Stand Together

Today is New Year's Day! Unbelievably another year has passed away and a new one has begun. Its celebration time and a time to make resolutions (to be broken the same day!).  On one such new year's day when I was in school, I was upset and angry because I couldn't wear pretty earrings to Church. The old one's didn't come off :(  I was sitting in my room in the afternoon when my dad gave me a small book to read. It was called "In Celebration of Being Alive" I cannot recall the author's name now. It was a story about a childerns hospital. In this hospital some children were permenant patients. I cannot remember their illness now but there was one boy who had suffered 3rd degree burns and wanted to be a racer. His car was his neighbour's wheelchair. I remember this boy because his description was extremly graphic and so was his character.  He celebrated each day because he was alive and because his condition was better than most of the children who co...

On Sunday evening my friend Danny sent me a text message asking if I liked the movie Geetanjali. I of course love the movie! Just one of those amazingly simple and amazingly innocent Telugu movies. Ah I miss those good old times when movies such as Geetanjali and Anjali were made. Where have they gone? I used to love watching Telugu movies back then and now I absolutely hate them! No good music, no acting skills whatsover, no quality. These days Telugu movies are full of trash, violence and noise (inclusive of the music). The women hardly wear any clothes, the men jump and scream. Who acts? Are these movies or road side nautankis! Nautankis are better. Let's talk about the music. Compare the super duper Illai Raja to the present musicians. Compare "Amani padave tiyaga" to " Aa ante amlapuram " (was this music or was a female tantrik trying to coax an evil spirit into entering someone's body?) With all the technological advances one would expect better mo...

Yesterday evening when I was having a pillow fight with my dog, a sharp cry rang out from one end to a street to the other. It was a painful cry of a dog hurt badly. My dog stopped the game and began scratching the door to let herself out. Thinking that a dog fight is ensuing in the street I didnt let my dog out (not wanting her to get hurt). I stepped out into my street to realise that my neighbour's three month old pup was hurt, probably with a broken leg. Some kid from the next lane hit the pup with a huge stone! When will people learn teach their children to behave themselves and respect animals? The kid got away with just a soft scolding from his mother the reason she gave "jaane dijiye, abhi bacha hai." Imagine that! Isn't a three month old pup a bacha too? If the kid was hit the could point out and cry out and tell where it exactly hurts but what about this pup? It could only hide in the corner withering and whimpering in pain. Some memories came back when I sa...

Hyderabadi winters are famous for being warm winters as when compared to the winters of Delhi and Lucknow and the last weekend was very cold brr.....!! So out came all my warm winter clothes from woollen coats to Cashmere shawls (Oh yeah we Hyderabadis have got it all). I wanted to wear and feel winter around me so much that even when it grew humid I refused to take off my coat.  Incidentally my cousins had come from Lucknow and they began sweating see my warm coat and I was still imagining my breath going brr... and my teeth chattering... Wishing it would get colder without me running the risk of getting roasted in my warm clothes.  I would love to change the ending lines of Percy Bysshe Shelley's   "Ode to the West Wind"  - "If winter comes can spring be far behind?" to my own "If winter comes, can winter clothes be far behind?" ;D

Well here is an update on HOPE, the location had shifted a few months ago from the noisy dins of the city to the serene calm of a village. The kids simply love it because now there are no angry khadoos neigbours to ask them to shut up. The children now have their own play ground, kitchen garden and at times even cook outdoors for fun. Just ideal for growing up children. There are four new additions to the brood and guess what they're just four days old and haven't opened their eyes yet. The childrens pet - street dog " Gypsy " who hates taking baths and loves the children laid a litter of four puppies and I was one of those few lucky people whom she allowed near her babies (all thanks to the kids) They're just so tiny! The kids are happy that they have new playmates and I'm happy for them too. Meet the three stars who love posing for the camera. In the picture above you can see Srikanth, Grita and little Anita from the left hand side. They seem to love the ca...

