Thanks Skype!

Thanks Skype! You are doing immense service by connecting friends and family living in different countries, free of cost. Any given time I find over 12 million persons! using Skype.

Skype is the most popular Voice communication service in the world and it offers high quality voice and video free for PC to PC service.

Since my son and my nephew went abroad about a year ago, we are using Skype extensively. My youngest son Srinath is in the United Kingdom, for pursuing higher studies and my nephew Dr. Udaya Bhasker an M.D.S. from AIIMS, is a faculty member at a Dental College & Hospital in Saudi Arabia. During their daytime hours we call their Mobile phones, mostly using our landline phone with BSNL Call Card. And they call us using their Mobile phones. These phone calls normally last for 6 minutes or at the most 15 minutes.

Over Skype our conversations last for 30 minutes to 90 minutes or even more sometimes. We keep our PC ON & Skype connected the whole day. Both of them have Laptops, internet connected with webcam etc. As and when they return home and find time they call us. Some times on week days and certainly on weekends. Udaya Bhasker’s week end holidays are on Thursday and Friday. The whole family assembles in front of the PC to say hello and talk to them as we watch one another. The streaming video and high quality voice give an impression that they are with us in our room. We have a fairly good idea of their house, rooms and furniture. My son stays in a house with five of his colleagues and my nephew & his wife have a house for themselves. My son has to prepare food once a week for his colleagues and if on that evening he cannot talk to us from his room he carries his Laptop to the kitchen and he talks to us as he is cooking. We can then watch him cooking and it is very amusing because back home in India he never made tea or had to boil milk.

I just do not know how Skype manages to give all this for free. I only wish it lasts forever and I sincerely wish to thank Skype.

Good-bye Mangoes, come early and in plenty next year!

Every year as the rains arrive the wonderful season of Mangoes begins to fade away. As of now with just two rains in the last few days Mangoes are still available in plenty. But in another ten days we would be missing our national fruit known all over the world as the King of fruits and the food of Gods. Few weeks later if the desire to taste Mangoes arises we will have to satisfy our selves with off-the-shelf Mango juices, Mango Jelly and Mango bite peppermints.

This Mango season has been good, contrary to the forecast that the availability of the fruits in local markets would be less due to low yield and boost in exports. All along the city’s outer roads and colonies Banaganapalli (Baneshan) Mangoes are being sold in huge quantities, on Pushcarts and Tempos, as usual. In competition to the larger roadside fruit stalls selling a variety of Mangoes the departmental stores specially SPAR near Somajiguda Cross roads is continuously displaying many varieties of Mangoes since the commencement of Mango season. Only the prices are higher; than last year.

Our family favourite is Himayath Mangoes though we taste many varieties every season. This variety is to be cut and eaten and tastes much better if chilled. So is the case with the more popular Banganapalli which is cheaper by half compared to Himayath. Both these varieties of fruits are of normally large size, weighing 3 to 5 fruits per Kg. Banaganapalli is mostly yellow in color and Himayath is dark yellow with tiny dark dots all over the fruit. Alphonso is just like Banaganapalli in shape and colour but is a smaller fruit. The price of Alphonso and Himayath are same. According to me Himayath tastes better than Alphonso and Banaganapalli. For juice we buy a variety of fruits the common one being Pedda Rasalu. Pedda Rasalu is a big long Mango with a thin skin. Good to hold the fruit and suck the juice and good for making Panakam - juice of several fruits collected and sugar and a pinch of cardamom powder added as essence.

For almost 30 years in 50’s 60’s and 70’s we did not have to buy Mangoes. There were 5 Mango trees in our house and we had a 5-acre Mango grove with 116 Mango trees, about 5 Kms. from Kothagudem along the road to Paloncha. Every season as the trees begin to flower, the garden used to be handed over to a fruit contractor to take care of the garden and collect the fruits. As per the agreement he will have to pay us an amount for the yield and he has to give us two Bullock-cart loads of all varieties of Mangoes from our garden.

Every Mango season is not complete without having some traditional ways of having the fruit, Puri with Panakam and Dosas with Panakam. We will be truly missing Mangoes in the days to come. 

Sudhiksha joined School today!

My granddaughter Sudhiksha who is 3 years and 9 months old has joined regular school today. She has joined LKG – Lower Kindergarten Class at Gitanjali Devashray School, Secunderabad, which is 2.5 Kms. from our house. She will have to attend school from 8:30am to 11:45am. The school has buses for picking up students but it is only for Students studying UKG and higher classes. This year; Sudhiksha’s mother Dr. Lavanya will have to take up this responsibility in spite of her busy schedule at her Dental Clinic. Sudhiksha will be at this School for 12 years that is until she completes her 10^th Class. As she was leaving to school today, I took photographs of her and her daddy shot a movie of her right from the time she took everyone’s blessings at home to the time she reached school and settled down in the classroom. We found many other children crying but Sudhiksha sat quietly watching everyone and everything in the classroom keenly.

