Rare occurrence! My story & my parents story published in the same issue!!

A very rare occurrence perhaps in the history of Telugu literature!!

My parents story and my story were published in the same Deepavali Special Issue of Andhra Prabha in November, 1996!! I just discovered the old issue in my archives.

Here's the Index of that issue...the very 1st story is my parents - Bina Devi and the very last one is mine!!

బహుశా తెలుగు పత్రిక రంగంలో ఒక అరుదైన సంఘటన!  నా తల్లితండ్రుల కథ, నా కథ ఆంధ్ర ప్రభ 1996 దీపావళి ప్రత్యెక సంచికలో ప్రచురించారు!! ఈ కింద ఆ సంచిక విషయ సూచికలో మొట్టమొదటి కథ బీనాదేవిది. చిట్టచివరి కథ నాది!!

PS: For better readability please right click on image and select "Open link in new tab"

ఈ కింద నా కథ(!) చదవండి!

ముఖ్య గమనిక: సాధారణంగా నా "కథల్లో" "కథ" ఉండదని మనవి :)

Out of Box Google search ideas for Indian recipes!

Out of Box Google search ideas, especially for recipes!

Here are few Out of box searching ideas I've thought of and been practising for the past few months.

As cooking is my hobby cum passion I actively search for new recipes on the net frequently. I did the normal routine google searching methods initially. Since I consider myself a Pro as far as searching with Google is concerned I came out with the following “different” search methods that got me some fantastic results which made me famous as a cook at least in my family circle :)

For ease of convenience I am taking one vegetable as an example in all the methods outlined below and it need not be considered as my favorite:)

1. Find out the name of the vegetable you want to cook, in different Indian languages and then search with those names too. For example if you want Ladies Finger recipes you can search for Bendakaya (Telugu) Bhendi or bhindi (hindi), Vendakkai (Tamil) Dhados (Bengali) etc. 
   
   
2. You can also google for recipes from a particular state/area of India first google the vegetable's name in that area's language and then google for recipes for that name. For example you can google “Rajasthani bhendi recipe” or “avadh recipe bhendi” or “Bhendi konkani recipe” etc. Over a period of time you will start liking a particular state/area's recipes more!
   
   
3. The final method which should be used in conjunction with both the above methods and which also helps in knowing before hand how the recipe looks is to first type in the search terms and then select “Images” from the menu below the search box! You can see all the finished recipes and once you like a look of that then click on it for the detailed recipe. Of late I am googling “images” first and then go for the recipe only if I like the looks. Believe me its worth trying!

Needless to add, if you don't want international recipes please select “India” from “search tools” drop down menu!

Start searching for all the recipes of your favorite vegetables/ states and Happy Cooking & Eating too!

A little bird; nest & Hatching story!

A small birdie built a nest 6 days ago on a firm branch of the karivepaku (Curry leaves) tree in our backyard. It took 2 days to build it. And last 3 days its just sitting in the nest without moving an inch! Well...its an exaggeration...no..not moving part..but the inch part The nest is perhaps 3" in dia and there is almost no place for the bird to move! Its hatching its eggs. Don't know how long it has to sit like that. Can we sit in one place without moving an inch for just 1 hour?! 

You've to strain your eyes to see the nest in this photo. As the tree is always in shade there isn't enough light to capture it with my mobile cam! But if you look very carefully the nest is almost at the center of the photo.

PS: Since I don't have 24/7 surveillance cameras in place I don't know whether the bird is fasting all these days or her husband is bring her food :) 

Banking Security Force!

On the one hand we have unemployment more so in the rural sector. On the other hand the banks both public sector ones and the private sector banks are woefully undersecured! Security of the bank comprises of 2 parts.

1. Security of bank's assets and manpower
2. Security of its customers when they come to do transactions at the bank/ ATM

We frequently read about “attention diversion” gangs stealing large amounts of cash from customers after they have withdrawn it from the bank. It generally happens in front of the bank only! And we also frequently hear about daring bank robberies during banking hours by armed robbers as well as frauds by the staff both for themselves as well as in collusion with customers

So considering these two factors together why not create a specialized Banking Security Force to safeguard the banks and its customers. It can recruit young able bodied men mainly from rural sector and train them in the security aspects specific to banks. Each branch of the bank may be given 1 SI and few guards in varying strength depending on the size, location and vulnerability of the branch. Each branch should definitely have 1 securityman in plain clothes during banking hours to keep a watch/catch the criminals red handed both in and outside branch.

