Congrats! “Vijaya Dental Clinic”.

My brother, Dr. N. Lakshminarsu’s Dental Clinic at Secunderabad has just completed 30 years of service to countless patients of Twin cities and adjoining areas. Through this column I wish to congratulate him, his family of Dental Surgeons and his team of other specialist doctors for the exemplary service being rendered to society since so long.

Soon after obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Dentistry (B.D.S), my brother established a Dental Clinic in 1974 at Kothagudem Town. He also worked for Singareni Collieries for few years and then on 4^th February 1980 he started his Dental Clinic at our house – “Srilekha” in Secunderabad. He named the clinic after his wife, Smt. Vijayalaxmi as “Vijaya Dental Clinic”. Since then he has been practicing exclusively from this Clinic. Both his sons are Dental Surgeons. His eldest son Dr. Sudheer has studied M.D.S.  at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He is an Oro-Maxillo-Facial Prosthodontist and Implantologist. And his youngest son Dr. Udaya Bhasker is a Post Graduate, an M.D.S. from the same institute, AIIMS as his brother. He is an Endodontist and Conservative Dentist. My brother’s both daughters-in-law are also Dental Surgeons. Dr. Lavanya is a Cosmetic Dental Surgeon and Dr. Hina is a Periodontist.

I wish all of them the best of everything on this happy occasion.

Win or lose our Cricket players are the best in the world!

The first of the two Test Match series between India and South Africa was played at Nagpur from 6^th Feb. to 9^th Feb. 2010. The match came to an end on the fourth day itself. The final Score-board reads as follows:

South Africa 1^st innings – 558 for 6 declared.

India 1st innings – 233 all out.

India 2nd innings (follow on) - 319 all out.

Immediately after the Match ended the commentators and every national and local TV news channel managed to get hold of some Veteran Cricket player or players to analyze and comment on the Match result. Everyone was kind enough to praise the Indian team, as in the past. Similar approach has been adapted by this morning’s Newspapers. Almost every news media felt sorry that Sachin Tendulkar’s century has been wasted. However everyone appreciated his struggle to make one hundred runs to boost his record of centuries to 46. They were happy for him as he got OUT immediately after scoring precisely 100 runs. What a great loss it would be to the country and Sachin’s record if he got OUT at 99. It would be a national tragedy. After all, records and statistics are more important to Indian Cricket rather than Matches.

All these experts said that we lost the match because of the presence or absence of some senior or junior players. They said the home pitch! the Nagpur pitch! suddenly turned very tricky and tough for batting on the fourth day. These expert opinions are pouring in. All conclusions are that we are a great Team with illustrious players and several records; we lose because of some simple and silly reasons but never because of the rival team’s superior performance. It is a taboo and close to blasphemy to mercilessly criticize our great cricket players who are the best in the world. South Africa’s game deserves no praise, H.M. Amla’s 253 NOT OUT, J.H. Kallis’s 173 and D.W. Steyn’s 10 Wickets haul are insignificant to us. And finally everyone said there is the Second Test Match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, starting from 14^th February. A Match that starts on Valentine’s Day will surely favor our lovely Team (Sachin will score his 47th and 48th century!) Long live our love for Cricket and the great Cricket players of India.

Maha Shivaratri.

This year Maha Shivaratri festival is on Thursday, 27th February. Maha Shivaratri or Shivaratri festival is celebrated according to the Telugu lunar calendar on Chaturdashi night (the night before the New Moon) during Krishna/Bahula Paksham of Palguna Masam. Maha Shivaratri means the Great night of Shiva. Maha Shivaratri is a very important festival celebrated throughout the length and breadth of the country with great devotion. This is the day on which Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati. And it is on Shivaratri night that Lord Shiva performed Thandavam dance (Shiva Thandavam). Performing Abhishekam and offering prayers on this day is considered very significant in seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva. In the morning devotees bathe in a holy river if possible, fast the whole day, visit a Shiva Temple and perform pooja and after sunset they consume some fruit and milk. Then the whole night they keep awake. To keep awake they may listen to religious discourses, stories, doing bhajana, watching religious movies that are telecast by almost all Telugu TV channels, playing some indoor games and Anthakshari etc.