Earlier Sudhiksha attended ‘Cubs’- a half day Playschool close to our house, for two years. As a matter of fact during her second year at ‘Cubs’ she also attended another Playschool ‘Roots to Wings’ in the evenings. That has made her very intelligent, talkative and brave.

On this very important day we wish her all the best in her life and pray God to protect her always and bless her richly.

Hyderabad’s Rainy Season of 2009 has arrived!

This year we did not have any intermittent or at least one summer shower in Hyderabad to give us some relief in 3 months of severe heat. The day temperature was mostly 40 to 42 deg. Celsius on most days causing a lot of inconvenience. And more so when there was power shedding. In my very first blog in April this year, I wished for some summer showers and as it did not happen for weeks I was disappointed. I was following the weather reports which first said that Southwest monsoon would hit Kerala by 24th May and reach Hyderabad by about 29^th May. Then the reports said ‘Aila-Cyclonic storm’ had diverted the Southwest monsoon from Andhra causing so much destruction to life and property in Orissa, West Bengal and Bangladesh.

After waiting so long, finally, the Southwest monsoon arrived in Hyderabad yesterday around 4:00 PM. It rained in two spells with a short gap in-between up to 10:30 PM. The temperature came down immediately and the evening and night were pleasant. As it began to rain I took out my 3-year old granddaughter Sudhiksha out of the house and we got partially wet in the rain. She was giggling all the time. Last year she was not very willing to come out in the rain. Then I made some paper boats for her which she left in the stream of water flowing along our compound wall. Last year also she played a lot with paper boats but was not willing to step into the stream of water all alone, we had to hold her. This year she stepped into the stream herself and was enjoying stomping the water. There are bound to be more rains and she is going to enjoy more. Yesterday’s rain was a surprise; it happened suddenly so we missed the hot snacks we prefer to have sometimes when it rains in the evenings.

I keep my garden plants bright and healthy using a watering-shower can but the few big trees specially a huge creeper tree we have catch dust in summer and tend to look unhealthy. With yesterday’s rain the trees are looking very bright today morning. However the rainy season also causes chaos in the city, there are frequent power disruptions, water logging on streets and in low lying residential areas and traffic jams due to stagnation of water on main roads and vehicles breaking down.

Today is Mrigasira Karti. As per local customs we have to eat fish on Mrigasira day. So I went out early in the morning to a nearby Super market and bought fish. We had fish-fry for lunch and dinner.

On this day every year and since decades ‘Free Fish Medicine’ is given to thousands of Asthma patients at Hyderabad by the Bathini family. There are controversies regarding this medicine which is first put into a live fish and then the patient is made to swallow the live fish. In spite of the controversies people come to Hyderabad from all over the world for this medicine.

I strongly expected it to rain today and that is what the weather reports also said but it turned out to be a sultry and hot day. I hope the days ahead will bring in substantial rains.

Chocolates, Soft drinks or Dinner for the Winner!

Please do not call these simple gifts as bets or stakes or wagers. Then it would mean sinning and gambling, the latter of course is illegal.

Since several years; I and my nephew Sridhar have been playing this Game of taking sides. Whenever Indian cricket team is playing a Test Match Series or a Limited (50) Over Match or the recent version of Twenty20 or in the Finals of a Tri-series Match or in a World Cup, we support different teams. Sridhar takes the side of India and I support any team that is playing against India. Sorry if I have hurt your feelings for India, I do this for fun and entertaining (irritating?) others. May be I love teasing Sridhar; he is 28 years junior to me. I used to do this with my elder brother Dr. Lakshminarsu and when India won the World Cup against West Indies in 1983 I treated my brother to a dinner at Lung Fung a Chinese restaurant in Secunderabad. Sridhar was hardly 3 years old in 1983.

After Sridhar began to understand cricket and became an ardent fan of many Indian cricketers I started playing this game with him. If India wins; he gets a treat from me and otherwise I would be the beneficiary. The treats are mostly in the category of Chocolates and Soft drinks! When he was small and he won the game, the occasion called for another Party where in the presence of all family members he was gifted with the items promised by me. There are several photographs taken on different occasions at different ages of Sridhar (India) winning.

It is now time for the Second Twenty20 World cup in England and both of us or at it again. This time we would be looking forward for a 12-Can Coke Carton! Sincerely!? I would like to say, Good luck to you Sridhar!

