A befitting tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – “Rashtriya Ekta Diwas” and “Statue of Unity”.

I was happy with our Government’s decision in 2014 to observe today and annually - 31st October, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ (National Unity Day), as a mark of tribute to his efforts in uniting India. And today I am extremely happy as his tall statue, named as – ‘Statue of Unity’ is going to be inaugurated at Sardar Sarovar Dam, Gujarat, in a few hours from now, at 10 am. This is the world’s tallest statue measuring 182 Metres.

Among Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s innumerable contributions to our society and to our freedom struggle and as the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of young India, what stands out is his effort and success in merging all the independent princely states which were over 500! into Indian Republic during the years 1947-1949, through peaceful negotiations. And what can be a greater example than the sensational annexation of the largest of all Kingdoms – our province, “The Hyderabad State” despite several hurdles. When negotiations failed with Hyderabad State it was through Military action, popularly known as Operation Polo and as Police Action. He was solely responsible for such integration of a complexly divided India, into one great united Country.

You may click on the underlined name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel here or above; to know more about him and also follow (on TV) the various programs dedicated to him today throughout the length and breadth of our Country.

The Sardar Patel Statue or the Statue of Unity is the world’s tallest statue, it is an engineering marvel completed in a record time of 33 months. The Sardar Patel statue is double the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York! The foundation stone for this project was laid down by Sri Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat on 31st October 2013 – the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. And today as the Prime minister of our country he would be dedicating to the Nation this magnificent statue of one of our greatest leaders.

Here is a list of 10 interesting features of the Sardar Patel statue:

1. Built by Larsen & Toubro Ltd at a cost of ₹2,989 crore, the Statue of Unity is made up of 1,700 tonnes of bronze and 1,850 tonnes of bronze cladding on the exterior. The interior is filled with concrete cement (180,000 cubic metres), reinforced steel (18,500 tonnes) and structured steel (6,500 tonnes).

2. If you are about 5.6 feet tall, the giant State of Unity is 100 times larger than you.

3. There are two high-speed passenger elevators in the statue’s core which take you up to the statue's chest to a viewing gallery, which can accommodate 200 tourists at a time. This is also the best place to get a bird’s eye view of the picturesque environs of the Narmada River and its dam surrounded by the Satpura and Vindhyachal hills.

4. With a three-star hotel, museum and audiovisual gallery, the government has tried to build an entire ecosystem of tourism infrastructure centred on the statue in the remote, hilly terrain.

5. The construction of the Sardar Patel statue has had its own engineering challenges, not just due to its height but also because of its location in the middle of the Narmada River and the walking pose of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. The statue is designed to withstand winds of almost 180km/hour and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale.

6. Noida-based sculptor Ram V. Sutar, who designed the statue, took special care to ensure that the statue’s face resembles Patel’s facial features. For the process, around 2,000 photographs from archives were studied. Historians and people who had seen the “Iron Man” were also consulted. From a distance, it appears as if Sardar Patel is walking on water towards the Sardar Sarovar dam.

7. The Gujarat government is also building a 3.5km long highway for tourists to reach the statue from Kevadia town.

8. A 320-metre-long designer bridge connects Sadhu Island to the mainland. You can also take a boat ride.

9. Around 135 metric tonnes of iron were crowd-sourced from lakhs of villages all over India for use in the project.

10. Clicking images at the statue site will be easier with a selfie point that has a good vantage point for photography.

I am looking forward to visiting this gigantic statue and pay my respects to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who was solely responsible to bring us (Hyderabad) freedom on 17th September 1948.

I miss the trees of my childhood.

I wish there were trees,

Small and huge trees,

All around,

As in my childhood,

At our townhouse,

And our Mango grove.

Now living in this metropolis,

In this concrete jungle,

I miss them all,

Few trees that are left here,

I know have a short existence,

Because I see them vanish,

As this city wants land; free of trees.

However in this city,

At a heritage property,

When I chanced upon this tree,

A huge Tamarind tree,

That you see in this picture,

I was extremely happy.

Standing in its shade,

Admiring its beauty,

And enjoying the breeze,

Brought about my childhood glee,

And I wished for its permanence.

A moment lasts for seconds, but the memory lives on forever.

We all love a good trip down memory lane provided they are the good type of memories! Looking at photographs old or new always bring back memories. Sometimes all it takes is a familiar smell or a certain taste to evoke an old memory, making you feel like you are back in time at that moment where it was created.

Here is an old photograph of my wife, exclusively with my mother and her mother. . .my mother is on her right side and her mother on her left. This picture was clicked on 9th May 1994, on the occasion of our Wedding Anniversary Party at Palace Heights Rooftop, Hyderabad. My wife posted this picture on her facebook page two days back with the following comments:

“This memorable picture is of me, with one who has given me a life and another who has given me her life…my mother and my mother-in-law. I have grown up under the care and affection of one for nineteen years and the other for thirty-five years.

This post is in remembrance of them and as a tribute to them.”

Family and friends were very happy to see this photograph and recollect their memories with my mother and mother-in-law who are no more.

Some of them have called us to say they are happy to see this picture of them and have recounted how wonderful these ladies were. Their anecdotes brought up more memories and happiness.

All this because of one single photograph!

Wish You All A Very Happy Dasara / Happy Vijayadashami!

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 Kolkata 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. Sometime 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, Venkateshwara Swamy, 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 make this festival a unique one.

Dhairyam

Aishwaryam

Santosham

Arogyam

Rajasamu

Ayushu:

Durga Devi Meeku Prasadinchalani Korukuntunnanu,

Vijayadashami Shubhakankshalu!

And may the Lord of Victory, Sri Ramachandraswamy bless you with all success and prosperity!

Once Again Wish You All A Very Happy Dasara! 

Bathukamma Festival Greetings!

Today is the festival of Bathukamma. On this joyful occasion, I wish all the people ‘of and from Telangana State’, very happy celebrations.

Today is the final day of the nine-day Bathukamma festivities. It is also called as Saddhula Bathukamma festival. I am glad that the festival has regained its old importance in the last few years and has become more popular locally and in all countries of the world where there is a presence of Telangana families.

Heavy rain in Hyderabad since yesterday may dampen the celebrations of the festival outdoors but indoors it would still be a very grand celebration.

Here are some colorful videos and photos of our family celebrating Bathukamma Festival over the years:

A Photo-Video on Bathukamma festivities at our house over the past few years:

A Glimpse of Bathukamma Celebrations – 2010:

A Glimpse of Bathukamma Celebrations – 2014:

Photos: