge of his subject, always used various teaching aids in order to make things simple to understand, frankly told what data we need to cram and what points we need to understand, always helped in extra – curricular activities and encouraged to participate in activities at interschool / zonal / regional levels. He was a very good speaker both in Hindi and English and had lots of responsibilities of school…. Today I’ve no idea of his whereabouts but I always remember him as one of the best teachers I had.

On Teacher’s day (5th Sept), which is celebrated as Birthday of Dr. SarvaPalli Radha Krishnanan, the students of class 11th and 12th were given charge of the whole school, they became teachers for one day !! It gave us a huge sense of responsibility. Time – tables were studied and classes were distributed accordingly. A discipline  committee made of senior students, would be vigilant all the day. Teachers just coming and enjoying their special day and watching their students playing their role. Few teachers judged the teaching method of senior students and prizes were given to best teachers (senior student teachers) of the day. After recess, a small programme and High tea were organised in respect of teachers. It was really an occasion we all students waited for the whole year !!

In college also one or two profs were good but the care and love we get at school start vanishing slowly – may be we are grown ups and don’t need that much care. We also start using our own head rather than listening to someone….Lastly, my project guide was also a genius prof. Having tremendous knowledge of his subject, he was also brilliant in other fields and always willing to learn new tools and techniques to make a subject intresting…

Just want to say, I’m thankful to all my teachers who helped me in shaping my life.

In the zoo we found several deadly reptiles, lions, tigers, hippopotamus, Ostriches, Elephants, Koalas and many other animals . Of course there were GIRAFFE and ZEBRA.  There was a fabulous sealion show which again was a presentation of Harmony of man and another animal……And sometimes we don’t understand what other man is saying and we fight among each other…

I got some pics and would let them do the rest of talking…..

Giraffe posing with Opera house

Black n White

a pic while going to the zoo

Sydney - The sea, Beautiful Skyline, Opera House and Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Opera House

Yesterday, talking about Giraffe as the animal with longest cervical vertebrae, I told my friends about where I saw the first giraffe of my life and that reminded me of my Sydney Trip. The nostalgia is still there – Thanks to everyone who made it a memorable trip of my Life. I would like to mention Napoleon on Kent – The serviced apartment, where we stayed. It was a very convenient location and The Darling Harbour was just 10 minutes away from it while the circular quay was 15 – 20 minutes in the other direction. It was at intersection of Napoleon and Kent streets. (219,Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000) (Nearby railway Station – Wynyard Railway Station).
So, How it happened ?
Well, we reached Sydney in the morning from Brisbane and after check – in and usual stuff, we headed towards Circular Quay. It was the most lively and adventurous place I saw in Sydney. Facing the sea it has 6 Wharfs, from where you can choose your way to cruise. Some of the names I remember are Matilda, Thomas cook etc. We gathered Information from Tourist Information Centre and obtained a 2 day Sydney tour pass. (There are many choices depending on how much time do you have ).
Soon after getting the pass we started for the Opera house tour but we were stopped by a different kind of music. We were unable to prevent ourselves from tapping our feet. Decided to look for the source we end up meeting the Indigenous Australians (Aboriginals) playing an instrument named didgeridoo (also known as a didgeridoo or didge) using their mouth. It was a hollow wooden pipe of 1.5 meter, very beautifully decorated. The player needs to blow air through the mouthpiece and at the same time try to make some noise. It was an Aerophone / natural wooden trumpet. The man was playing music and selling recorded CDs of his music. I bought one and it’s still the most different kind of music I’ve heard. (The aboriginals are the original inhabitants of Australia.)

The Circular Quay @ Sydney

Heading towards Opera house we met several tourists who were in awe with the liveliness of the place. WOW ! AMAZING ! MARVELLOUS ! was the expression on seeing Opera house from outside. Sydney Opera house - I must say its an epitome of Modern architecture with the sea (pacific ocean) giving its a perfect company. We went for the guided tour of Opera house which included a visit to some of the theatres and we were lucky to saw one ballet rehearsal. It was a nice

A didgeridoo Player @ Circular Quay, Sydney

choreography and it reminded me of the Opera house scene from movie Dil Chahta hai. Collecting the photographs, we concluded the Opera house tour and came out of the beautiful creation of man. (Those who have seen Lotus / Bahai Temple  in New Delhi may feel a resemblance of the same with Opera house.) What a place !!

Then, it was time for sea adventures. We went for Jet cruise and then jet speed boating. Both were unique in their own ways. Jet cruise allowed kids also but jet speed boating was not for kids – it was a speed boat with 20 – 25  capacity with a captain and used to give a spin amidst the sea. Next moment you could be singing “water, water everywhere…..” It was a breathtaking experience.

We were damn hungry after the thrilling rides and decided to fill our bellies. There were variety of food n snacks stalls outlining the sea – side

A poster @ Sydney Opera House

and later on we found an Indian Restaurant too which was having a Ganesha idol at the entrance. (Food is never a problem in Australia.)  We went to the Royal Botanic Gardens nearby Opera house for a walk. Its very charming to walk along the sea.

