Uday Bhaskar's pranks!

My nephew Uday Bhaskar is a Dental Surgeon and is presently working in Al Dammam, Saudi Arabia. He has completed a year’s service there and he is now here on a two and a half months vacation. Since about two months we were aware of his long vacation but were not sure of the date of his arrival. Then since about three weeks he began to inform us that he would be arriving on 13^th July. When I spoke to him on 8^th July night, he told me of his flight schedules and confirmed that he would be reaching Hyderabad at 10:30 AM on 13^th July. We did not believe him initially because ever since he left home in August 1996 for studying B.D.S. at Pune, M.D.S. at AIIMS, New Delhi, and then a job at Lucknow, he has always surprised us by reaching home earlier than indicated. There was also a surprise element in his mode of travel. He used to state that he is traveling by train and suddenly arrive by flight and always when we were least expecting him.

We were more or less convinced this time by his sincere talk but my son Srikanth did not believe him. But eventually Uday Bhaskar convinced my son too; about the date of his arrival. Then suddenly he appeared at home on 10^th July afternoon, three days prior to the date virtually promised to us. We were once again surprised and especially happy as it was the day of my father’s ceremony and he could partake in it. There were also some close relatives in the house for the ceremony who were also happy to see him.

Somehow playing these pranks has become a habit with him and we continue to believe him. When he went to Saudi Arabia for the first time on 14^th July’08 (that is exactly a year ago) we were thinking that he would be able to come home only after a year and at the most after 6 or 8 months. But he and Hina his wife maintained total secrecy and suddenly arrived at Hyderabad within two months in mid-September ’08. They were here for a fortnight as Ramzan holidays were declared at the College where he is working.

He has a partner in Hyderabad in playing these pranks on us and it is my other nephew Sridhar, my sister’s son. Uday is my brother’s son. Sridhar maintains total secrecy over Uday’s travel plans; he takes care of him if he is arriving by late trains or flights and brings him home at the most appropriate time to surprise us.

On 12^th July I made the following comment in facebook on Uday’s pranks: A surprise homecoming as usual! His umpteen homecoming pranks, starting from the times of Pune, Delhi, Lucknow and now Saudi Arabia continue to astonish us!

To this Hina replied: hehe..chacha i tell him that soon all of u will be surprised only when he reaches on the said day!!!...not very far away!

"Ramappa Temple", Palampet, Telangana.

Ancient Temples all over the country are named after one of the several names of the presiding deity and sometimes in conjunction with the name of that place. But Ramappa Temple, situated in Palampet village; 77 Kms. from Warangal town, is an exception. Here Lord Shiva’s; Sri Ramalingeshwara Temple is named after its chief sculptor Ramappa a Vishwakarma Brahmin Stapathi. The name ‘Ramappa Temple’ has been in existence for eight centuries and is a great honour for this artisan and his community. The Vishwakarma Brahmins are a community of five castes, who have adopted engineering, art, and architecture professions, they comprise of Goldsmiths, Carpenters, Blacksmiths, Sculptors, and Metal (Brass) craftsmen. Lord Vishwakarma is the presiding deity of these craftsmen and architects. Vishwakarma is the Son of Brahma, and is the divine craftsman of the whole universe. He is the official builder of all Gods palaces and he is also the designer of all the chariots of the Gods and their weapons.

Ramappa temple is now in the care and control of Archeological Survey of India (ASI). The ‘Board of introduction’ put up by ASI at the entrance of the Temple and reproduced by me in the above photographs reads as follows: “This is one of the beautiful Temples of Kakatiya period built by Racherla Rudra, a General of Kakatiya Ganapati Deva. According to a contemporary record this Temple was built in 1213 A.D. The Temple stands on a raised platform with the Garbhagriha, an Antarala, and Maha Mandapa with lateral porched entrances on three sides. The main entrance faces east. The Garbhagriha contains a black basalt Shiva Linga installed on a high pedestal. Inside, over the ceiling of the central Ankana one finds a magnificent display of sculptures depicting scenes from Ramayana, Shiva Purana and other mythological narratives. The striking peculiarity of the building lies in the arrangement of bracket figures above the Kakshasana level decorated with slender, graceful Madanikas, Nagins etc., in different poses. The other units within the Prakara are an imposing Nandi Mandapa, Kameswara and Kateswara Shrines”.

This huge and beautiful Temple stands on a six feet high platform. And the height of the Temple might be around fifty feet. The imposing Shiva Lingam inside the Temple is nine feet high. Some bricks used in the construction are said to be so light that they can float on water. As can be seen in the above photographs the Nandi of nine feet height outside the main temple and the pillars and other sculptures/carvings inside the temple are intact. The outer side of the Temple which is exposed to Sun and rain for almost 800 years looks slightly worn out.

Daily Poojas are performed here and Maha Shivarathri is celebrated over three days. Few devotees from nearby places and some tourists visiting the Badra Kali temple and the Thousand pillars temple at Warangal visit the Ramappa temple and the nearby Ramappa Tank.

We are thrilled and happy with our visit to the Ramappa Temple. I wish this ancient and grand Temple is made popular by the State tourism department so that more people may come and see it and feel proud of our history and the caliber of our ancestors in constructing such a marvelous Temple, 796 years ago!

Never forget another Birthday or a Marriage Anniversary.

HBD = Happy Birthday HMA = Happy Marriage Anniversary

Next week, starting from Monday there are three Birthdays in the family. These Birthdays fall between 13^th and 17^th July. It will be a week of opportunities to renew relations and exchange pleasantries.

The above list of family members is not complete, so I may please be excused for the few omissions.

I am posting this blog for all those family members who are out of touch with some of these dates.

I hope the above list of Birthday and Marriage Anniversary particulars will serve its purpose – to share love & affection and convey best wishes and blessings to every member in the family on the most important dates and stages of their life.

“Family, Name-search” Puzzle!

In the above Alphabet-Matrix; the names of 26 members of our family and 4 surnames are present in a horizontal, vertical and diagonal pattern. All the names are typed to be read in left to right or top to bottom direction and not backwards. You are to find the names and circle them as shown in the case of ‘SRILEKHA’ which is inserted twice in the matrix for the purpose of illustration. Click on the image to enlarge view and those interested to play the game will have to Save/Copy the above image and take a printout.

To help you further, all the 30 names to be identified in the matrix are listed below:

AKHIL	ALEKYA	DUBBAKA
GOPI	HEMALATHA	KASOJI
KALYAN	KAMAL	KARTHIK
LAKSHMINARSU	LALITHA	LAVANYA
MOHAN	NIRANJAN	NARAYANARAOPETA
PADMA	RAGHU	RAVI
SUDHIR	SRIDHAR	SRIKANTH
SRINATH	SUNITHA	SRAVANTHI
SUDHIKSHA	UMA	UDHAY
USHA	VIJAYA	YERROJU

About Paradise Circle.

Paradise Circle is an important landmark of the twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad. And it is the most prominent place in Secunderabad. We are proud to be very close to this place. Our house is just half a kilometre from Paradise circle, on Prenderghast Road.

There was a very popular Cinema hall called Paradise at the entrance of Prenderghast Road and adjacent to a Crossroad Junction. The Crossroad Junction is the intersection of Mahatma Gandhi Road and Sarojini Devi Road. Paradise Theatre was the first Air-cooled theatre in the State with very grand interiors. Only the best movies used to be screened here, movies like Mughal-e-Azam. After the demise of Anjaiah the owner of Paradise Theatre, in a major train accident, the theatre was called Anjaiah’s Paradise.

As in the case of many Cinema halls in the city, there was Paradise Café attached to the Paradise Theater catering to the Tea and Snack requirements of the Cine-goers. This café was owned by persons from Iran and it gradually developed into a typical Biryani and Non-veg. restaurant with separate cabins for families and then a deluxe section and a Garden section. Paradise Theatre, along with many other theatres in the twin cities shut down in the late eighties due to an exorbitant rise in entertainment & other taxes. While this was the fate of the theatre, Paradise Restaurant grew in size. They procured the adjacent Akbar restaurant and renovated the whole place into a huge complex of eateries. The main restaurants are ‘Persis Gold’, ‘Persis Heights’, ‘Persis Roof Garden’, ‘Paradise Take away’ for Kababs, Biryanis and other restaurant specialities and ‘Paradise Quick Service’ for Bakery items, Tea, Cool drinks and Juices. All these outlets are always crowded and the most sought-after item here is Chicken and Mutton Biryani.

In the place where the popular Paradise Cinema hall stood, Sunshine Hospital and a shopping complex have come up. The adjacent Crossroad junction is called ‘PARADISE CIRCLE’ and the adjoining places have a common name - ‘Paradise Area’.

From Paradise Circle, the Secunderabad Railway Station and till recently the city’s Airport – Begumpet are just 2.5 & 1.5 Kms. away. The State Road Transport’s - Jubilee Bus Stand is only 2 Km. away. Private buses to all major cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Tirupati and many other towns ply from a Fire Station next to Paradise Circle. Lodgings can be found all around the Paradise area and similarly many restaurants are within walking distance. It is also a good shopping area with many bargain shops for ready-made garments, shoes, luggage, furniture, handicrafts and other novelty items. A recent addition is a mall called ‘Coupon’ selling apparel, perfumes, gift items and shoes. There are many banks and ATMs all over this place. Other main areas of the city and industrial areas are easily accessible from here. Tourists and businessmen visiting the city prefer to stay at Paradise Circle.

We are happy to be in such a prominent and centrally located area but our main inconvenience and complaint is about the heavy traffic during peak hours. I sincerely hope the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and other concerned departments would find a way to sort out this problem.

Ujjaini Mahankali Jatara / Lashkar Bonalu / Ashada Jatara.

(‘Jatara-Welcome banner’, by friends of my son Srinath.)

The dates for the grand annual Mahankali Jatara at Secunderabad are announced. The Jatara – a magnificent religious carnival of 2 days will be on the 12^th of July and the 13^th of July this year. The main celebrations will be at Ujjaini Mahankali Temple which is just about 1.5 Km. from our house and in general at all the temples of Mahankali and her sisters in Secunderabad. There are temples of Pochamma, Mysamma, Yellamma, Poleramma, Dokkalamma and Peddamma in almost all localities and the festivities would simultaneously start at all these temples on 12^th early morning.

All the temples and streets of the city are decked up with flowers and special illumination for this occasion. Special Jatara songs are played at full volume at all temples stirring up a unique festival atmosphere. Several roadside shops come up selling a variety of toys and novelty items, which are a big draw. Starting from about 4:00 am on 12^th July, thousands of pilgrims including us visit the Ujjaini Mahankali Temple. Thousands of women in colourful dresses carry Bonalu on their heads and offer them to the Goddess. Bonalu is a short form for Bhojanalu which means meals. Bonalu is actually an earthen or brass pot containing Rice cooked with little turmeric, Koyigura curry and Jaggery pancakes. The pot is adorned with Kumkuma-Vermilion, Pasupu-Turmeric, and Neem tree branches and then the pot is covered with a lid and a lamp lit on it. This pot is carried over the head up to the temple and offered to the Goddess. The Bonalu ritual and especially the Palaharapu bandi ritual is accompanied by a dancing Potharaju, other dancing men and drummers. Palaharam bandi is a Ram-drawn cart with offerings to the Goddess and Potharaju is a man clad in dhoti with turmeric paste applied all over his body, dancing with a hunter in his hand. Mahankali Jathara is said to have started from 1869 when hundreds of people died in Secunderabad due to plague and Bonalu offerings were made to the Goddess to appease her and seek her blessings.

