Shlokh :)

It was the second time we met. 

He was sleeping.

His mom had to pick his sister from a dance class.
He started rolling.
I was way too worried if he'll start crying.
And then he woke up and started smiling.
He is such a sweetheart. :) :)

Three things he enjoys doing -
1 Smiling
2 Licking his fingers, okay not just fingers - complete fist and anything that comes in between.
3 Hearing his mom's name.
How ever strange you look, who ever you are, where ever you come from, he'll smile at you the moment you call his mom by her name.

Two things he loves doing -
Sticking his tongue out and sticking his tongue out. ;) :p

Sister love :)

 Kuchipudi

Hey! You came here also? You won't let me play in peace is it?

Tattoo Power :D 

Colours are always so much fun. :D 

When masculinity harms men.

Studies show 95% of the most violent crimes are committed by men.

What's the cause?

Well, the one below, might not be the only reason, but definitely important enough to be addressed. Since childhood, the Great Indian Parents, elders, neighbours - all start yelling at a boy when he starts crying - 'ladke rote nai'.
Even if they are happy tears, still - the saying remains the same -'ladke nai rote'.Par kyun? 
Is question tak koi nai jaata.

Crying is also a form of 'expression'. When one stops expressing, in the false pretext of being too strong - all those emotions don't bury themselves, they evenually come out in some form or the other. Generally, in the form of anger, and would most probably be vented on another being considered less potent than oneself.
Every human needs to 'Emote'.
That's a basic necessity!

By abstaining one from doing so, we are making them apathetic towards fellow human beings. We are in need of a world where apathy is replaced by empathy, not one, where apathy is considered masculinity.

And by empathy, what I'm referring to is an instinctive mirroring of other's experience. As moral beings, we have the imaginative capability to place ourselves in another's situation, and form an idea of their sensations. By experiencing the pain of others, the intensity of one's reaction can be lessened, making the reaction less violent.

As Emily Bazelon puts it, "The key is to remember that almost everyone has the capacity for empathy and decency - and to tend that seed as best as we possibly can" is what makes the difference.

'Change' is 'possible'.

Adoka BAD habit.

She woke up almost crying.

Did she watch a horror movie last night?
No.

Did she have a bad dream?
Yes. She had a terrible dream.

And that terrible dream she had, had a ghost in it. This is the first ever ghost-dream she had. She had had bad dreams before, but never with a ghost in it. :o :/
Does she believe in ghosts?
Well, it depends on how dark the night is.

Whenever there's a fairytale dream, she enjoys it when she is asleep lalalalaa :) and almost forgets it after she gets up. :l She then tries hard to connect all the scattered dots from the dream. Now, when she purposefully wants to forget a dreadful dream it's vivid and clear and is coming back again and again.
She remembers how many storeys the building had, which car she drove, and how many were there in the car, on the road. Everything!
*dino face palm*

Making an effort to divert herself, she turned to her phone for an early morning read, expecting something nice. The first notification said -
"What is the best true ghost story you have heard from your friends?"
Answer -  An account of a guy's apparently true experience was shared below.

She freaked out!

The monkey in her said "C'mon the sun is out, let's give it a try."  ;)

She started reading.

Half of her saying, "Mummyyyyyyyy! Why, but why do you need to read this right now! You've lost it completely!! You freak!!!"

Half of her saying, "What's going to happen to the protagonist now???????!"
{Horror cinemalu chuste bhayamestundi, ala ani chudatam manestama? Adoka BAD habit! XD}

She stopped reading.

The story ended.

The protagonist reached a 'Punjabhi' Dhabha.
And then, it was a Santa Banta 'Joke'.
*facepalm*

The End.


P.S : Sometimes life gives you lemons, and then it would really want to give you a lemon squeezer too. If only you made an effort to not get scared! ;)

Heaven Vs Paradise

Choosing between heaven and paradise is a tough choice. Choosing between 'staying in heaven' or 'moving to paradise from heaven' is a *hard* choice.

In the first, you don't know how either of them are going to treat you. So choosing any one, would be as good/bad as choosing the other.
In the second, you know how staying in heaven feels like, and you have no clue how paradise is.

The one you're already in, is SO good to leave. The one you need to go to is also, apparently, even better than the first one.
Apparently. You don't know it first hand. And opinions are subjective. What feels good to one, might not necessarily feel good to another. It's a 'huge huge risk'. You are playing a game betting on someone else's experience, not your's, precisely - you're gambling. Haha.

Isn't gambling bad manners?:p
Ofcourse yes.
But does that mean you stay back in heaven and not experience paradise at all?
Probably, no.
Haha.

