అక్షరం - పదం - వాక్యం : : సేకరణ : విజయలక్ష్మి కాసాని : : మూలం : తెలుగుదనం

అ - అమ్మ - అమ్మ మాట వినాలి, అడుగు ముందుకు వేయాలి.
ఆ - ఆవు - ఆవు మనకి పాలు ఇచ్చును.

ఇ - ఇటుక - ఇటుక మీద ఇటుక పేర్చు, ఇల్లును అందంగా తీర్చు.

ఈ - ఈక - పాలపిట్ట అందం చూడు, ఈకలకున్న రంగులు చూడు.
ఉ - ఉడుత - ఉడుతా ఉడుతా ఉష్, ఎక్కడికెళ్తున్నావ్.
ఊ - ఊయలలో - ఊయలలో పసిపాప, అందరికీ కంటిపాప.
ఎ - ఎలుక - ఎక్కడి దొంగలు అక్కడనే పిల్లి వచ్చే ఎలుక భద్రం.
ఏ - ఏనుగు - ఏరు పారుతున్నది నిండుగా, ఏనుగు త్రాగును నీరు దండిగ.
ఐ - ఐదు - ఐదు వ్రేళ్లు బలిమి హస్తంబు పనిచేయు.
ఒ - ఒంటె - ఒంటె ఒకటి ఎడారిలో ఒంటరిగా వెళుతున్నది.
ఓ - ఓడ - ఓడలోని ప్రయాణం కలిగించును ఆనందం.
ఔ - ఔను - ఔను చిరునవ్వు ఒక ఔషధం.
అం - అంబరం - అంబరమంటే ఆకాశం, ఆకాశంలో హరివిల్లు.

క - కడవ - కడవ అడుగున నీరు కాకి పైకి తెచ్చెనెలా?
ఖ - ఖగం - ఖగం అంటే పక్షి.
గ - గంప - గంపలో పళ్లున్నవి, పళ్లలోన బలమున్నది.
ఘ - మేఘం - మేఘాల తెరలోన దాగుంది చందమామ.
చ - చక్రము - చక్రాలు సరిగా ఉంటే చక్కగా నడుస్తుంది బండి.
ఛ - ఛత్రం - ఛత్రం అంటే గొడుగు. ఎండ, వానలకు తొడుగు.
జ - జడ - జడలో పెట్టిన జాజిపూలు వెదజల్లునులే సువాసనలు.
ఝ - ఝషం - ఝషం అంటే చేప.
ట - టపాసు - టపాసు అంటే ఇష్టం, కాల్చాలంటే కష్టం.
ఠ - కంఠం - కంఠం ఎత్తి కోయిలమ్మ, ఎన్నో పాటలు పాడునమ్మ.
డ - డబ్బా- డబ్బాలో మిఠాయిలు నోరూరిస్తున్నాయా!
ఢ - ఢక్క - ఢక్క చేతిన పట్టి శివుడు నాట్యం చేయు.
ణ - వీణ - వీణ పలుకును రాగాలెన్నో, పాట లోపల భావాలెన్నో.
త - తల - తలను చక్కగా దువ్వాలి.
థ - రథం - రథము నడిపెను కృష్ణయ్య.
ద - దంతము - దంతాలను ప్రతి రోజూ తోమాలి.
ధ - ధనం - ధనం విలువ తెలుసుకో, పొదుపు కలిగి మసలుకో.
న - నక్క - నక్క ఎంతో టక్కరిది.
ప - పలక - పలకేమో నల్లన, అక్షరాలు తెల్లన.
ఫ - ఫలం - ఫలం అంటే పండు.
బ - బంతి - బంతి ఆట ఆడాలి.
భ - భజన - భగవంతుని పూజించు, భజన చేసి తరించు.
మ - మంచం - మంచానికి నాలుగు కాళ్లు.
య - యతి - యతి అంటే ఋషి.
ర - రవి - రవి అంటే సూర్యుడు.
ల - లత - లత అంటే తీగ.
వ - వంతెన - వంతెనపై వెళ్ళాలి, నదిని దాటి పోవాలి.
శ - శరం - శరం అంటే బాణం.
ష - వేషం - దసరాలో పులి వేషం, చూచేవారికి సంతోషం.
స - సంచి - సంచిలోన సర్దుకో పుస్తకాలు, బడికి వెళ్ళి నేర్చుకో పాఠాలు.
హ - హరిణం - హరిణం అంటే జింక.
ళ - తాళం - తాళం కాపాడుతుంది ఇంటిని.
క్ష - నక్షత్రం - నక్షత్రం తళ తళ మెరుస్తుంది.
ఱ - ఱంపం - ఱంపానికి పళ్లుంటాయి.

