pattri

Toe Pain

2012-02-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

Toe Pain

There is one tough toe problem that bothers adults. And this one needs urgent intervention and tender care.

Symptoms

“The subject wakes up at 1:00 a.m. with excruciating pain in the big toe, with no apparent cause or injury. Upon close examination under bright illumination, a slight swelling is found around the joint between big toe and foot (metatarsal-phalangeal joint), very tender to touch. The pain is often unbearable and the usual technique of hot/cold compress is of little use. At times even walking becomes extremely painful.”

The disease, known as gout has been around for hundreds of years. It affects mostly men and predominantly it is prevalent in cold climates. Though often associated with alcohol and rich (animal) protein food, anyone can get it - due to the evil coincidence of many factors. Some association is found between the use of diuretics and gout. Its sister (affliction) is kidney stones.

Key factors

Extreme cold climate, low levels of fluid intake (water), and high levels of uric acid are the main contributing factors. Human body needs uric acid, so at normal levels it poses no problem. Often, a vicious confluence of all these factors leads to an acute attack. So, if possible avoid extreme cold. Try to take one extra glass of water before going to bed (or spread around the day). Take vitamin supplements daily – particularly vitamin C. Cut down a little on protein rich foods during winter times or at least during the acute phase. High doses of fructose and fasting are also contributing factors.

Cure and Management

Vitamin C helps in eliminating excess uric acid from the system. A dose of 500 mg per day is enough to yield promising results. Rose hips contain high levels of vitamin C; perhaps, this is one of the most inexpensive sources of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Towards the end of summer season, I have often seen bunches of rose hips hanging idly on the thorny bushes. The Indian gooseberry (fresh fruit) also seems to be a rich source of vitamin C. Grandmothers used to say that gooseberry pickle has many medicinal properties (for warding off ulcers in the mouth, etc.). Ascorbic acid is rather a delicate vitamin, can easily be destroyed in cooking. Cranberry juice (and cranberry pickle) is another source of vitamin C.

Fructose, particularly in large quantities, seems to aggravate the ailment. So, it is better to avoid very sweet (over ripened) bananas or other sugary fruits. Also, honey (invert sugar) too should be avoided during the acute stage. Moderation is the key word. Once the disease is well under control, occasional indulgences in a small piece of ripe banana or chocolate cookie will do no harm. High fructose corn syrup – is the real culprit here. So, read carefully ingredients of cookies and other confectionary items. Always look for juices without high fructose corn syrup or sugar.

The traditional Indian Ayurveda practitioners are fully well versed in the treatment of joint pains and inflammation. The patient should strictly follow their advice about dietary restrictions. Of the vegetarian protein sources, it is advisable to avoid (or at least limit) the use of peanuts and black gram (urad dal), especially during winter months.

So, what to do during a sudden attack? A good doctor will be able to diagnose properly and prescribe modern medicines. For a full recovery and proper management, the patient has to make a few lifestyle changes. Not, very difficult, if one is a little bit flexible. Through the pain, the body is sending subtle signals. Get rid of sedentary habits, get up and take long walks, bike riding, shoveling snow, or yoga – whichever suits you.

Yoga

Sarvanga-asana, Vira-asana, and Paschimothana-asana will yield good results for this ailment. Also, Surya-namaskarams will help in reducing the severity. Swami Vishnu Devananda, in one of the pages gave excellent suggestion for all foot problems: Gently try to walk on toes and heels, do it slowly alternatively. You can practice this on hardwood floor, carpet, or on soft grass (if need be, with insulating woolen socks). Till you get proper balance, use a stick, wall, or fence for support. It promotes good blood circulation in the feet, preserves and strengthens good arches, and gives a gentle massage to the sole.

Once the acute pain has vanished, you can give gentle massage (with warm sesame seed oil, olive oil, ghee, Iodex, or Narayana Tailam) around the big toe. Regular exercise and daily massage should make the injured toe normal. During the acute phase, you cannot do any massage. But you can dip the painful toe in a bucket with cold water, then switch to a bucket with warm water. Then back to cold water. Or, you can give similar treatment while taking a shower bath.

Pain has a salutary effect on the human body. It makes the mind concentrate and slip into meditation. The great Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal would go into hours of meditation during high temperature fever bouts. He would just describe it thus: It is like sitting in the midst of five fire places and doing meditation (or penance). Why not? Pain, any ailment for that matter, teaches us the fragility of human body. It imparts us much needed humility – after all even with loads of money, at times, you cannot buy immediate cure. Simply not possible. In a tera Hertz cell phone obsessed, instant gratifying world – only pain can teach some valuable lessons of life. Karma has to be depleted slowly through episodes of pain.

Lyrics of "Paranmukha" - Telugu Song

2012-01-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

పరాఙ్ముఖ మేలనమ్మ పరాధీన పతిత నాపై

నిరాదరణ(ము) నీవే చేసితే, నే సహింప తరమా తల్లీ || పరా ||

మరాళ(ళా)నిత మందగమని

మహాదేవ మదిరంజిత వదని

నిరామయే అంబా నీరద శ్యామలే

నిత్యకళ్యాణ గుణాలయే || పరా ||

paraa~mmukha mElanamma paraadhiina patita naapai

niraadaraNa(mu) niivE cEsitE, nE sahimpa taramaa tallii || paraa ||

maraaLa(Laa)nita mandagamani

mahaadEva madiranjita vadani

niraamayE ambaa niiradaSyaamalE

nityakaLyaaNa guNaalayE || paraa ||

Film: Anta Mana Manchike

Music: Bhanumati & Satyam

Lyrics: G. N. Balasubramaniam

(The way Bhanumati rendered this great composition made me speechless. Whatever doubts I had about Bhanumati's musical skills - they were just blown away. GNB's lyrics are unique - they are nothing but a total surrender to the feet of Parvati, the supreme Mother. Bhanumati like Satyajit Ray did everything in a movie: story, script, lyrics, music, acting, and direction. For many decades to come, she will be fondly remembered by the Telugu community for her special voice, vocal talents, and flawless diction. Music just came to her as water to a duck (brook). When I watched her sing this song in the movie, immediately I was hooked to it - as I could see the fusion of two great artists.)

Lyrics of Telugu Song - "rukminamma rukminamma"

2011-12-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

Film: Uyyala Jampala (1960)

Lyrics: Kosaraju

Music: Pendyala

Singer: P. Susheela & Chorus

రుక్మిణ(న)మ్మ, రుక్మిణ(న)మ్మ

కృష్ణమూర్తితో నువ్వు కులకావమ్మ

కన్నెపిల్ల మనసు మీ అన్నకేమి తెలుసు

శిశుపాలుడికన్న ఆ శ్రీకృష్ణుడు మిన్న

రమణిప్రేమ సొంపు నువ్వు రాయబారమంపు

చిలుకచేత కబురుపంప చెలుడు రాకపోడమ్మ

రుక్మిణమ్మ, రుక్మిణమ్మ

కోరుకొన్న వరుడుకొరకు నోచాలమ్మ

గౌరి పూజ చేసి ఆ గర్భగుడిలో వేచి

ఎదురుచూడవమ్మ నీ బెదురు మానవమ్మ

రమ్యమైన వాడు ఒక రధము తెచ్చినాడు

తేరుమీద ప్రియునితోను తేలి సాగిపోవమ్మ బాల రుక్కమ్మ

రుక్మిణమ్మ రుక్మిణమ్మ

ఎంతమంచి నోము నువ్వు నోచావమ్మ

అట్లతద్దిరోజు మా ఆడపిల్లల మోజు

అంతాగుమిగూడి సయ్యాటపాటలాడి

తదియ చంద్రుచూచి మాతనివితీర నోచి

అట్లతద్ది నోము నోచ అందగాడె మొగుడమ్మ బాల రుక్కమ్మ

రుక్మిణమ్మ రుక్మిణమ్మ

ఉయ్యాల జంపాల ఊగాలమ్మ

ఉయ్యాల జంపాల ... ఉయ్యాల జంపాల

rukmiNa(na)mma, rukmiNa(na)mma

kRshNamuurtitO nuvvu kulakaavamma

kannepilla manasu mii annakEmi telusu

SiSupaaluDikanna aa SriikRshNuDu minna

ramaNiprEma sompu nuvvu raayabaaramampu

cilukacEta kaburupampa celuDu raakapODamma

rukmiNamma, rukmiNamma

kOrukonna varuDukoraku nOcaalamma

gauri puuja cEsi aa garbhaguDilO vEci

edurucuuDavamma nii beduru maanavamma

ramyamaina vaaDu oka radhamu techcinaaDu

tErumiida priyunitOnu tEli saagipOvamma baala rukkamma

rukmiNamma rukmiNamma

entamanchi nOmu nuvvu nOcaavamma

aTlataddirOju maa aaDapillala mOju

antaaagumiguuDi sayyaaTapaaTalaaDi

tadiya candrucuuci maatanivitiira nOci

aTlataddi nOmu nOca andagaaDe moguDamma baala rukkamma

rukmiNamma rukmiNamma

uyyaala jampaala uugaalamma

uyyaala jampaala ... uyyaala jampaala

[లోగడ, ఈ తపాల వ్రాతలలో, అట్లతద్ది పండుగ (1) గురించి ఒక సుదీర్ఘ వ్యాసము వ్రాసితిని. ఇప్పుడు తెలుగు సంస్కృతి అభిమానులకు, ముఖ్యముగా తెలుగు ఆడపడుచుల కొఱకు ఈపాట సాహిత్యము ఇక్కడ పొందుపర్చితిని.ఈనాడు ఎందరో వయసుకొచ్చిన యువతీ యువకులు కళ్యాణ ఘడియల గురించి వేచి తపించుచున్నారు. వారికి నేను వ్రాసిన (ఇందులో నా సొంత ప్రజ్ఞా పాటవము ఏమి లేదు!) ఈ రెండు బ్లాగ్స్ పనికి వస్తాయని ఆశిస్తాను. ఆ తల్లి గౌరి దేవి అశీసులు కాంక్షిస్తూ. I wish I had posted these lyrics two months earlier. Sorry readers.]

1. http://tenneti-rao.sulekha.com/blog/post/2010/04/third-moon-festival-atla-taddi.htm

Lyrics of Telugu Devotional Song "tellavara vacce"

2011-12-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

తెల్లవారవచ్చె తెలియక నా సామి

మళ్ళీ పరుండేవు లేరా, మళ్ళీ పరుండేవు లేరా

మళ్ళీ పరుండేవు మస(ల)లుతూ ఉండేవు, మారాము చాలింక లేరా, మారాము చాలింక లేరా

కలకలమని పక్షిగణములు చెదిరేను, కళ్యాణగుణధామ లేరా

తరుణులందరు దధి చిలికె వేళాయె దైవరాయ(యా) నిదుర లేరా

నల్లనయ్య రారా, ననుకన్నవాడా,

బుల్లితండ్రి రారా, బుజ్జాయి రారా,

నాన్నా మీ అమ్మ గోపెమ్మ పిలిచేను, వెన్న తిందువు గాని రారా

వెన్న తిందువు గాని రారా

tellavaaravacce teliyaka naa saami

maLLii parunDEvu lEraa, maLLii parunDEvu lEraa

maLLii parunDEvu masalutuu unDEvu, maaraamu caalinka lEraa, maaraamu caalinka lEraa

kalakalamani pakshigaNamulu cedirEnu, kaLyaaNaguNadhaama lEraa

taruNulandaru dadhi cilike vELaaye daivaraaya(yaa) nidura lEraa

nallanayya raaraa, nanukannavaaDaa,

bullitanDri raaraa, bujjaayi raaraa,

naannaa mii amma gOpemma pilicEnu, venna tinduvu gaani raaraa

venna tinduvu gaani raaraa

film: chiranjiivulu

Lyrics: Malladi

Singer: P. Leela

Music: Ghantasala

Coriander and Fenugreek

2011-07-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

Coriander and Methi

In an earlier blog I wrote here about growing mint. Now that summer is here, this time too we got into some herbs. For the vegetarian Indians, coriander (కొత్తిమీర) and fenugreek (methi, మెంతికూర) are special greens. Nothing can describe the taste of a home made rasam with a pinch of asafoetida (ఇంగువ) and a few strands of freshly grown coriander. Here in US, this green herb is mostly known as cilantro. Nowadays it is available in most supermarkets all round the year. Still, sometimes it is a bit costly. What can you say? There is inflation in India and there is inflation here too, particularly in food items. A bunch of coriander costs a dollar, a can of milk costs two dollars, and a gallon of gas almost four dollars (though it has come down a bit - $ 3.65 now).

So, even in normal times, coriander, methi, and other Indian green leaves are a bit expensive. This is true even in big cities here. But with a bit of ingenuity and patience, any one can grow, these herbs and other green leaves, either in hot summer months or indoors during the cold months. There are a few incidental expenses like potting soil, compost, and a bit of fertilizer. But the intangibles like outdoor activity, bodily exercise, and mental relaxation – they outweigh the meager inputs. You may not make profit, anyway this is only subsistence farming on a very small scale, but you do not incur heavy expenses either. A garden, even a very small one attracts lovely birds, butterflies, bees, rabbits, spiders, and at times some pesky pests (slugs, Japanese beetle, aphids) too. Here, this season, I have seen a whole bevy of winged creatures: Newly hatched wood peckers, chickadees, doves, cardinals, blue birds, black birds, and golden finches. Their musical serenade wakes us every morning here, at very early in the dawn at four thirty a.m.; then they pick up where they leave off in morning again in evening hours, at six thirty, after the sun dips a bit lower. Of course we have interludes of chorus crickets too during midday - on the dog days of summer.

Growing greens directly from seeds needs a little more care. Growing mums or marigolds from established plants is one thing. Growing bushy dark green coriander is another thing altogether. The latter requires high quality seeds, porous nutrient soil, excellent drainage, and right amount of sun, moisture, and shade. And of course, most important – the right temperature. All seeds require the right (optimum) temperature. (How clever plants are, the mother plant would not like her young die prematurely, so a seed will not germinate unless all conditions are fully favorable!) This means, in cold climates germination may have to be started either in green houses or indoors near a sunny warm window. In hot India, usually such crops are started right after monsoon rains because it affords plenty of moisture and cool climate. In hot dry ambient conditions, seeds will dry out too much. Added to this temperature and moisture, we must provide nutrient rich soil. Here, we can do this with either peat moss or nutrimix or compost.