So are you staying in heaven or moving to paradise from heaven?
Yes yes. We're back to square one. Congrats.

GRAND INTERVAL.

P.S : If those two places ever existed in first place.
P.P.S : Despite their existence in the so called afterlife, hard choices very much exist in real life! 

Dementor's Kiss.

That point when a part of you gets used to accepting a few assumptions to be facts; like what you want, might not actually be what you want.

Choices make life what it is. Okay. Agreed. Not always are the choices so clean and clear that you could just pick one and walk away ignoring the other, completely.

At times, two choices are SO good, picking one, constantly reminds you of the advantages of the other. Leading to a never ending turmoil. One gives you assured stability, the other gives you unadulterated happiness. But to survive an existential crisis, both the choices are as important as the other.

You'd be too busy in the battle. And suddenly on one not-so-fine day, all these purpose-of-life articles start pouring in from nowhere; screaming out for your attention - 'Do what you love, love what you do. When you love what you do, you don't work a day.' Blah, blah, and blah.

Despite all efforts of having a day not as tough as iron, the spherical world actually flattens out into a sheet and turns upside down. Flip.

The transition from + infinity to - infinity happens in fraction of seconds. In one milli second, all that you have thought of; ceases to exist for ever. In the next millisecond, you hear a voice screaming -
"Who the hell asked you to read those articles? Why do you bring in unnecessary trouble?"

And when it happens repeatedly it becomes a real world symbol of a deadly dementor visiting you as if it were a dear friend.

The best part is still waiting. It's when you have no clue 'how to deal with the mess'.

INTERVAL.

It's a soothing song sung by you.

How simple and frugal a thing is happiness : Rising with the sun, a walk on the shore, the song of the wind, the sound of the sea.

Nothing else.

I'm longing to be with you, where you can move by my side - watching me build my castles in your sand. :)

Saanvi papa! :D

A picturesque village.

Mehendi happening at home.

She came along with her mother.

It was her mother's friend's wedding. :)

She was a mamma's kid for a while.

No talking. No smiling.

"Who are these strangers?

Amma, where have you got me?

What is it that these strangers are applying on their hands?

It gives out a strange smell. :o

Why are we here?

Umm, I can see some familiar faces.

But still, Why are we here?? ", her mind preoccupied with thoughts like these. :p

And then, eager to know what's happening around, she left her mamma's hand to check what the other ladies were upto.

Everyone calling out - Sanvi.. Sanvi.. Sanvi..

"Dude, do you even know me? I have never seen you before.  Is that (s-a-n-v-i) your favourite five letter word for the moment? Okay, introduce yourself. I need to know who you are first.", lost in contemplation wearing a bemused smile. :)

After a while, feeling a little comfortable with all the attention, she steps down and then her first word is 'baunni' with a totally adorable smile. 'Baunni' and 'Bala' are the most frequently used words in saanvi's speech. :)

( Banunni -> Bagundi -  It's a telugu word which means  - It's nice!

Bala -> Baledu - means  - It's not nice! )

And then, in the next few minutes we became friends. :D

I have no idea how! But we became friends. Yaay! :)

She calls me 'harry akka'. She actually meant 'Hari akka'. :)

Ya, I love my name. It's my favourite six letter word. :D
But that's okay :p  We are friends now, so harry akka is accepted. :D  

Fun begins now!

We go out, we come in, we play, we talk, we wash off our mehendi, we talk again, we irritate people, we get irritated, we share chocolates, we get ready, we go out again, we click some photus, we eat ice-creams :D, we stand before the AC, we get some air, some boredom, we go out again and then this goes on.. ;)

A fortunate stroke of serendipity. :)

Oka city lo,

Pakkinti aunty peru aunty
Edurinti aunty peru aunty
Mummy friend peru aunty
Friend mummy peru aunty
Andaru auntyle!

Ade oka oorlo,
Pakintlo atta, tana pakkane mammaya valla pakana pedda thatha.
Itu tirigithe Chinna thatha, rajima.
Intlo babailu, pinnilu, athalu, mamayyalu, nanamma, thatha, boledu mandi.
Valla pillalu - valla pillala pillalu - banthi bhojanalu - portico kinda kaburlu - current povadalu - pandirlu - 3 pakodilu 4 bajjilu - *chalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa mandi janalu*. :)) 

Ooru motham manade. Andaru chuttale. :D

I love Giant-Joint-Families. I wish they were everyday stories! :D

In every conversation, there's a sense of true freedom - to talk about anything and everything.
I was searching for an alternative in english for this, I gave up. I couldn't find a word that could replace this one. 
'Chanuvu' - It conveys volumes of how mad and carefree you can be with someone.