Vedanta Advice for Rational Society : By Dr. Murahari Valupadas

Looking into the current grim situation of the world, one can not help but get into a philosophic mood and say that it is a difficult period to live in. Individuals may become gloomy as well as a bit agitated and, perhaps, shortsighted due to this. This feeling has been the same in every age since the hunting and gathering societies to this age. Furthermore under the present day crisis, people solace themselves with the same old thought that somehow we have survived by muddying all along and will have to do the same to face the insecure and uncertain future.

The ancient Rishis of India, however, did something about it. For the purpose of providing guidelines for the benefit of one and all, the yogis of India have experienced upon life and have passed on this information in the form of scriptures. Vedantha Philosophy is one of them. Before writing about the applicable Vedantha Advice, I would like to summarize the current world situation and various thoughts that have been advanced as possible explanations:

* Economic scarcity and human aggression do not seem to be declining as technology is growing. Human misery seems to be on the rise and things appear to be out of control.
* Violence and terrorism are prevailing. Inequalities in economic and political power are not eliminated.
* We can not extract and utilize at will all we want from nature without destroying nature itself.
* There is no guarantee that even if scarcity is replaced with abundance, that humans are going to behave as humans.
* Planning current economies in terms of crisis solving, preventing foul - ups and irrational distribution is beyond imagination.
* There is a need for a social system which can establish a relationship between technological and social changes so that we can maximize the benefit of technology while minimizing its drawbacks.
* There is a need to establish the relationship between progress, growth and environmental preservation.

Growth, inflation, deflation, giant corporations and the environment are the problems that have to be dealt with carefully to get the system going. However, the economic models available do not open our eyes to the full meaning of the economic futures they project because the question of effects on social attitudes, morale and morality is usually left unexplained. What economists taught us is that the world is not just in a state of unrelated confusion but a continuous process, not just happening but developing - based on the interaction between technological advancement and the peoples' attitudes.

Real democracies did not exist since the days of hunting and gathering societies to this day and if the current situation prevails there is no possibility of this in the future either. Clearly it is evident from the above factors that all individuals of the society should have the capability to analyze, understand, and win over the situations that they come across rather than become victims. Vedantha is the foundation of all the theories of self-perfection and discusses the science of teaching self mastery. To establish a healthy society, the Vedantha philosophy emphasizes producing a healthier and more integrated personality in such individual. This type of individual achieves self-mastery including the ability to analyze and become a master of circumstance rather than a victim of circumstance. The science of Vedantha advises the treatment of meditation for making a genius out of an ordinary person. This practice of meditation:

*generates in us a powerful energy thus enabling us to lead a moral and ethical life.
* strengthens personality in us to liberate ourselves from unworthy judgments and weakness of character caused by the false identity with body, mind and intellect.
* helps in dropping all our low values of life and discover for ourselves the enduring principles of living.

The objective of world governments has been to keep people happy by manipulating and redistributing the wealth and objects. Vedantha says that any attempts to bring about greater world happiness without rehabilitating the individual personality are futile attempts. If we can bring up one generation of competent people as per the Vedantha advice, we would certainly come to rule the world of objects which is what is required to divert this society in the right direction.

Is it possible? It has to be. We came to realize the importance of curbing greenhouse gas effects. We are attempting to curb cigarette smoking all over. A day will come when the world governments will have to come together to realize the importance of a rational society to replace the current one. That will only be possible by concentrating on the betterment of each individual of society as per Vedantha advice.

