Passions And Problems

Each of us are bestowed with gifts. Some sing so melodiously, others dance, write, read, speak, draw, some are proficient in their academics, and turn out to be Engineers, doctors, Professors, Lawyers, Actors, Researchers. And what not. What matters is that you believe in yourself, and do anything and everything to support it. Some people, have multiple talents, and cannot help it, because, whether are not they get to be highly proficient in their field, they still have to do everything that makes thrm hear the call. 

True, there is that particular energy that transcends all and makes them realize what their true self is., however, life is made up of these tiny nano seconds, that add up into minutes, to days to years and a life time, and still the person is searching to realize that truth, that is so elusive.

Occasionally, one may hear their inner calling, and take up the activity, regardless of the obstacles one finds. That could be raising families, going for higher studies, or doing work in a systematic way, anything, that you may name. It is , when the tiny mini seconds are mastered and organized into tasks, that are related, that one can be on the way of accomplishing what one dreams. It may be a long way from where you are, and what you are doing, nevertheless, it is a happyness, that one experiences, despite all that , if they can organize, and go in the direction of their choice..

not surprisingly, ancient saints have said, Arise, Awake, Sleep not till you reach your goal! To be continued...!

Continuing:

January 8, 2021

We do not realize, that we might revisit what we started eons ago, one more time in this very life! This article was started so many years back. After several changes that took place, having several things that changed life, including surviving a pandemic,  so far; as well as witnessing historical changes in the current society, it is still a welcome wonder that I am motivated to continue my write up!

We may not realize our ability or meaning it might hold to others, including us from future, to look back. It is important that we keep the creativity developing, not be lazy, lethargic, enchanted or undermining our own work. It may not be a perfect work in one's opinion. Hey, it does not really matter. It is something that could be a stepping stone for something yet to come.. or a springboard for that matter or a launchpad, who  knows!

Keep working even if ten minutes a day. If you do not like restricted or structured pattern for creativity, feel encouraged to do so at your time and pace.

 You will be surprised, that is for sure, of the outcome of perseverance, persistence and productivity.

Let me share my attempt as I write a minison, that I learnt about recently. It is an effort to create poem in 14 letters or 14 lines of 14 letters etc. for more information, I will update this journal entry of sorts again: 

(https://trishhopkinson.com/2021/01/07/no-fee-submission-call-editor-interview-the-minison-project-deadline-jan-31-2021-rolling/?fbclid=IwAR2-fvWywTWhD_ibNM5yiBLNPP0481jF0VtbY30h6HhOM51SZ1Tfo1x4QKU

For your information) 

Believe it, you'll..

You'll achieve it!

Is it very simple?

Yes, if you believe!

 

Minimalism, The Harvest

"'Take some more tea,' the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
'I've had nothing yet,' Alice replied in an offended tone, 'so I can't take more.'
'You mean you can't take less,' said the Hatter: 'it's very easy to take more than nothing.'"
Small is beautiful, or less is more, to be minimalistic, as I apply from John Barth's article in NY Times.
What I do not see is more beautiful and waiting to be unveiled, even when I cannot read it... I will know it when others review my work later... if at all.
So, I read this story, in fact began to read it the very next day, after it was posted, in my class offered by Prof. Jeff Sartain.
I went back again earlier.
Read it two more times, today, to know who was hurt, when and where was this.
No wonder, appearances matter, after they count their returns. The lawyers held the value, for the value they can harvest.
Doctors or surgeons, to the organs they could.
And, of course, the author remembered that we are products of the miracle, that progeny is created from.
Some one else may say, we are a miracle from heavenly beings.
Each time I read it, I find a need to go back and find more!
You bet your shirt.
Or whatever.
Carroll, Lewis's characters popped out in my memory!  Unlike Poe's, story telling by Carroll Lewis's although does not appear to be minimalistic, the context above, is a clear example of Minimalism applied by Mad Hatter and the mouse, Alice keeps wondering, why the cups keep accumulating, and no one is offering her any tea. It is because, the clock was their friend and they wanted tea time to last forever!
Amy Hampbell, as a narrator/ protagonist keeps giving information, in piece meals...
Like the beauty of night, beyond the brightness of the Eiffel tower, you go back, again and again to reread!

Oleander Girl- A review

Dr. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's  Oleander Girl

The story is about a teenage girl in love, from a very traditional Bengali Hindu family. 