In spite of facing each other everyday, I never spoke to my next door aunty for so long, as much as I spoke to next door neighbours back at my granddads place. I met people who knew me for ages, people whom I knew for ages. We hardly meet, yet the distance is so negligible. :)  

It was 4 in the evening. Power was off. Our ups drained. We all came out and sat under the portico, just then came one-thammudu and two-chellelu :p. I haven't met them for the past so-many years. They've all grown up. I was trying to recollect their names, surprisingly, all of them called me by my name, I'm like whaaat-you guys-remember-my-name??! I then heard an inner voice screaming at me, 'Shame one you harika!'.
We were friends in no time :D

After a while we were bored and then we went to meet mamayya and atta.
There was a much larger gathering awaiting us.
Pedda thatha, two-two athas, mamaya, annaya, three-tamudulu, three-chelellu. :D

The sun set. It was pitch dark - the day after no-moon. Still no one complained, no one asked if the ups supported fans, no one searched for cell phones ( I actually 'didn't have time' to check messages on whatsapp :p I was occupied to that extent! :D - I didn't even carry my phone along) - we talked, listened to stories, walked through history, most importantly we laughed - we laughed till our cheeks hurt.

Peda thata started narrating a story he knew about Bandar fort (Machilipatnam Fort).
Apart from introspecting historical significance and correctness of the story - isn't it awesome to hear stories from an elderly person whose wrinkles date back to the age of  britishers in India?

That night, the only sound I could hear was the song of the wind and happy cheerful laughter.

How often do you get to spend such hilarious nights under a starry night sky?

'Travel is about discovery. But more than seeing new places, travel is about discovering something about yourself, about epiphanies, finding "aha" moments, when you feel connected with your surroundings, when life makes perfect sense.'

That night, that moment, life made perfect sense to me. :))

Just being there seemed to be enough. I felt connected with the place, people, the deep black soil, the song of the wind, the scorching heat, powerless nights, starry skies.

Sometimes this magic lasts a few minutes, sometimes I feel it for days. But every single time it makes the trip more meaningful. If I were in charge of my family, a weekend at this place every month would be made mandatory. :)

Dear May, I love you till the moon and all the way back. :*
I miss you very much.

:: Pari ::

My fondest memory! :)

Six years ago, she was a new born baby.
Five years ago, she was my dearest alarm clock, always up before the daybreak.
Four years ago, she kept on chanting akka akka akka, banging our door stopper.
P.S : She couldn't reach the doorlock!

Three years ago she joined school,but even today, whenever we meet - we play chupan chupai ;), pakdo pakdo, rock paper scissors :p, we draw, we colour, we build toy cities, we swing, we dance and the list goes on.. :D

They both (:

She isn't 100% likable, as she shouldn't be- she is a girl who's been given everything in life. She is stubborn. She is different. Of course she's going to be arrogant-at times! She misuses her potential. She forces the unforcable. She isn't hard. She isn't a gelato either. Nobody other than he, ever says no to her. Nobody other than he, understands her better.

He’s protective without being possessive. He manages to be concerned about her welfare without acting like a dad about it. He offers advice without being controlling. He is never a jerk to her. He sees through phonies. He's clever & brainsmart. His intuition works well.

He is friends with people who are considered lower class (than he is) and upper class - all alike. He values humility, kindness and being a good person. He’s a gentleman to all ladies, not just the ones with money. He's chivalrous. He never says or does anything he hasn’t thought through. He’s perceptive. He has both intelligence and common sense. Most importantly, he does what he loves to do - Isn't that awesome? (:

They know each other's virtues, but he also knows her flaws. They know what it's like to fight with each other, as they have had many a quarrel. They already know that they are compatible because they have been friends for so long.

He constantly chides her for being headstrong. She has known him for years. She knows exactly who he is. He tells her exactly how he feels about her behavior, and exactly how he feels about her, all the time. He is straightforward with her.

He constantly tries to give her good advice, mostly unheeded. He warns her away from unnecesary activities, but she doesn't listen. He ends up, obviously, being right. He warns her about phonies (this is partly out of jealousy, but he is ultimately right), and he also tries to comfort her each time she messes up something, it's because he cares about her development as a person and he wants her to be the best possible version of herself. But he also knows that at her core, She is a good person (despite how annoying she is to people who don't understand her) and that she almost needs him to help bring out the best in her (as well-matched couples tend to do).

Sometimes it's easy to underestimate how important liking someone's family is (or at least pretending you do at the beginning). Certainly, it's not essential. We don't get to choose our families. For her, they're the best. They're her family. He expresses only the utmost respect for her father and they both are good friends too.

