Raghu's column!

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Hope we can tame this witch, robed in white!

Seeing witches on TV, movies or in dreams is always frightening, though it is said that ‘if you see a witch in your dream, then this dream represents that you will be happy and good luck will follow you in the upcoming period’.

But now my problem is that I see a real witch, not in my dreams, but while awake, a few times every day. And this witch is in a white cloak, causing deaths and howling amidst evil creatures and dead bodies. The witch and her deeds are very repulsive. While white is for purity and peace, it is not so with this witch in white, it is simply the opposite. What does this frequent sighting of this witch mean? Am I wrong in hating this disgusting character?

Since I see it while awake, I am sure many others are also experiencing this frightening witch, robed in white and creating chaos. Maybe you too…the reader is seeing or hearing about this evil creature and hating her. If so, and if our strength is large and our prayers sincere, we may soon tame her!

Hope so, and soon!

Monday, June 10, 2019

Can You Guess What This Contraption Is!

Can you guess?

What this contraption is!

With Roman origins,

Handcrafted by blacksmiths,

From solid iron,

Now a vintage recall,

But once so central!

In our lives!

It stood by us,

And for us,

For decades,

In the past,

To protect,

Steadfast,

Whatever!

Even today,

Sturdy as ever,

It is ready to protect,

Confidently forever!

Can you guess?

What this contraption is!

With Roman origins,

Handcrafted by blacksmiths.

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Please scroll down for the correct answer!

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Here is the Key to the conundrum,

Please scroll down further for the correct answer!

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The Answer! :

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Mrigashira Karthe Specials!

Today, the 8th of June is Mrigashira Karthe. According to the Telugu almanac, our rainy season commences every year from the day of Mrigashira Karthe. And true to this belief, it rained heavily from midnight to early morning hours today in our City - the Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

And according to a very old tradition, we eat fish on the day of Mrigashira Karthe. Not just we, the whole of Telangana State. With no questions asked we follow this family and local tradition. Even if someone questions, the simple answer would be “eating fish today is good for health”. The attached photographs are of the traditional Fish Curry and Fish Fry we had today. News about this Fish Festival is all over the TV Channels. Fish sales have gone up to a record high. And those who could not afford to buy fish and those who enjoy fishing have rushed to various ponds all over the State with a variety of fishing nets!

Mrigashira Karthe day is significant for one other reason. It has made Hyderabad popular all over the world for its Fish Medicine or Fish Prasadam which is administered as a cure for Asthma, free of cost on Mrigashira day. Thousands of Asthma patients are receiving Fish medicine at the Exhibition Grounds, Nampally, since today morning and this will continue until late evening tomorrow.

You may click on the following link to read all about the Asthma Fish Medicine available at Hyderabad free of cost:

Hyderabad’s “Fish Prasadam” for treatment of Asthma.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Eid Dinner at Al Farooz Sonu Kababs!

At the outset Eid Mubarak Greetings to each and every one of you! Hope you all had a wonderful day.

We enjoyed the holiday very much. Being a great festive day we had some specials at home for lunch and our dinner was really a memorable one with a large variety of delicacies.

We celebrated our Eid dinner at Al Farooz Sonu Kababs, a popular street food joint that is open during Ramzan in a very large and grand way. My son has been here before with his friends, one of them a great foodie of Hyderabad.

It was very crowded as you can see in the attached pictures, but we found a table where we made ourselves comfortable to relish the large variety of Chicken and Mutton preparations – Sheek Kabab, Boti Kabab, Reshami Kabab, Malai Kabab, Mutton Fry, Achari Chicken, Malai Chicken, Patthar Ka Gosht, Crispy and tender chicken strips coated with seviyan, Mutton Marag, Rumali Roti and Parathas. Each and every item was delicious and enjoyable. This lovely spread was followed by ‘Arabic Qahwa’ (Arabian Coffee) and Paans.

It was a wonderful experience altogether, and we plan to visit this place at every opportunity!

Readers may try this joint next Ramzan.

The address is rather long but it is easy to find:

Al Farooz Sonu Kababs,

Moosabowli Road, Ghansi Bazaar,

Hussaini Alam,

Charmahal Petla Burz,

Hyderabad.

This area is very crowded and it is impossible to park cars here. So we parked our SUV on the premises of the nearby Government Maternity Hospital, Petla Burz, and walked down to Al Farooz Sonu Kababs. You may refer to the attached Google Map for these details...the map is at the very end of this article.

World Environment Day – 2019.

Today is World Environment Day (WED), it is celebrated on the 5th of June every year, and is the United Nation's principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. WED has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments and celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes.

World Environment Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, resulting from discussions on the integration of human interactions and the environment. Two years later, in 1974 the first WED was held with the theme "Only One Earth". Even though WED celebrations have been held annually since 1974, in 1987 the idea for rotating the center of these activities through selecting different host countries began.

For almost five decades, World Environment Day has been raising awareness, supporting action, and driving change. Each year has given birth to “A Slogan and a Program” to counter environmental problems. Here is a timeline of key accomplishments in WEDs’ history:

The theme for 2019 is "Beat Air Pollution" and the host nation is China.

World Environment Day Anthem

An Earth Anthem penned by poet Abhay K is sung to celebrate World Environment Day:

Our cosmic oasis, cosmic blue pearl

the most beautiful planet in the universe

all the continents and all the oceans

united we stand as flora and fauna

united we stand as species of one earth

different cultures, beliefs and ways

we are humans, the earth is our home

all the people and the nations of the world

all for one and one for all

united we unfurl the blue marble flag.

Eid Mubarak!

It is Eid-ul-Fitr today! The greatest festival of the Muslim Ummah / Community all over the World.

On this happy occasion, I wish to convey my Greetings to all my Muslim friends and readers – A very happy Eid…Eid Mubarak! - I Wish you and your family, good health, happiness, peace and prosperity.

And may this Eid-ul-Fitr bring peace and harmony to the entire world.

Saturday, June 1, 2019

About a failed relationship…

I reluctantly asked… ‘Did you leave her or she left you?’

After a long pause, he said ‘Love left us’.

I wish they remembered their love and marriage vows, sorted out their problems and misunderstandings and continued to be in love…

But these days for various reasons, for some couples love and marriage are not for life.

In such situations; as in the past, the wisdom of their elders and well-wishers to counsel and unite them should have prevailed upon them.

This may not happen because some couples have no respect for the elders or their advice. And some elders are not capable of grooming their children for a happy married life and are not capable of counselling them at times of conflict.

Pity such couples.

The modern world is bad in many ways and it is getting worse.