Here is a poem by Late Wuppala Lakshmana Rao garu of Berhampur.
devi
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Hobby/ Timepass ideas:
In the present days, some of us whose children have left home, find time hanging on our hands with nothing to do. I have faced this situation occassionally.
Here is a website which is useful at these times. It is freerice.com. This site is dedicated to donating rice to people in the under-developed countries. We need to answer some multiple-choice questions from a subject of our choice and our score translates into food grains which are donated. Its a really interesting game which helps us to improve our knowledge, pass the time and donate rice to the poor people of the world, all at one go. Do check it out.
devi
vizag
ps. if you have any such ideas/websites please send them to me so that I can post them.
In the present days, some of us whose children have left home, find time hanging on our hands with nothing to do. I have faced this situation occassionally.
Here is a website which is useful at these times. It is freerice.com. This site is dedicated to donating rice to people in the under-developed countries. We need to answer some multiple-choice questions from a subject of our choice and our score translates into food grains which are donated. Its a really interesting game which helps us to improve our knowledge, pass the time and donate rice to the poor people of the world, all at one go. Do check it out.
devi
vizag
ps. if you have any such ideas/websites please send them to me so that I can post them.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The above is a photo of Digumarthi Venkatramayya Pantulu garu of Berhampur and his eight daughters and wife Smt.Vemulakonda Rajayalakhmamma ( Amma Kanna) and son.
standing- Lalitamba, Amma Kanna(Rajya Lakshmi)
Chairs - ViswanathaRao,Tulasamma,Sundaramma,DigumarthyVenkatrmayya,Lakshmi Narasamma,Subbamma.
Sitting on the floor - Sivakanta,Bhramaramba,Vijayalakshmi.
After reading about Sailaja's article 'Sri Rama' many of you - especially the younger generation may be wondering who Sri. Digumarthi Vemkatrmayya Pantulu garu is and what his significance is in our family. So, I want to present my impression about him as told to me by my maternal grand mother, Smt. Undurthy Mahalakshmi Bai, wife of Undurthy Reddy Pantulu garu of Visakhapatnam.
Most of our relatives whom we know are in one way or the other related through the eight daughters of Digumarthi Venkatramayya Pantulu garu of Berhampur, his son and his brothers. Venkata Ramayya pantulu garu was a very successful lawyer and managed his large family very well. As most of them were daughters, always one or two of them were at his place for deliveries or would come visiting with their children during school holidays or for some function etc., and hence all the cousins would play together as the house was huge and Berhampur was a very small place in those days. Also, some of them used to stay at their tatagaru’s house as they pursued their studies in Berhampur and one or two of the daughters were widows and so they stayed with their father.
Rajyalakshmamma (Vemulakonda) was also known as Ammakanna. My grandmother Lakshmi Bai used to tell me many things about her. It seems she was a very patient lady. She would get up early in the morning and first she would go and see the new born grandchild in the 'puriti gadi' ( a separate room where the new born child and its mother used to be put till the tenth day after delivery) and play with them for a while and then she would have her bath and put on her ‘madi battalu’ ( the clothes in which she would do the cooking) and enter the kitchen and supervise the cooking. It seems there would be a common menu for everybody and special dishes for the persons who eat only certain kind of items. She would remember everyone’s preferences and see that all the dishes were prepared.
Considering the number of people in the house it must have been quite a task!
devi
Vizag
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
SRI RAMA
I thought that this is a good opportunity to write something on Sri Rama, since Lord Sri Rama is revered as our “family God” and coincides with “Sri Rama Navami”.
Our Great Grand father Sri Late Digumarthi Venkata Ramayya Pantulu garu was a great devotee of Lord Rama. Recently the collection of God’s prayers (is pertinent to any God of your choice or the Supreme Power) composed by him was published and available to all of us due to the efforts of some of his grand children. I encourage every one to read it.
The Avatara of Sri Rama shows the struggles of a person in daily life and how we have to overcome it to achieve peace, happiness and tranquility. As some of our younger generation interpret Ramayana and question it whether we can have “Rama Rajyam” in this “Kali Yuga”, or whether we can be so idealistic in character or question how he can send his wife away on some person’s remarks, or how can we accept a person like Rama who killed from behind a tree to be our Hero! Etc.