Briefly here is how I potted a small rectangular plastic pot (30" x 8" x 7"). Plenty of holes (I had to drill them) at the bottom for good drainage. Filled the bottom, i.e., the first (lowest) layer with some wood chips, bark, coconut shell pieces, and dried leaves and pine needles. In some respects container gardening is easy, we can lift and carry it to wherever we like – I mean we can transport to provide it with right amount of sun light, shade, and cool moisture. But, this must be borne in mind to avoid disappointing results, container gardening is a bit tricky, just a little difficult. Adequate draining of excess water (from overhead watering or rain) is essential. Plant roots need space to breathe, they need breathing space (oxygen), only then the root system will grow. And unless roots grow rapidly, the plant will not thrive, it will not yield flowers, fruits, or dark luscious green leaves. For some plants, I also use pieces of washed-out charcoal. Charcoal helps to absorb excess water and accumulated gases from the root system.

Upon the first layer of crocks, coconut shells, and pine needles, I poured a mix of top soil, compost, and sand. Try to avoid heavy clay-type soil. We are trying to grow very tender seedlings (coriander, mint, etc.) – their roots are very delicate, a fine loose soil helps a lot. That is why, in India we see farmers growing water melon, cucumber, fenugreek, coriander on dry river beds. Such places contain very fine sand (silicon dioxide), rich minerals, and nutritious clay (brought by river waters). Fenugreek seeds (yellow in color, a bit hard) are used as they are. The seed packets (from Burpee or brand name vendors) are a bit expensive; we can get the same quality seeds from Indian grocery stores. Or, reach for spice corner in your kitchen. For growing coriander leaves, we can use “dhaniya” seeds, again the inexpensive source is – Indian groceries. Each coriander seed yields two plants; we have to split the seed. One way to split the store bought seeds is: Spread the seeds on a clean newspaper, cutting board, or just bare floor. Use a slipper (flip-flops, sandals) and gently rub on the seeds. Spread the seeds with hand (just drop from above, a sort of broadcasting) uniformly on top of soil. Cover the seeds with very fine soil, peat moss, saw dust, vermiculite, or very fine sand. Keep the pot in semi-shaded place. Spray water (use a spray bottle, or just sprinkle with hand gently) twice a day. Methi (fenugreek) usually sprouts within three or four days, it all depends on temperature, moisture, and light. Coriander is a bit tough, it takes a bit longer to germinate. Just be patient. Once you see little plants sprouting out, you can now place the pot in a bit of sun light. Gradually increase duration and intensity of sun light. Soon you will have a dense well sprouted methi and coriander greens in your kitchen garden.

So far I have not applied any liquid fertilizer to this container gardening. One thing I have noticed with many herbs – very rarely they get pests. Mint, coriander, methi, rosemary, or basil, all of them grow without any pest or blight. This could be due to spice oils in their leaves and stems. When we grow plants in containers, we have to watch for sudden heavy downpours, or extended dry hot spells of summer. I try to save these young tender plants from extreme conditions of drought or flood by moving them into shelter. Sometimes I place them under the porch. Or, put them in the protection of big shady trees. Or you can put a plastic cover over them.

I fondly remember an annual festival in our village. In the month of April, all villagers used to grow fresh plants from seeds in containers. They would buy very inexpensive palm-leaf woven containers (they come in all shapes, sizes, and even colors) in local farmers market. Gather soil from backyard, canal banks, farms, or cow sheds. As kids we would buy nine different types of seeds (nava-dhanya) from our kirana merchant and grow the seedlings with tender care and love. After 3 - 4weeks or so, we would take young plants and offer to our local goddess. This festival used to be a sort of harbinger of the first rice crop sowing after a hot summer. Only when one grows oneself from scratch, one appreciates the pains of agriculture. It is heart breaking to see Indian small farmers struggle for quality seeds, fertilizer, water, and fair price for produce – after six decades of independence and umpteen plans.

If you grow these herbs sequentially (staggering) in two or three containers, you can have them ready for cooking throughout the season. With a little patience, you can grow them indoors during winters too. Just you have to place seedlings next to a sunny window, a bit closer to a heating vent. The plants tend to grow tall, with hard stems when the weather is hot and dry, that is only natural. Advantages of home gardening: You can grow herbs and greens with total care, even better than store bought organic brands. Much more మెంతిమజ్జిగ than “inflated organic” produce. The freshly cut coriander, mint, or spinach are often have more flavor than the superstore items. What you find in a superstore is probably harvested several days (even a week) back, then went through long distance hauling, repeated drenches of water spraying, and occasional dry out.

Yesterday, we used freshly cut methi leaves for methi-toor dal (మెంతికూర పప్పు)dish. The taste really superb, no exaggeration implied nor needed. Coriander is still growing in the pot. I pinched a few tender coriander leaves for spicing up “menthi-majjiga (మెంతిమజ్జిగ)" as we ran out of curry leaves.

Some times coriander is sold in stores with roots intact. After chopping off the top tender stems and leaves, we can re-grow coriander from roots. You can have a sort of second harvest of coriander from such roots; this is like growing carrots from (small slice of) carrot tops. Copyright by the author 2011

Emi Sethura Linga - Telugu Song Lyrics

2011-07-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Emi sEturaa lingaa, Emii sEturaa

ganga udakamu techchi niiku

linga puujalu sEdamanTe...

ganganunna chEpa kappa engilanTunnaadi lingaa

mahaanubhaava maa(ha)dEvaSambhO maalingamuurti

akshayaavula paaDi techchi

aripitamu chEdamanTe...ohO

akshayaavula lEgaduuDa engilanTunnaadi lingaa

mahaanubhaava maa(ha)dEvaSambhO maalingamuurti

tummipuuvulu techchi niiku

tushTugaa puuchchEdamanTe...OhO

kommakommaku kOTi tummeda engilanTunnaadi lingaa

mahaanubhaava maa(ha)dEvaSambhO maalingamuurti

ఏమి సేతురా లింగా, ఏమీ సేతురా

గంగ ఉదకము తెచ్చి నీకు

లింగ పూజలు సేదమంటె...

గంగనున్న చేప కప్ప ఎంగిలంటున్నాది లింగా

మహానుభావ మా(హ)దేవశంభో మాలింగమూర్తి

అక్షయావుల పాడి తెచ్చి

అరిపితము చేదమంటె...ఒహో

అక్షయావుల లేగదూడ ఎంగిలంటున్నాది లింగా

మహానుభావ మా(హ)దేవశంభో మాలింగమూర్తి

తుమ్మిపూవులు తెచ్చి నీకు

తుష్టుగా పూచ్చేదమంటె...ఓహో

కొమ్మకొమ్మకు కోటి తుమ్మెద ఎంగిలంటున్నాది లింగా

మహానుభావ మా(హ)దేవశంభో మాలింగమూర్తి

Lyrics transcribed while listening to Dr. Balamuralikrishna's rendition. The meaning and devotional content will be explored in a future post. English transliteration and Telugu script were generated by Lekhini.

Poetry Book Release

2011-06-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Bougainvilleas

It was in graduate school, when I first started experimenting with poetry. They were short Telugu lyrics, haiku-like three line English poems, and some longer verses. A friend from the Humanities Department brought a series of issues on campus poetry. Though they were just a bundle of cyclostyled sheets stapled at margin, like all novice poets, I too was elated to see my first poems in print. A little later I borrowed my cousin’s Olivetti typewriter. Taking a break from my graduate research work, I typed, with scrupulous diligence without a single typo, about twenty-six poems. The small collection included several long poems, some almost as long as thirty lines, of free verse. My scientist cousin and an uncle, himself an accomplished Telugu poet read through the collection.

Then a long hiatus interposed and I thought I had almost lost my touch with writing poetry. My main interests were elsewhere. Recently, rather unexpectedly I plunged back into poetry. This time I wanted to really explore the depths in poetic expression, images, and imagination. The book is a culmination of such effort, it contains original English poems and translations of my Telugu lyrical poems (melodious songs).

Some, but not all, of the poems were posted at my blog at Sulekha (http://tenneti-rao.sulekha.com/), a few can be found at my e-blog (http://pattri-pulu.blogspot.com/). About a dozen poems, both in Telugu and English were published in the web magazine of Telugu Literary & Cultural Association of New York – they were under my pseudonym, Atri. As part of the poetic exploration, four Telugu song recordings, in my own voice, were uploaded at Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/gosthajammi). Now, for the first time, as many as eighty- four English poems (including translations) are collected in this slender book, giving them an oeuvre and a formal collective (artistic) identity. A short preface by the author serves as an opening to the poetic dialogue. A range of subjects – from nature, romance, nostalgia, contemplation, to daily vagaries of life are touched upon. Both spatially and temporally, the poems cover vast distances, across continents and centuries. Many poems attracted sizeable audience on the Internet and at least one poem got translated into Japanese.

The whole book is in English from cover to cover. Some poems contain a stray Sanskrit or Telugu word, but such non-English words comprise only less than half a percent of the total vocabulary. Copious explanation of such foreign words is given via foot notes, thus obviating any difficulty for the reader. For the sake of brevity, directness and distinct flavor, the author has retained such words in the final version.

The beautifully crafted hand cloth bound book can be purchased in India from Writers Workshop (http://www.writersworkshopindia.com/). The publisher has a Kiosk (The Book Nook) at 162/92 Lake Gardens, Kolkata 700045. In North America, copies can be obtained directly from the author. Each book has the original signature handwriting (perhaps one of the last works to be adorned with his distinctive calligraphy) of Professor P. Lal. Plus, it comes with colorful hand embossment and wrapping of Orissa sari cloth with unique motifs, which are found only in the trades of traditional Indian weavers. Copyright by the author 2011

An Evening with Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna

2011-06-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

An Evening with Dr. Balamuralikrishna

I vaguely remember (mind, my dear Watson, many memories over time can be inaccurate, often brain laces them with its own imaginary or disparate details, in an effort to produce a more durable colorful painting) my school days in that bustling culturally throbbing coastal town. Our family friend, Sri Ramana in one of his regular drop-ins announced, “We are going to Tyagaraja Festival (Aradhana) function in the town, today we may get to see Balamurali”. Though I had heard about the reputed vocalist, I was not fully aware of his extraordinary accomplishments in art. By then, he had already donned the role of Narada (the celestial messenger, a very devout singer of Hari, and Hara too; He is the offspring of Brahma and Saraswati), lent his voice as a playback singer in several Telugu films (ex: Nartanasala – oh, that classic BW timeless mythological artistic piece, on Mahabharata), and of course, he conducted a very popular program at AIR. Mr. Ramana, on the way to the festival venue, casually made a remark that remained in my consciousness till today: “Balamurali is no doubt a gifted vocalist, but often he drifts into experimentation”. Ramana is no average listener of (Carnatic) music. Nor he is like one of those pseudo-rasikas of modern day, who keep deluding themselves that by just keeping the beat (timing), they understand music. Though a simple artisan by day job, a watchmaker by profession, Ramana could sing impromptu any Tyagaraja song, with all its musical embellishments. He was, at the time, studying for a music diploma from Vijayawada, via distant learning. Music flowed effortlessly in Ramana’s family, his daughters played vina.

Years later, a close relative commented derisively – “These days, Balamurali goes on stretching the phrase ‘Hari’ in every (rendering of) composition”. Yet another family member, a student of classical dance, complained: “Balamurali came here, but he did not sing any Kannada compositions”. Little did she know that he had rendered Purandaradasa songs with the same vigor and passion as any number of Telugu compositions, not to speak of his playback singing in Hamsageethe. He even translated a well-known Purandaradasa composition into Telugu, with utmost fidelity and charm.

Till yesterday, I have not been able to see a Balamurali’s live performance, from beginning to end. Over the years, I have listened to many of his recordings, watched him on TV, but somehow I’ve always missed his programs. But, what a remarkable musical genius? Truly, one has to do certain – universally valid, mandatory things in life. Go and look at the Ganges at least once. Look at the rising sun on seashore, like Rameswaram beech. Shake hands with a science Nobel laureate. Meet a great inventor or a stunningly original thinker. And watch a first-rate classical dance (Odissi, Kuchipudi, or Bharatanatyam). Must see a scintillating performer like Yamini Krishnamurty at least once. Listen to a first rate composer like Dr. Balamuralikrishna. Sit quietly in front of a great saint, with no thoughts, no questions, just imbibing the supreme vacuum. Then, all great travails of life just melt away, rather sublime – leaving you in peace. In such times, you come to feel what is profound, what is not, what is worth arguing about, what is not, what is worth pursuing, etc. Did I miss listing Bismillah Khan? Ah, how did I omit S. Rajeswara Rao and Ghantasala? That’s why art is long and life is short.

Why? What is unique about Balamurali? After all, there are plenty of classical singers, both in Carnatic and Hindustani. It’s simple. Like in the West, many of the run-of-mill Indian singers (calling them just singers is a bit harsh, but some of them are just technically good singers, that’s all) just render the same old compositions (songs), and an assortment of ragas. True, the compositions are all great, but they were composed in the distant past, some even five hundred years ago. The vocalist may try to interpret, add a bit of her own original chords (sa, pa, thakidathom)– but that’s all. Even in this minimum requirement, many of today’s singers are woefully inadequate. Because such dry musical renderings fail to evoke ‘true feeling’ in listeners’ hearts, often totally missing (absolutely blanking out) in appropriate emotional quality. Often singers lack linguistic skills (third rate diction masquerading as great ability) and many performances fail to resonate with the astute listener. There are, always a few very attentive listeners (like Hanuma, who knows everything about music, poetry, and art) in every performance. They come from far off places, with earnest hope and expectation in their hearts. A real great artist must also create; in music, that means, composing. Dr. Balamuralikrishna is the only living vocalist who has composed his own songs, tillanas, in Telugu and Sanskrit. And of course, he performed a very wide range of compositions. Often his renderings (whether they are Ramadasu songs or Swati Tirunal Hindi compositions) crystallize into unsurpassable benchmarks in south Indian music.

