Say NO to commercial idols

"Go Green or Recycling” - it is a the buzz that’s been going around in schools in the USA and in the world. I don’t think there would be a person from Indian origin in this country who is from Indian origin and unaware of it.

Have we not wondered and marveled about the recycling system that USA has in place? Have we not thought that why in India there is so much litter on highways and park

Being in this country at least we should have learned about how offensive is littering. Yet, its sad that our people are becoming overwhelmed with consumerism and are buying commercial Plaster-of-Paris Ganesha idols for Vinayaka Chavitihi, which are later immersed in streams at parks.

Have we not learned about how polluted Tank Bund (in Hyderabad) has come to? It might not be due to Vinayaka Nimmajjanam alone.But yes, Nimmajjanam certainly contributes a considerable share to it.

Why people are preferring to buy the idol in USA from Indian Grocery Stores, rather than making one from Clay, haldi or flour at home? I don’t 

think that people are buying them because they cannot make it at home. In this era, internet has all the answers and yes, it also has the information on how to make ‘Ganesha from Flour or Haldi’. So what is it driving to buy commercial idols? It might be a tendency of us for consumerism. Just getting or buying the things more than we ever required.

Its the time we learn something from past mistakes and protect the nature from hazardous material if we can. Just to think of it, how could we justify that age old religion as Hinduism encourages pollution.

Its a time to STOP buying plaster of paris idols with hazardous paint.Spirituality is not in offending mother nature.

Acquaintance with today’s Chanakya

I have got an opportunity to meet Dr. Subramanian Swamy over the past weekend. It was much awaited event. As many, I googled and read wikipedia on Dr.Swamy after reading the case of 2G Spectrum.  Ever since I keep following his news and news about him.

There might be very few who would not be mesmerized by his intelligence, charm and knowledge. As Chanakya,  he is an Economics Professor , he is working towards the Unity of Hindus, he is fighting for Corruption which is prevailing at the highest ranks of the Government as Chanakya once did for the betterment of his country.

There are articles and conspiracies challenging for Dr.Swamy’s reasons for his vendetta against today’s ruling party of India. One of them is his disappointment on Congress for depriving him from becoming Prime Minister. Even if it was true, does those reasons really matter? As Dr.Swamy puts it, we need to decipher the fact in his message rather than finding the rational behind his motives.

And the fact is that a mistake has been made which incurred huge loss to the people of India. Dr.Swamy is the reason for today’s awakening among people of India towards that loss. Facts that need to be justified:

• The loss that Indian Government incurred on 2G Spectrum surpasses the deficit declared in the budget.
• The loss that Indian Government incurred on 2G Spectrum if much less than what it has incurred in Coal and Oil resources auction.
• How the Indian Government has passed an amendment and law about Personal Note securities and Tax exemption of revenue from Mauritius investors for their self interested profits
• How the supreme officials of India are making money laundering

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwnZZlt7C_M


All in all it was a privilege to meet such an intellectual. To listen to him in person will always be an enlightening memoir

Inspired from Madhubani

In my view, Folk Art gives an ambiance of pure, calm and relax to any place. I always liked the Indian traditional interiors. Thanks to so many bloggers out there for their interest and time which is inspiring people like me.

Madhubani is folk art from India. The simple lines and few shades of colors on canvas makes it a very subtle art. Here is my version of Madhubani - it is not a justification to the original art but it was indeed a pleasure doing it.

How Much Is It Worth?

My school had art classes, with acronym as SUPW (Socially Useful Productive Work). Back then, we could not even understand the meaning of it, except that it stands for craft class. Craft was always my favorite thing to do and I learned Knitting at school and from my mom.

Later on, I learned Crochet from one of my friends and through online free tutorials. This Fall, I crocheted a shrug for my daughter. And here the finished product.


If you ponder on the finished shrug about what is it worth after all...

2 balls of yarn : 8 USD
1 Pair of needles: 6 USD
Hours spent making it: Not counted
Proud smile on your daughter after wearing it : Priceless.

I love those Master Card Ads :). Anyways, the point is why people are still spending time making these as a hobby when they could buy at store for less money and effort? Because they love the art  and the satisfaction they get by doing it is priceless.  And it is an exercise to your mind and hands as it involves - patterns, sequence and logical thinking which we are thriving to teach our kids today.

My Gradma in Pictures

My mom likes to collect the photographs and it is always cherishing to look, ponder or recollect the memoirs while turning the albums. On my recent trip to India I got back a couple of photographs of my grandmother. One with her family when she was a 4 year old girl and the other with her mom, grandmother, daughter and granddaughter - A photograph of five generations.

It is sad that no one from this photograph is alive today but it would have been a proud moment to see and live with 5 generations of family.

Digital albums have the advantage of easiness, quality and proficient but it could not replace the experience we have with traditional album. None the less, it is the digital technology which has provided the same

Photos from India

Vanaguntala Peeta

Flowers that I often encountered as a child

Folded Flowers

సీతమ్మ వడికిన వడుకు

రాముడు నేసిన నేత

పదివేలకు ఎవ్వరూ నెయరు

పదిపైసలకు ఎవ్వరూ వల్లరు

Weaver bird nest

Chinta chiguru

Majestic Bull with its Gangadolu

Pictures from car on return journey from Tirumala

Entrance of Tirumala

Gulmohar - Fire of the forest

Annamacharya

Soumyanatha Temple

Soumyanahta Temple - Side view

Soumyanatha Temple - Front view

Things Change

Things Change...
Yes, they change...
And they are good too.

I was pondering on these words while reminiscing about my recent visit to India. No surprise that Hyderabad went through a metamorphosis in the last decade or so, but my native village and its people have changed in their living style and in their culture to some extent.

My Grand Parents used to have the cattle of about 70. There used to be at least 3 persons dedicated to take care of it. Today we have One Bull, One Cow and One Calf. Most of the families in villages are just getting rid of their cattle since it is difficult to manage. Farmers are shifting or rather shifted their crop from Agriculture to Horticulture. Where there used to acres of Green Paddy, now it just turned to be acres of Mango trees.

Human Resources are the major reason for this transformation. It is difficult to find a helping hand to take care of cattle or to manage various stages of Paddy. I think the very starting of this scarcity of human resources was when Money is replaced for Barter transactions. My grand mother used to give paddy in exchange for the services of those helping hands. Now all the transactions are in Rupees. The second would be the abuse of minimum wage policy without work policy by politicians.

My grand father never let the cattle to be sold to the butcher. Every cattle was take care even when it was not in a position to walk or sick. There was a helping hand just to take care of weak cattle - to make it stand for a while in day, so that it won’t be infected. The time has changed. Farmers are adopting commercial dairy. That humanity is lost. Cattle are no longer perceived from its divine nature.

Villages are adopting Plastic and other bio hazardous material without proper recycling system. When west is moving towards Organic, we are moving towards synthetic hormones. There is “Organic” buzz in metros but it certainly not travelled into the villages.

We have come to US in search of change, for a good change. We wanted a better life style. It might not be fair for me to expect the system and environment in my native village to stay still like it was when I was growing up. There is no harm in getting satellite dish, cell phones or adopting salwar instead of sarees and lehengas in villages , but my heart feels sorry when serenity and purity of once village environment is lost.

The change that we need to adopt should be like the cell phone revolution, where we have taken advantage of the research and technology of west and put it good use. India needs to be part re-cycling and organic revolution now rather than undoing these at later day. We should take advantage of cattle but there is a need to perceive it as divine – that would be a Good Change.

P.S. – Things Change is the song from one of the Sesame Street episodes.