Wednesday, January 21, 2015

My little grandnephew has a penchant for Key chains!

Vihaan my grandnephew,
Apple of my eye,
Has a penchant for Key chains!
To him they mean a key to outdoors,
And lovely rides!
On Motorcycles and in Cars,
To enjoy the world so wide.
See him below in Car and on Motorbike!
So thrilled!
And so overjoyed!!
If he gets hold of a Key chain,
Attempts to retain him indoors will go in vain.











Thursday, January 15, 2015

HAPPY SANKRANTI / Pongal / Makar Sankranti / Uttarayan / Lohri!!!

Attached: Today’s pictures of Muggulu / Rangoli, at dawn!
Video: A Treasure of Sweet Sankranti Memories!
Today is Sankranti festival. On this happy occasion wish you happiness, prosperity, good health, success and peace. Sankranti is celebrated all over India and even in other South Asian countries, with some regional variations. It is celebrated as Sankranti, Makara Sankranti or Makar Sankranti in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The festival is celebrated as Lohri in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, as Pongal in Tamil Nadu and as Uttarayan in Gujarat and Rajasthan. In Nepal it is celebrated as Maghi or Maghe Sankranti or Maghe Sakrati. And in Myanmar it is Thingyan, in Laos it is Pi Ma Lao and in Thailand it is Songkran.
Sankranti festival falls on the day when the Sun begins its northward journey and enters the sign of Makara (Capricorn) from the Tropic of Cancer. In local interpretation it means the Sun has commenced to move from Dakshinayana (South) to Uttarayana (North). Every year this event always falls on the 14th of January, and rarely on 15th January, as in the case of this year. Today onwards the harshness of winter would reduce and the days would get longer. Symbolically, the Sun gradually removes darkness and ushers in the light of knowledge and wisdom.
Though the reasons for the celebration of this festival are plenty, the most important is - it is celebrated as a harvest festival. It is celebrated with a lot of pomp and show with colorful dresses, colorful Muggulu (Rangoli), colorful Kites, well decorated houses, lots of entertainment and a variety of food over the three day festival. It is a festival to express gratitude to God for a good harvest and all the material possessions and it is also time for communal camaraderie, thanksgiving and exchange of greetings. So once again wish you all a very Happy Sankranti / Pongal / Makar Sankranti / Uttarayan / Lohri!!!













Links to my Sankranti Festival related other blog posts:

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

26th National Road Safety Week.

According to the orders of the Central and State authorities the 26th National Road Safety Week – 2015 has to be observed from 11th January to 17th January 2015. Three days of this Safety Week have passed and I see no traces of any safety and educational drive in our Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, except for a Walkathon on Necklace Road on 11th January. Nor do I see any improvement in the rash and chaotic behavior of drivers, all the more among Auto rickshaw drivers and the so called well trained drivers of State run buses. Even the helmet rule which has become mandatory for all bike riders from 12th January is not being observed by most riders. The general feeling is that most people of Hyderabad do not take traffic safety rules seriously.  I wish the authorities will enforce the helmet rule very strictly at least this time. And they should also ensure that all traffic safety rules are followed very strictly. Spend few minutes at any traffic junction of our city and you will find violators of rules in hundreds. Many drivers drive in a zigzag manner, park vehicles wherever they please sometimes almost in the middle of the road causing inconvenience to fellow drivers and causing traffic jams.   They act as if they are ignorant of the traffic signals and the safety markings on and along the roads. This arrogance towards road safety should be punished very severely just as in the case of drunken driving which the police have been viewing very seriously and punishing the offenders. This strict vigilance and severe punishment of drunken drivers has transformed, educated and alerted the people of the city.   
Attached are some posters to remind us of Road Safety practices:







Sunday, January 11, 2015

Dealing with Hyderabad’s unusual super cold weather!

Dealing with Hyderabad’s unusual super cold weather!
After a brief respite another cold wave is sweeping Hyderabad and Telangana State. Last two nights the temperature fell below 10 deg. Celsius, which is quite unusual, lower than the average minimum temperature recorded over last few years. However daytime is quite warm and bright at 27 deg. Celsius.
Warm clothing and blankets have all come out after a very long time...and the forecast is that this cold wave will continue for few more days.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Terrorism wherever, leaves us sad and helpless.

It is just 8 days into the New Year and 17 terrorist incidents have already taken place the world over, the latest being the shocking shootout in Paris yesterday in which 12 persons have been killed.
Terrorism wherever, leaves us sad and helpless. Our heart goes out to the victims of the terror attacks, those who are killed and those maimed and their bereaved families. The suffering is enormous, many suffer from post- trauma and every citizen in the affected areas and in sensitive countries feel that they have lost their freedom and live in fear as it has happened to us after the series of bomb blasts in Hyderabad.  Today I am reminded of these bomb blasts in our city, Hyderabad and the tragedies it has caused. Not long ago on 25th August 2007 there were bomb blasts at Lumbini Amusement Park - Necklace Road and at Gokul Chaat Bhandar – Koti, in which 42 persons were killed and 54 injured. And on 21st February 2013 there were serial bomb blasts at Anand Tiffin Center and at Route No. 107- Bus Stand in Dilsuknagar area, in which 17 persons got killed and 119 injured. These were gruesome mass murders by terrorists, in our city which have left us insecure even today.
The whole world reacts very strongly against such dastardly acts but their verbal criticism, advice and preventive measures are obviously not preventing terrorist activities. I wish the UNO and the civilized countries of the world will unite and find ways to end terrorism at the earliest.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Our house has a name so nice!

Home is the nicest word in the universe!
And our home has a name so nice!
- Sudhiksha & Vihaan.





An appeal as Lok Sabha Elections 2024 schedule is out!

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