Name Confusion and Identity Crisis : By Mr. Sharana Basappa

On January 10, 1969, I left India to pursue higher studies at the University of Houston. Little did I realize that my life would change so much after that date. It has been an exciting and fulfilling 39 years here in North America, and I feel I have done well in retaining my Indian roots while assimilating some of the pertinent Western culture into my lifestyle, just as many of my fellow Indian-born, first generation North Americans have as well.

Finding this ‘balance’ and establishing an identity of my own however, has not been an easy task. In fact, dealing with non-Indians was at times as frustrating as dealing with our own Indian people – something few Indian born people would expect. I would like to share my own personal identity crisis for the past 39 years amongst our own people in North America. Identity crisis may be too strong a word but certainly name confusion has caused enough grief in my life.

We have a tendency to identify a person by their name and determine by that where they come from and what language they are likely to speak. A name such as RAO, KUMAR or MURTHY could be a Telugu, Kannadiga, Maharashtran, or even Tamil. They could be Brahmins, Kammas, Velamas, Lingayats, or Christians. Despite all these possibilities, when I introduce myself to a Telugu person as “SHARANA BASAPPA”, their immediate reaction is to say “Ah! You must be from Karnataka”. My answer to that is “NO, I am from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.”. Their next question is, “Do you speak Telugu?” to which I answer “yes”. This will be followed up by that statement “But you must speak Kannada at home”; and so on, and so forth. I used to find this extremely frustrating and in the beginning I would answer most people in a very defensive manner. I used to say “I am Telugu, my mother and father are Telugu, my Thatha and Muthatha are Telugu, and our generations have been Telugu for 500 years!” On the other hand when I met a Kannadiga and introduce myself as “SHARANA BASAPPA”, they would immediately start speaking in Kannada. As this occurred repeatedly, I found myself becoming more bothered with this. Was I supposed to be something else? Am I supposed to know how to speak Kannada? Am I not also an Andhra? A Telugu? My discomfort reached the point where I decided to discover more of my background and my roots as a TELUGU VEERASHAIVA.

I grew up as a Veerashaiva, commonly known as Lingayat , with Telugu as my mother tongue. Veerashaivism set its roots in Karnataka in the 12th century. The ongoing political unrest, social inequality, exploitation and religious apartheid dictated the need for a new religion that satisfies the longings of all people, not just a few select Brahmins. Basaveshwara created such a religion, known as Veerashaivism or Lingayatism. He himself who was born into a Brahmin family denounced the UPANAYANAM ceremony at the age of 9, and left home in search of a new religion and social order, one that was accessible and fair to all people. Basaveshwara was in fact the forerunner among modern Hindu social reformers. Some of the key social reforms that were advocated by Gandhi were long entrenched as part of Veerashaiva belief. Removal of untouchability, abolition of caste, equal opportunity for women, equal respect for all professions, dignity of labour, uplifting of the masses; all of which appear modern in concept, were brilliantly envisaged by Basaveshwara 800 years ago. Currently, there are approximately 20 million Veerashaivas residing in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Basaveshwara’s impact was felt in many parts of Andhra Pradesh including the coastal areas. Some of the well known literary scholars of Andhra Pradesh are Veearashaiavas; Sri Palkuriki Somanthudu, Siva Sri Bandaru Thammayya, Sri Piduparthi Somanatha Kavi, Sri Mallikarjuna Panditharadhya and Sri Mahadevaradhya of Vijayawada. Of course Sri Thammayya was a 19th century scholar but Sri Palkuriki and Sri Panditharadhya belong to the 12th century, as Basava’s contemporaries. Sri Palkuriki has written a very important book known as “BASAVA PURANA PANDITARADHYA CHARITRAM”. The first publication in the Kannada language about the life of Basaveshwara is in fact a translation from this Telugu book by Sri Bheema Kavi. This book contained some controversial statements about established practices in Hinduism and hence, never gained the popularity or the recognition it deserved. According to Sri Thammayya this book is “ఆంధ్ర భాషకు జీవనౌషధం". Of course Sri Thammayya was not only a great Telugu poet and literary scholar but also a well known Veerashaiva in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. His articles in Andhra Patrika, "శ్రీనథ విమర్షనా వ్యాసములు" have earned him the title as "విమర్షకాగ్రేసర". Some of his many titles include “Shiva Sharana”, “Shiva Sahiti Sarwa Bhauma”, “Soma Sahityacharya” and finally in 1968 he was honoured by the Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Academy with “Suvarna Pathakamu and Kashmir Shawl”.