The first song, a composition on the three devatas, Ganesa, Hanuman, and Krishna was his own creation. I heard it in an old cassette recording. Even at this age, his voice and energy are matchless. Except for a select few in the audience, most of the lyrics are beyond the comprehension of average audience. But it is not the fault of vocalist, for this pitiable situation. Unless one is well versed in both Telugu and Sanskrit, one will not understand his compositions, nor for that matter any other great songs (of Vasudevacharya, Annamayya, Tyagayya, Ramadasu, and others) their nuances, profound meaning. Why these three gods? It is simple, Ganesa is a remover of obstacles and also, He is the primal cause for critical mission failures. Ravana could not succeed in taking Siva’s atma-linga to Lanka, because he forgot to pray to Ganesa. Hanuman is an epitome of devotion, humility, fearless courage, and extraordinary wisdom. And, how can we have any melodious pleasing music without Krishna? Krishna, Himself is an embodiment of pure bliss, a distillate of pure ‘rasa’. Then the program developed into a multi-lingual music fare: A song on (his own) mother, Siva, another original composition on Durga (a composition only with sa, ri, da, ma), a Hindi Swati Tirunal composition (Jamuna kinare), Bengali (Rabindra) song, a Gopanna composition (paluke bangara పలుకే బంగారమాయెనా) and a fast tempo tillana (again his own composition).

[In future I will give lyrics of four or five of his original compositions that were sung in the program. Though I have the lyrics (in Telugu) with me right now, I have to transcribe with a font writer (Lekhini), then check for errors, and post them on the net. It means I have to find time, energy, mood, and patience. Foremost, I want to post this write-up quickly before I start forgetting finer details.]

Despite age, his voice still has the same reverberating, multi-tonal richness. His sudden bursts of exploding energy (some critics probably did not understand them) in elucidating certain phrases is blinding to the ears. I came to appreciate such energetic vocals by listening repeatedly some songs – Narayana te (నారాయణ తే నమో నమో), maru paluka (మారు పలుక కున్నావేమిరా), nagumomu ganaleni (నగుమోము గనలేని నా) etc. I mean no carping – but some times, the accompaniments (violin or chitra-vina) cannot translate such energetic pulses of multispectral sound. Then, during the concert, I also observed certain micro-modulations of voice, during extended elaborations of notes. Again, I could not hear the same modulation details in the violin; I could be wrong too. I have to go back to the audio recording and listen carefully to check this finding. Even now, Dr. Mangalampalli could hold a note for a very long period, putting the syllable suspended in mid air. It is as though he could nail a particular note on the wall, and say, “stay there as long as I command”. Obviously, the audience is carried away by such a mastery of breath, music, and absolute concentration. I mean no disparagement – but it is a fact – a glaring deficiency of modern narrow (technical/trade) education (Indian as well as Western), the college going student (I do not pick on the young, even elders have the same shortcoming) hardly knows languages (Telugu, Italian, Hindi, Sanskrit). So, in most concerts many listeners hardly understand a song, its lyrics, the underlying meaning, and the vast emotional repertoire of colors. The audience rather impatiently tries to sit, keeping the beat with hands, feet, and occasional twists and turns of face. Dr. Balamurali does not only compose great music, he also writes very clever, witty lyrics in Telugu. The reader has to consult his magnum opus, Suryakanthi to appreciate the range and depth of his compositions.

Dr. Saraswati

I came to know about her only through a cassette tape - it was the recording of a live concert by Dr. Balamurali in Pittsburgh SV temple. She could really (and why not? She is a polymath, a multi-linguist, and a versatile artist) enunciate in clear tone and diction, the essential information of a composition. This time too, she punctuated the musical pieces with very interesting, yet new background about the artistes. Of the vocalist, we come to know a few startling nuggets: Dr. Balamuralikrishna got the Best Singer award for a Malayalam movie, for a Hindi composition by Swati Tirunal. When he visited Calcutta, the local AIR got hold of him to record fifty Rabindranath Bengali songs – as gift of Rabindra sangeet to posterity. Though we knew of his French Chevalier award, little did we have any idea – how he got it? It seems the French musicians threw a challenge to Dr. Balamuralikrishna. Could you play one of our famous national songs, on your viola? Just by listening once. For a genius brain that holds the magical music key to all seventy-two mela-karta-ragas, this feat was no big deal (no brainer as they say here). He not only reproduced the French musical piece, but later he conducted their orchestra too, it seems.

Would the composer’s fans get to see in near future, a Bharataratna for Dr. Balamurali? Who knows, what are the politics behind the award? But, if the goddess Sarada plays her magic wand, he will definitely get it. Rather, if the Bharataratna award has to retain any future credibility, it should be given to Dr. Mangalampalli. And it should be given sooner, certainly while he is still performing on stage.

On a serious note, award or no award, his compositions, originality, and his total dedication to south Indian (Carnatic) music will vibrate forever in any music lover, if only she listens with a pure unbiased pristine heart. Forget the average, at best mediocre music critics’ silly opinions (you cannot blame ‘em, they have to churn out some froth to catch reader’s attention, to earn paltry word pay): Why does he smile while singing? ‘That unbearable smirk’ on face, etc.. Every serious artist is allowed certain latitude while performing, it could be a flashy statement-making dress, some bling-bling, a funny facial gesture, or queer headgear – all those things are an integral part of stage performance. No harm in that! People should not forget that the artist is in “his zone” while performing. Whether music critics like it or not, whether semi-literate music patrons cringe in disbelief or not – there is and will be for many decades to come, only one Balamuralikrishna on Indian music scene. I join hands with all his admirers in paying tribute to Sri Mangalampalli, may he enjoy good health and great voice for many years to come.

[Sorry, I could not cover here, the talent and performance of accompanists. I mean no slight to them. I am sure others will write and comment about them. At the moment, my interests and passion are drawn to understanding lyrics, their intricate meaning, the tapestry of literature, the underlying feeling(s), and bhakti component – that itself is a whole platter-full.]

After many years, we got to see a wonderful live performance. It was conducted without a flaw by the Albany Telugu association jointly with Pallavi. In those few hours, art has crossed the bounds of language, country, and culture. What a great elated feeling? For a moment, the experience has brought into sharp focus all that is good, sweet, caring, and ennobling in Telugu culture.

Draft composed after attending the Classical Indian Musical Concert by Dr. Balamuralikrishna and Chitravina N. Ravikiran, at SUNY-Albany on May 8, 2011. Copyright by the author 2011. This article has been first posted at Sulekha.

Digestion Problems

2011-05-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Digestion Problems

Symptoms

Once our tuition master's son suffered from it. He was barely six years old. Being the youngest male child, he got pampered by everyone in the family. Whatever he asked he got, without any resistance and it led to bad eating habits. His breakfast was a warm steaming south Indian tiffin, upma covered with cashews and oil. During day he ate probably a bit of white polished rice, with yogurt. But devoid of any essential vegetables and fruits in diet, he soon developed a case of severe constitutional irregularity. Temporarily he was treated with a spoon of milk of magnesia by the neighborhood physician, Dr. T. R. Krishna. All pediatricians advise parents to feed children with foods containing sufficient fiber - but this advice is often ignored, leading to unnecessary complications. Fiber, however unattractive it may be, acts like a Roto-Rooter for digestive system. It keeps entire body healthy, in tune. If a nature's call cannot be accomplished effortlessly within five to ten minutes, then obviously some thing is wrong. That is, the body is telling some thing important. In early stages, this discomfort, is bearable, but neglected for days, weeks, it could lead to serious problems. The ensuing complications can be very severe, it can lead to unnecessary, often avoidable surgeries. For some it could lead to backache, joint pains, or general lethargy. Others suffer silently for years with this curable disease - often due to negligence, stubbornness, and at times due to bad professional advice. Lack of financial resources can aggravate the problem; but a little common sense and scientific understanding can yield excellent results. One need not unnecessarily lose peace of mind in these matters.

Remedies

In extreme cases, surgery is the only option. Very delicate surgeries for this ailment are performed in outpatient setting by some traditional (Ayurvedic, herbal) healers also. This may be surprising to many city dwellers in this age, but such surgeries in a home setting were done in recent past, probably they happen even today. With good outcomes too. But in most cases, if this disease is detected and treated early, the scalpel option can be avoided. As in the case of sleep, good hygiene and habits are important. That means, attending to nature's call at the first urge. A relaxed, focused attempt, at perhaps one of the most essential bodily functions is required. Physicians advise to avoid excessive stress during the act, the advice should be strictly adhered to. Through habit and gentle training, this routine act can be scheduled early in the morning before the busy working day starts. Getting up half an hour earlier will solve scheduling problem. Most pharmacies carry a soothing emollient. Generic products are quite inexpensive, basically they all contain an anti-inflammatory ingredient in a paraffin base. There are several over the counter remedies both in Ayurveda and Unani systems. Such ointments are for relieving acute pain – but they do not cure or mitigate underlying symptoms. The fine husk of isabagol is available in India as Naturolax; in US, it is available under brand names like Metamucil. It should be taken with sufficient amount of water. As a general rule, it is advisable to keep the body away from any rigid habit forming tendencies (excessive dependence on laxatives, sunamukhi etc.). Ideally, proper diet and simple daily exercise (physical activity) should be enough. In earlier days (particularly in India), some doctors used to prescribe a range of laxatives (castor oil, Epsom salt, milk of magnesia, Ayurvedic pills, etc.) at the slightest sign of problem or before rainy season. Though such laxatives are useful as last-resort remedies, it is always preferable to keep away from them. Often people get addicted to laxatives and soon they cannot do without them. Stomach, particularly intestine system is a very delicate mechanism. It is always better to understand body’s moods and temperament and heed its subtle signals. A genetic predisposition to this disease exists, of course, but that does not exempt an individual from healthy food habits.

Food

Sufficient fresh fruits and vegetables will promptly relieve the symptoms. One need not always buy the most expensive fruit or vegetable (this means modifying ones tastes, habits a little). Usually, shifting to vegetable soups, orange juice (freshly made is better, otherwise choose a variety with a little bit of pulp), prune juice - for three meals, will alleviate the problem. Cut down on solid food, avoid oatmeal, pizza, and heavy diary products (cheese, ghee) for awhile. Low fat yogurt and buttermilk are beneficial. But patience, lots of it, is required. In most US states fresh apples are found through out year. An apple a day - it is really good for constitution and keeping teeth (and gums) healthy. This is the most inexpensive solution. In north India, during winter months apples are abundant, they are within the reach of most people. What to do during other months? Guava is one fruit, particularly the semi-ripened ones, which has fiber. Sweet corn is also good, if one can tolerate it. Papaya (in moderation) is very helpful for stomach. In south India, rice bran is easy to get. Rice bran (coarse or fine) with other ingredients (onions, green pepper, buttermilk, gram flour) can be made into pan cakes. It gives valuable fiber, vitamin B, and other nutrients. Carrots, cucumber, radish, cabbage, green leaves, drumstick leaves, and coconut - these are some possible options. In north India, dals (split or whole) are often cooked with the covering (husk). Such dishes provide rich protein with fiber. Salad or south Indian chutney (coriander, mint, gongura, etc.) dishes provide valuable fiber. When it comes to food, unfortunately one is faced with many issues: old diehard habits, individual tastes, preferences, idiosyncratic tolerances. That is why, though this disease is mostly curable (or manageable), even very competent doctors find it difficult to handle. Because, the patient has to cooperate also, (s)he has to diligently follow the prescribed guidelines. And for life long, you have to stick to it with discipline, you don’t have to be hundred percent perfect in practice, certainly you can have occasional minor deviations. But be watchful, fully alert every day. The rewards are plenty - happiness, good health, and no irritation, no hot tempers.

Exercise

Anything will do. Long walk is the easiest thing one can do. No fancy equipment, no need for expensive dresses. Even doing twenty or fifty sit-ups helps. In mild discomforts or in early stages of irregularity, even simple things like adding sufficient fluids (water, buttermilk) and exercise, will normally bring back the system to its own natural rhythm. Good regular night time sleep also helps a lot. Not only it provides bodily rest, mental relaxation, it offers a well needed rest for digestive system. Stomach gets ample time to cope with extra burdens of difficult to digest food: diary products, protein, heavy fats, and oils.

In most acute cases, liberal intake of fruits, vegetables, and a deliberate ingestion of fiber (carrots, chick peas, lentils, sprouts, lettuce, wheat germ, bran) solves the problem. A cup of prune juice daily for a week also sets the digestive clock into regular motion. Or, you can soak dry dates (just two) in water, leave them for overnight, and take (chew) the dates and water early in morning. Often for no apparent reason, the flared venous parts (they are harmless, yet essential parts of a system) subside, shrink, and everything becomes healthy. There is no need for unnecessary panic. But this malady can, if untreated, wreck life. In extreme cases, people end up in ugly situations needing costly (unless you can access a good Ayurvedic/traditional healer) surgery. And it can lead to further complications like incontinence. No body wants it, so watch carefully, watch what you eat. Do not treat it with disrespect, do not indulge excessively to taste - it is a nasty enemy (no pun intended!), often seeks retribution. Sad to say, this writer has come across several individuals who bore its scars as chronic sufferers. Even mahatmas are not exempt from these troubles. Exception Balayogi, the saint.

Yoga-asana

As in an earlier post, the reader is referred to B.K.S. Iyengar’s book for guidance. Ideally, asanas should be performed on empty stomach. Sirsha-asana, Sarvanga-asana, Simha-asana, Dhanur-asana – if practiced continuously for months, they will bring back natural rhythm and regularity of digestive system. Also, Mula-bandha and Asvini Mudra are very beneficial for chronic sufferers. Some guidance may be needed for ‘Mudra’.

In yoga, the beginner has to start from the easiest asana first and increase duration, complexity very slowly. Strictly follow guidelines prescribed by the great teachers. In India, there are comprehensive books on Yoga, written in a number of regional languages. Before embarking on asanas, the aspirant (patient) should read such books several times and proceed gently with caution.

Yoga (I mean asana here) does yield excellent results – but it takes time. Faith may be anathema for the (pseudo) rationalist; but one must have genuine faith in ones physician, medicine, or yoga to derive any meaningful benefits. May take a week, two days, or several weeks, it all depends on how acute, chronic the disease is. Depends on how badly body has been abused! There is no immediate solution (meaning within two three hours) for this obdurate illness. There is no easy (affordable) remedy even in modern medicine. If western medicine has found a golden cure, then why there are whole shelves full of laxatives, antacids, etc.? Like all illnesses, here too body and mind are intertwined. The patient must be on his guard for quick easy cures, if anyone promises an easy way out, do not fall for it.

Job stress, exam preparations, irregular meals, bad sleeping habits, psychological problems, they all slowly put pressure on body - leading to irritable health problems. Luckily some are eminently treatable.

(As a tribute to all compassionate traditional healers, particularly of India)

శాకాహార మాధురి

2011-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

శాకాహార మాధురి

- (అత్రి)

హంగుగా శీతానుకూల బూత్ లో

హంబర్గర్ కొరికే సైబర్ ధీరునకేం తెలుసు?