Do similar people make a good couple? No.

In case they are very similar. They are both proud, obstinate, stubborn. They both seem willing to budge momentarily, but will that really hold out in the long run? Who is going to be the one to compromise during fights?

Without such similarities these both are great together. Though their fights get heated, one of them always comes around in the end. By the end of the story, she has learned to not be so stubborn, and to take some of his well-given advice. He has brought her down from the pedestal she has placed herself on, and she has learned that it is possible, sometimes, that she is wrong about things. They have an open, trusting relationship, and communicate well. They are not afraid to speak their minds to each other. They are a match well made.

                                    Art - Nidhi Chanani

P.S : Characters once lived in the 18th century,who knows if they are still as much alive as you are this very moment! :D Hope, for they said 'Nothing is impossible' :)

Accidental incident. :D

After a nice yummy dinner I resorted to my mini idiot box (phone) :p

Okay don't widen your eyes like that I'm not waving my wand and making a pigeon out of it :/ I just opened facebook.(most obvious) :p

And my news feed shows some photo and that photo shows a message and that message seems FUN :p

Ha ha ha.

It says "Pick up the nearest book at you,turn to page 45.The first sentence explains your love life."

Haha.

Not that the book which is next to me is going to transform itself into a fortune teller.But whats the big deal!

Let's have some fun said my brain ;) and I opened it!  :D

And the book says - "You ought to be sure of it . It's important."

Hahaha.

Now that actually makes sense.But I know that already.Ofcourse i need to be sure of it.Ofcourse it's important!

Tell me something new, yelled my brain rolling in laughter.

Ha ha ha. =))

And then out of curiosity it messaged my hand to pick up the next nearest book.

And that one says "This small heritage structure is located on the Raj Bhavan Road,between Dilkusha Guest House and the Post Office."

Phew!

Haha.Then my brain says 'First is Best'.Way better than road and Post Office. :p

Okay!Wait.

Am i judging this right? :o

Wasn't that boring? Isn't this more interesing?!

The Post Office on the Raj Bhavan Road? 

I haven't been to a Post Office all my life.I haven't hand-written any letter anytime.So,going all the way to the Post Office to post 'nothing' is the remotest possibility.

And then,my hand vibrates, it just received a message to pick the first book and read its 45th page's first line AGAIN.

Y-o-u  o-u-g-h-t  t-o  b-e  s-u-r-e  o-f  i-t . I-t's  i-m-p-o-r-t-a-n-t.(*Robotic tone*)

What do I need to be sure of?

The message? :p

Or what it says?

Just a moment.Why the hell am I thinking about a random fortune telling photo for so long?!

Hahaha.

The Post Office seems interesting though. ;)

Am I thinking of writing a letter using pen and paper and going to the Post Office to post it? :o

Oh yes!Oh no!Hahaha.

Okay!

Dear Brain,

I think it's sleeping time.Lets just rest.

Your dearest.

Poor Post Office. So much drama and then no letter :p

Goodnight. Sweetdreams! :)

P.S : Post Office - Give it a thought. Hand-written letter - sounds FUN! ;)

గోదావరి - Oka andamaina prayaanam :)

Godavari meeda prayanam chestu

Kanuchupuki andinantha mera..

Oka vaipu papi kondala andalu..

Marovaipu pacha tivachi parichinattu unde kobbarithotalu

Veeti madhya godavari paina payaninche oka illu lanti oodalo kurchoni -

mana kaallu vache keratalaku edureedutunte entha hayiga untundo

Godavari cinema chustunte antha haayiga untundi. :)

Theres something special about this movie.

I don't remember the number of times I watched it, nevertheless it's always interesting. ( for reasons of my own (: )

* Prayaanam mundu *

This is the narration by the captain of the ship, before the journey starts. I can't think of a better start. These lines take me by surprise each time I watch the film,how could I not think on these lines before watching the movie (inspite of knowing Ramayana for all these years) ,the interpretation is pretty good and logical. :)

"Okasari andaru Jai Sreeram anandi..

:: Jai Sreeram!

Konni vandala savatsaraluga Seetharamula kalyanam Bhadrachalam lo jarugutu vastundi

Ramulavari gudlu annitilo bhadrachalaniki oka pratyekatha undi,endukante Seetharamula vanavasam e papi kondalu, vatini anukunna adavulalo chesaru ani charitra chebutondi manam ippudu akadike veltunnam..

Mana prayanam prasantanga anandamga hayiga jaragalante inkokkasari gattiga Jai Sreeram anandi..

:: Jai Sreeram

Asalu Seetharamula kalyanam chudataniki manam bhadrachalanike enduku ostunnam?