Banks in India are also paying large amounts by employing private security agencies to safeguard their ATMs too! And the BSF persons can be allotted to the ATMs too. Private sector banks also can employ these specially trained persons on payment basis to the BSF.

A special cell in the BSF also can be created to take care of Forensics of frauds / embezzlements in the banks by employees as well as customers who dupe banks by forged documents.

I have a strong conviction that creation of a specialized Banking Security Force will definitely reduce the crimes in the banking sector as well as provide meaningful employment to thousands of youth.

If Govt of India can't create BSF then I feel it would be a good business idea for ambitious entrepreneur!

btw...I have actually written the above idea in SBI PO selection main exam in 1983/4!!

Being "efficient" creates problems, sometimes!!

Long ago a well known Courier & Cargo company faced a problem!

They had annual contracts with large corporates and one of the usual conditions is that the consignment will be delivered on 3rd day to long distance destinations i.e., a consignment handed over to them on Monday will be delivered on Wednesday.

But once they ended up delivering one consignment on the 2nd day to a destination to which normally they deliver on the 3 day! Immediately the client called them and told them that from then onward they have to deliver ALL consignments on the 2nd day! The logic being that as they have already done it once they can do it every time!

The courier company had a very tough time explaining to the client that this particular incident was an "aberration" and can't be done for every consignment!

The client finally agreed but was totally unhappy:(

I slept one night in a famous Women's college in the heart of Hyderabad!!

I slept one night in a famous Women's college in the heart of Hyderabad!! Yes! You read it right!!

Surprised? Astonished? Intrigued? Read on....

In 1991 I was working in APOILFED, a Co-op Federation, managed by Govt of AP. And for the General elections held in that year almost all our employees were drafted for the election duty! And needless to say, once a person is drafted s/he can't escape, come what may.

As I was a Manager I was assigned Presiding Officer duty and was allotted to Reddy's Women's College, Narayanaguda in the heart of Hyderabad! I was very lucky to get a decent concrete building; few of my colleagues were assigned to booths in Govt schools which lacked even basic facilities like decent toilets and some of the buildings were in a very bad shape.

To give an idea about the inside view of operations let me explain in brief how the whole election exercise is handled, of course, limiting my experience to only booth level!

We (Presiding Officers) were asked to report for duty at Osmania University from 12 noon onward on the day preceding the polling day. I reported at 1 PM and had to stand in queue at a designated counter. And after some waiting I was given ALL the polling material i.e., ballot papers, ballot boxes, 2 sets of voters list, booth Number & name banners, gunny bags, sealing lac, few hundreds cash & other paraphernalia. Then I had to wait, with all that material, for couple of hours when I was ushered in to a RTC bus along with few other Presiding Officers. And the bus took a circuitous route dropping each PO at their assigned booths and I was dropped off around 5 PM!

The watchman took me inside the college and guided me to the auditorium which will be the booth, the next day. I kept all the material there, locked the room and went on a tour of the college, it being my first visit to a women's college! And after few minutes of touring told watchman to put chairs in the garden and settled there. Around 6 PM a young SI of Police "reported" to me along with few constables making me feel like a VIP :) They will be safeguarding the booth till the polling is over. And the SI and I went talking shop till late in the night. He told me his different experiences as a Police officer and I told him some of mine! Dinner miraculously appeared around 9 PM! Finally I retired to my "bedroom" of that night, the auditorium!

Once inside it was a little scary experience, what with me alone in that BIG hall. I arranged 3/4 benches side by side and made myself comfortable on them, if one can call that! I kept all the material next to me on the benches and tried to sleep almost hugging the ballot boxes. I kept one  light on throughout the night and had a very disturbed sleep due to new surroundings, mosquitoes, tension and stress building up inside, imagining various things that could go wrong the next day!

Finally I woke up at 5 AM and had a bath under the tap in the garden!

The Polling Officers reported around 6 AM and then all of us made the booth ready for the voting. I was surprised to see a queue forming just before the polling commenced! And it all went off smoothly till evening and finally after the polling ended we sealed the boxes and the Polling Officers left. After some time the bus with heavy police security came to pick us and it was 11 PM by the time I handed over all the materials to the concerned authorities.  Then I went home at midnight without dinner and slept like a log!

And that's how I slept a night in a women's college:)

PS: Incidentally Sri V S Sampath, the present Chief Election Commissioner, was our MD for a couple of years!

PPS: Only when someone does an election duty, they will appreciate the scale, magnitude of operations, massive planning, security concerns, logistics etc., involved in conducting General Elections pan India!

