Smoking and Alcohol are injurious to health, but how about TV addiction?

Several times every day people watch on TV; the warning that Smoking and Alcohol are injurious to health but unfortunately nothing is displayed about TV addiction. It is only at times that Magazines and Newspapers report on the ill effects of Television addiction.

Here are some research findings with statistics to warn every one about the dangers of TV addiction:

Watching TV indicates an overall period of inactivity. So, the more we watch TV, the more is the risk of dying early. People aged between 50 and above might be the most vulnerable ones.

3 to 4 hours of TV a day increases risk of death by 15%

7 hours of TV a day increases risk of death by 47%

Research also tells us that due to sitting in front of the TV for long hours one may suffer from Obesity, Influenza, Pneumonia, Parkinson’s disease, Liver disease, Cancer, Heart disease and Diabetes.

Despite the warning regarding ill effects of Smoking and Alcohol, TV viewing is said to prompt and encourage regular Smoking and Alcohol consumption, while enjoying some TV programs.  

Apart from all these health hazards is the danger of children and elders being influenced by the dirty Soap operas of India (in every language); which are all about scheming, deception, hatred, cruelty, violence, disrespect to women and elders, disrespect to our culture and traditions and everything bad, with very little good intermittently and at long intervals.

So we all must be cautious of too much TV.

Wish You All A Very Happy Dasara.

Dasara Greetings from SriSriLaRa –

SRIkanth, SRInath, LAlitha & RAghu:

Greetings and best wishes to you on this auspicious day of Dasara; which symbolizes the triumph of good and truth over evil. It is a festival celebrated all over India with much enthusiasm and fanfare, with Calcutta and Mysore topping the list. People visit friends and relatives, exchange greetings and seek the blessings of elders. Yesterday it has rained at Hyderabad, almost the whole day. Hope the weather would be good today; especially in the evening when we have to go to the Temple and later visit my sister’s family for exchanging Dasara greetings and seek their blessings.

It is little early in the morning and we are already getting busy; exchanging Dasara greetings with friends and relatives. Some time before lunch we will be carrying out Vahana Pooja. And for the ‘Festival Lunch’ we would be having special Non-veg. dishes. Dasara, Sankranti, Holi, Mahankali Jatara are festivals for which we can have Non-veg. food but for Deepavali, Ugadhi, Vinayaka Chavithi, Rakhi Punnami and many other festivals and occasions it is strictly sweets and vegetarian food. In the evening we put on new clothes and at about 5:00 P.M. we will be visiting the Anjaneyaswamy Temple close to our house. The main shrine here is of Anjaneyaswamy but there are other shrines in this Temple, of Vinayaka, Shiva, Venkateshwaraswamy, Santosha Laxmi and Navagrahalu. After we return home from the temple; we place the Jammi tree leaves in front of the pictures and idols of Gods in our Pooja room and worship. These leaves are called Bangaram (Gold). We place Bangaram in the hands of elders and prostrate before them and seek their blessings. If it is friends or relatives of the same age group we place a few Jammi leaves in their hands, exchange greetings and hug them. A few friends and relatives normally visit us in the evening to exchange Dasara greetings. Later; after dinner we visit my sister’s family and seek blessings from my brother-in-law and sister.

As one cannot manage to meet all near and dear ones in few hours of today evening; these meetings continue tomorrow, popularly called as ‘Mulaqat day’ – meeting day. Worship, celebration, new clothes and most importantly the renewing and deepening of friendships and relationships makes this festival a unique one.

Dhairyam

Aishwaryam

Santosham

Arogyam

Rajasamu

Ayushu:

Durga Devi Meeku Prasadinchalani Korukuntunnanu,

Vijayadashami Shubhakankshalu!

Saddhula Bathukamma Panduga - 2015.