An identity crisis or confused identity has forced me to read and research into my heritage and, in doing so, has reinforced my beliefs and upbringing as a Telugu Veerashaiva. Once I fully understood my roots, I became less defensive and was able to deflect the comments I had once found hurtful by speaking intelligently of my heritage. I have also been able to educate others along the way, building understanding and even motivating others to learn of their own history.

As first generation parents, we express concern for the identity of our children in North America, and rightfully so. We genuinely fear at times that our children may not have the right identity or may not have any identity at all. I hope this article will help many of our young people born here in North America to accept their own perceived identity crisis and encourage them to learn more of their roots. It is not enough to label yourself as ‘brown’ when your heritage is so rich in culture and diversity, something that should be celebrated rather than suppressed. I hope our youth will start learning more about their roots, heritage, culture and religion and be proud to share with any and all people who question their identity. The perceived identity crisis is forcing our children, to find out who they really are, and it is very positive and promising. It is my observation that many of our youth are keen on discovering and expressing their heritage, culture, and religion and proudly share this with others.

I am proud to call myself a Telugu Veerashaiva. This has led to great personal satisfaction and an inner peace within my soul. I encourage everyone who is questioned about their roots, to take that opportunity to discover more of your heritage and culture. Be proud of your history and speak openly and confidently about it with your friends, colleagues and peers. You’ll find, as I have, that doing so gives you a richness and sense of belonging and identity amongst the mosaic of people in the world today.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Coffee - A Short Story By Jim Duce

It is my habit to stop at Tim Hortons for coffee on the way into work in the mornings. I could make coffee at home but I like the routine of stopping at Tim Hortons.

Sonya was behind the counter. I call Sonya ‘The Twin’ because I do not believe one single human being can be as ditzy as Sonya. The only explanation is that Sonya is one half of a pair of really dopey identical twins. Let me explain.

Sonya has served me at ten minutes after five almost every morning of the work week for the better part of a year. I always buy an extra large coffee, black, no sugar or cream.

Sometimes, in spite of what I order and have ordered every day for the past twelve months, I might get a hot chocolate, sometimes I get a medium coffee, double double, and sometimes, lo and behold, I even get what I asked for. I don’t complain because I like Sonya. She is always cheerful and happy to see me. I usually get a story about her dog or her grandchildren or she tells me something her husband has done.

”That man! You wouldn’t believe what he did. What causes him to act such a silly fool, oh I just don’t know.”

‘Oh, I can guess, Sonya. He’s been married to you for forty years. Poor guys is prob’ly brain dead by now,’ I think to myself but decline to say.

Yesterday I stopped in as usual, ordered my extra large black coffee, got a large coffee with one cream, and tried to pay for it with my debit card. Here in Canada the banks issue what they call a debit card. The merchant runs the plastic card through a scanner just like they would a regular credit card. The customer then plugs in a “PIN” number and his or her bank account is debited the amount specified by the purchase.

Sounds simple enough. Right? Only I couldn’t remember my PIN number, a number I use several times a day. Finally I did recall some working digits but they were for a defunct account I have not used in months. The machine’s digital read out curtly told me I had INSUFFICIENT FUNDS to cover the purchase.

“Ah, never mind,” Sonya said. “You can pay me tomorrow. When we hit sixty it seems we can never remember all the things we used to. I do the same thing all the time. Yesterday when I went home an unlocked my door I left the keys right there in the lock. Can you imagine that?”

“Sixty! Sonya, I have to explain, I ain’t sixt…”

“It‘s all right, dear. Just stop by tomorrow and we’ll straighten everything out then.”