మర్రి చెట్టుక్రింద మల్లన్న చేతి

పచ్చి మిర్చి బజ్జీల రుచి?

సందెటేల తాగి తొంగే

కుష్వంత్ సింగ్ కేమెరుక? గుంటూరు

దొడ్డమ్మ గోంగూర పచ్చడి మజా?

నీకు నాకూ - వైష్ణవ గుడిలో నోరూరే

ఆకర్షణ..

పులగం.. అదొక్కటేనా?

కనువిందుల కన్నెల కనుబొమ్మలు నిండే ధనుర్మాసం

పిట్సుబర్గ్ పొడుగునామాల వాడి వేడి ప్రసాదం

మరి ఆ మహాకవికి -

"రవికిప్పేసి భర్తతో కులికే

శృంగారపు పెసరపప్పు"

సన్నబియ్యము - నారికేళ పాయసపు

మహదానందం, దాని వర్ణన శ్రీనాధునికే తగు

సూలూరుపేట రైల్వే కూలీలు తృప్తిగా తిను

ఆవకాయి చల్దన్నము తీపి

ఆ గొల్ల పడుచుల మిత్రుడు కృష్ణునికే తెలుసు

చలికొరికే ఉత్తర అమెరికాలో నైనగాని

కాళ్ళుకాలే దక్షణ భారత కుగ్రామములో గాని

జగమెల్ల ఈ ధరయిత్రిలో అత్రి

సత్కవుల్ శాకాహారులైననేమి? తోటకాపులైననేమి?

చంద్రశేఖర్వేంకటాది సుశాస్త్రజ్ఞుల్ దధి

ప్రియులైననేమి? తువరికా పాచకులైననేమి?

Shaky Joints

2011-04-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

Shaky Joints

Recently I got to see the ravaging effects of damaged knee joints on people’s lives – a first hand close observation. Ideally this topic is best addressed by an eminent doctor like Dr. Ch. Vyaghreswarudu. But availing the services of a great humane physician – is often rare in life. Many patients suffer from this extremely painful, debilitating malady, and frequently their lives pay huge toll both financially and psychologically. A close relative privately lamented thus: “I wish there is some commonsensical help for knee ache. Often vast majority of people do not know where to go, what to do, and how to manage the situation”.

First a reality check. Money cannot always solve every medical problem, including non-working knee joints. Also, lack of money does not prevent anyone from enjoying reasonably good health (cf. perfect health. There is no such thing as perfect health. If one can accomplish most of, say eighty percent of daily tasks, then one is in excellent health.) One can throw loads of money at artificial knee joints, all types of gadgets – but even people with brand new gold plated prosthetic joint implants are not free of problems.

Prevention

Take charge, act with care before injury sets in permanently. Sitting on flat bottom (with a thin soft cushion) chair is preferable to mushy low level sofas. Why? Getting up is easier, it puts less force on delicate knee joints. Always, be gentle on stairs, getting up on steps near doorway. If possible, use external supports – like side railing (banister), door handle, or vertical wall. But, look out for accidents lurking in dark – waiting to happen. These are: slippery steps, snow and ice in winter, water soaked floor tiles, moss in bathrooms, soap and shampoo in bathtubs, a loose shaky side railing. In India, it is common to see concrete stairs, even winding ones, without any side support. That is a really criminally negligent design, a severe fall, a permanent disabling accident waiting to happen. Get a railing installed, if that is too expensive, get at least sturdy rope attached to the wall. It will give some support to hold on, while climbing stairs. If you feel a walking stick would help, go for it. Forget about false modesty, useless egoistic pride. If you cannot move, walk, you will not enjoy life. Not only that, once you become less active, a bit home bound, invariably you will gain body weight, soon you become a bit depressed. They are all inter-related, it needs no rocket science to figure out. Every doctor, the first thing (s)he will say to you, “Lose some weight”. There is some veritable (though awful to hear) truth in that advice.

At every juncture, every movement, like getting up, going to bathroom, getting in bed – always be conscious about being gentle on your delicate knee joints. Wherever possible, use your arms, body, to give a little support. Use all the muscles, gently, in a sort of concerted effort to move body. If the rest of body is strong, a slightly weak right (or left) knee is no big problem. But, do not, do not try to put extra burden on the remaining healthy knee. It can bear for awhile, a little bit, but soon you may damage the healthy joint too. Then what? You get double trouble.

Care

At the first sign, what can you do? If it is an injury, occurred during daily activity, get a tape (knee joint brace). Wrap it and treat it gently. You can remove the elastic tape in between (for bathing, sleep), continue to use it till the joint recovers fully. Some athletes use ice pack. I prefer hot massage. For simple problems, anything will do. Dab a little bit of Iodex ointment, and grab a towel dipped in boiling water. Do gentle hot presses on the red tender joint (fomenting). Do it twice, thrice a day. Usually, things improve within three days. Most knee joint problems brought by injury will disappear. Even regular massage with lukewarm ghee also gives good results. Ghee can be made at home from salt-free butter (derived from cow’s milk).

Injury is one thing, what about chronic joint pain brought by years of neglect and abuse? Then you up the ante a bit. We are not giving up yet. Now, you bring the bottle of Ayurvedic medicine, Narayana Tailam. Take a little bit (just a teaspoonful) into palm and apply on the knee joint. Massage it well, till it is almost gone visibly. Again foment the part with hot (sort of Turkish towel) thick towel. Be patient, after all the chronic pain has been brewing for years, it is not going to disappear overnight. Do it with discipline, with total devotion, and with absolute faith (this is important. Whether you call it biofeedback, a sort of placebo – that is all irrelevant to seriously ill patient. If a cost effective treatment yields relief or manages the pain and symptoms, that’s all that matters) for ten days. In most cases, things will improve. You can also use warm tub bath. If half an hour tub bath in warm water relieves joint pains, if you can use rest of day fruitfully – nothing like it. Go for it. You will feel totally rejuvenated, soon you get to enjoy life.

Still, not satisfied with progress. Ok, now go and take a trip to that reputed village, Putturu near Tirupati. There are lots of nurses and doctors, fully trained to treat only bone and joint problems. That is their specialty. Such hospitals are in Bangalore, Chennai and other places. They also sell Putturu Tailam for massage. It is available in some pharmacies all over in India.

Yogasana

Many of the diseases are not new really, people (including kings) in earlier times also suffered due to such chronic pains. That is why there are so many remedies in Ayurveda and other traditional systems for joint pains. And Patanjali, being such an advanced thinker, produced yoga for health. He, rightfully, had the correct insight, i.e., man cannot make progress in life (spiritually or materially) unless the body is fully “tuned”. For beginners, this writer suggests B K S Iyengar’s classic “Light on Yoga” or “The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga” by Swami Vishnu Devananda. Knee joint is quite complex. The movement is not just confined to a single plane, there is lateral movement also. The old habits of sitting on floor cross-legged and eating and praying are almost gone in India. Perhaps, there are still some staunch diehards in villages who follow such practices. That cross-legged sitting posture is one of the best postures for knees. In fact, if as soon as you feel joint pain, try to do a few things. Stop sitting on couch. Try to sit on floor with cross-legged or straight stretched out feet. It is hard, it not easy. But who says recovering lost youth and flexibility has to be easy?

Asanas

Padmasana, Virasana, Dhanurasana, and Sarvangasana. The vertical standing asanas like Vrikshasana are also beneficial. The beginner, should strictly adhere to all the guidelines given in the books. Patience is needed. One masters yoga-asana with steady practice, slow movements, and proper breathing synchronization. The example of ‘slow tortoise’ is very appropriate in this context. No jerky movements, no undue force, and always listen carefully to the body’s signals (feedback). Even without costly paraphernalia (guru, expensive mat, costly classes in artificial glass covered air conditioned stuffy rooms), one can simply borrow (or buy a used dog-eared yoga book) and achieve remarkable progress. Before I forget, let me pay my humble debt of gratitude to Patanjali and all benevolent kind hearted yoga teachers. I also owe countless thanks to all traditional (Ayurveda, herbal, and other alternate systems of India) healers.

This (post) is no physician’s prescription. All the information is given with only the best intention, most of it has been found to be useful. In each case, the individual has to assess all available options, knowledge, treatments herself. Equally pertinent to note here, no, I mean no legal warranties are meant, either implicitly or explicitly. There are famous people who have strictly followed yoga, they retained walking till well into very old age, almost till the last day. I refrain here giving names. That is not the point of this article. This post is to educate and outline some inexpensive options for anyone rich or poor. In the sanatana dharma (old Indian thought), there is a saying: “All disease and suffering is due to past karma”. There is some nugget of truth in it. No, the saying does not try to pile up on the victim, blaming the victim, etc.

As in any progress to recovery, one can heal oneself from knee joint pains. It is because human body (and mind) is exceptionally great. It demands lots of optimism, patience, physical activity, and gentle touch. Extraordinary illnesses demand extraordinary attention, that much is fair in life. One also has to keep an open mind in these matters. Copyright by the author 2011

Mundu Telisena - Telugu Song Lyrics

2011-04-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

ముందు తెలిసెనా ప్రభూ, ఈ మందిరమిటులుంచేనా

మందమతిని, నీవు వచ్చు మధుర క్షణమేదో, కాస్త ||ముందు||

అందముగా నీకనులకువిందులుగా, వాకిటనే

సుందర మందారకుంద సుమదళములు పరువనా

దారిపొడుగునా తడిసిన పారిజాతములపై

నీఅడుగుల గురుతులే నిలిచినా చాలును ||ముందు||

బ్రతుకంతా ఎదురుచూతు పట్టున రానేరావు

ఎదురరయనివేళ వచ్చి ఇట్టే మాయమౌతావు

కదలనీక నిమిసము నను వదలిపోక నిలుపగ

నీపదముల బంధింపలేను హృదయము సంకెలజేసి ||ముందు||

mundu telisenaa prabhuu, ii mandiramiTulunchEnaa

mandamatini, niivu vachchu madhura kshaNamEdO, kaasta ||mundu||

andamugaa niikanulakuvindulugaa, vaakiTanE

sundara mandaarakunda sumadaLamulu paruvanaa

daaripoDugunaa taDisina paarijaatamulapai

niiaDugula gurutulE nilichinaa chaalunu ||mundu||

bratukantaa eduruchuutu paTTuna raanEraavu

edurarayanivELa vachchi iTTE maayamautaavu

kadalaniika nimisamu nanu vadalipOka nilupaga

niipadamula bandhimpalEnu hRdayamu samkelajEsi ||mundu||

(Telugu script generated with Lekhini)

Poet: Devulapalli Krishnasastry

Film: Meghasandesam

Audio is available on the Internet for listening (& downloading). An excellent song for learning.

Lyrics of 'Pagadala Jabili' - Telugu song

2011-03-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

పగడాల జాబిలి చూడు, గగనాల దాగెను నేడు

వేయి అందాల నారాజు అందిన ఈరోజు ఎందుకులే నెలఱేడు

పగడాల జాబిలి చూడు, గగనాల దాగెను నేడు

కోటి అందాల నా రాణి అందిన ఈరేయి ఎందుకులే నెలఱేడు

మనసు మనసు గుస గుస లాడెను

పెదవి పెదవి కువ కువ లాడెను

ఆకాశ దీపాలు శయనించెను (వెలిగించెను)

నాకళ్ళు నీకళ్ళు పయనించెను

బంగరు మమతలు పొంగులు వారెను

కొంగులు రొండూ ముడివడి పోయెను

గుడిలోని దేవుడు దీవెంచెను

నా జడలోని పువ్వులు తిలకించెను

pagaDaala jaabili chuuDu, gaganaala daagenu nEDu

vEyi andaala naaraaju andina iirOju endukulE nela~rEDu

pagaDaala jaabili chuuDu, gaganaala daagenu nEDu

kOTi andaala naa raaNi, endukulE nela~rEDu

manasu manasu gusa gusa laaDenu

pedavi pedavi kuva kuva laaDenu

aakaaSa diipaalu Sayaninchenu (veliginchenu)

niikaLLu naakaLLu payaninchenu

bangaru mamatalu pongulu vaarenu

kongulu ronDu muDivaDi pOyenu

guDilOni dEvuDu diivenchenu

naa jaDaloni puvvulu tilakinchenu

(script composed on Lekhini)

Movie: Muganomu

Lyrics: Dasaradhi

Music: R. Govardhan

English translation of this song is given at:

http://tenneti-rao.sulekha.com/blog/post/2011/03/coral-moon-telugu-film-song.htm

Audio can be heard on the net at Doregama or via Rapidshare. It is a bit tricky trying to hunt down old songs, still it is not a fruitless exercise. Somewhere some one is taking pains to post very pleasing old songs. Thanks to all such music fans.

Growing Mint

2010-08-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Mint

I believe I first came in contact with mint on a trip to Hyderabad. In a traditional south Indian cooking, we never used mint. Mother used to purchase tender amla, new tamarind shoots, wood-apple, and vakkayalu (karaunda, Carissa carandas) at our door step. Once a week, I would lug a bag full of vegetables from local farmers market. But I strictly obeyed her instructions and preferences. Come to think of it, very rarely we used to buy separately either curry leaf or coriander in the village. Either we used to grow such herbs in our kitchen garden or we would get it free from a neighbor’s garden. In some places (Maharashtra or North India), coriander used to be thrown in as a freebie with vegetables. Where and when? The reader may ask. Not so, here in US– certainly neither coriander (cilantro) nor mint. Of course there are some freebies here also. When you go to strawberry or apple picking, you can eat as many fruits as you like on the farm. They are the best berries and apples, I have ever tasted. Very rarely big stores stock such fresh delicious (except apples in the fall) items. In supermarkets as well as farmers markets, I come across a peculiar problem with fresh herbs here: often all the herbs (coriander, mint, parsley, or rosemary) are packed in the same box or placed very close. This leads to mixing of all the flavors. Thus you end up with a coriander bunch smelling like some other herb (rosemary) – a sheer total waste. So, nothing like picking up fresh mint, coriander, or curry leaf from your own kitchen garden.

Mint is a nice addition to any kitchen garden. It brings lush green color and strong flavor to the patch. Through home gardening, children can learn and appreciate natural flavors from home gardens. Very easy to grow, anyone can do with a minimum effort. Normally, in most (I mean strict vegetarian) dishes, certain things are avoided: garlic, mint, and onion. In North India, I came across garlic, onion, and mint vegetarian dishes. In moderation, these three items are good for health. In fact, mint extract (pudina-ark) is sold over the counter as a remedy for stomach disorders. Of course, all these have strong flavors. Chewing a bit of cardamom or clove bud alleviates any lingering after effect.