Another major attaction is The Harbour Bridge which is most clearly visible while cruising / speedboating. You can also climb on the bridge with permission and get a certificate of the same !! It is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries all kind of traffic, be it rail, vehicular, bicycle or pedestrian, between the Sydney CBD and theNorth Shore. The beautiful  view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic representation of Sydney or you can say Australia. …….to be continued…….

The Sydney Harbour Bridge

The complete address is – HMDA  Chinna Talla Kunta Park, Hyderguda, Rajendra Nagar.

Landmark : Opposite to Pillar No. 152 of P.V. Narsimha Rao Expressway (which starts near Mehdipattnam and goes till AaramGhar and turns right towards Agricultural University).

A Ticket of Rs. 10 is charged, kids go free.

 A very good morning to you. This is just my personal view and i wanted to share it with you. Would love if you share your opinions / views on the topic.

Do you really feel the need of Telangana??  What is that which is not coming your way, will come to you, if Telangana happens??

Getting a new state means getting lots of state departments thereby lots of funds for the new state, OK. But anyone of you have idea where the money goes? I hope all of you understand these things by now. Very few will be spent in the name of state and rest will be swallowed. The problem is – we do not learn from past. 

We were attacked by outsiders in history, time and again, due to lack of unity. Last time ( I don’t want to mention other ones, its endless) we were under British rule, they fooled us using divide n rule policy. We got freedom n we became happy. But aren’t we doing the same again and this time we cannot blame any outsider for this division, we are solely responsible. And the worst part which disturbs me is that plenty of students from Osmania University are involved in such activities.

I don’t understand why can’t we unite against poverty, corruption, unemployment and other major problems among us. Can we punish the Ministers for the serious loopholes found in arrangements of Commonwealth Games?? Too many scams are there with our netas and we still believe them. Why?? Because during our college years , just like present day OU students, we get involved in activities which are not related to studies, career and growth.

Dear students, if you really want to do something for Telangana, first get a degree in any field of interest , be eligible for respectable jobs, earn some money for yourself and your family with fair means. In the process you will learn the meaning of unity, nation, strength, growth and success. Then there will be no need of a separate state. You can well flourish in present conditions, don’t waste your time and energy for something which is not there and which has not /has to come in future. Don’t spoil your peek study years under the belt of politicians.

One more thing is beyond my understanding. As it is clearly visible, the whole fight is for taking Hyderabad away. Hyderabad of present day can never be a property of a newly formed state. What has made Hyderabad of today is also an effort of several people who don’t belong to Telangana region. It is just like first, you are a joint family and leave your son on others help and guidance also, to flourish well, apart from providing a little support and on maturity when your son is earning huge mainly because of effort of other people, you want him to get separated from those people. Is this justified?? I feel if Hyderabad has a soul and it can talk, it will firmly say a no-no for getting merged into Telangana. The only possible solution, if very necessary, is making Hyderabad a Union Territory. But I don’t think there is really a need to do these things. 

WHAT DO YOU SAY ??

 From the day Khali has entered, he is getting great privilege from Big Boss. He made others eat bhindi-rice and while he was cooking most of the contestants were not eating. I don’t know why there are wild card entries when you have regular contestants. Khali is the most lazy person in Big Boss doing nothing for most of the times. Looks like he doesn’t understand whats going on OR he is least bothered OR he was sure of his position in top 4. He will not say anything , just watching others and always supporting dolly if something happens.

Dolly who has come back to Big boss with some shame this second time , is another character. All she can do is a good drama – yelling, shouting without valid reasons, getting sick for sympathy and telling everyone his aukaat. And these guys are in top 4 !! I don’t believe it’s because of voting. audiences don’t like Khali and Dolly at all.

Hrishant Goswami and Seema parihar were much better contestants in terms of likings and honesty. And today Samir left – he was the best among the gentlemen. I wonder if this is happening because of public voting.

Ashmit looks normal after Veena has left, however in terms of decency and honestly doing the task, my preference goes to Shweta tiwari. She is very obedient towards Big Boss and the tasks and tries to stay away as far as possible from fights.She has all the elements to win hearts of all age groups. So, my vote goes to Shweta Tiwari.

I liked the pure soul of Seema Parihaar, the coolness of Hrishant Goswami, Shyness and sobriety of Aanchal but above all I admire Shweta Tiwari. . Lets see what happens. I wish there were no Dolly Bindra in Big Boss, at least.

How to Get an voter id in AP

Hi folks !!

 its time for some information. If you have any problem related to your voter id card in AP, follow the link given below and click on the e-registration option. I hope this is going to help you. Have a nice day !!

Here I would be describing the important rituals of north indian marriage.

As far as I remember, five elderly and married women touched wholesome urad dal in soop (used to separate rice from husk) and sang some sacred folk song. It was followed by lunch comprising of Pooris, stuffed with dal, pulav, kheer and other usual delicacies.