God bless Prenderghast Road!

Between MG Road and Ministers Road lies a short PG Road,

Over eight years ago demolitions took place to widen this Road,

No one knows why, for there were no problems on this Road.

On 4^th Nov. 2000, after a 3-day notice, an armed demolition squad arrived,

And in Public interest! Selective properties were demolished,

Since then the road became narrower as more vehicles could be parked.

Authorities posed to commence here a super highway construction,

But left some influential houses & a function hall as obstruction.

Eateries and parking lots have come up on the road causing indignation,

This uncalled project continues to inconvenience beyond imagination.

Master Plan is blind to the problems of the overcrowded MG Road,

And soon enters the 10^th year of torturing the Tame and Tiny PG Road.

The above rhythmic narration projects the problems we are facing on the Road in front of our house in Secunderabad. The Road is Prendergast Road and is called PG Road in short. All the property owners along this Road were served notices on 1^st Nov. 2000 showing the area of land they will have to forego in public interest for the widening of PG Road. And on 4^th Nov. 2000 the authorities came with police protection, men and machinery and began demolishing compound walls and structures all along the Road sparing the properties of some influential owners and a function hall.

We had to give away 40 sq. yards of our precious land. We had to relocate our structures, compound wall and gates. A meager compensation that was mentioned in the Notice never reached us, for which of course we never bothered. Then they took over 2 years to cut trees, relocate electrical poles, telephone junction boxes and cables along the old Road and lay the wider Road. Right from the time of surrendering our properties the extended road is being used for parking vehicles right from MG Road end to Ministers Road. From Paradise to PG Road it has become a paid parking area. Many eateries and road side vendors have come up all along the road and the buildings of many influential people and a marriage hall belonging to a powerful community restrict the width of the Road to the past size. All these factors only increase traffic, obstruct free flow of traffic and cause frequent traffic jams. With no authority bothered about these unlicensed roadside eateries and no police to regulate traffic and prevent haphazard parking on our erstwhile properties; PG Road is reduced to a commercial lane with no benefit for the residents. The Master Plan of the Municipal Corporation is a big flop, there is no public convenience whatsoever. May wisdom prevail over the authorities, let them make a real wide road as planned and make this a silent and peaceful colony as before.

My brother's 60th birthday celebration.

My brother, Dr Lakshminarsu’s 60th birthday was recently celebrated at the Garden Retreat Resort (18/Sep/2008). The resort is located 45 km from Paradise, Secunderabad, on the Karimnagar highway near Mulugu town. The party was hosted by my brother’s eldest son, Dr Sudheer.

My brother was told in advance that, instead of celebrating at home, our two families, his and mine, would spend the day at the Garden Retreat Resort. He was informed that on his birthday, we would leave early, have breakfast at the resort, enjoy various recreational activities, have lunch, evening tea with chaat, and return home by night. However, he was not told that many other family members had also been invited to join the celebration.

On the morning of his birthday, as we were preparing to leave for the resort, one family member after another began arriving at our house to greet him. He was pleasantly surprised. As far as my brother knew, only 10 of us, including little Sudhiksha, our granddaughter, were going. But an additional 27 family members had been invited as a surprise. They included our sister’s family, the families of our two nieces, my sister-in-law’s brother’s and sister’s families, and Dr Sudheer’s father-in-law’s and sister-in-law’s families. Each family came in their own car, and together we drove in a caravan of eight vehicles to the resort.

We reached the resort by 9:00 a.m., and everyone spent some time exploring the beautiful surroundings, the gardens, recreation facilities, and even the ostriches and other birds. Afterwards, we enjoyed a special breakfast. This was followed by cake cutting, exchange of garlands between my brother and sister-in-law, blessings from the elders, and best wishes from the youngsters. The large cake and the garlands were yet another surprise for him.

Much of the day was spent in the swimming pool. Others kept themselves busy playing table tennis, volleyball, and carrom. After a delicious lunch, some family members took a nap in the rooms provided, while others played anthakshari and dumb charades until evening. Later, we had tea and chaat. Just before leaving, we all posed for a family photograph. Though some of us were tired after the day-long fun, everyone was overjoyed to be there.

It was truly a memorable day for all of us, thanks to the large family gathering and the joyous time we shared. A few family members who were abroad could not attend; the ones most missed were Dr Udhaybhasker and Dr Hina, my brother’s son and daughter-in-law.

A large copy of the family photograph (shown at the top of this blog) was given to each of the families who attended the party. It serves as a reminder of the love and affection showered on my brother and the wonderful time we shared that day. This blog, too, is written with the same purpose: to cherish and preserve those memories, even years later.

A VIDEO WITH MORE PICTURES: