Amsterdam

 

I was invited to the World Congress of families in August, 2009 to Amsterdam. I had earlier been to Amsterdam and had spent three days here with the Kids when Somu was in Zambia and I was going to meet him. At that time  I had travelled all around this place with the kids and went visiting the various canals in the boats. We also visited the Rijks Museum . But the best place which I liked was the Vincent Van Gogh Museum and Ann Franks House. I had become a great fan of Van Gough after I read Irwin Stone’s Lust for Life. Amsterdam derives its name from Amstel and Dam meaning a dam in the river Amstel. Earlier this was a fishing village. What I really liked about the place was that many people used the bicycle as a common means of transport. The airport at Schipol was also amazing with the vast multitude of people from different nationalities who were going around and the vastness of the structure.  Hence this time I did not  go for any sight seeing but spent my time in the Conference. On the first day Prof. Theo and Nicole came to meet me and we had a lovely round of the city and sat down to have coffee. The world Congress was amazing that for the first time family was the focus and most of the speakers were pro- family. In India every one has to be pro- family as we have no choice. In the absence of the State structure support family is the only alternative and one has to rely on the family. My paper on Families in South Asia – Challenges for the New Millennium was very well received and many people came to meet me after my presentation and we exchanged a lot of cards. The highlight of this Conference was that we saw some lovely films such as Firewall, The Demographic Bomb which talk about the issue of population explosion.

 

In Bulgaria

 

The Balkan Peninsula had always been a very important topic in our European History text books and it was with great interest that I had followed the war in the Balkans during the world war. Balkan may be defined as an area of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. I was really thrilled when I got a chance to attend an Indology Conference In Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. This was the first time that I was traveling to Eastern Europe and I looked forward to the trip with a lot of excitement. It was a group of five of us from India who landed in Sofia on 23^rd September, 2009. Sofia has a long history and was born 7,000 years ago and is at the foothills of Mount Vitosha. The topography of the place almost looked like Haldwani with all the mountains surrounding it. Some of the important rivers of this region are Vladaiska, Perlovska and Iskar. Sofia was earlier known by the Bulgarian name Sredets. During World War II, Sofia was bombed by Allied aircraft in late 1943 and early 1944. As a result of the invasion of the Soviet red army the Bulgarian country came under the Communist rule. It was only in 1989 that communism was over thrown and now slowly the country is limping back to a capitalist country.

I had gone to attend the Indology Conference and it was for the first time that I met many scholars from Poland, Budapest, Croatia, Latvia, Czechoslovakia, who are well versed in Sanskrit and Hindi. We met many students who are very much in love with Indian culture and its history. I made some very good friends and what really impressed me was that unlike Western Europe people are very hospitable and they welcome you and you get the same kind of hospitality which we Indian give to the outsiders. I met Nicolai and Elena who were very much in love with the Indian culture and planned to go back to India for a second time. It was fun to listen to the students talk in very chaste Hindi. The Conference kept us very busy and we really did not get time to go to the Museums which i would have liked but we spent time in a Church and attended the Mass. It was a beautiful experience of a Christian Orthodox church. The music was beautiful and after this we saw an Museum and art gallery of Christian icons. Walking around the streets in the lovely weather was beautiful and we saw lots of shops on the way selling laces, embroidery and rose perfumes. We bought a lot of kinky stuff which tourists buy and as I left Bulgaria I kept thinking I must come back to see more of this lovely country.and its beautiful and hospitable people.

 

In Zurich, Switzerland

 

I had gone to Amsterdam to attend the World Congress of Families. On my way back I went to Zurich where Mini was studying. I had a lovely time and we spend some beautiful evenings around the water bodies which surround the whole city. This city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland. Zürich was named the city with the best quality of life in the world as well as the wealthiest city in Europe. In 2008, Zürich was ranked ninth as the most expensive city in the world. Zürich was accidentally bombed during World War II. But today there is no trace of this and the whole city has been reconstructed and one can also see some old buildings. We also visited the Rhine falls, Europe’s largest waterfall. They are truly magnificent, not so much for their height (a mere 23m) as for their impressive breadth (150m) and the  spray rise in  a cloud of rainbows above the forested banks.The falls are located on the High Rhine between the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Laufen-Uhwiesen, near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland. One has to walk around the town and it was fun to see a lot of people out in the streets on the weekend and enjoying themselves with music and songs. The whole street seemed to filled with a lot of life on Friday and Saturday and every one out there seemed to be out enjoying the weather and sitting out doors.