The same festivities would continue on 13^th July and additionally, in the morning there would be ‘Rangam’. Rangam is a young lady in a trance standing on a wet earthen pot predicting the future for the people; in all spheres, for one year.

In the past hen and goats used to be sacrificed to the Goddess at all these temples. As this is banned now many old-timers carry this out at their houses. And then it is time for a sumptuous lunch and dinner on that day. Families in Secunderabad invite married daughters and other relatives located far away to partake in the Jatara celebrations. The first day of the festival always falls on a Sunday and the next day is also a holiday for all schools, shops, offices and industries in the area. So it is an apt time for families to get together and enjoy for two days. These celebrations would then continue for another three Sundays in areas adjoining Secunderabad. Different areas celebrate the festival on different Sundays.

P.S. You may click on the following link to see another blog post of mine; a pictorial one, on the Ujjaini Mahankali Temple and the ongoing festival:

http://srisrilara.blogspot.in/2010/07/ujjaini-mahankali-jatara-lashkar-bonalu.html

Pachisi, Ashta Chamma and me.

Pachisi and Ashta Chamma are two very famous and favorite board-games of India since ancient times. Pachisi was called the National Game of India for a very long time. It used to be played regularly in palaces, houses of commoners and along road side groups and it is still popular but among fewer people. Locally; we call these games with a slight variation as Pachis and Atta Chamma. They were very popular games of our household too, from my childhood to college days. And this was the case in most houses I know.

I played Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Chess, Monopoly and Trade with friends but it was Atta Chamma and Pachis with cousins, other relatives and elders like my grandmother. My grandmother used to play Pachis with our maid servant of over 50 years – Balamma, almost every night before dinner. And I remember they used to quarrel over some moves, like small children. Pachis and Atta Chamma boards are normally embroidered cloth spreads. In our house they were actually made with lot of patience and care by stringing tiny colorful beads together and binding it to a thick cloth. The red, green, yellow and black Game-Pieces which are normally made of wood were also made of beads. At my grandmother’s house in Bolarum there were additionally Atta Chamma and Pachis layouts engraved on the flooring of the terrace. It was also a tradition in our families that after marriage the bride brought these boards along with Cowry Shells and the Game-Pieces as gifts along with her, to her new home. Yet another game-board that a Telugu-bride brought with her was ‘Vanaguntala Peeta’, which also I used to play very well.

The game description and rules governing Pachis and Atta Chamma are plenty and complex to describe. But once you begin to play they are very simple and easy to follow. Here I shall make an attempt to explain the basics of the games and how they got their names.

Pachis-board is in the form of a cross / a plus-sign as can be seen in the top picture. Each arm of the cross has 3 columns of 8 squares each. The large centre square is the home – the start and finish point. The game is played by two teams of two members each or by only two members. If there are four members playing, each one has four pieces to play with and if there are two members playing they are to play with 8 pieces each. At Hyderabad 7 attractive Cowry shells of small or large size are used as dice. When a player’s turn comes up he rolls the 7 shells in his hand and casts them down, the shells fall with some shell-openings facing up and the others downwards. There is a different count for different formation. As per the count the game-pieces are moved from the starting point in a counter clock-wise direction a full circle, until it reaches the central square. Whoever returns all the game-pieces first to the home is the winner. The game is called Pachis which means 25 in Urdu and Hindi and as this is one particular count according to a shell formation.

Atta Chamma board is square in shape with 25 small squares in it, as can be seen in the second picture above. It can be played by 2 to 4 players. Every crossed square on the side of the player is his start point and the central square is the finish point. This is played with 4 game-pieces per player and 4 Cowry shells. When the shells are cast and they fall with all shell-openings downwards it is Atta, which means 8 and when the Shells are cast with all shell-openings facing upwards it is Chamma, which means 4. The game-pieces are moved as per the cast number by one player after another in the counter clockwise direction. Whoever reaches all his game pieces to the central square first is the winner.

For various reasons these games are no longer as popular as before and I am afraid that in the years to come I may forget to play what were once my favorite games.