Dautyamu - An old work of art

Dautyamu is an act of sending a message.
Indian poets imagined that a swan could be a go between for two lovers.
The image is a visualisation of Hamsa Sandesham, The Swan message!

This is picked up from a really old issue of a Telugu magazine, Bharati.
Veeraraghava is the artist.

(Click on the image to see it bigger)

Mali - Evarani - Disc

Shravanam

Mali's old disc with Evarani and Magudi

I converted this disc recently and felt people would like to listen to it!

Tree of Life - Masnavi

Knowledge is the fruit that we must be searching for!

(This is a real big image. Copy and use as desktop background)

THE STORY OF THE TREE OF LIFE

A wise man once told a person, just to test him that in India there is such a tree, that whoever eats of the fruits of that tree, never dies. When the King heard of this, he fell in love with it. He immediately sent a messenger to India to search for this tree. The messenger wandered around in India from place to place in search of this tree. He wandered about in quite a distressed state, but nowhere did he find such a tree. Whenever he enquired from people, they would tell him: "Only mad people look for such a tree". They used to jeer and scoff at him. At last when he had become tired of roaming around like that in a foreign country and exhausted by the difficulties of travel, he decided to return home. He was very disappointed. On his return he met a "Qutub Sheikh" along the way.

He said to the Sheikh:

"O Sheikh, this is a time for mercy and benevolence.

I have become helpless and disappointed in my quest.

This is a time for your kindness".

The Sheikh replied:

"What is your disappointment?

And what is the nature of your quest?"

He replied:

"My King has given me this job to search for such a tree in India

That whosoever eats of its fruits will live forever.

I have wandered around in India for years and searched everywhere

But no sign of it did I find. People jeer at me and consider me a mad one".

The Sheikh listened to him, laughed and said:

"O Saleem, this tree is only the bounty of knowledge.

Through knowledge a person finds everlasting life

And one without knowledge is a dead one.

You have searched for the outer form of knowledge and therefore lost the way.

You have been deprived of the form of knowledge too, because you failed to understand the inner meaning".

Gurajada House at Vizianagaram

I made it a point to visit the house where the one and only Gurajada Appa Rao garu lived.
Can you imagine the house is bang on a main road with lot of traffic.
The road is not even wide.
Interestingly the house is being maintained well and there is a library there.
Here are some photographs I took there.

(Click on the images to see them bigger)

The house! I cannot even take a photo from the front!

A bust in the front room

The Master Writer!

A young girl, I am told,  made some paintings on Kanyasulkam. 

They are on display in one room there!

The room where the genius penned his works!

His table and the chairs.

My Chips are Down! - Poem

This is a poem I wrote a few days back!

Do you also feel or felt like this sometime?
You must have!

My chips are down

My chips are down, I know!

I know, I have to lift them up and that

No one else can do that!

No one would even notice and worry that my chips are down.

My chips are down

Not because of me but the others.

The others who say and do things to me and about me.

The others who do not say are do not do things to me and about me.

I forgive them since they do not know what they are saying or doing.

I forgive them that they do not know what they are not saying or doing.

That they do not know what they are doing to me.

My chips are down since I think.

I think and think.

I also think that the chips are down.

If I don’t, also they are down.

So, I think and think.

I also think about the chips being down.

My chips are down.

It is good if I do not know that they are down.

It is good if I know that they are down.

It is good if I know that I can lift them up.

It is good if I know that only I can lift them up.

When I know all these things, are my chips really down?

My chips are down.

Who cares if my chips are down?

When I am happy, may be the world, if there is one around me notices it.

That too, if I allow it to look at me.

If I keep quiet like always, no wonder no one notices.

My chips are down not for others to be noticing them.

I am not seen even when I am shattered and scattered.

I am not seen when elated either.

In such a case what does it matter if the chips are down or up?

But, all the same, my chips are down.

My chips are down since I am the way I am.

I know that no one is responsible for that.

I know that and that is the fun!

Balamurali on TV

Here is a short performance of Dr Balamurali on TV long back.
Thanks to Sri Jayram Sataluri for the recording.

Dr Balamurali on TV

Endaro Mahanubhavulu Andariki Vandanamulu!

Guess What!

What do you see in this first image?

Is it the part of the second image?

Yes, for your kind information!!

It is magnified many times!

Look at your fingertips now!!