Here, in northeast, mint grows in the wild. I do not know who planted this herb in the wild. I witnessed it growing vigorously in dry loose fertile soil on hilltops, near flowing streams, and in the shade (spear mint, its leaves are pointed). All green leafy vegetables share one common feature. Sunlight is essential and beneficial for plant growth. But, too much strong scorching sunlight makes certain (ex: lettuce, mint, coriander, fenugreek, and spinach etc.) leafy vegetables grow into skinny tall plants with hard fiber. Bright sunshine also promotes extensive flowering. Thus, mint grown in early summer, spring, and fall seasons is more bushy, with full of closely spaced leafy nodes. But late in the season (hot summers), you get a bit skinny mint with flowers. Some farmers use thin cloth (cheese cloth or plastic woven cloth) to provide light shade for leafy vegetables. We can also grow mint in a shady location next to a wall or under a large tree.

The wild varieties of mint are a bit too strong for Indian cooking. In a local store, I came across apple mint, candy mint, and other varieties. Such flavors are good for cough drops, candies, or other confectionary dishes. Recently, I brought a bunch of mint from an Indian grocery store. The leftover stalks are utilized for growing mint. We can grow it in a container or in the ground. I have not used any special soil for this plant. I just packed a few bark chips, pine needles at the bottom to block drainage holes. Then mixed a bit of ordinary top soil with peat moss.

Since I did not get time to plant the mint shoots immediately into soil, I left them in a bit of standing water (in a glass). Did not add any rooting compound. In a couple of days the shoots developed (white) roots (rooting is a bit easy in spring or fall here). I transferred the rooted stems into a 6 inch plastic pot. Probably I placed the pot in a cool shade for a week. Right now it sits on a sunny deck, gets about 5-6 hours of bright indirect sunlight. It is growing rapidly into a nice compact lush green mint. Whenever I look at it I am tempted to rub its leaves for that fresh mint aroma. But, my Cornell plant scientist once advised me not to pinch or rub leaves. It harms the plant and may make the plant susceptible to disease or pest. Many leaves contain essential (and protective) oils and compounds; they protect the plant from disease and pest. So, I leave the mint to grow till we decide to harvest. I do not know what I’ve fed this pot, but the large green mint leaves (photo) do indicate that the plant has got plenty of rich nitrogen. We can visually observe the leaves contain oily compounds; rain water drops just roll off from mint leaves. Of course, all leaves have this hydrophobic surface property (the best classic example, lotus leaf). But with some leaves this property is more pronounced – for example, rubber plant, mint, mango, etc.

Mint is one of those spreading plants. It can quickly run to the edges of your garden and cover entire field thick. Thus, it can be used as a spread under big trees. Often trees have circular barren patches around their trunks. Such spots can be filled with herbs like mint, coriander, sweet basil, ajwan/vamu, or methi. Periodic pruning and cutting back is the only solution to this wild uncontrolled growth. It can withstand prolonged periods of cold, frost, or drought. Even though the plant looks dead outside, its roots are always in good health underneath the soil.

Where do you get good soil or quality soil ingredients? Like all those skilled farmers in my village, I believe in efficient gardening. In India, I used to get help from local horticultural department or farmer friends. Here too, once I got valuable decomposed manure from a local farmer. Our local city has a compost facility, for a nominal fee one can get plenty of compost for house garden. Other materials like bone meal, perlite, fertilizer, etc., I buy them when they are on sale. Usually, garden supplies are cheaper at the end of growing season. Earlier days, gardening supplies used to be relatively inexpensive. Now, inflation everywhere – fresh vegetable prices are going through the roof. So are the prices of soil, fertilizer, seeds, and seedlings. In the farmers market, a shopper complained (it speaks volumes about prevalent times!) about the exorbitant cost of tomato seedlings. About tomatoes, later.

In the village, on couple of occasions my mother ran into difficulties with kitchen gardening. Once, she found the soil to be too alkaline. The soil looked a bit like wheat flour – loose flakes. Nothing would grow, neither beans nor spinach. She approached our farmer friend for a solution. He readily agreed to haul and unload two carts of rotten cow manure. That invigorated the entire garden; soon, it produced abundant crops of snake gourd, beans, bottle gourd, white pumpkin, and of course, plenty of marigolds, jasmines, and hibiscuses. Another time, she found our bananas growing a bit slow. She was worried whether they would ever produce a flower, forget about seeing hundred fifty ripe bananas in her backyard. Again, another farmer gifted her a few shovels of super phosphate fertilizer. Soon, our bananas produced the sweetest fruit. I have never tasted such delicious bananas anywhere else, not in India, not in US. I was lucky to taste a tree ripened banana twice – once in our own kitchen garden, and then later in Matla Palem on a summer vacation. Be it guava, custard apple, or banana, you got to taste it when it is ripe on the tree.

Pudina (mint) is used in pudina-pulav (పుదీనా పులావు), pudina chutney (పుదీనా పచ్చడి), pudina-pakodi (పుదీనా పకోడి). Copyright by the author 2010

Sankara, A Bee, and A Bird

2010-05-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

Sankara, A Bee, and A Bird

Of the many stotras (hymns), Adi Sankara’s “kanakadhara” is unique in many respects. Detailed meaning and commentaries are given by many. [Traditionalists prefer Samkara (శంకర), tracing the word to its two components: Sam and kara (karOti)]. The reader can find help at Kamakoti or Sri Chaganti. There must be numerous other sources on Internet. Perhaps, very well written books in several Indian languages are available in India.

As the writer’s skills are very limited –I humbly refrain from commenting on this work. Here, I solely confine myself to expanding a little bit on one or two stanzas. My intention is only to provide additional material, to what has already been commented extensively (at best this is to just augment a bit, never to replace other commentaries).

In the second stanza, we are referred to imagine a special tree ‘tamalam’. Tamal is the name of a tree. Can we find this tree now, I mean in circa 2010 in India? Where? How does it look? How to grasp and understand the total significance of these four lines that begin with “angam”?

After combing through a number of sources, I come to the view that Xanthochymus pictorius (Roxb) is the tree quoted here. Its features are described as follows: Bark, a bit dark (blackish, dark grey) and the leaves are elongated. White fragrant flowers. The fruit has three (1-4) seeds, tastes a bit sour and ripened ones look a bit yellow. Like a fake mango. Apparently this tree is available in other Asian countries too. But the Garcinia genus is large, accommodating almost fifty species. The flowers (of this tree) attract butterflies (and bees too?).

Here in northeast, over the years, I have watched several flowering trees: cherry, crabapple, magnolia, and rhododendron. Both magnolia and rhododendron exhibit interesting features in early spring. On every tip, on every shoot (little branch) we can see a latent flower bed. Most of the time, each bud will gradually, delicately open into a colorful (and fragrant) blossom. A few buds fail to open – this could be due to frost bite or some pest. Thus, in early April, we suddenly witness the tree (shrub) full of flowers. Though the magnolia flowers are endowed with delicate sweet fragrance, they do not normally attract bees. Why, I am not sure. But the tree does invite little birds, chickadees. These little birds, a bit tinier than sparrows, have a very endearing musical song. With the rhododendrons, the story is different. In winter, its leaves (it does not drop leaves in the fall, as most trees do here) turn a bit tan brown, and are often found curled up when the temperatures are below freezing point (32 degrees F). Come spring, it gets truly excited; every leathery leaf is fully open, with lustrous green color. And on every tip (terminal node) a latent flower bud anxiously waits for warm weather. Suddenly, on one single warm spring day, the buds burst open, and lo, the whole shrub is draped with purple flowers. This is perhaps a grand gesture by the plant. Now it seems the whole plant (tree) got an exciting jolt of electricity (excitement). Is this the real meaning of ‘pulaka-bhushana(పులక భూషణ)’? Here, in northeast, I get that feeling whenever I see apple or cherry trees in full blossoming. Of course, there are a number of tropical trees that go into similar frenzy of inflorescence. I watched in India too such floral festivities – gardenia, jasmine, Rangoon creeper, bougainvillea, gulmohar, and countless other trees.

But tamalam, must be unique too. I can only imagine its magnetism. The dark bark covered with green leaves and flowers. The Telugu name, “chikatimranu (చీకటి మ్రాను)” – is very apt; it conveys the full meaning of original Sanskrit word (tamalam).

Bringa in Sanskrit refers to bee, beetle, wasp. The order for bee is Hymenoptera. Butterflies belong to Lepidoptera. There are similarities and differences among these interesting insects. Most children are familiar with bees, bumblebees, wasps, and butterflies. Innocently as a child, I once inserted my pointing finger into a bumblebee nest (bamboo pole). Of course, I received a just, prompt painful punishment. Here, I watch these little insects in close proximity during spring, summer, and fall. Normally, they never bother nosy humans. They mind their business with utmost devotion, yielding benefit to flowers, farmers, and plants.

I want to share, if I may, two beautiful scenes involving these vivacious insects: In early spring, rhododendron flowers are visited by couple of bumblebees. The yellow jacketed bumblebee will go to each flower and pick up a tiny drop of nectar (and pollen). There are other flowers in the garden – daffodils, tulips, holly. The bee likes purple colored rhododendrons. The other scene involves Monarch butterfly. They visit us during the warm weather. But they spend winters in Mexico in huge colonies on trees. That sight, of hundreds of butterflies, lightly resting on tree leaves in Mexico is truly marvelous! I have seen only photos of this unique phenomenon. Here too I have witnessed such butterfly groups, but they do not visit us in huge colonies.

Now, coming back to the second stanza, starting with ‘angam Hare’. What is the original picture? A tree full of black bees? A tree full of butterflies? Bees on flowers? That, one has to investigate oneself. I cannot immediately go and find that tree in India. Is it in Kerala? Is it prevalent on the eastern ghats in Andhra? Which part of India? When do we find such trees decorated with bees? What season? Things are getting difficult now. I may never see that “black tamalam tree”. Though, I may succeed in imagining (visualizing) now. At least I have seen a bee on flower, a Monarch butterfly, a rhododendron shrub in full bloom, and a magnolia tree with scented flowers on every dancing node. Rest I have to arduously trek the path with sensitive imagination.

In the most pivotal stanza, the line, ‘..vihanga sisau vishaNNe’ catches everyone’s attention. Commentators usually cite, a bird ‘cataka’ for explaining this line. Here, sitting thousands of miles away, across at least seven seas from Indian subcontinent, I want to imagine this bird. Only the most immediate moment (rather instant) and the most proximate God (Deva) are of value to the earnest devotee. Everything else is secondary. One needs salvation (i.e., the solution) now, here – not somewhere on Kailas mountain, not in distant future. So, I want to understand this ‘bird’ now, here. Luckily that is possible. All we have to do is to look at a pair of morning (they are named erroneously as ‘mourning doves’. I’ve never noticed any sadness in their soft cooing) doves. How lovely are they? Have you looked at them when they gracefully strut, with their soft coo-cooing? It is the most peaceful pleasant sight. Here, I get to see them. In the driveway, on evergreen trees, on overhead electric wires, or on rooftop. Only once did I get a chance to see them make a nest. They are so shy, yet so sweet to watch. I never knew that rearing their young involves so much trouble. How could I peer into their nest? It was perched in the thick evergreen needles, up somewhere in the dense branches. The parent dove feeds the very young helpless chick (squab) with crop milk for a week or two. That is the only way the squab can gain growth and energy – it is totally dependent on the mother (or father). We cannot feed directly any solid food to the young bird. With extreme care, humans can feed young dove chicks liquid food. But, such human intervention, even if it occurs in some zoos or ornithology labs, it must be extremely rare.

So, is this the picture, Adi Sankara wanted to convey? We will know only through sincere exploration and meditation. (Two stories, of Raghavendra and a Nayanar briefly show up on mental screen.)Thus, the being (as all sentient entities are) is utterly dependent on the Mother for sustenance and progress. There is no other avenue left for the individual; one can, in ignorance, foolishly seek help from other agents – when in utter distress. But it is doubtful, whether such desperate attempts (like entreating rich landlords, ministers, officers, bosses, etc.) yield any fruitful results. The Mother will never deny help. In the mundane cruel world, things are different, are always harsh. I believe once I watched a rare tragic circumstance in nature. It was a chilly damp spring day near a pond. There was a bunch of tiny chicks following a Mallard duck. Perhaps there were six or seven newly hatched ducklings walking behind the hen. But one duckling was very weak and it could not maneuver the rocky uneven road near the pond’s edge. It slipped into a crevice between the boulders and its life was very precarious.

Life too is precarious, full of pitfalls at times. Only Mother’s grace, Her affectionate glance can help. Only She, and She alone can effortlessly remove that prickly karma. I may not know what is a cataka bird. But I get a little (a microscopic) glimpse at the whole distressing situation of a ‘lost, forlorn hungry little bird’. Now, all the life seems to be in that ‘little bird’, struggling to survive. Only She can intervene. No one, no human being can help to ease the situation. I remember now, how helpless I was near the struggling duckling.

Certainly one needs many skills to comprehend this stotra. Mere erudition, even a total mastery of Sanskrit is not enough. After all, words or speech can only guide us so far. Beyond that point, all intellect ceases to work. I bow to Sankara, Govindapada, and many preceptors in gratitude.

The writer’s intent is not to change, distort, or misinterpret the original Sanskrit hymn. Never. It is hoped the foregoing elaboration may help some, may motivate a few to further contemplate on this exquisite devotional poem. It may aid in further explorations – into meditation. Whether it is art, poetry, religion, or science – the individual has to make the effort and (s)he has to undertake the journey – for a true discovery. Every sincere student learns one important fact: Only that knowledge, which is totally assimilated, comprehended, and internalized – only that morsel of wisdom is useful in the end. We can strenuously listen to others, read books – but we must discover many things in life first hand. Unfortunately, there is no other way. Except, there is one great exception to this rule, i.e., Mother’s grace.

Ah, all this is just for two lines of devotional poem. What a delight to meditate on these Sanskrit lines!

A Classic Telugu Song "nidurapo"

2010-04-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

నిదురపో..నిదురపో..నిద్దురపో.. 2

నిద్దురపోరా తమ్ముడా, నిద్దురపోరా తమ్ముడా

నిదురలోన గతమునంతా నిమిషమైనా మరచిపోరా 2

కరుణలేని ఈజగాన కలతనిదురే మేలురా ||నిదుర||

ఆ... ఆ... ఆ...

