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