Today is the festival of Saddhula Bathukamma. We have been celebrating this festival with great devotion and enthusiasm since generations. Attached photographs are of today’s festival. And towards the end of this article you will find a number of links that would lead you to exclusive information about the festival, how to arrange Bathukamma and about our celebrations over the years, especially since the birth of our children with over hundred photographs and few videos.

We are glad that over the last few years Separate Telangana Movement and Telangana Jagruthi Organization have revived the importance of the festival and made it much more popular. Bathukamma Panduga is now being celebrated very grandly as never before, all over Telangana State, thanks to Telangana Jagruthi and Telangana State Government. Cities, towns and small places are spruced up and decorated with Bathukammas and cultural programmes are being held to celebrate this most important local festival. We are feeling very happy when we see all these festivities spread over nine days in our city and elsewhere on TV. Really enjoying this atmosphere of separate Statehood!

LINKS TO VARIOUS PHOTO & VIDEO ARTICLES OF MINE ON BATHUKAMMA PANDUGA:

All about Bathukamma Panduga.

Procedure to arrange Bathukamma.

Saddhula Bathukamma Festival - 2010.

First Day of Bathukamma Panduga - 2013.

Bathukamma Festival - 2013.

Bathukamma Festival 2014 - Pictures and Video.

Bathukamma Shubakankshalu!- 2014.

I miss the wonders of the night Sky.

For years I was accustomed to enjoy the marvels of the Night Sky filled with countless Stars; for hours before going to bed and at dawn, especially during summers. This was long back when we were in a small town, Kothagudem. During summers some of my cousins and other relatives loved to visit us and spend their summer vacation with us in our palatial ‘Company Bungalow’ full of trees and ample space to play a variety of games. In the nights we children preferred to sleep outside the house amidst trees and their dancing branches, enjoying natural pleasant breeze and gazing at the Moon and the countless Stars. We had 10 or more Cots called Navara Manchaalu which used to be assembled in summer to facilitate us to sleep in the open. We woke up at dawn to the chirping and flutter of flocks of Parrots and Mynah birds on our trees. And at this time we found the twinkling of the Stars much brighter, before Sunlight wiped them out. As I grew up, this lovely pastime led me to buy two books on understanding Stars and Constellations, which thrilled me.

And here in Hyderabad, buildings around our house obstruct and expose us only to the sky just above us, with no Stars, just the Moon occasionally. And even if we move into the open, there are hardly any Stars to see, at the most 5 to 10. Normally during our morning walk we get to see 1 or 2 Stars just because they are the brightest. This scenario is manmade due to Light Pollution and smog.

Today to enjoy the night sky with countless Stars we have to move several kilometres away from our City to remote areas or tourist spots without Light Pollution or go to Birla Planetarium! (Located 6 kilometres from our house).

You may please watch these two Music Videos to enjoy the fascinating night Sky: 

Dengue and Swine flu resurface in our City.

Periodically and at short intervals either Dengue or Swine flu is striking our Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. And this time both these dangerous afflictions have arrived together bringing suffering and sorrow to some and fear to everyone. Just two days back at an Engagement Ceremony, I met a relative who mentioned that his two year old grandson is diagnosed with Dengue and on further inquiry I was told that he is undergoing best treatment.  The younger ones are easily affected as they have a weak immune system. Such news from close relatives and friends further raises our anxiety and fears.

At such times, Hygiene and Mosquitoes have to be attended to in general. Our whole house, the windows and ventilators have mosquito nets and yet we find few mosquitoes here and there inside the house which would have entered as we open and shut main-doors and from the water drains. These tiny insects appear like monsters and we have to wage war against them with all sorts of repellents, sprays, electrically charged racquets and with our hands when they are close to us or land on us.

This blog post is all about taking care of ourselves from these contagious diseases. Be very cautious at times like this. I came across the two posters below on Do’s and Don’ts in case of Dengue and Swine flu epidemics. Please do follow them:

A Temple by Lord Sri Rama - Sri Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple, Ananthagiri Palle.