Long long time ago in an age far far away...... nope I'm not reciting a fairy tale.  Ahem... Long long time ago in an age far far away (perhaps not so long ago) I used to write poetry which made sense to no one except me. I remember I was in 7th standard, 11 yrs of age. I wrote a small four line poem and showed it to my English teacher. It went something like this "Oh heavenly bodies...." Yep about stars in a sky like any 11 year old would imagine. Coming back to the teacher she didn't believe a single word of what I had wriiten and instead complained to my dear mother that I had copied it from some one. It couldn't have come from my pen she said (I was supposed to be dumbest in the class). Now that was a blow so back then I gave up with my first poem itself. My fingers began to itch once again two years later and this time I didn't show the poems to anyone, kept them secret under lock and key but unfortunately my younger sister found the key and looo.... all ...

Yesterday was All Soul's Day and I always go to the graveyard where my ancestors are buried to lay flowers on their graves. The newest addition being my Dad's grave. But I'm not going to write about something grave and sad. The graveyard or cemetary where my folks are buried is an ancient one. Every time I take a round in the cemetary I'm amazed (by the way I've been doing this since I was three years old). The old graves are so beautiful and magnificient. Most of them are the graves of Britishers. There is a grave of a certain Mr. James Macphearson next to my grandfather's grave. It has a magnificient Cross and an Angel clinging to the  Cross. Sheer beauty in marble. A bit farther away is the grave of a certain Mrs. Florence Hilliers. She must've been a beautiful woman as her grave has her own statue holding a wreathe standing on it. Brilliant piece of art!  But alas! There is no one who lays flowers on these beautiful graves. I and my sisters always take e...

Article 25 of the Indian Constitution gives every Indian the Right to Freedom of Religion. The essence of this article is that every Indian citizen has the right to not only follow but also propagate the religion of his/her choice. It guarantees the right to choose the faith we want to follow.   Do we follow it? Do we believe in it? I think some handfuls of people don’t. I guess this is why we see communal riots occurring so often. We as citizen enjoy this liberty of having the right to make a choice unlike many communist countries but do we respect it enough? In my opinion we will be able to completely enjoy and respect this right only when we learn to respect the choice of others. People chose what they believe in so why turn violent against them and prosecute them in the name of religion? All these fanatic bad examples those are present in every community need to take a chill pill. Live and let others live in peace.

I was still trying to digest the news of the serial blasts in Delhi's famous markets yesterday when I had another shock at 1:30 am at night. I received an SMS from my friend Monty this is what it said. "Emergency! Pray for Churches in Banglore. RSS beat up 36 Pastors; now heading towards New Life College. They have also attacked SIACS. Pray for Bible College students. Please forward this message." Shocked as I already was I switched on the television immediately. To my surprise I saw and heard no mention of Banglore on any news channel. I called Monty after surfing news channels of all languages. This is what he said. Me: Monty is the news you gave true? I don't see anything on t.v Monty: Yes I know even I don't see anything on t.v but I'm sure its true as I got the message from a friend who's from Banglore . He saw a Pastor being beaten up. Me: Okay, I guess it will come in the news by morning. We then wished each other good night but hardly slept. Me,...

Ships in harbor are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. Singer, guitarist and song writer Kurt Cobain was one such ship that was on the treacherous open seas. Post his death Kurt is remembered as the most enigmatic musicians ever. Kurt passed away at the age of 27 leaving behind a legacy that is still going strong. “Smells like teen Spirit” had become the cult song of his generation and he became the unlikely spokesperson and hero of his times. Kurt put in so much energy and passion into his performances that he never had any left for himself. Nobody knows how he met his end. He was found with blood coming out of his ears and a shotgun facing his chin. Nobody knows exactly how long Kurt lay dead. It is estimated 3 days. His was found on 8 th April’1994 but is said to have killed himself on 5 th April '1994. High amounts of Valium and Heroin were also found in his body. The film Last Days tries to capture what could have been Kurt’s final moments alive. Kurt...

Waking up early morning can be bothersome for most of us, at least it is so for me. Yet waking up early is most advantageous and I'm trying to make most of these advantages. My mind is fresh and most active in the mornings and this helps me concentrate on my work or whatever I chose to do in the mornings. It allows me the flexibility to close my working day before the evening comes. This gives me time to pursue my avocations better and also makes the family happy that I'm more in their presence now. The best about starting early is that I get more time with the kids at Hope. I'll be not only be able to play with them but also help them with their studies. Early morning working hours are the best suits me just fine.