Korobi is from a traditional well versed and well cultured Bengali family, who was taken care by her grandparents as her parents were not alive. There is a mystery surrounding the death of her parents but, Korobi feels the presence of her mother many times. 

Korobi is chosen to be Rajat's mate and the elders celebrate their engagement with great show and pomp, specially so as Rajat was followed by his ex wherever he went...

Rajat's family is invested in the the business of fine arts, where they sell classical art works, from classical to modern paintings.

The cultural background of their family is very modern and in a way the story goes until now, it is like a marriage proposal with traditional and modern cultures.

This young girly story all of a sudden leaps into the most interesting, and thrilling story, that is as much a joy to read as it is totally absorbing.

 Going deeper into the heart of the Oleander Girl, it occurs that the only other narrative of this kind, and story is written by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, in his beautiful story telling in Gora. Dr. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni also hails from Bengal, where the cultural heritage is as great as India the great, India the Ancient to India the modern spreading the tender and fresh fragrance of her Oleander Girl!

However, unlike Gora, the story goes beyond that point and probes into the future, to realize her roots. It is as much a description of incidents that affected human lives since 9/11 as it is a narrative of the lives of individuals woven into this novel. 

The search for her roots draws into several incidents. Some of them very unpleasant. 

It takes an unexpected turn, teasing the readers and the stereotypical thinking and addresses the issue of interracial relations at a different parameter, from those of the offspring of such relations and the cultural distance they are born into or raised. 

However, the question remains with the reader, that the society is still not ready to accept the different perspectives in assimilating things that reckon change in society. Why was the daughter not given away by the person who should have, knowing their duties and responsibilities..does that mean the society is still not ready for the real change the writer intended to bring in, and they had to compromise their observation and imagination, to meet the expectation of the society, and ethnicities, norms, mores and folklore?

The communal problems in Calcutta, high end Bengali cuisine, haute couture have been knitted very well by the author. 

I think those who read it would want to keep going back to the book, until they get the story under their skin and still would want to indulge in reading for the sake of getting the essence into their being..

The book, Oleander Girl, written by Dr. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Professor of Creative Writing, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA, is a  Simon and Schuster Publication and is released globally. In India it is published by Penguin-India Publishers, I recommend you to go for the ebook version if your eyesight needs extra care, as one can enjoy reading to the font size that can be customized. It can be ordered via Amazon or from the publishers' site.

Other books that were penned by the author include, Mistress of Spices, Sisters, Palace of Illusions, etc. which we can address one after the other..

Pochampalli? Pochampally?

I am considering what it means

To have a last name of a village,

I am even thinking what that name means

And how it is related with that name

Ages back my forefathers moved to this place

And spread over around that place in all the local regions

I come from the family of Pochampally,

A village in the district Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh

The moment I think of the place I came from, 

The state of Andhra Pradesh, I realize 

 How great the History of AP has been

It was formed as a state based on Linguistic basis 

of a common language of Telugu from all the erstwhile 

southern regions of India, after the sacrifice of 

The great soul who starved till he reached heavens

Who was, Potti Sreeramulu, from AP.

I also think of the great civilizations 

that ruled the area and the great culture 

my language held, and still holds as a seat of culture

Great poets of country lore and literature

Held high positions in palaces and kingdoms

Come to my mind and appear so strong

Coming to the name Pochampally, 

which I rewrote as Pochampalli, 

Could mean, in my view, Pochamma +Palli

And Pochamma is Pochi plus amma

Pochi may have been a young girl or village damsel

Who may have been in love with the Lord Shiva himself

For husband, for a Hindu woman is like Lord Shiva

So they call Pati Parameshwar

I am not sure why villagers pray to the Goddess Pochamma

The lady called Pochi or Pocha

Was she a girl, taken away by force in marriage with a king?

Was she someone who gave up their life so as not to fall in the hands of another man?

Did Pochamma fight for the village against tyranny and save the people?

Did she vanish all of a sudden in a wild forest and they call the place 

By her name? Was that why the place was surrounded by forests all around?

I know one person who brought credit to the village,

His name is Ramachandra Reddy, 

Who donated his property to the cause of the saint

Vinoba Bhave, from Maharashtra, and earned a new name

For the village, since then: it was called Bhoodaan Pochampally

Which means Pochampally, that donated land, for the poor and downtrodden.