I thanked her and scuttled out the door. When I was in the car I pulled down the visor and looked at myself in the little vanity mirror. Sixty. Do I really look like I’m sixty?

Then I had to laugh. Maybe I look like I’m sixty to Sonya, but then Sonya can’t tell a blueberry fritter from a pecan butter tart. I tilted my head back and peered at my reflection over my bifocals…nah, I don’t look one day over fifty-four.

పిల్లల పాటలు

చందమామ రావే

చందమామ రావే - జాబిల్లి రావే!

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పల్లకిలో రావే - పంచదార తేవే!

సైకిలేక్కి రావే - చాక్లెట్లు తేవే!

పడవమీద రావే - పట్టుతేనే తేవే!

పెందలాడే రావే - పాలు పెరుగుతేవే!

మంచి మనసుతో రావే - ముద్దులిచ్చిపోవే!

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చూచివద్దాం రండి సుబ్బరాయుడి పెండ్లి

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దొరగారింట్లో పెళ్ళి దోచుకువద్దాం రండి

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బంగారు మొలత్రాడు - పట్టుదట్టి

సందిట తాయత్తులు - సిరిమువ్వ గజ్జలు

చిన్ని కృష్ణా నిన్ను - చేరి కొలుతు

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వేణునాదం తారంగం - వెంకట రమణ తారంగం

వెన్నదొంగ తారంగం - చిన్నికృష్ణా తారంగం

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ఎక్కడి దొంగలు అక్కడనే

గప్ చిప్ సంబారు బుడ్డి

కళ్ళూ మూసి కాలీకోర్

ఎక్కడి దొంగలు అక్కడనే

అడుక్కో - బుడుక్కో సంబారు బుడ్డీ

గప్ చిప్ - గప్ చిప్.

బడి నుంచి అమ్మ ఒడికి

బడికి మనం వెళ్లుదాం

ఆటలెన్నో ఆడుదాం

పదములెన్నో పలుకుదాం

పాటలెన్నో పాడుదాం

అక్షరాలు దిద్దుదాం

అమ్మ ఒడిని చేరుదాం

బావా బావా

బావా బావా పన్నీరు

బావను పట్టుకు తన్నేరు

వీధీ వీధీ తిప్పేరు

వీసెడు గంధం పూసేరు

పట్టె మంచం వేసేరు

పాతిక గుద్దులు గుద్దేరు

నులక మంచం వేసేరు

నూరు గుద్దులు గుద్దేరు

బావా బావా పన్నీరు

బావకు మరదలు బంగారు

బుజ్జి మేక

బుజ్జి మేక బుజ్జి మేక ఏడకెల్తివీ?

రాజు గారి తోటలోన మేత కెల్తినీ.

రాజు గారి తోటలోన ఏమి చూస్తివీ?

రాణి గారి పూలచెట్ల సొగసు చూస్తినీ!

పూలచెట్లు చూసి నీవు ఊరకుంటివా?

నోరూరగా పూల చెట్లు మేసివస్తినీ .

మేసివస్తే నిన్ను భటులు ఏమిచేసిరి?

భటులు వచ్చి నాకాళ్ళు విరుగగొట్టిరీ.

కాలు విరిగిన నీవు ఊరకుంటివా?

మందుకోసం నేను డాక్టరింటికెళ్తినీ.

మందు ఇచ్చిన డాక్టరుకు ఏమిస్తివీ?

చిక్కనైన తెల్ల పాలు అందిస్తినీ..

ఉన్న పాలు డాక్టరుకిస్తే యజమాని కేమిస్తవూ?

గడ్డి తినక ఒకపోట పస్తులుండి తీరుస్తా.

పస్తులుంటె నీకు నీరసం రాదా?

పాడు పని చేయనింక బుద్దివచ్చెనాకు.

బుర్రుపిట్ట

బుర్రుపిట్ట బుర్రుపిట్ట తుర్రుమన్నది.

పడమటింటి కాపురం చేయనన్నది.

మామతెచ్చిన మల్లెపూలు ముడవనన్నది.

మగని చేత మొట్టికాయ తింటానన్నది..