Dont quit!!!

How true! This is what takes life ahead. Read this...

Don’t Quit!
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but do not quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—

You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor’s cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out—

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Sri Voleti Venkateswarlu

I feel glad and previleged to say that Sri Voleti Venkateswarlu is my Grandfather. Well..My ammamma's sister's husband. I have known him quite closely, attended his shashti poorti. But I was quite a small child, so I have heard more about him than knowing him personally. He was one of the extra-ordinary musicians from AndhraPradesh with expertise in both carnatic and Hindustani Music.

About Sri Voleti Venkateswarulu
Sri Voleti Venkateswarulu (1928 - 1989) was one of the most prominent musicians of the 20th century. Born in Rajahmundry, he learnt music initially for 10 years from Sri M Venkata Rao Pantulu garu, and later underwent exclusive training for 3 years under Dr. Sri Pada Pinakapani garu. He served as a producer of carnatic music at AIR, Vijayawada from 1966 onwards. Amongst his various contributions, his music lesson programs and Bhakthiranjani were prominently appreciated by the listeners. Sri Voleti's music is unique in the field of carnatic music. His style represents both the carnatic tradition as well as Hindustani. He used to receive tremendous response from rasikas while singing Ragaalapana. As a result of intense practice during his younger days, a tremendous knowledge of swaras and felicity in singing, Sri Voleti also excelled in the Hindustani style to such an extent that he could please famous musicians like Bade Gulam, Ali Khan, Mehdi Hasan, Gulam Ali et al.
Sri Voleti possessed the finest qualities of musical ability to sing with ease in three octaves, with absolutely pure sruthi and perfect laya.
Voleti lives
More than a decade and half after his passing, he is one of the most celebrated voices in Andhra, perhaps in all of Carnatic music. Voleti lives in the hearts of Maestros like Lalgudi Jayaraman and M.S. Gopalkrishnan who adore him. He also lives among modern day aficionados who engage in passionate discussions on the internet about him. And amongst the younger generations of music lovers Voleti's music has a devout following. It is known that this giant of a person was an extremely simple, humble and modest man. His voice is fruity, rich and sonorous, his style elegant. Voleti was the music, the style was the man. They were one and the same.
Born on 27th August, 1928 in Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh, he began his musical journey at the tender age of five. Voleti had his initial training from Chaturvedula Achutaramaiah Sastry and achieved Swaragnanam under Munuganti Venkat Rao Pantulu. He later graduated in music from Andhra University. Under the guidance of Sangita Kalanidhi, Dr. Sripada Pinakapani he refined his style. Dr. Pani had said "He was a disciple of mine all right, but what a genius! You can describe him as one of the best musicians of Andhra ever. I wonder whether we will ever get another musician like that". Pinakapani knew Voleti's capacity to quickly grasp any musical passage he heard, write it down in notation and then breathe life into the notes while rendering the passage. The esteemed G.N.S . Raghavan had this beautiful comparison to make of the two virtuosos, "It is a curious fact that Voleti was more widely popular than his teacher. Perhaps it is because Pinakapani's music is like the sun whose intense brightness dazzles and scorches, while Voleti, like the moon, sheds a balmy effulgence". Raghavan remarked, "Voleti was like the 'utsava vigraha (Utsavar)' of a temple-- the deity with burnished golden exterior, adorned with silk and jewels when taken in procession-- while Pinakapani is like the 'moola vigraha ( moolavar)' in the sanctum-- sculpted in black stone: dark, mysterious and awesome".
Voleti joined All India Radio in 1951. He ushered in the Golden era of music in Akashavani, in close association with Dr. Balantrapu Rajanikantha Rao. Voleti's personal favorites were the Bhakthi Ranjani and Sangeetha Sikshana programs. His favorite ragas, they say, were the Ranjani, Begada, Panthuvarali and Varali. Voleti exulted most in being accompanied by Maestros Vellore Ramabhadran, Dandamudi Rammohan Rao and Karaikudi R Mani. Kuchipudi Yakshaganam, Adhyatma Ramayana krithis, Sadasiva Brahmendra krithis, Narayana theertha tarangams and many light musical songs, all of which have the indelible Voleti imprint. Sangeetha Vidhwan Malladi Suribabu father of Malladi brothers imbibes Voleti style.
Voleti was a potent combination of ability and knowledge. He could sing in three octaves with pure sruthi and perfect laya. His musical ardor did not adhere to any boundaries. Voleti loved Hindustani music and ghazals. He'd listen for hours to Vivid Bharati to artists like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Mehdi Hassan and many others. Famed and acknowledged by some as the "Bade Ghulam of the South", Voleti's passion oft reflected in the way he would interject Hindustani idiom towards the conclusion of a raga alapana, raising some eyebrows but delighting many others.
Music was never a profession for Voleti, never a means to an end, it was within him, it was divine and the accolades were a mere consequence of that profound philosophy. The awards include the Sangeetha Nataka academy award, Sangeetha Choodamani, Sur Singar among others.
(green gram pancakes) which she readily served him. She was his life-long shadow quietly New CD release
Release of Sri Voleti Live Concert CD's Sponsored by Vidya and Venkat Tadanki in memory of his grand parents Smt. Subba Lakshmi and Sri Krishna Rao Tadanki (SUKRITA) on 16.02.06 at Ravidra Bharathi Hyderabad.
This effort is dedicated to Voleti's wonderful wife Smt. Voleti Vijayalakshmi. After a concert Voleti loved to have pessarattus enabling "Utsavar" to immerse his soul in his love for music, which he did for neither gain nor expectation. Voleti lives on.
Music example: Listen to Voleti's singing on this website