హైదరాబాద్లో సూర్యుడు ఎందుకు ఉదయించటం లేదు?!!

హైదరాబాద్లో సూర్యుడు గత మూడు రోజులుగా ఎందుకు ఉదయించటం లేదు?!!

ఈ విషయం మీద చాల సోధించి, పరిశోధించి, అలోచించి, విశ్లేషించగా నాకు అర్థం అయ్యిన విషయం! ఇంక ఆలశ్యం ఎందుకు? చదవండి 

పురాణాల కాలంలోనే కాదు ఈ రోజుల్లో కూడా ఎవరో ఒక దేవుడు ఎవరో ఒక మహా భక్తుడికి లేదా మహా పతివ్రతకి ప్రత్యక్షం అవుతూనే ఉంటాడు! అలా మా ఉళ్ళో, అనగా హైదరాబాద్లో, బహుశా ఒకానొక పతివ్రతకి దేవుడు రెండు మూడు రోజుల క్రితం ప్రత్యక్షం అయ్యి "ఓ నారీ శిరోమణి! నీ భక్తికి, పతి భక్తికి మెచ్చాను. కాని కొన్ని కొన్ని సందర్భాలల్లో మేము కూడా నిస్సహాయులం! ఒక వ్యక్తి ఆయుష్షు పెంచడం మాకు కూడా కుదరదు. నువ్వు మహా పతివ్రతవ్వి కాబట్టి నీకు నేను చెయ్యగలిగే సహాయం ఒకటే! నీకు ముందస్తు సమాచారం ఇవ్వడం.. అదేమిటంటే రేపు సూర్యుడు ఉదయించడం, మీ ఆయన అస్తమించడం ఒక్కసారే జరుగుతాయి! కాబట్టి ఆయనతో ఏమైనా లావాదేవీలు, రాతకోతలు గట్రా ఉంటె ఇవాళ రాత్రికల్లా ముగించేయ్యి. ఆనక బాధ పడి లాభం లేదు" అని చెప్పి అదృశ్యం అయిపోయాడు!

"ఇంకేముంది. అంతా అయ్యిపోయింది. నాకింక రేపటినించి ఎవరు దిక్కు?" అని ఆ సదరు నారీమణి భోరుభోరున ఏడుస్తూ సమయం వృధా చెయ్యలేదు ఎందుకంటే ఆమె "నేటి మేటి మహిళ"!  ఒకింత "Out of Box thinking"కి కూడా అలవాటు పడ్డ వ్యక్తి!     

అంతే!! ఒక గంట తీవ్రంగా ఆలోచించింది. తెల్లారితే తన బ్రతుకు తెల్లారుతుంది. అయినా దేవుడు ఏమిటి చెప్పాడు? "రేపు సూర్యుడు ఉదయించడం, మీ ఆయన అస్తమించడం ఒక్కసారే జరుగుతాయి!" అని కదా! కాబట్టి రేపు అసలు సూర్యుడు ఉదయించకుండా చేస్తే సరిపోతుంది కదా! Simple solutions to complex problems:)

ఆ ఆలోచన రావడం ఆలస్యం! "ఓ సూర్యుడా! రేపు ఉదయించకు! ఉదయించకు!" అని ఒక ఆర్డినన్స్ జారీ చేసింది! ఈవిడగారు మహా పతివ్రత కదా.  మరింక సూర్యుడు ఎలా ఉదయిస్తాడు? 

అదండీ జరిగిన సంగతి! ఇదే పురాణాల కాలంలో అయితే దేవతలకి, ఋషులకి ఈ విషయం దివ్య దృష్తితో తెలిసిపోయి లోక కళ్యాణార్ధం అందరు ఒక Delegation లాగ ఆ సదరు పతివ్రతా శిరోమణి దగ్గరకి వెళ్లి "అమ్మా! మీ ఆజ్ఞ మూలంగా సూర్యుడు ఉదయించక ముల్లోకాలు అల్లాడి, తల్లడిల్లి పోతున్నాయి. కాబట్టి నీ ఆజ్ఞని దయచేసి ఉపసంహరించు" అని వేడుకోనేవాళ్ళు! మరి ఇప్పుడు ఆ సౌకర్యం ఉందొ లేదో రేపు, ఎల్లుండి సూర్యుడు ఉదయిస్తే కాని మనలాంటి సామాన్య ప్రజలకి తెలీదు!

కాబట్టి వేచి చూడండి! మీ అదృష్టం!!