Sri Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple is located in Ananthagiri Palle, 5 kilometres from Vikarabad and about 95 kilometres from Hyderabad.  It is a very ancient Temple, consecrated by Lord Sri Rama in Treta Yuga! We got the opportunity to visit this holy place and Temple very recently on Sunday, 27th September 2015.

The Sthala Purana/Aalaya Charithra (History) of the temple is as follows: After Sri Rama killed Ravana the king of Lanka and returned along with Sita Devi to Rameswaram, he was advised by Agastya Maha Muni and other sages to undergo penance for killing Ravana a Brahmin. The Rishis proclaimed that if he installed a Jyotirlingam at Rameswaram he would be absolved of the sin of killing Ravana who is a Brahmin. Lord Rama installed a Jyotirlingam there and it is said that subsequently, he did so at a few other places. In his quest to install Shiva Lingas, he came to the dense forests of Ananthagiri and installed a Shiva Lingam at this place now called Ananthagiri Palle. For the water required for Abhishekam and Puja of Shiva Lingam, he shot an arrow into the ground in an adjoining place and water sprang out from that spot in the form of a balloon. He used the water and worshipped the Shiva Lingam that he installed here. The water continues to flow perennially even today from the mouth of a carved Nandi into the Temple pond called ShivaGanga Pushkarini. Water from here, overflowing the pond is the origin of River Muchukunda or River Musi, of course, thereafter supplemented by innumerable streams from the hills. The water of this Pond is considered to have many medicinal benefits. Devotees visiting the Temple are advised to bathe in the Pushkarini to cleanse themselves from sins committed and receive medicinal benefits and miraculous cures from the water and then visit the Temple of Lord Shiva for Divine blessings and fulfilment of wishes.

As the water initially sprang out of this place in the form of a large ball or balloon which means Bugga in Telugu, the Temple got the prefix of Bugga in its name. And since the Temple is consecrated by Sri Rama for Lord Shiva in the form of a Lingam, the Temple is called Sri Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple.

Glitter that triggers, heart-warming memories!

Such a black and white picture,

Or our photos in dazzling colour,

Are all filled with glitter!

Glitter that triggers,

Heart-warming memories!

Swayambhu Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Gandicheruvu.

Today we visited the ancient 500-year-old Temple of Swayambhu Sri Ranganatha Swamy at Gandicheruvu in Hayathnagar Mandal of Ranga Reddy District. It is an extraordinary Temple on a hillock with huge rock formations. The sanctum sanctorum is a cave with a beautiful deity of Sri Ranganatha Swamy which is 5 feet long, in a reclining posture, with an equally beautiful Godha Devi sitting by his side. The hillock is surrounded by the beautiful scenery of green valleys, fields and hills. I hope you can visualize this beauty through the attached pictures.

The Temple and all the rituals there are being managed by generations of the same family with contributions from devotees and rich patrons. The Temple priest had the following to say about the origins of the Temple. Around 500 years ago, as some Brahmins led by one named Keshava Patnam Singaraiah were passing through nearby Koheda village, at a place close to Hanumantha Padam (Hanuman Temple) they heard the sound of OM being recited from a cave and a fragrance emanating from it. They informed about this to the village heads. When the village heads and village people went inside the cave they found a huge anthill and on dismantling it they discovered the idol of Sri Ranganatha Swamy with Godha Devi. They felt very happy and soon someone received a divine message that the idol should be taken out in a procession in a bullock cart and the idol installed at the first place where the bullock cart stops on its own. The bullock cart stopped at this hillock in Gandicheruvu and the Idol was installed in the cave on this hillock.

The Temple is just 34 kilometres from our house and there is a total change in the environment there…so beautiful and peaceful, free of the City’s eyesore suffocating concrete structures, free of noise, dust and vehicular pollution, free of dirty roads and chaotic traffic.

I strongly recommend this place for an outing, for divine blessings and freedom from the chaos of the city.