Hindu mythology also tells us of how some persons not knowing of Maha Shivaratri inadvertently performed Shiva pooja on this day and attained God’s blessings and Moksham. A very ancient King, Chitrabhanu was performing Maha Shivaratri with great fervor and when asked about his devotion he narrated the reasons as follows. He had knowledge of his previous birth. He was then a hunter, solely living by killing birds and animals. The day before a New Moon he could not get hold of any food till very late. As it became very dark by then he could not go home. He climbed a tree to rest there. Then accidentally the water container he was carrying started leaking and got emptied. Feeling thirsty, hungry and thinking of his family’s plight that night he could not go to sleep. Out of frustration he began to pluck the leaves of the tree and drop them down. Unknown to him the water from his canister leaked on to the Shiva Lingam below the tree which was as if he had performed the Abhishekam. And the leaves he dropped down fell on the Lingam as an offering. The leaves of this tree called Bilwa patram are considered a very important offering to Lord Shiva. And that night turned out to be Maha Shivaratri. As a result he attained Moksham in that life and went to heaven.

Another popular and similar narration is that of Baktha Kannappa. Kannappa was also a hunter. From a non-believer he becomes a believer on Maha Shivaratri day after inadvertently performing pooja from a Bilwa tree top to the Shiva Lingam below. Unlike the King’s version he gets on top of the tree that night afraid of his wife’s scolding for not bringing home any food. He begins to perform pooja in his crude way. Later one day when he cannot get hold of any fruit or animal, he prays before the Shiva Lingam asking God to help him in his hunt and that he would offer some of the food he gets to God. He then finds and kills a wild boar. He cooks some of it and offers it to God. A little later he finds that one eye of the Shiva Lingam has become red and is shedding tears. Thinking that God is in pain after accepting his offering he pulls out his eye and replaces it on the Shiva Lingam. Then the other eye of the Shiva Lingam also becomes red and sheds tears. Then he pulls out that eye also from the Shiva Lingam and marking the empty socket with his foot he pulls out his other eye and places it in the Shiva Lingam. Lord Shiva is pleased with his devotion and concern for him and appears before him. And to enable Kannappa to see him God blesses him with eyes and asks him to seek any favor. Baktha kannappa seeks to be with God in heaven. I picked up this story from the Telugu movie called Baktha Kannappa.

Staying awake on Maha Shivaratri is called Jagarna. The next day is a holiday for schools and several establishments.

Awaiting Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is just a week ahead that is next Sunday! Everyone at home is enthusiastic! Since last few years Valentine’s Day has become popular in few major cities of India. We also began celebrating Valentine’s Day with a party for the family at home, exchange of gifts and sometimes followed by dinner at a restaurant. Once such a happy tradition starts however new and foreign it is everyone begins to love it and look forward for the occasion every year. Plans and arrangements for this year’s celebration have started in a small way.

However a lot of opposition is there for Valentine’s Day celebrations in the country stating that this Western influence violates Indian culture. The behavior of some young men and ladies at parks, bars and elsewhere on this particular day is causing severe concern to these groups who are at times turning violent. In Hyderabad since last few years the groups opposing Valentine’s day go about destroying shops selling Valentine’s Day cards, gifts, flowers and threaten to perform the marriage of any young man and lady loitering in a romantic manner. Not just these groups but I find that most parents are against Valentine’s Day as they feel it is a waste of time and money and that it corrupts the mind and is immoral.  This is mostly because of the behavior of few naughty young persons on Valentine’s Day.

As for us, as a family celebrating the event to express affection and as an occasion for thanksgiving with flowers and gifts, it is a great day.

Medaram Jatara or Sammakka Saralamma Jatara - 2010.

A major event of last week, not far from Hyderabad was the once in two years Medaram Jatara. Jatara means a major festival of a Temple or place of worship. Medaram Jatara is more popularly known as Sammakka Saralamma Jatara. On the first day of the four days Jatara that is on 27^th January itself 20 Lakh pilgrims had reached Medaram. And on the subsequent days it kept up similar pace and about 80 Lakh pilgrims have visited Medaram during the Jatara period. Devotees believe that Goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma have divine and miraculous powers and would certainly fulfill their wishes. Devotees seek blessings for prosperity, happiness, peace, good health, success and so on and even issueless couples visit to pray for children. Once their wishes are fulfilled they visit again to fulfill their vows. Its influence on the devotees and as a result its popularity has been growing over the years. What started as the festival of the local tribal people (Girijans) and later of other tribals from various areas is now popular among many from even neighboring States and a very large number of them are mainstream Hindus.