*crowd*

:: ma pillaki pelli cheydaniki..pedda operation avtunna ma ayanaki bagaipovalani..panlu sariga jaragalani..

Inkaa..

Inkendu babu ma kastalanni gattekadaniki..

Seetharamulu paddani kastalu inkevaranna paddara?

:: Padledandi

Asalu epudanna Ramudu raja sukhalu anubhavinchada

Asalu Seethamma variki vachinanni kastalu ee devathaki ayina ochaya?

Mari vallani mana kastalu terchamani adagatam enti?

Entante Ramula vari katha manaki emcheptundante

Kastalu rakudadu anni sukhale undali ani kadu,enni kastalu ochhina manaki oka thodu undali - Ramudiki Seethala - Seethaki Ramudila, aa kastalani anandanga edurukovalani ,edurkoni aadarshavantamaina jeevitanni gadapalani.

Ittlu,

- Captain Chintamani

   Dhavaleshwaram." :)

The story is about two different individuals Ram, Sita and their journey on Godavari that brings them together. Now that seems a pretty simple story, but what brings it to life and adds colour is the way its told, natural next-door characters , picturesque journey, soulful music , great lyrics - the way they are all woven to co-exist and compliment each other creates the magic.

It shows everything a 20+ gets to handle, be it the relationship between a grown-up daughter (Sita) and her mother (narrating the whole story after her return) conversational fights with her father ( *Like a short-tempered stubborn kid*), her aspirations to do something in life(*Passionate and determined girl*), a guy (Ram) who believes he can change the country’s fate by joining politics (*intelligent guy with unusual aspirations*), a girl (Raji) who is confused about what she wants from her marriage, love or stability. It surely is a piece of art.So simplistic, so true to human nature, realities, struggles, all essence of life - potrayed naturally.

And then to know how feel-good the journey is, you really really need to take a break and watch thefilm. Its a happy and pleasant movie,stays with you even after its over.

Okay,now let the movie do all the talking - It's better seen than said :p

Disclaimer : Only people who know how to read telugu, jump to the next line. Others strictly avoid the act. Stunt performed by experts only, do not try in the absence of elders. :p

గోదావరి loni telugu - telugu lo! :D

:)

ఆమనొస్తే కొమ్మలన్నీ కోయిలమ్మలు కదా

ఆమె నీకై సాగి వస్తే ప్రేమ ఋతువే సదా

దేవుడైనా రాముడైనది ప్రేమ కోసం కదా

ప్రతి జీవితం ఓ వెలుగునీడలా బొమ్మలాటే కదా..

:)

నిన్న నాదిగా నేడు కాదుగా అనిపిస్తున్నా

కన్ను చీకటై కలలు వెన్నెలై కాటేస్తున్నా

గతమేదైనా స్వాగతమననా నీ జతలోనే బ్రతుకనుకోనా

రాముని కోసం సీతలా..

:)

నీల గగన ఘనవిచలన ధరణిజా శ్రీ రమణ

మధుర వదన నళిన నయన మనవి వినరా రామా

రామ చక్కని సీతకీ అరచేత గోరింట

ఇంత చక్కని చుక్కకీ ఇంకెవరు మొగుడంట

రామ చక్కని సీతకీ..

పుడత వీపున వేలు విడిచిన పుడమి అల్లుడు రాముడే

ఎడమ చేతను శివుని విల్లును ఎత్తిన ఆ రాముడే

ఎత్తగలడా సీత జడను తాళి కట్టే వేళలో

రామ చక్కని సీతకీ..

ఎర్ర జాబిలి చేయి గిల్లి రాముడేడని అడుగుతుంటే

చూడలేదని పెదవి చెప్పె చెప్పలేమని కనులు చెప్పె

నల్లపూసైనాడు దేవుడు నల్లని రఘురాముడు

రామ చక్కని సీతకీ..

చుక్కనడిగా దిక్కునడిగా చెమ్మగిల్లిన చూపునడిగా

నీరు పొంగిన కనులలోన నీటి తెరలే అడ్డు నిలిచె

చూసుకోమని మనస్సు తెలిపే మనస్సు మాటలు కాదుగా

రామ చక్కని సీతకీ రామ చక్కని సీతకీ అర చేత గోరింట

ఇంత చక్కని చుక్కకి ఇంక ఎవరు మొగుడంట

రామ చక్కని సీతకీ..

ఇందు వదన కుందరదన మంద గమనా భామా

ఎందువలన ఇందు వదన ఇంత మదనా ప్రేమా?

_/\_ Veturi Sundara Rammurthy garu