Does anybody have any idea how many languages exist in the World? I don't. All I know is that I'm well conversant in three languages and know two partially well. Here in India lot of importance is given to mother tongues or the language you acquire while in your mother's womb. For me its Hindi. I live in South India, a "No Hindi Zone" and the language spoken here is Telugu. I witnessed something really sad amongst students and fellow young citizens like me. They don't like Telugu! They think being heard speaking in a local language is unfashionable. They fall so low as to even announce that they don't know their own language. Shocking isn't it. So much importance is given to English that people forget that they have their very own language at which they are masters. I know English is important but these so called local, regional or vernacular languages are also important. They are our very identity, giving us a sense of belonging a sense of being ourse...

How to be a part of Hope? Teach children in your spare time - your skills Celebrate your special occasions for more meaningful time Donate book, clothes, toys etc Support a Child Supporting a chlid's education would cost Rs 450/- which includes school and tution fee Complete sponsorship of a child per month would cost Rs 1050/- Monthy updates, report cards will be available on a monthly basis for each sponsored child You can spend time with the children whenever feasible :) To be continued....

"Hope" and "Wait" are the two words that contain the entire human wisdom according to the French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas. So today I'm going to tell you all something about Hope. Hope is my family, my happiness and my committment. Hope is a home for orphan and under priveledged children. Its a genuine pleasure and an absolute joy to see the smiles on the faces of these children aged between 2 and 15. Once you're there the children wont let you go and you wouldn't like at leave the place either (well atleast this applies to me). Hope is my addiction and i can never get enough of it :) We have most fun when we play kabadi and let me tell you the girls are better than the boys. There are some dancing stars too. Few of the kids participated in a Disney channel sponsored High School Musical dance competition and won the first prize for the Andhra Pradesh Zone on behalf of their school. Lots more to tell you...... to be continued!

Reading a novel or watching a movie, which one would you prefer as your best mode of entertainment? In today's modern world novels are things of the past we'd rather prefer a movie. I'll tell you why. Who has the time to sit with a 600 page book for days together to enjoy a good story? Nobody, not today atleast. Thats why people prefer to watch a story that begins and ends within 3 hours and also gives visual pleasure. But my query is what about those movies that are made on these 600 - 1000 pages novels? Do we watch them? If we do, do we like them? Most of such movies are a filled with a little or (in most cases) lots of "masala" to suit the sesibilities of the so called "audiences". The best example I would quote here is Jane Austen's timeless classic "Pride and Prejudice" and Gurinder Chadda's murderous attempt to make it into a movie bollywood style! I wished Eliza and Dracy didnt exist in the novel after having watched this disaste...

Books??? What are they? A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a sheet is called a page. A book produced in electronic format is known as an e-book. Okay that got too serious :-) Who needs books?? We don't. We're Gen X. We flee from books the way a Princess would flee from an ogre (everybody is not Princess Fiona). But I guess in this context, if a book is an ogre and I a Princess, then I'd love it with all I have. I've been brought up reading, reading, reading or rather I choose to grow up that way. The habit of reading is said to be the most sophisticated and civilized habit. Who cares we're all rebels we don't need books to make us civilized. Or do we? The definition of being civilized has also changed. For our predecessors, being civilized mainly meant being cul...

Africa!!! 'The Dark Continent" they call it. Why is it called so? Ever wondered why? Is it because its natives are black skinned? I don't think so. From my point of view it is 'Dark' because its highly backward. No amount of international aid can over come the rate of starvation deaths, infant mortality rate, and also the number of people infected with HIV and AIDS. Why is Africa, (the richest continent in the ancient days, read about the Pharoahs of Egypt or the Empire of Ethiopia) in such a state today? Do we blame it on the whites who rule them even today for destroying their culture and hereitge and rendering them helpless with an identity crisis? Why are the blacks so violent? Is it because of their violent past? Is it because of the violent legacy left behind by the Europeans? Or is it just because they like being tough? Can anyone answer my questions? Africa has been on my mind since childhood and i need answers. If anyone of u who visit my blog have any an...