కలలు పండే కాలమంతా కనులముందే కదలిపోయె 2

లేత మనసు చిగురుటాశ పూతలోనే రాలిపోయె ||నిదుర||

ఆ... ఆ... ఆ...

జాలితలిచి కన్నీరు తుడిచే దాతలే కనరారే

చితికిపోయిన జీవితమంతా ఇంతలో చితి ఆయే

నీడజూపి(జూపె) నిలవు మనకు నిదురయేరా తమ్ముడా ||నిదుర||

nidurapO..nidurapO..niddurapO.. 2

niddurapOraa tammuDaa, niddurapOraa tammuDaa

niduralOna gatamunantaa nimishamainaa maracipOraa 2

karuNalEni iijagaana kalatanidurE mEluraa ||nidura||

aa... aa... aa...

kalalu panDE kaalamantaa kanulamundE kadalipOye 2

lEta manasu ciguruTaaSa puutalOnE raalipOye ||nidura||

aa... aa... aa...

jaalitalici kanniiru tuDicE daatalE kanaraarE

citikipOyina jiivitamantaa intalO citi aayE

niiDajuupi(juupe) nilavu manaku nidurayEraa tammuDaa ||nidura||

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar Movie: Santhanam

Music: S. Dakshinamurthy Lyrics: Anisetty Pinisetty

When grandmothers say "music can melt even stones" - it is no exaggeration. One has to listen to a song like this. This was recorded in 1955. Who can deny the song's purity and grace? I envy the poet(s). One song, just one song like this is enough to leave a footprint on the sands of time. A good song, a great song is like pure good luck - it just happens, and in its current it uplifts everyone: the original creator, singer, actor, music composer, and listener. It offers happiness to everyone without partiality. I doubt how many of the current generation Telugu songs will last fifty years. The impartial judge, time will tell.

Once Vishnu was in deep meditation. Was He in the form of Dattatreya or Narayana? Many angels (apsaras) came down to earth to disturb His meditation. It was then He created Uravasi. Upon seeing the extraordinary divine beauty of Urvasi, all other women simply lowered their heads in shame. Similarly, this exquisite song 'nidurapo' puts all mediocre songs (poems) to utter shame. After listening to this song, one intuitively knows what is true art.

Homemade Yogurt

2010-03-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Homemade Yogurt

Making yogurt should not be that difficult in these modern days. A little patience and basic understanding of the process – that is all one needs. For a fraction of the price at supermarket, anyone can make tasty curds at home. Most of the commercial varieties of yogurt include additives: Pectin, gum (I wish they just use plant based gum Arabic, derived from acacia trees), non-fat milk solids, vanilla, peach, etc. All unnecessary junk. Good high quality yogurt has it own delicious taste, it needs no augmentation from other flavors or additives.

In my village, we used to buy freshly made yogurt from a mason’s family. The lady would bring out solid yogurt in an aluminum container with a delicate flavor. She used a big rice or paddy barrel as a storage place, a nice stable location for forming curd. I have always enjoyed delicious curds in my sister’s house.

Due to the word’s etymology (yogurt), one may assume that this milk based dish came from Turkey. But the Hindi word ‘dahi’ – derived from Sanskrit ‘dadhi’ implies perhaps even thousand(s) of years back, there was curd in the Indian subcontinent. In Telugu, we say ‘perugu’(పెరుగు); it has the same connotation as ‘curd’.

The main ingredients for making good curd are: Fresh milk, starter (in Telugu ‘todu’తోడు), and proper temperature. Yogurt preparation just requires a little care, a bit of cleanliness, and some patience. I use stainless spoon for mixing. Never touched the milk with bare finger - for mixing with starter.

We can use all types of vessels (pots) for preparing curd. But all pots should be absolutely clean – otherwise slight lingering smell (some may tolerate it) will remain with the finished curd. Children may not like smelling yogurt or too much sour tasting curd. Sour curd is not bad; it can be used for other dishes like menti majjiga (మెంతిమజ్జిగ) , majjiga pulusu (మజ్జిగ పులుసు), dhokla, pan cakes, kadhi, and rayita. Slightly soured curd is ok with rice, it gives a delicious taste with steamed rice and mango pickle. It all depends on peoples’ tastes. I have made yogurt in stainless steel pots, Pyrex glass bowls, stoneware, porcelain, and of course clay (terracotta) pots. The most important thing to remember is to pick a clean pot. Ceramic and clay pots tend to retain smell of the previous dish (food). But if they are thoroughly cleaned and dried fully– then the same pot can be used repeatedly. If needed, the pot can be left in sun light for drying. This helps to get rid of any residual disagreeable smell. Or, one can change the pot frequently to get over this problem of residual smell. Sri Chaganti once made an interesting observation: All the milkmaids (gollabhamalu) were extremely clean, well dressed, and fastidious while churning butter. They knew in their hearts that all the yummy curds and butter were meant for little Krishna. Perhaps, there is some truth to that. I mean, one has to observe proper care while preparing milk and dairy products. In deed, the earlier generations were steeped in absolute cleanliness (madi) during cooking.

I prefer boiling milk on stove for making curd. Some use microwave oven for warming the milk. For some reason, I find warming milk on stove imparts better taste. To digress a bit here – I recall a childhood event. Our neighbor had a herd of cows. Whenever I went to their house, they used to give me a glass of warm milk. I never got such a tasty milk anywhere else, either in India or US. Now, I know the real secret to that taste. No wonder, little Krishna went after milk, butter and milkmaids. My friend’s mother would heat milk in a clay pot gently over cow dung cakes – very slowly. That slow heating in a clay pot induced excellent taste. If today’s kids dislike milk (say milk from super market, grocery store, dairy farm, or Mother Dairy), it is not their fault. Mostly this is due to poor quality or careless processing. Some taste is also lost in pasteurization (or homogenization).

After a bit of bubbling, I remove the milk from stove top and let it cool. Usually we see a thin layer of cream on the top. Let the milk cool down to room temperature. Or we can use slightly lukewarm milk. Particularly in cold winters it is preferable to use lukewarm milk. Normally I transfer the warm milk to a different pot for making curd. It is not needed, one can use the same pot for making yogurt. Milk has its own character; most of the time while boiling, milk tends to overflow and spoil stove top. (Being a colloid, milk always tends to bubble up on the hot stove.) Then, the usual chore of cleaning; everything is messy with good tasty cooking! One learns these minor irritations slowly. A glass pot watcher, a large clean ladle, or a watchful eye on the burning stove will do the trick. Sprinkling cold water will soothe boiling milk quickly. Or you can turn the stove knob to low. There were times when I forgot the milk totally on the stove – it led to thick creamy brownish milk. Such accidents happen to all and anyone.

So, now we have either room temperature or lukewarm milk in a clean pot. After mixing with a tablespoonful of starter, we have to leave the milk in a warm (just a little safe stable location) place for about 6-8 hours. How much starter? It depends on the quantity of milk. Roughly it is like this – for a liter of milk, at the most one and half tablespoon of starter. Or at most two tablespoons of starter. But the proportion stays same. That means, if you want to make a gallon (roughly 4 liters) of yogurt, then you need considerable amount of starter. After mixing the starter (about three swirls of spoon in the pot), (a hilarious scene from Bright Star comes to mind) I place the pot in the oven. I leave the pilot lamp (40 Watts lamp, I suppose) on. After six or eight hours, I gently remove the lid and take a peep. If the curd is set, often there will be a layer of pale white (colorless) liquid on top (sort of whey). We can also gently tilt the pot to see if it is set. But do not shake or disturb the curd while it is forming. If it is fully formed, then it is ready for eating. Of course, such a freshly made yogurt will be a bit warm. Or if you prefer you can remove the pot from oven and let it cool naturally. After an hour or so, I transfer the curd to refrigerator. Putting it in fridge will give the curd good solid texture. A good home made yogurt will have: Thin supernatant liquid layer. Tastes good without any sourness. We should be able to cut crisply with a spoon. There should not be any sticky thread hanging while lifting a piece with spoon. Good consistency from top to bottom.

Basically there are three or four parameters in this process. 1. Quality of starter. 2. Amount of starter. 3. Temperature. 4. Duration. One can vary the parameters to get either a soft mild tasting curd or a bit sour tasting one. I never used any thermometer for checking temperature. Somewhere, it is said the ideal temperature for yogurt making is: 30° – 37° centigrade (86° - 98.6° F ). On a hot Indian summer day, one has to take care to keep the (starter added) milk cool. Simple tricks are: Wrap a wet cloth around the pot (steel vessel), prepare curd in a clay pot, or make yogurt during nights. That even in hot Rajasthan one can find delicious curd during simmering summers – is a testament to the great culinary skills of local people.

Buttermilk (in Telugu challa) is another simple dish. It really refreshes and gives energy during hot summers. Its flavors also differ in India. In south India, we have the simple salty version – some times with the extra flavor of either curry leaf or citron (dabbakayi). In the north, the sweetened version (lassi) is preferred by some. Good curd is the main ingredient for making lassi or buttermilk. A slight detour here – in high school our Telugu teacher narrated an interesting anecdote. In his final Telugu examination, he was asked to explain the origin of the word “majjiga” – its roots and explanation. I think that single word ‘majjiga’ can flunk any Telugu scholar easily even today. Strange is life, this writer came to appreciate the origin and real meaning behind this word ‘majjiga’ only very recently – after a lapse of decades! Probably I could have learnt its etymology sooner had I consulted a good multilingual pundit (ubhaya bhasha pravina) way back then. For buttermilk, you have to just churn yogurt (with a bit of water). Depending on your preference, you can add a pinch of salt, lime juice, curry leaves, sugar, etc. In villages, during hot summer days generous philanthropists used to, perhaps they still do in some places, serve buttermilk to people. Unlike sweetened juices (or coke), raw salted buttermilk has very few calories. Yet it is a good hydrating drink for hot summers.

Curd is very helpful in maintaining good digestion and excellent health. Without yogurt, pickles and spices can easily upset the delicate balance of digestion. Yogurt is also used to treat certain types of hepatitis and stomach disorders; it is a part of traditional (Ayurveda) healing methods. This simple dish can work wonders and relieve the imbalances in body brought by heavy doses of antibiotics and other prescription drugs.

Lastly, the most important item – starter (culture). Where do you get it? Once I overheard somewhere, that the early Indian immigrants brought starter from their families in India. I cannot blame them! One gets attached to certain tastes. In most supermarkets, you can find plain yogurt. It is better to choose a variety that has as few additives as possible. Or, you can ask your friend for a spoonful of starter. Some use red pepper for making yogurt. I’ve never tried red pepper. There may be few more tricks – they are the privileged information of expert cooks. But anyone can learn such things with time, with practice. Or from a doting mother-in-law.

(Dedicated to the memory of S.N., who made exceptional original dishes)

Brahmasri Chaganti Koteswararao

2009-09-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

Brahmasri Chaganti Koteswararao

With the sun rising across Roosevelt Island, the hurrying East River below, everything seems beguilingly peaceful and quiet from the glass window. Almost three decades back, a devoted Indian scholar started his American adventure from a small apartment in Manhattan. How hard it must have been for him in those days to keep his soul and pious traditions in tact? Even now it is not easy to get vegetarian dishes in many places in North America. A little better, yes, but still it is hard to find a delicious satisfying morsel with only vegetables and grains. How can we imagine the hardships of those pioneering souls? Crossing the oceans on ships, surviving the entire travel only on canned tomatoes, and adhering to daily ablutions and performing prescribed meditative prayers. Thus they came despite all distractions, disappointments, and humiliating trials. That was how, Vivekananda landed in Chicago. Or, Prabhupada. Or, any other philosopher from the land of ancient civilization. Much of the goodwill and courtesy, enjoyed by the present Indian emigrants everywhere, is due to those early path breakers. Irrefutably so. That is because, they are all from, and form an original human thought continuum.

One may ask why? Why did they undertake such difficult voyages? A saint need not go anywhere. Need not give speeches. The great saints are always beyond the normal ethos of civilization. Their presence alone is sufficient to bring auspiciousness all around – like that Rishyasrunga. They may act out of their own volition, may not act, it is all up to them. Like the celestial Narada’s actions, their mistakes too benefit mankind. So, if a youth in jeans asks, “Why did Prabhupada come to New York?” the answer is a bit long one. He strictly followed his guru’s words. He wanted to tell in English the true meaning of Krishna, Gita, Bhagavatam, and other scriptures. He wanted to convey without distortion the original message as he experienced through his insights. Truly a veritable source of infinite (not phony, feigned) compassion resides in the heart of a saint. And it is that bubbling compassion that prompts, pushes such good souls into beneficial action.

Without the works of such swamis (look at the original Sanskrit word), the larger world and India would be poorer. It will be left with grossly mangled twisted interpretations of Upanishads, Hindu (sanatana would be a better word) mythologies, and religious practices. Many (with very few exceptions) westerners lack the language credentials and critical thinking to understand the original (which were enshrined in Sanskrit and other Indian vernaculars) writings. (Certainly some of their sincere efforts are laudable) In addition to their dismal understanding of Sanskrit, they often try to read Indian religious works with the biases of anthropology, Freud, or whatever favor-of-the-month fashion/thought. Now such exercises are good for academic promotions, glib alcohol dripping talk, - but they never address life’s fundamental issues – they slowly sink into the quick sands of hypocrisy. Therefore, such attempts often lead to tragic catastrophes both for its proponents and followers.

The current Indian urban youth and diasporic children are faced with huge cultural problems. It is there for anyone to observe, right in front of eyes. Much of the generation gap (I never heard the word in Telugu, in my school or college days) and discordance with elders is rooted there. Is it due to nuclear families? Earlier, we used to interact and mingle with people across generations – from great grandmother to the newborn crawling nephew. Some will discard the old tradition like an old dress or used car. Others will struggle to explore and try to find the “real meaning” of scriptures, daily practices, etc. Is there any help for such curious youngsters? All explorers are young and innocent at heart. Certainly, there is.

Why do we need the help of elders, priests, or books? Because, every enquiring mind will have questions. And questions are galore, everywhere. But time is of essence. One must question everything – be it religion, science, or art. Certainly a civilization of millennia, with practices handed down by hundred generations and diverse regions will have many interesting, albeit intriguing at times, festivals, functions, and ceremonies. That is the beauty of life. People unfamiliar with such a tapestry of culture ask: Why does the father-in-law wash bridegroom’s feet? Why does the priest (in a Vaishnava temple) put a metal cap ( a youth amusingly called it “topi”) on your head? How come Vishnu is always adorned in flowers and flowing silk? Why Siva gets only ashes and buckets of water?