So I am from that place and call myself Uma Pochampalli.... Sounds different,

But the change of y to i in the end is to say I am Pochampally, 

Pochampalli I am!

Matters of Mind: News for interested people

It is important that the aspects of mind be dealt with professionals in times of need. For those who require help:
http://www.mindmattersonline.com

Situational Leadership, link from my class at HCCS

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Flearning.hccs.edu%2Ffaculty%2Fuma.pochampalli%2Fbmgt1301%2Fsituational-leadership%2Fsituational-leadership&ei=Wyx-UNCOEMOg2AWX5IHwCQ&usg=AFQjCNEtdrjUUMUtgM_yMHCrHuKvZOfvjg&cad=rja

Enjoy the work and get back to me!

Vegesna Foundation and its efforts in promoting culture while fund raising for differently capable children

This is a Saga from twenty five years.

The Cultural exchange in USA with music as a fund raising event started for a reason

Seven years back a family tried to commit suicide
Parents died but a little girl was alive losing limbs
That girl was saved by Shri Vamsee Ramaraju garu
To save children of such nature and many other handicapped children the Vegesna Foundation has taken up to bring about change in the lives of those individuals who were allowed to grow into individuals, who were given education and healthcare.
Vamsee Ramaraju garu spoke about the young children needing care.
Houston has helped the cause to uplift the lives of the handicapped children.
Vamsee garu has organized several events of high level of cultural activities.
Some of the international organizations that promised to help transfer funds were irregular in sending funds to India.
So Vegeshna Foundation was registered in USA
However the funds collected by Vegesna were not issued once sent to INDIA.
So in the US, Vanguri Foundation came up to rescue the handicapped. Dr. Vanguri Chitten Raju garu has generously arranged for the Vegesna funds to be processed with no restrictions, as it is a US based non Profit Organization

Vanguri Foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps in publishing books, preserving culture and helping several organizations.
No one bothers about the handicapped children when it comes to microlevel management.

However, with the help of Vanguri Foundation that is funding the music programs, better care is possible towards the care of children who are physically and mentally challenged.
Among the children  until November 2011, that Vegesna supported, 10 students are engineers and 10 students studying medicine.
Vamshi Ramaraju garu takes effort to visit USA and collects funds for handicapped. So he encourages artists and promotes art and cultural programmers and they also do fundraising. They are doing the celebrations of Ghantasala and other great singers by local and international talents to perform the world wide tours. They are asked to perform songs from old melodies.
There should be a channel for transferring funds and channelize the transporting of those funds to the parent country from the sponsoring country.
They do these programs because there are families depending on the efforts of the people who are fund raising
They have to bear the expenses of the artists and the tour expenses such as transport and hotel stay. During 2011,
Vinod babu
Balakameshwar rao garu
Mani sastri garu
 Geetanjali (vijayalakshmi)
Sharada garu

participated.

He made friends with artists and took the permission of the families to allow him to undertake the tours around the world
They are doing musical concerts relentlessly almost establishing world tours
Their idea is to create a corpus fund, Vamsi Ramaraju garu quipped, if Jitender Reddy garu of NATA gives 7 Crores, The fund will be created
Singer Vijayalakshmi garu also known as Gitanjali is thankful for being invited to participate in the world tour
All the singers thanked for the great efforts
They are planning to sing songs from the past 80 years
All the melodies from old films
 Balakameshwar rao garu, apara ghantasala thanked by singing a song from Tenali rama Krishnudu -Chesedi emito
Children are given catering food when they have fund raising
Normally they are given ordinary meals but they are also given care and provided an opportunity to develop them into well educated and developed individuals and also responsible citizens of the world.

This year Vegesna Foundation is back again, with old melodies from golden films to new films. This year the new singer from India is Krishna Prasad, who sang a melodious prayer to Ganapathi, as a gayatri mantra. Mani Sastry garu, Balakameswararao Tata, Akhila, Suman Mangu and Krishna Prasad have sung in this evening’s musical night.

They have performed in the Arya Samaj bhawan in Houston, starting their annual tour all around US to fund raise for the physically and mentally challenged children as well as adults.

The program in Houston is organized by Vanguri Foundation and Mani Sastry.

Mrs. Mani Sastry has hosted the guests from India.