“The great sage Valmiki, has, in his creation of this divine hero, symbolized in Him the ideal of uncompromising goodness. Nowhere else does one find such idealistic perfections in all walks of life, combined in a single individual. Thus Rama was at once a perfect son, ideal king, a true husband, a real friend, a devoted brother, a noble enemy and so on” ………………He(Valmiki) highlights one aspect of the personality at the expense of the others, so that Rama’s conduct and behavior in certain instances, appear to be inconsistent with His divine character. Such seeming inconsistencies have created misapprehensions among the students of Ramayana because their deeper inner significance has been lost sight of”. -----------------Swami Chinmayananda.
We have to consider all these traits not to the outer world, but find answers within ourselves by taking examples from Ramayana and how we can improve ourselves and our relationship with the world outside. Find the Ravana in you and destroy the “rakshasa” tendencies (the negative and impure thoughts in you) with the help of Rama
(The good thoughts) in you. Consider and apply the logic, how you can become an example to your siblings, show your respect to your parents, how to be a good friend and a good human being in this modern world at a given circumstance and how you can rule your inner personality and find happiness.
I guess, this is what appealed to our Great Grand father. He must have taken Ramayana in its true sense and applied the symbolism of Rama to his own life. That is why we still remember him with respect and his wife our great grand mother who is “Amma kanna” to all of us!
“Happiness keeps you Sweet, Trials keep you Strong, Sorrow keeps you Human, Failure keeps you humble and Success keeps you glowing, but only Faith & Attitude keeps you going…”
This is what Ramayana is all about and that is what we have to keep in mind and apply to our daily life.
sailaja
USA
I thought that this is a good opportunity to write something on Sri Rama, since Lord Sri Rama is revered as our “family God” and coincides with “Sri Rama Navami”.
Our Great Grand father Sri Late Digumarthi Venkata Ramayya Pantulu garu was a great devotee of Lord Rama. Recently the collection of God’s prayers (is pertinent to any God of your choice or the Supreme Power) composed by him was published and available to all of us due to the efforts of some of his grand children. I encourage every one to read it.
The Avatara of Sri Rama shows the struggles of a person in daily life and how we have to overcome it to achieve peace, happiness and tranquility. As some of our younger generation interpret Ramayana and question it whether we can have “Rama Rajyam” in this “Kali Yuga”, or whether we can be so idealistic in character or question how he can send his wife away on some person’s remarks, or how can we accept a person like Rama who killed from behind a tree to be our Hero! Etc.
“The great sage Valmiki, has, in his creation of this divine hero, symbolized in Him the ideal of uncompromising goodness. Nowhere else does one find such idealistic perfections in all walks of life, combined in a single individual. Thus Rama was at once a perfect son, ideal king, a true husband, a real friend, a devoted brother, a noble enemy and so on” ………………He(Valmiki) highlights one aspect of the personality at the expense of the others, so that Rama’s conduct and behavior in certain instances, appear to be inconsistent with His divine character. Such seeming inconsistencies have created misapprehensions among the students of Ramayana because their deeper inner significance has been lost sight of”. -----------------Swami Chinmayananda.
We have to consider all these traits not to the outer world, but find answers within ourselves by taking examples from Ramayana and how we can improve ourselves and our relationship with the world outside. Find the Ravana in you and destroy the “rakshasa” tendencies (the negative and impure thoughts in you) with the help of Rama
(The good thoughts) in you. Consider and apply the logic, how you can become an example to your siblings, show your respect to your parents, how to be a good friend and a good human being in this modern world at a given circumstance and how you can rule your inner personality and find happiness.
I guess, this is what appealed to our Great Grand father. He must have taken Ramayana in its true sense and applied the symbolism of Rama to his own life. That is why we still remember him with respect and his wife our great grand mother who is “Amma kanna” to all of us!
“Happiness keeps you Sweet, Trials keep you Strong, Sorrow keeps you Human, Failure keeps you humble and Success keeps you glowing, but only Faith & Attitude keeps you going…”
This is what Ramayana is all about and that is what we have to keep in mind and apply to our daily life.
sailaja
USA
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