Kaivalya

I was skimming through a Telugu book on the "Sri Narasimha Shatakam", orginally claimed to be written by Sri Seshappa Kavi with commentary by Vidwan, Kasireddy Venkatapathi Reddy. (First published in 2001 December by Sri Paavani Seva Samithi, Hyderabad). In the Preface, I found something very interesting and thought of just posting it to my blog, with needful translation of Mr.Reddy's original words in Telugu. Here it goes: "nrusimhaa raamakrishneShu Shaadgunyam paripooritham", this Sanskrit phase means that: Narasimha avatara (the lion-faced incarnation of Vishnu) has the quality of "opulence" (aishwaryamu), Rama has the quality of opulence plus "pleasantness" (maadhuryamu) and Krishna combines the qualities of opulence, pleasantness along with "vigor or prowess" (veeryamu). Thus these qualities have become a completeness through these three avataras. In Telugu, there were 3 "shataka"s (a collection of hundred poems) dedi...

There would not be a single Telugu who has not read about or atleast heard about the great King of the Kakatiyas..Rudrama Devi (intentionally called a King). She ruled the Kingdom of the Kakatiyas, basing Warangal as the capital between 1261 AD to 1289 AD. Here are some interesting pieces from the Kakatiya History: 1) Ganapathi Deva Maharaju (1199-1261 AD), one of the most key Kakatiya rulers, gave a masculine name to his daughter Rudrama Devi, calling her "Rudra Deva", owing to her impeccable administrative abilities in performing royal duty. She was a revolutionary ruler. She wore her attire in a manner that resembled a man and sat on the throne during her rule. She encourgaed foreign visitors and messengers to visit the kingdom. (And this is when Marco Polo had visited this part of the country, on his way to China from Venice). In times of need, she took up the sword and fought in the battle-fields. 2) When Ganapathi Deva anticipated his last days, his heir was none other ...

Wanders my soul, wanders alone.. Wanders inside those woods of darkness: Musing about the candid songs- Of the mysterious birds with long tails; Dancing to the tunes of sweet melodies- Of the flute played by the lazy shepherd Who lay beneath the graceful fig tree.. Wanders my soul, dancing again. Wanders my soul, wanders again.. In the fragrant orchid, infinitely stretched With blossomed roses, colored crimson red; (As if a dream were suddenly realized, While my body still rests in the daisy-decor) Expanding thoroughly in all dimensions of space And time, as often, no limit from now. Wanders my soul, expanding again... Wanders my soul, wanders, being sane.. Away from the realms of this material globe, Aloof of this flowing en masse of insolent attitudes; Flying in the sky-lines of tranquil beatitudes, Among the stars and the huge heavenly spheres, Suspended in the vast universe of unknown birth; Searching the Ultimate Source of Cosmic rays- Wanders my soul! Here goes it, being sane! ...

My friend Karun, in college, asked me once to write a song so that he can sing it in the Church. I wrote one, but somehow he didn't sing it though. Incidentally I wrote the song on his birthday 13 April. Here it goes: Watch the birds in the sky flying freely, Look at the fish, swimming happily, The black clouds before raining heavily, They all ask us questions frequently... Why do you have to bear the pains? Are you all tied up with iron chains? Why do you have to pray for the rains? Can't you wipe off your blood filled stains? Is there no love in your world of humans? Is not compassion one of your feelings? Don't you get the joy from the beautiful seasons? Can't you live without asking for reasons? Learn from us and try to practice, Love is compassion and Love is the peace, Love is the question and Love is the answer, Let Love grow in you, not the dreadful cancer. Love is all seasons and Love needs no reasons, Love is a feeling, which does the healing, Love is the forc...

G H Hardy Srinivasa Ramanujan I came across this anecdote from G H Hardy, the great English Mathematician, from the book: "Pi in the Sky: Counting, Thinking and Being", a book on the history of Mathematics by John D Barrow, a Professor at Univ of Sussex: "I remember once going to see him when he was lying ill at Putney. I had ridden in a taxi-cab No. 1729, and remarked that the number seemed to me a dull one, and that I hoped it was not an unfavourable omen. 'No,' he replied, 'it is a very interesting number; it is the smallest number expressible as a sum of two cubes in two different ways." - G. H. Hardy on Ramanujan. Here is a full blown article on the number 1729 which came to be known as the Hardy-Ramanujan number on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1729_(number ) God that's amazing!! -Siddartha Pamulaparty June 14, 2008

I was reading through some of the poems at random from the "Leaves of Grass" and wanted to capture them again , for getting inspired everytime I come back to my friend, my blog!! LIFE AND DEATH: The two old, simple problems ever intertwined, Close home, elusive, present, baffled, grappled. By each successive age insoluble, pass'd on, To ours to-day- and we pass on the same. THANKS IN OLD AGE: Thanks, in old age- thanks ere I go, For health, the midday sun, the impalpable air- for life, mere life, For precious ever-lingering memories, (of you my mother dear- you, father- you, brothers, sisters, friends,) For all my days- not those of peace alone- the days of war the same, For gentle words, caresses, gifts from foreign lands, For shelter, wine and meat- for sweet appreciation, (You distant, dim unknown- or young or old-countless, unspecified readers belov'd, We never met, and ne'er shall meet- and yet our souls embrace, long, close and loving;) For beings, groups, l...

Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao needs no introduction to any of the Telugus born or brought up in the state of Andhra Pradesh. His contributions to the literature and cultural departments of the Telugus on the whole and the Telangana as well, is immeasurable. There was a non-detail book in Telugu in the APSSC syllabus during the 9th class or 10th class: "gurudevudu raveendrudu" on the life and works of Rabindranath Tagore, written by Ramanuja Rao. I was just browing through the internet and found a book called: "Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao: Oka Rekha Chitram" (Roughly: A life-line of Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao (A brief sketch)) written by Sri T. Sri Ranga Swamy published around in 1991. In this book I found a poem, which is an extract from Ramanuja Rao's essay "మా ఊరు ఓరుగల్లు" , from the book he wrote called "పచ్చ తోరణం" in which he wrote about the glory of the once capital of the Kakatiya's the city of Warangal. Warangal has more to its historical ...