Somu and his garden

 

When we purchased our house it was surrounded by a huge grass land around it. Today also towards the side there is just an empty expanse of grass. But Somu spent a lot of time trying to develop a garden. We had to first plan the design and earmark the place. Though we do not have much space but only a small one something which one can afford in the city, Somu has been able to have two small lawns, few flower beds and a small kitchen garden.Somu loves to do gardening and he will not trust even a gardener to touch his plants. He just gets help from Kistayya who is like a man Friday and he drops in when ever he feels like. Hence most of the garden work is done by Somu himself. He stats planning what flowers to put in the beginning of the season. We are also able to get some vegetables from the Kitchen garden. In the beginning we would get a large number of pumpkins, brinjals. Now also I manage to get a large amount of leafy vegetables, green beans, Radish, Coriander and Chili's. It is nice to know that one can just walk outside and get coriander and Chili's. The garden is filled with roses of every hue and color . In winter the small patch of land which is our garden is a riot of colours. We have Crossandra,roses, Eranthemum,Petunia, Amaryllis Lily besides the seasonal flowers. We have immortalized our first roses  that cam up in our garden by digitising them and they hang in a frame in our Veranda. Somu takes care of his flowers like his children.  Every morning before going to his Office he has to spend some time going around his garden. When ever he comes back from tour he first goes round his plants and tells us you have killed this plant and you have killed this one. I have also now started enjoying the garden.

Stay at Buffalo and visit to Niagara Falls

I had gone to attend the ISA and after this I went to visit Bittu in Buffalo. it was quite cold there and though I had planned to go to the University on a regular basis I thought it would be better if I worked from home. it was freezing cold and I just went to the University of Buffalo when i had to take a lecture. The highlight of this tour was a visit to the Niagara falls. i had seen these falls from The Canada side also when Deepa Mausi took me to these falls. The falls were 17 miles North west of Buffalo.  From the Canadian side these falls are known as Horseshoe Falls,  and from the American side they are known as  American Falls. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island.Niagara Falls has long been a source of inspiration for explorers, travelers, artists, authors, filmmakers, residents and visitors. When we reached here we could see a lot of snow . Coming from Hyderabad I had never seen so much snow. It was fun roaming around in the snow and enjoying the cool  touch of the snow. I can still see they beautiful falls and the magical landscape once I close my eyes.

In Bastar

Somu was travelling to

Chhattisgarh and since I had winter holidays I also travelled with him. I was very keen to go to Bastar which is a tribal village and close to Jagdalpur. I found Chhattisgarh to be an  undiscovered paradise. It is known for its exceptional scenic beauty and unique and rich cultural heritage, Chhattisgarh has always been synonymous with tribes and tribal culture. Over one third of the state population is of tribes, most of them inhabiting in the thickly forested areas of the famous Bastar region. The tribes of Chhattisgarh are known for their unique lifestyles and have beautifully retained their own culture and traditions for many centuries. The tribes of Chhattisgarh region are also known for their passion for dances and music, which are the most important amusements and a part and parcel of their day-today life. One could see a lot of tribal villages enroute  and the tribal people. The only thing which was an irritant was the large amount of dust and the environment seemed to be filled with a red colour dust. Ther fact that the Governemnt was expanding the roads and there was a lot of digging all around added to the woes.  Chattisgarh has a very ancient history. Infact one of  Ashokan stone Inscription of 257 BC is found at  Rupnath north of Jabalpur. According to legends the deep Sal forest regions are Dandakaranya itself, where Lord Rama spent much of his fourteen-year exile from Ayodhya.  Between the 6th and 12th centuries AD the Sarabhpurias, Panduvanshi, Somvanshi, Kalchuri, and Nagvanshi rulers dominated this region.

The region also came under the suzerainty of the Mughal Empire around the 16th century and later to the Marathas in 1745. By the year 1758, the whole region of Chhattisgarh was annexed by the Marathas who plundered its natural resources mercilessly. Also the word 'Chhattisgarh' was popularized during the Maratha period and was first used in an official document in 1795. Chhattisgarh is also known for its rich and unique architectural monuments including temples, caves, palaces, providing insights into the rich cultural heritage of the region.

Chattisgarh is famous for its  unique and varied tribal populations, especially the  Gonds tribes of Bastar region. I could buy some lovely silk sarees with tribal  art designs in the Pallu and some wonderful handicrafts of the tribal's made in brass. It was difficult to carry these back to Hyderabad but the Hotel made a lovely packing and we could bring back three huge pieces and  they were safe and sound when we opened in Hyderabad. The most beautiful day in out lives was when we stayed at the forest Guest house much away from the town and we could hear the various voices from the Jungle.  The fact that there was no electricity made no difference and I had never been so close to nature and this was a memorable experience which i will not forget for a long time.

   

Annamayya Kirtana

 I am feeling very thrilled that on 9th of May, 2009, I participated in the public singing of Annamayya Kirtanas. These are songs written in telugu by a saint poet of 14th century and on this day, we created a Guinness record and Robert Marshal the Director of the programme. It was an amazing experience and so much positive energy was flowing . I had to go to classes for a month to learn the Kirtanas so that i got the diction right. It is nice to know that we can continue with the songs from 14th cen. till today in the 21st century with ease. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX2BuosmFHk

I feel this was an experience of a life time. Imagine people of all ages, joining in. John Marshall said he was very happy to see that there were more young people than old in the gathering, all singing in one voice. Every one was dressed in their best  and it was an amazing sight.

M S Subbulakshmi::Brahma Kadigina Paadamu

One can check these Kirtanasa in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzXwCN72HCg

I like the one sung by M.S. Subbalakshmi also.

ANNAMAYYA KIRTANA-1