Though I have been hearing of the Jatara since childhood I could not go there even once. I have gone up to Palampet to visit the centuries old Ramappa Temple: http://srisrilara.blogspot.com/2009/07/ramappa-temple-palampet-andhra-pradesh.html. Medaram is just about 30 Kms. from there but I did not visit the place as it is only during the Jatara that Sammakka and Saralamma deities are present there.

Medaram is a small village situated about 110 Kms. from Warangal city in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary which is a part of the dense Dandakaranya forest. Once in two years the State Government makes elaborate arrangements for the devotees to visit and stay at Medaram for the Jatara.  Medaram is a holy place where the tribal brave women Sammakka and Saralamma are worshipped as Gods. Seven centuries ago Sammakka was found as a baby in the forest adjoining Medaram. The villagers brought her to the village and started taking care of her. Ever since the baby was brought to the village the villagers prospered and were happy. As Sammakka grew up she started curing illnesses with her blessings and granting wishes to one and all. Suffering people and issueless couples approached her for blessings and their wishes came true. Sammakka became very popular.  

Sammakka then got married to Pagididda Raju, the ruler of Medaram area. They were blessed with one son – Jampanna and two daughters – Saralamma and Nagulamma. Pagididda Raju was a subordinate king to the Emperor Prathaparudra of the Kakatiya dynasty whose capital city was Orugallu that is Warangal of today. As a famine ravished the Medaram area Pagididda Raju refused to collect and pay taxes to the Emperor. This angered the Emperor and he declared war. Pagididda Raju and his tribal warriors fought bravely but could not withstand the mighty forces of the Emperor. It is said that blood flowed as streams in this war and got mixed with the nearby Sampenga Vagu (riverlet). Pagididda Raju and his son-in-law Govinda Raju fought bravely and perished in the war. Son, Jampanna could not digest this tragedy and jumped into Sampenga Vagu and killed himself. Since then the riverlet took the name of Jampanna Vagu. On hearing about the death of her loved ones and the battle situation, Sammakka courageously took to the battle field. With her strength and divine power she fought valiantly and astonished the Kakatiya warriors but at one stage she was attacked from the back and stabbed. She turned back, killed the soldier and left the battle field. She left the battle field as it was considered that the ground on which her blood fell would not bear any crop or fruit. She went into the forest east of Medaram.

After the battle, the tribals searched for her in the forest but did not find her. Instead they strangely found a small container called Kumkuma barinay meaning a container of vermillion near a snake pit. Since then, once in every two years the tribals celebrate this festival of Sammakka and Saralamma at Medaram on Magha Shuddha Purnima.  A tribal (Koya) priest religiously fasts by eating only once a day for a fortnight and on the festival day brings the deities of the Goddesses from the forest in the form of Vermillion Caskets tied to two bamboo posts, one representing Sammakka and the other of her daughter Sarakka / Saralamma. During the duration of these rituals at the Jatara devotees offer Jaggery normally referred as Gold and coconuts to the Goddesses for fulfilling their wishes. And on the last and fourth day of the Jatara the deities are taken back into the forest calling it as Vanapravesham. 

The media has been covering the Jatara very extensively. Most of the time it is live telecast of the Jatara. The devotion of the pilgrims, over 80 Lakhs in four days would interest and astonish anyone. 

Horticulture Expo -2010, Hyderabad.

Every year on the Republic Day – 26^th January, a 5-day Horticulture Exhibition of a very grand nature is inaugurated at Hyderabad. This Year’s Horticulture Expo is the 20^th annual show being conducted in succession by the Department of Horticulture, Government of Andhra Pradesh. It used to be initially held in the Public Gardens and since the last few years it is being held at the People’s Plaza on Necklace Road which is larger and has a huge parking area. How grand and colorful it was can be realized from the above photographs.

This year’s Horticulture show as in the past featured the best of horticulture practices, latest technologies and a wide variety of high yielding vegetable, ornamental and fruit-bearing plants. There were over 200 stalls exhibiting plantation crops, vegetables, fruits, tuber crops, flowers, spices, mushrooms, condiments, beekeeping equipment, regular and exotic plants, saplings, agriculture technology, irrigation methods and seeds and fertilizers. There were stalls exhibiting green-house accessories, garden tools, agricultural implements and pesticides. There were nearly 50 colorful nursery stalls which did brisk business.

Apart from the thousands of flower plants there were stalls exhibiting Bonsai plants some of them 25 years old and Ikebana skills of the locals. To further enjoy the beauty captured in the above eight sets of panoramic pictures you may zoom in to each of them to a very high percentage and review.