You can find his video from Doordarshan here

P.S:

Source: http://www.sampurna.mimemo.net/

The Art of leadership

Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam: 'A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure'
This is a great lesson for all the aspiring leaders. It does take a lot of guts, and integrity on the part of the leader to be able to take responsibility of failure and and attribute success to the team...Hope this inspires some of us...
India Knowledge@Wharton: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?
Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal. By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was a big failure. That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization. The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct the press conference today." I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

Proof of Ramayana

Here we have, some evidences of Ramayana.
Well...Somebody said "If Ramayana and Mahabharata are true , They are beautiful...If they are somebody's imagination, they are even more beautiful..."



1. Ashok Vatika..The Place where Ravana kept Sita
2. Ravana's palace --The palace burnt by Hanuman3. The floating stone of Ramsethu..Stone made by Lord Sri Rama and Vanara Sena
4. Sugriva's Cave

5. The Ramsethu
6. The Sanjeevani Mountain...The mountain from which Hanuman brought medicine for Lakshmana...

శ్రీ రామ రామ రామేతిరమే రామే మనోరమే
సహస్రనామ తత్తుల్యం రామనామ వరాననే !!!
God Bless!!!!

Winners Vs Losers

* The Winner is always part of the answer;

The Loser is always part of the problem.

* The Winner always has a program;

The Loser always has an excuse.

*The Winner says, "Let me do it for you";

The Loser says, "That is not my job."

*The Winner sees an answer for every problem;

The Loser sees a problem for every answer.

*The Winner says, "It may be difficult but it is possible";

The Loser says, "It may be possible but it is too difficult."

*When a Winner makes a mistake, he says, "I was wrong";

When a Loser makes a mistake, he says, "It wasn't my fault."

* A Winner makes commitments;

A Loser makes promises.

* Winners have dreams;

Losers have schemes.

* Winners say, "I must do something";

Losers say, "Something must be done."

*Winners are a part of the team;

Losers are apart from the team.

* Winners see the gain;

Losers see the pain.

*Winners see possibilities;

Losers see problems.

* Winners believe in win-win;

Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose.

Hurray!!! Finally got thru the Lotttery!!!

Hmm...Finally there came a day when I can think about working in the US. My application got picked up in the H1-b visa lottery..Very much thrilled...Have been waiting for this for a year now. Life looks better..
Well..now I need to learn to drive, Give some certifications...and yo!! Shop.....

Carnatic Music

Music is one of my passions. Having learnt carnatic music for a good amount of time, I am not sure whether I can call myself a good singer, but I can sure call myself a very good listener. So here goes some info that I have collected about Carnatic Music.

A Few Inspiring People

These are some of the very inspiring videos that I have come across. Great people who started from scratch to grow upto where they are..Watch their musings at the links below.

Kiran Bedi
Vinod Khosla
Vani Kola
APJ Abdul Kalam
Amit Agarwal
Sekhar Kammula

Microwave fun!!!

Microwave is one boon for homemakers. Well besides the fact that u can use microwave for reheating, U can also use it to make delicious curries. We usually see ladies here in the US cooking alternate days due to their busy schedules...But with a microwave, u can get hot fresh instant food for work:)

• Use the Microwave cooker for rice...it takes 20 minutes.
• Microwave cooker also comes with a basket for steaming vegetables.
• U can make Potato fry in Microwave without using much of oil...Infact just a tbsp of oil.
• Recipe: Peel and cut the Potatoes into cubes. Take a Microwave bowl (A glass bowl not Plastic), add the potato cubes, a tbsp of oil, salt and pepper. Mix it well. Microwave it for 5-10 min depending on the quantity and power of ur Microwave. Crispy Potato fry is ready.
• U can use the same method for all the other frys like tindora, okra, or eggplant. If u want anything softer, then just cook them with a lid. They will not even consme half the oil use to fry in a frying pan..Do try n let me know...