For answers, one needs patience, persistence, and a bit of self-effort. One can ask the priest (no shame in that), read on line Sanskrit (Telugu, Hindi, etc.) dictionaries, or pick a book from sidewalk vendor or a temple store. A sincere beginning can be made. With luck, soon one learns many things. Quickly the curious young mind will discover valuable meaning in the Indian traditions. We must really pay our gratitude to all our grand parents, parents, uncles, and aunts – for strenuously preserving and passing on these traditions. Many of the older generations succeeded in handing down the rituals despite the persistent onslaught of foreign influences in the guise of rationality and material prosperity. Except a liberated guru, no one, no one (like that catchy phrase from a pop song!) will uplift the other, neither the Sensex nor office boss. This, many elders will honestly attest as a genuine fact in life.

Now, we come to one very illustrious exponent of our scriptures. He is Brahmasri Chaganti Koteswararao*. The world Telugu community is really fortunate, nay blessed to have such a great scholar in current times. Words cannot convey, but we are immensely indebted to him and his teacher. Many of his extempore commentaries on Ramayana, Siva, and other topics are posted on the Internet. It is thrilling to hear a live voice, explaining the meaning behind Kanakadhara Stotra. I do not know much about other languages; but in Telugu we have this practice, rather age-old tradition of commentaries on various Hindu texts and philosophical treatises. In towns and villages across Andhra Pradesh, elderly (retired) people are often seen in the cool evenings to cluster around a learned scholar to listen to the subtle meaning behind a poem, a sloka, or a story from the ancient puranas. Such discourses were always free, open to everyone - young and old, and rich and poor alike. We hope the practice will continue with such gifted teachers well into next generations. Many of us ardently feel that innocent future grand children will not be deprived (robbed) of their rightful inheritance, of traditional Hindu culture and philosophy.

Without an understanding of ancient Hindu scriptures, all classical dance, music (Carnatic), and Indian literature comes to a grinding halt. Without that eternal spring of spirituality, everything else just withers away.

* http://te.srichaganti.net/Pravachanams.aspx

Long Purple Eggplant

2009-09-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

Long Purple Eggplant

Growing couple of eggplants on a deck, verandah, or porch is an enticing dream for any gardener in the summer. In India, this vegetable comes in many shapes and sizes: small, long, fat, oval, round, green, white, and dark purple. It is widely used in many dishes in south India – from simple curries, sambar, chutneys, and even in pickles. People keep the sun dried eggplant slices safely stored for preparing out-of-season tasty dishes. If one is not allergic to this simple vegetable, one can enjoy this modest native vegetable throughout the year. Both in south and north India, I have tasted very delicious dishes out of this vegetable. The large round ones (weighing almost a kilo) are ideally suited for making vankayi pachchadi (వంకాయి పచ్చడి). They can be cooked (baked) in an oven or fireplace or red hot coals. Cooking eggplants or sweet potatoes on the hearth in a fire place is a pleasant diversion during the chilly nights in North America. Near Visakha, we used to roast cashew nuts in fire (made from old newspapers) on idle Sundays. I can still recall those middle school days vividly even now. Our drawing teacher (those were really simple days, we never had fancy art teachers – just drawing master, music teacher, or craft master) asked us to make a pencil drawing of a long curvy eggplant. And then we had to color it using crayons. Some colors really catch our eyes and their intensity remains forever on our retinas (mind). Of those, I will always remember eggplant color and the yellow of tamarind flower.

This writer has grown many things - tomatoes, bell peppers, string beans, mint, coriander, pumpkin, melon, sun flowers, gongura (గోంగూర), cauliflower, potatoes, etc. But this is the first time I have attempted to grow the long purple eggplant (the farmer introduced these as “little fingers”) in containers. Many years ago, Gora used to exhort people to grow vegetables in front of offices and collector bungalows. Those were really hard days, India was struggling with limited wheat and rice crops. There is some value in that, i.e., growing valuable food in limited space or vacant (idle) city land. He might have went too far in his rationality. Flower plants also do extreme good, they promote happiness and health around.

This time I resorted to container vegetable gardening out of sheer necessity. On the ground the writer has to wrestle with squirrels, rabbits, deer, and other animals. So, that is the paradox of life: Like the line, “Water, water everywhere/But not a drop to drink”, plenty of space to grow, but very little protection from a squirrel bite. At least above ground, I have been able to fence off some area and enjoy flowers and vegetables. At the farmers market, we got a six pack of eggplant seedlings for a dollar. Now, the tricky job is to grow at least six long shiny purple eggplants in the limited short summer season here. Is it possible to bring this fancy gardening to fruition without throwing loads of money? I want to beat my Bengali Cornell friend in this game. It is feasible with a bit of sensitive touch and dirty hands.

We used some leftover plastic pots. Just recycled the old ones. I could have used old broken plastic pails, juice cans, or gallon milk jugs. In principle we can use any container for vegetable gardening. The containers do not have to be pretty. For a flower plant, I may be a bit choosy, just to bring out pleasing color and style. Layered the bottom with some old pine needles, bark, and coconut shell pieces. I avoided using heavy rocks or crock; that keeps the pots a bit light. In containers, our main problems are twofold. One is to provide sufficient drainage for water. This is essential when we get soaking downpours in summer here. The second one is to give plenty of nutrients for the plant. I collected high quality compost from the county’s recycling yard. So, a bit of compost, some top soil, and a shovel of organic manure – that is enough for eggplant. If needed, we can add a bit of sand to keep the soil loose. Fully decomposed compost is easy to recognize: It is dark black, loose and free of lumps.

The eggplants were transplanted into 9” – 12” diameter plastic containers. Before transferring, I scored/scratched the roots a few places. Otherwise, the root bound plant tends to be lethargic and does not spread its root system easily in the container. All the plants at present have at least one eggplant; some have six or seven hanging from their stems. Most of the leaves (except the oldest ones at bottom) are dark green and there are good number of flowers ready for pollination. Eggplants have both male and female flowers on a single plant. I have noticed one bee coming and going around each flower daily. So, that saves the need for any hand pollination. Anyway, which farmer can hand pollinate each plant? Once the frost starts, I will have to bring them indoors to save the last pick of the crop. So far, this exercise seems to be profitable. No pests, not even the Japanese beetle. Not bad for a dollar. Of course, plenty of care, watering, fertilizing went into it. But these slender eggplants are a rare treat in northeast and the view across a glass window is wonderful. Used 24-8-16 garden fertilizer solution twice a month. A bamboo stake helps the plant from the downward pull of heavy eggplants. In the fields here, farmers just leave the plants without any support.

I wish we had attempted growing eggplants in our garden during my childhood. For some reason, we did not try. But I did remember seeing eggplants in our drawing master’s garden. He had a nice collection of tropical trees like drumstick, sapotas, date, and curry leaf. There in India too, one can buy the seedlings in a farmers’ market. We can grow from the seeds but they need to be transplanted for good results. Here in cold climates, our troubles are many. A short growing season, lack of sun light, too much rain, or bugs. (I must remark in passing, right now even the coastal farmers in India too are going through hard times due to drought. Tough life for farmers, always, everywhere anywhere.) The growing season can be extended a bit by starting transplants indoors in the beginning. One can try a transparent plastic cover in the fall to extend the season for a week or two. In principle, we can save one healthy fruit (eggplant) for seeds. We tried saving for seeds for other vegetables like white pumpkin, snake gourd, gongura, thotakura (తోటకూర), spinach, etc., with good results.

Due to the wet summer this year, I did not have to water the plants frequently. Sometimes, the plants went without watering for three or four days at a stretch. On hot days the leaves exhibit a bit of wilting but soon they recover during the cool nights. The conventional eggplant, found in supermarkets here is the large variety. My friend used to call it as the ‘buffalo eggplant’ due to its enormous size. When we grow these vegetables personally in our gardens, we tend to pick them a bit early, so the eggplants are soft and have fewer seeds. Some people are allergic to the seeds. In India, I did not come across an eggplant (the ones found in markets) with thorns on the stem. But here, most eggplants have one or two thorns on the green stem (is it pedicle?). I did see some wild eggplants (ones that grow in abandoned fields) in India with thorns. Nothing very bothersome but something that need to be watched while slicing the fruit (vegetable) for cooking.

In the early days I hardly cared about these blogs. Many were written spontaneously to encapsulate a particular theme. But I was pleasantly surprised when some of my blogs (a post on Curry Leaf Plant, a blog on a famous carnatic song) attracted thousands. Still, it does not mean anything nor does it prove any hypothesis. Perhaps, some readers find them useful. Or, one of my blogs might have inspired someone to grow a curry leaf plant or venture into singing.

In any case, the writer is obliged to all such anonymous readers. I hope they will continue to find these ruminations worth reading. Whether the article is on music or gardening, it is always written from real first hand experience. In that sense, these blogs are authentic, a genuine distillation of many hours, days, or even months of effort and toil. Copyright 2009

Gardenia Veitchii

2009-04-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

Gardenia …Gardenia Veitchii

Oh, what a sweet wait and struggle! This double white strong scented tropical plant needed weeks of warm spring sun rays and gentle moonlit nights – all just to coax couple of tender angel white flowers. What a pretty flower? Petals soft leathery white with fragrance spreading to the whole room. But like that tropical magnolia species – champaca (sampenga in Telugu), it is worth all the trouble and pampering. On the Internet there must be many sites discussing care of this temperamental (temperamental, which plant is not really? Or, for that matter, which child is not moody and temperamental?) tropical flowering plant. When one reads all the information on the net, one is frustrated – due to many demands of this shrub. But, as always, a grain of practice is worth a pound of idle theory.

When did I first notice this unique flower? In that coastal village, all most all the houses in our street used to have at least the single flower variety. In Andhra, we used to call it by nandi vardhanamu (nandi refers to the immaculate white color, Gardenia Lucida?). There it was ubiquitous, reveling in the humid weather and cool nights. The single flower variety needs very little care – just people planted in their little gardens and forgot about it. It would grow all by itself into a large shrub with stout trunk and yield basketful of sweet smelling flowers with inch long stems. Very handy for making long garlands. But what about the double flower variety? Even today, some old memories come rushing in the bat of an eye. In coed high school days, the luckiest boys were the ones behind the row of girls. Often a whole day was spent imbibing the gardenia scent emanating from the girl student’s oily braid in the front. Amidst such daunting distractions, we had to study Srinatha, Nannaya, Pythagoras theorem and total internal reflection and of course, Jonathan Swift.

But this double flower (mudda nandi vardhanamu) created another inerasable imprint on a young innocent mind. I was walking home through a neighbor’s garden in a moonlit night late evening, after first show? The garden was a prize possession of a munificent landlord. As I was reaching the gate, a sudden intense waft caught my attention. I could barely see the yellow hued white flower delicately held to a tall shrub in the corner. The scent resembles that of Gardenia Veitchii – but the gardenia smells in India appear to be a bit sweeter and milder. Much later I came to know that the neighbor brought many rare plants from Bangalore. That garden, even today I consider to be the best I have ever seen anywhere. Because it contained everything – from water lily, fern, rose, to Rangoon creeper. And many more. It had all types of plants except bonsai. The master gardener there, Katlayya, was an exceptional green thumb. I never witnessed a single blade of grass turn yellow nor a single rajnigandha stem without flowers. That was then, a single head gardener could produce an earthly paradise - all without modern techniques – just with a handful of assistants. Perhaps it is a divine gift – some can make everything they touch into beautiful. Who can say that there are no gandharvas here?

I noticed some confusion in the nomenclature – popular names and botanical names for this shrub. I will look into that later carefully. The leaf structure and flower details are visible in the photos here. The flower has light yellowish stamen; they are not clear here either due to the flash or perhaps it did not fully open yet.

Soil: After tending many plants, a gardener may occasionally forget about the exact soil mixture for a particular container plant. Such things do happen once in a while. (This is similar to what expert cooks experience - good cooks can always improvise tasty dishes even with modest ingredients! They do not need written recipes) But in the care free joyful hobby of gardening – there is an interesting observation. I am sure many avid gardeners will testify to the veracity of this observation: In the hands of a master (or call green thumb, if you will) gardener, even a troublesome plant will tolerate some abuse and benign neglect. Thus, the gardener will pick a handful (I mean trowelful) of compost, backyard loam, and sand and throws the mixture into a container and tucks in the new addition. And lo, in a few weeks, most plants will thrive and yield colorful flowers. Even if such gardener heaps a good bit of neglect, still the plant will not die. To a beginner, this may appear strange and magical. I think there is some invisible understanding between the plants and expert gardeners. They are always under a loving watchful eye. The plants know it and the gardener feels it too.

Now a plant like gardenia does not ask much – I mean if it is located in tropical sun with plenty of sunshine and rain water. Back in those days in most villages we never had any miracle-grow plant food nor bone meal. In tropical places, one can just plant this shrub in a pile of brick rubble and still it will give heavenly redolent flowers. All it needs in such sunny places, is a decent drainage and some water. In coastal Andhra Pradesh, I used to find this plant with smiley white flowers during most of the year. Of course, gardenia always is fond of rain drops. I still vividly remember this scene from years back – I would go to a neighbor’s garden for collecting flowers and there I was enchanted by the large carpet of white gardenia flowers glistening with cool rain drops from the previous night. So many (these were mostly single flower type) flowers with delicate scent. The double flowers – they were a bit rare, they used to hide behind tender shoots. But the double flowers – they compensated for their small numbers with their intense head swooning sweet fragrance.

When this plant is bought from a local store, it is often potted with peat moss. Peat moss has one disadvantage: When it dries, it is really bone dry. Thus, it is better to remove the plant from the store bought container and repot. The one shown in photo is about five month old plant. I used backyard compost, sand, and a bit of organic manure for repotting. Just for safety, I used a clay pot. I lost two gardenias earlier; one got severe pest (aphids?) infestation and the other could not cope up with chilly winter and its master’s prolonged absence. (Plants seem to be more attached to people than pets!). I placed plenty of pebbles/brick pieces/charcoal at the bottom to give ample drainage for the plant. This plant likes moist soil – uniformly moist most of the time. But it does not tolerate standing water. Standing water at the roots can give rise to bugs.