Vadas

Next day was sangeet – the time of maximum enjoyment. Oh , sorry! men and boys are generally not invited for sangeet. The bride-to-be was well-decorated for the event. The whole evening was full of dances – elderly danced to the dholak and claps while the yonger ones to the tunes of dhoom machale and other new movie songs. Then there was session of GEET in which folk songs related to marriage were sung. This was followed by dinner and Paan (if you like it) A beautiful aspect of indian culture is that there’s always a song present for any condition in life. You mention the situation and there is a song for it – definately. Birth of a child, childhood, daily routines, teenage, marriage, becoming parent, greeting relatives, separation, blessings …..all cherish their own pile of songs ! In the night Mehandi is applied to the hands and feet of bride-to-be.

Early morning on the day of marriage Ladies were gathered to invite the descent (Poorvaj) and give their blessings to the couple-to-be (called as Pitra-Nyota).

Decorated Earthen Pot

Kadhi and other regular dishes were prepared and served to the heavenly first, followd by the ladies performing pooja and then everyone in the family took the prasad. This was followed by Haldi rasm (application of turmeric paste).

Turmeric paste @ Haldi event

Haldi is being narrowed due to shortage of time. In times of our moms, haldi was done 10-15 days before the marriage on daily basis and it was believed to improve the complexion and impart beautiful glow. Nowadays this ritual is being replaced by parlours – facials and all for imparting layers on the face. After haldi the bride is made to eat some special meal (var ka bhaat).

People started gathering at bride’s house and everyone got busy in greeting. In the evening the bride went for the full-fledged make-up for the doom’s day. When the baraat (groom with his family, relatives and friends) arrived, the bride-to-be threw sacred rice from a place where no one could see her but she could see the baraat . All the people from bride’s side (gharati) greeted their conterparts i.e. people from groom’s side (baraati) amidst mantra chanting (milani) – A special welcome showing the importance of  respected guests of the day.

The Groom was given huge importance by DWAR POOJA event in which the bride’s father performed a pooja and welcomed the groom by putting a Tilak on his forehead and touching his  feet (oh yes !! he is a respectable person in indian society) amidst mantras chanting. Then it was snack time - chaat, golgappe,manchurian balls, paneer tikka,spring rolls,laddus…

Time for Jayamaala and time for the Bride-to-be to come into the picture. She was made ready for the Jayamaala wearing a huge lahanga (wedding dress) and ornaments and was brought on a hugely decorated stage with two king size royal chairs (or sometimes swings ), where the groom had already reached. Aarti of the groom was done by unmarried sis-in-laws and then the groom and bride exchanged their garlands – a floral and a golden paper made.

 STAGE is necessary so that everyone can enjoy those beautiful moments.

This was follwed by a long session of photography. All important relatives, elderly,friends, kids and other invitees blessed the pair and get photographed on the stage !! The dinner and the caterers were ready by this time.

The actual marriage begins after this jayamaal event. According to the shubha muhurta (auspicious time) , the bride was first brought in the mandap - A sacred place where 5 new bamboo twigs were planted in soil in a decorated can, an eartehen pot was kept, filled with rice and Mango leaves.

A Mandap

An earthen wick was lightened and the whole place was decorated with  flowers. An elder brother of Groom stuck beetle leaf on bride’s forehead and gave some gift. (Taag-paat) This person is now very respectable for the bride for her whole life. (Normally this person is a distant relative of groom). The bride was sent back to her room and then groom came in the mandap. He sat on a new, yellow and pink coloured wooden plank (peedha) and again his feet were touched by bride’s parents. Some pooja was done for the groom and then the bride was again brought in the mandap - She sat with her parents exactly opposite to the groom. Then the parents performed Kanyadaan – a tradition in which they hand over the responsibility of their loving daughter to the groom, understanding and accepting that from now my daughter’s guardianship is my son-in-law’s duty, expecting that he will take good care of their daughter. The groom accepted this HUGE responsibility amidst mantras and then the bride was made to sit with her husband, on his right side, opposite to her parents.

 How things drastically change within minutes?? I was thinking…

Then bride’s brother gave them his blessings with rice puff (laava) and he was offered a dreess as a gift from groom’s parents. The time to make them a man and his bride, came - The bride was covered with a yellow cloth and the groom put sindoor in her middle hair parting – No one was allowed to see this event directly except the groom !! (Sindoordaan). The brides bhabhi (elder brother’s wife) was then asked to fill the entire parting with sindoor, even that was done under cover – it is believed that if you show this event to everyone – your married life will not be happy at all. The bhabhi was gifted a saree from groom’s parents on this event. Soon after the bride was made to sit on the left side of the groom – NOW THEY ARE MAN and WIFE.

It was time for blessings by showering rice and flowers on the couple. The bride threw some rice behind her praying to the Almighty for taking care of her family and she was made to go with the groom in a nicely decorated car. It was difficult to control the tears at that heartfelt event of Vidai. Everyone was crying as their loving daughter, sis, cousin, grand-daughter…etc etc was leaving for another house …..the place would never be same again……without her……But life has to go on ….