I make a lot of variety this way...ofcourse, only when it is urgent. It is not advisable to use microwave on a regular basis.

The art of Homemaking

Usually, we keep cribbing for things that we donot have. While I was working in India, I used to feel bad that I donot have enough time to pursue my interests. Now that I am here in the US on H4 visa, I have all the time to pursue my interests...Sketching, Singing, blogging....Well, most importantly, Homemaking. I feel homemaking is an art...We can have a lot of fun with it and be content at the end of the day.

A few Homemaking Tips:

1. Make sure U wakeup early and cook breakfast and lunch for ur hubby in the morning. U will be surprised with the contentment that u get looking at his happiness. Also, ur cooking will be done very early in the day leaving u a lot of time for other things.
2. Pray. Have a nice Pooja Room. I allocate one coat closet for God in my house. That gives a lot of satisfaction.
3। Declutter. It actually takes just a few mins if we do it daily.
4. Decorate. Life looks better if your home is decorated..U can use simple things like flowers from dollar tree, vases and even ur own photographs to decorate ur home. Add Candles and fragrance.
5. Well, this is my belief, but girls, try lighting Diya near the God ( Whichever God u believe)Morning and Evening. Life will be very Bright. I do that myself everyday. I learnt it from my Mother-in-law..I feel it works...

My sketches

Sketching is one of my hobbies..Well these r very simple ones...but I hope to come back here with some more good sketches....

Music

My Puja Mandir

Create, Combat and Conquer....The youngest entrepreneur in silicon valley!!!

Hey guys, just think what you were doing at the age of thirteen. Having fun with friendz...did you even know the word entrepreneurship??Well....world's changing..Here we have, an eighth grader from Lawson Middle school Cupertino, starting his own business.
Meet Mr. Anshul Samar, the thirteen year old entrepreneur, who does not want to wait for another 10 years to be one. Anshul Samar, is the son of an NRI in Silicon valley. He is the CEO of 'Elementeo'. 'Elementeo is a Chemistry card game, which combines fun and learning. Kids can learn chemistry while having fun with the war game, 'Elementeo'. This whizkid wants to prove that kids can also be "entrepreneurs".
He, along with his sister, Shailee Samar, Vice President Sales, of Elementeo and 2 more friends, were the buzz of TieCon 2007, where they showcased the Chemistry card game and received 450 orders in 90 minutes.

Parents, you can now stop worrying about your children playing instead of studying. Now they can do both together!! Visit http://www.elementeo.com/ for more on this...

Women completely Americanised????

"The first thing I do everyday in the morning is visit Mahanandi" , say a lot of women here in the US...Thats so nice...Indira is a wonderful and creative writer, who puts in so much of effort...Gals..dont u think we gotto learn something from her? Well I am talking about the irony here...Here are a few things I observed in most of the women in US..

• Ready to search for new recipes..but husbands are not lucky enough to have a fresh meal everyday. Each person that I meet asks me "Oh so U cook DAILY!!!!?" .."I ONLY COOK ALTERNATE DAYS BECAUSE OF THE BUSY SCHEDULE"..Friends...I think thats the minimum...So much of earnings...so much of effort, missing parents, what is the use of all this if we can't even have a fresh meal each day???
• We shop for Kurtis and Sarees at the best shops here in US and then appear at the temple in a western outfit...Well comfort is the priority for sure...but r we not forgetting the roots? Be proud to wear Indian Outfits and show off our culture!!U'll be respected more...
• Another lady says to me...( Well...all of these ladies belong to our own indian community) "Hey don't tell me u don't Drink AT ALL!!!" Oh my gosh...Looks like NOT DRINKING is considered bad manners now...Think gals...Are we happy doing all this...dont u think its away from our roots??Can we proudly tell our moms what we r doing...All the best buddies..good going..
• Now this is another thing that bothers me..."DO U WEAR MANGALSUTRA DAILY?" Well I dont know how everyone feels...but this is something very emotional . Even if u put the tradition apart, How does a married woman feel good taking off the mangalsutra jus for the so called fashion???Well all the best folks.Gr8 going..
• Am I sounding too traditional? Well this article is not for the modern lot...but for those who are bitten by FASHION BUG, and searching for something thats not theirs....Be Yourself!!!

Being Modern is supposed to be reflected in our outlook and not our attire..Isn't it hypocrisy that we have become modern only in attire and stil talk about mothers-in-law and stuff in the potlucks????Despite living in the west, we r rooted in our country which has a lot of traditions about which we could be proud...Well learn the other good things from the West..The courteousness, punctuality, straightforwardness.Living in a new country should help us culminate the best of both worlds, rather than pulling out our roots.