Acid soil and pH

Like rhododendrons and azaleas, gardenias like the soil a bit on the acid side. This is not really big problem. Peat moss and dried cow manure can bring this acidity to the soil. Intermittently, the plant can be given a bit of kitchen vinegar. No harm done. We can also use a sprinkling of acid plant food granules (16-2-3, Scott’s or other brand) to keep pH on the lower side; this food also contains iron. If the plant is getting proper nourishment (plenty of sun light and nutrients from soil), it will exhibit green shiny leaves. Yellowing leaves can be an indication of improper pH – but not always. For example, in bright sun the plant’s older leaves (lower side, closer to the root system) will naturally turn yellow and drop off. This is nothing to worry. Sometimes, excess water in the roots can produce yellowing of leaves. By careful watching, one can adjust the soil to suit gardenia’s moods.

I have used flowering plant sticks and dilute plant food solution (ex: Vigoro) with good results. Bone meal also yields good results. For flowers, the plant needs just plenty of sun shine and moderate warm temperatures. Now that is a tall order in the bone-chilling-cold northeast. Still, now I can say with experience this is doable and we can get flowers from this difficult tropical prized plant. I just put it near south window during winters. Thus, it gets all the available light. Due to sudden fluctuations or chills, it may shed a few flower buds. Again, that happens to lots of other plants. I have seen it with magnolia. In this sense, hibiscus is the only sturdy one. Most of the time, hibiscus (the tropical variety) brings all its buds to successful blooming. If sun light is lacking, any artificial lighting will do – either incandescent table lamps, fluorescent light bulb/tube, or the red spectrum corrected fluorescent lamp used in green houses.

Watering

An occasional interruption of watering does not lead to death. For a day, gardenia can go thirsty – just its leaves (particularly the top tender shoots) will droop begging for water. When the plant is full of leaves, during hot summer days there will be significant loss of water. In such times, it needs a bit more water. I have used spray on the leaves without any adverse effects. It would be good to have access to clean stream water, rain water, distilled water, or mineral water (even water from dehumidifier). Hard water (water with excess calcium or magnesium salts) will leave white sooty marks on the green leaves. During dry times (indoor heating, winter), the plant can be left in a gentle shower (lukewarm ok, but not warm). It really enjoys taking bath, a poor substitute for a tropical downpour! When the plant gets sufficient water, its leaves are turgid, erect , and happy.

I am sure new plants can be grown from cuttings (similar to jasmine). I have not yet pruned this plant yet; when I do, I will have a number of cuttings for rooting. Small suckers also seem to propagate from the mother plant. I plan to put it outside once the night temperatures climb up to 60 degrees °F.

So far I have not encountered any serious pest problem with this plant. On the new leaves, I notice small specks of black/green dots. I just remove them with a clean tissue or dislodge them with a jet spray. I have a homemade brew of horticultural oil, dish water soap, and capsicum extract. Most of the time, a single spray of this solution takes care of all pests. I find pests on crossandra more bothersome than on gardenia. Will add additional tips for pests when I run into that problem. Usually if the plant is given proper watering, sun light, and mild fertilizer – then the plant takes care of itself. (copyright)

[This post is dedicated to the memory of a dear cousin (Ch. S. R. M). In a brief life, she touched the hearts of many and gave all she could. Like a container-confined Gardenia Veitchii, all she ever wanted in life was a ray of humanity. Wherever she is now, I hope, like an apsara, she is beyond the pettiness of earthly life.]

Monochromatic Grating

2009-01-04T06:13:00.000-08:00

Meditative steps through

Fresh talcum of snow

Through the dark and light linear stripes

Is ennui

A predicament of man alone?

Cold wind, freezing rain,

Or overcast dark evening late fall

Formless leaded clouds

Do they bother the feathered couple?

The lady is asleep weightless

With beak tucked in her chest

She has no cares - floating in sublime peace

Peace of dreamland

Why not?

Her Cygnus is right beside her

Showering affection and

Covering with a blanket of security

And serenity

Thought of feeding some nuts

But, then changed my mind quickly

Why disturb that elegant

Lovely peace of the couple?

Cannot intrude the zone of

That intimate hamsa-dwaya

In times past

These slits would shine with colors

Splatter with rainbow painted droplets

Who knows whether there would

Be colored lights this time

With the falling Hedges

And the subliming subprime MBS

Who knows whether

This holiday season will be

Chromatic or monochromatic

"Maa Janaki" - A Tyagaraja Kirtana

2008-11-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

“Maa Janaki” – A Tyagaraja Kirtana

Maa = our; Jaanaki = daughter of king Janaka, Sita; cetta battaga (1)= held hand, because she touched your hand; maha(a) raaju = great king; vaitivi = became;

1. raaja raaja = king of kings; varadaakshi = one who has the eyes replete with granting wishes, boons(Sita, Lakshmi); vaaksha = one who has in the chest; vinu = please listen; raavanaari = the enemy of Ravana; yani = such a; raajillu = shining, effulgent; kiirtiyu = fame too;

2. kaanakEgi = gone to forest; yaajna miiraka = without disobeying command; maayaakaaramu = an illusory form, an embodiment of maya; nenci = to don, to put it on; sikha = fire; centanE yundi = stayed with; daanavuni ventanE = behind Ravana; cani = went; yasOka taru muula nundi = stayed in the corner of asoka tree; vaani = Ravana’s; maataluku = words, (rubbish) talk; kOpaginci = got angry; kanta = with eye, with a stare, with a look; vadhiyincanE = did not slay, did not punish; yundi = stayed; sri nayaka = husband of sri, husband of Lakshmi, husband of Sita; yasamunu = reputation, fame; niikE = to you only; kalga cEyalEda = did She not make, did She not give; Tygaraja paripaala = one who rules Tyagaraja;

The foregoing paraphrasing of the original Telugu song needs no further commentary. I add these few comments rather reluctantly – perhaps for the benefit of some youngsters who lack the guidance of a good teacher. I have an old cassette of Sri Madurai Mani Iyer, which contains this song. One can learn the tune from such a recording but one will be hard pressed to get a perfect handle on the diction, phrases, and meaning (both bhava and bhakti). In the book compiled by Syama Sundari, the song's details are: Raagam - Kambhoja; TaaLam – Desadi;

Somewhere the saint Ramakrishna states thus: Only those who have a firm experience of god should talk about such profound issues. Should we make a similar injunction regarding carnatic music? Only those who truly understand the meaning of Tyagaraja songs should sing them. But such a restriction would place a harsh speed bump for all aspiring singers; and then in the modern world there may not be many singers left to perform. So, we have a wide range of renderings – some good and many utterly mediocre. The tragedy is this – the bad renderings discourage young children from enjoying classical Indian music. That is a serious loss. By shutting out such great music totally, one loses permanently a precious gift of tradition; one becomes less than whole and inadequate to meet life’s exigencies.

So, Tyagayya says here: By holding on to the hand of our (surely She is ours, our Mother!) Janaki, you (i.e., Rama) have become a great king. What a great line! Not only a king-of-kings, all the other things accrue to Rama because of His association with Sita. Hence forth, He is known to all as the famous destroyer of Ravana.

But the second stanza is pregnant with more stories and meaning. In a previous article on another song [nagu momu ganaleni.. (2)], I have elaborated on Rama-avatar and its significance. There, in passing, I have mentioned that if Sita wanted, She could have definitely put an end to Ravana. But it was not be like that. And here in this kirtana, we are given further explanation. She went to the forest with Rama. Why would She not follow Him? In fact, all the celestials descended to assist Him in the Great War with Ravana. The whole Vaikuntha became empty [sidebar(band): Who is minding Vaikuntha then? Heuristically we know who is minding the store!] When we read Ramayana, we are often told that Sita disobeyed Lakshmana and crossed the famous ‘Lakshmana-rekha’. But that is not the entire story. No, She did not disobey; on the contrary, she deputed her surrogate (The great maya-form) to accompany Ravana. [This is the second time Ravana got tricked by the Mother. Earlier, in the story of Bhukailas, he got deceived by Parvati as Kali] So, Sita stayed back with the Fire (Agni-devata). The Maya-form suffered in Ravana’s garden under ‘a-soka tree’. Still, Her surrogate had all the power sufficient to destroy Ravana – just with a stern glance. But She did not do that either. It is because She wanted to give the total credit to Rama. Perhaps that is why we refer to this manifestation of the Lord as ‘Rama-avatar’.

Some careless readers and a few Telugu writers have misinterpreted the relationship of Rama and Sita. Modern writers tend to see the imperfections of current society (domination of one gender over the other and other ‘ism’s) in these ancient mythologies. In doing so, such critics and social commentators have erroneously distorted the celestial romance between Rama and Sita. Between Radha and Krishna. Only great seers and composers know the essence of such a love. Sita had never seen a fault in Rama and Rama had never hurt Sita in the slightest. The modern reader is handicapped – the reader is often ignorant of Sanskrit, cannot read the vernaculars. The reader tries to grope around with the help of secondhand and third hand interpretations.

Still, one may get a gleam of the meaning of such classical songs through humility, meditation, and silent listening. Copyright 11/17/08

1. This phrase ‘cetta battaga’ is found in the movie song “citapata cinukulu”. Is it derived from cEyi patti (= holding hand)? Intuitively many Telugu people know its meaning. Many teenagers feel the full depth of this unique phrase while walking in the street hand-in-hand with their friends.

2. http://tenneti-rao.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/02/jatayu-ramayana-and-tyagaraju.htm

All That Glistens...

2008-01-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

All that glistens….

All that glistens
Is not soft white jasmine-like snow flake
All that glittering, reflecting, dazzling
Is not pure peaceful happy smooching cotton candy of fresh snow

The brown-black frozen muck on the roadside
The icy shards of salt mixed ice
On the front lawn edges
Not only they pollute the nearby lakes, groundwater
They kill my delicate narcissus next to mailbox
Those hard sub-zero freezing days
A death sentence to the colorful cannas, magnolia
They nip the flower buds of my glorious hydrangea

In these cold cruel winter months
In north, northeast
Or up on the foothills of Himalayas
Either in Kashmir, Kailash
Or on the ghats of Varanasi
The indigent poor scrounging around for a piece of firewood
Few lumps of coal, or yak dung
Just a for few degrees of warmth
To keep the soul and body together snug
Through the long chilly night
Without being devoured by the carbon monoxide

In the metropolis concrete jungle
The hapless hard-hit vagabonds
In summer they are invisible in the landscape
Of tourists, pigeons, and floating populace
Now, stand up like a sore thumb
Trembling on the grill-tops of steam vents next to uninviting buildings
Burying their broken bodies into some crevices
Burrows of blistering biting cold bridge structures
Or, standing close to the traffic auto exhaust
With a card, with a face
The faces, always same despair looking
The cards message same “homeless, jobless veteran”
Yet the souls are different, if one can peep and peer into them
All for what? For naught? For just a discarded scrap of life!

What about the squirrels, rabbits, deer?
White snow cover hides everything
They can't find their nuts, roots
In all this whitewash, wishy-washy snow-white
The deer living by a few bites of burning bush bark
And what about those scrappy moms?
Where will they look for their young’s
Next size winter coats, boots, gloves this season?
In which Santa’s lap? Or Salvation Army’s thrift store?
Or the yellow collection bins “Planet Aid” on roadside
Growing pains for the kids or for their mothers?

And who will pay for harsh punishment of winter utility bills?
And who will arbitrate – which bill to pay first?
For food, children's medicines, or heat bill?
Who will pay the heat? This winter?
The welfare state? Which world are You
Inhabiting? Do You know the reality?
Have You ever stepped into some “government office”?

Be it in love or in just bare body necessities
We, no -You, and Your Civilization
“May yet be defined1 ”
By the cold, often forgotten needy,
Neglected, recycled, crushed
Tattered, torn, bruised, brushed-aside
Brutalized, benign neglected
Innocent, clumsy life’s leftovers
Crushed souls!

Pity, love or life has to be
Defined by what it is not -
Rather than by what it is.

Perhaps, that is why

We've

A “Megha Sandesam2”
“Samson Agonistes”, Dylan Thomas.

1. An expression due to Doris Lessing, 2007 Nobel Laureate of Literature
2. A most moving description of loss and pain experienced by a true romantic lover, a poetical work by Kalidasa in Sanskrit.

Swan Song

2008-01-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

Swan Song

In the beginning, that Primal Cause, Siva
His infinite sorrow due to
Dakshayani’s separation and depression -
That compassionate lotus-eyed Vishnu
Dispersed it and splintered it into pieces
With His discus
Today, my (own) Rama is engulfed in grief
Who will console? Me?
That Keats had a young Fanny Brawne
She nicely kept forever as a symbol of memory
“Engagement Ring”
Once, that Nala-Damayanti had a graceful swan
As their messanger
There are swan couples near my house
But they are ‘mute swans’
How can they tell my language and pain?
Then Mirza Ghalib was far away
From the romantic refined culture city of Lucknow
Yet, a romance-filled good hearted
Lily-eyed damsel lived at the end of his street
What a luck?

This bilingual sundry poet –
Some scattered small poems, blogs – just impermanent sand nests
Will be washed away – with the next wave of time
In this Internet, here everything is artificial
Hearts, people, minds, words..
With loss of power/battery,
Everything disappears, gone!
Beautiful Annamayya’s poetic floral garlands
Destroyed, burnt to ahses due to
Careless selfish ignorance
Not even a trace left!

Went outside for a change, to look at nature
Sky full of darkness, filled with formless black clouds
Some indescribable hurt
“This is just water vapor, Sun is above still” said my scientist friend.
Probably it felt my pain with sympathy
‘Bursted forth freezing rain on me’
Nature – forever my darling love
Showers kisses unasked always

What is left here…?
A ‘Ode To Nightingale’, Milton’s poems
Ghalib couplets, blues of Ghantasala
But, no tears, no signs to be seen
Except the fragrance of unwithered bogada flowers
And the delicate scent of kewra
Those are the only poetical foot prints

Now I will relax on the veranda of life
And watch
For a chickadee’s musical laughter
For a shy dainty morning doves couple
Now I shall imagine real poetry
Will enjoy the ‘romance of creation’.

(From Hindu mythology: Siva and Dakshayani (later Parvati, His consort). One of the finest romantic stories - between Nala and Damayanti. Lady Damayanti refused to marry even Gods, but opted for Nala. bogada = bullet-wood tree; kewra = Pandanus odortissimus tree known for very aromatic long lasting fragrant flowers. Ghalib was a renowned Urdu and Persian poet who excelled in sensitive lyrical poetry. Annamayya was a 15th century Telugu poet who composed more than 20,000 poems/songs; many of his poems were lost due to negligence. Even today no modern poet can compete with him in sheer volume, rich imagination, or romantic description. This is a translation of Telugu poem by the author)