తెలుగు మాట...తేనె ఊట TELUGU...a language sweeter than honey

Challenges of making Telugu language internet-friendly

2011-10-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Encoding all symbols under the Unicode system is far from over'
Linguistic and computer experts grappled with the various challenges of making Telugu language Internet-friendly at the three-day International Telugu Internet Conference under progress here.
The task of encoding all the symbols of Telugu under the Unicode system is far from over, they felt.
Unicode Consortium president, vice-president, and chairperson of Unicode Technical Committee Lisa Moore said the consortium was encoding several Indic scripts. There were still some Telugu symbols that needed to be encoded.
Prof. Peri Bhaskara Rao of the Research Institute for the Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, an Institution of the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and chairman of the first Telugu Internet Conference outlined several problems in making Telugu a more Internet-friendly language. He said the need to drop a few symbols of the Telugu language that were “spoofable” ( used to imitate other characters) was under examination.
He said there were several problems in developing language editors, spell checker, and text-to-speech (TTS) systems for Telugu.
Prof. G. Uma Maheswara Rao of the Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies, University of Hyderabad, said developing a spell checker for Telugu was challenging because it was an “agglutinating language with a very complex morphology coupled with prolific sandhi (also known in linguistic terms as morphophonemics).
“Designing a spell checker for Indian languages such as Telugu poses many new challenges not found in English. In Telugu, inflectional elements (which include different kinds of auxiliary verbs, postpositions, particles, and case-makers) are always bound to the stem resulting in highly synthetic word forms.
The number of possible verb forms for a verb stem in Telugu, therefore, is very high running into millions, aggravating the task of the morph analyzer (of the spell checker),” he said.
A team of experts at the Hyderabad University were trying to address all these problems, he said.
Vasudeva Verma from the Search and Information Extraction Lab, IIIT-Hyderabad, outlined the efforts being made to develop a Cross Language Information Access (CLIA) in Telugu. He said that CLIA could be considered as an extension to Cross Language Information Retrival (CLIR) systems. This would help in making accessible the huge amount of information available in different languages, mostly English, to people who know only Telugu.
RICH PHONETICS
He said a team in IIIT was working on developing CLIRs in the domains of health and tourism with funds from the Government of India. CISCO systems architect Kolichala Suresh said it was good time to think about reforms in Telugu script.
He suggested inclusion of some new symbols to preserve the rich phonetics of the language. He said living languages constantly evolved and particularly at the time when technology used to write or print them changes. It is known to all that script of Telugu is rounded because palmyra leaf was used as writing material.
A few symbols were dropped and changed when typing technology came up because it did not allow horizontal staking, he said.
Courtesy: The Hindu

First International Telugu meet begins

2011-10-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

The first international Telugu Internet conference began here on Wednesday. Unicode Consortium vice-president and Unicode Technical Committee Lisa Moore delivered the keynote address at the First International Telugu Internet Conference organised jointly by Andhra Pradesh Government, SiliconAndhra and Global Internet Forum for Telugu (GIFT).

Minister for Information Technology and Computers Ponnala Lakshmaiah said that Andhra Pradesh Government had become a permanent member of the Unicode Consortium. Attempts were being to develop six fonts to begin with. The Minister said that he would donate the Rs. 6 lakh needed for developing one font to be named after his family ‘Ponnala'. Principal Secretary for Information Technology and Computers Sanjay Jaju said that Andhra Pradesh Government was the only Government to become a full member of the Unicode Consortium. He said that the full membership would give the Government voting rights and a lot of space for Telugu language on the internet.

He said the Minister was the first to come forward to contribute for the development of a Telugu font. He said a unicode font for cellphone would also be developed soon.

Former Minister and honorary chairman of the conference Mandali Buddha Prasad said that internet was the only thing that could integrate the Telugus all over the world. Languages with smaller populations have made tremendous advances in the field of computers and internet. Andhra Pradesh Society for Knowledge of Networks CEO A. Amarnath Reddy said making Telugu more internet friendly would improve the chances of Telugu people getting better jobs.

Tokyo University of foreign Studies faculty Peri Bhaskara Rao and University of Hyderabad faculty memberG. Uma maheswara Rao. TV 9 CEO Ravi Prakash spoke. Several language and computer experts are presenting papers in the three-day conference closing on Friday. Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy is scheduled to address the delegates through the internet on the closing day for 15 minutes beginning at 9.30 a.m. local time.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Telugu film 'Vanaja' housefull at Locarno festival

2011-08-08T01:09:00.000-07:00

After travelling to 32 film festivals, Telugu film "Vanaja", a tale of a 15-year-old girl's dream of becoming a world class Kuchipudi dancer, was screened here Saturday and went housefull.

Director Rajneesh Domapalli says he may soon have it released in theatres in India.

"I made 'Vanaja' in 2005 as my master thesis at the Columbia University. My film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and in 2007 it won the best debut award at the Berlin Film Fest. I released the film in theatres in the US and South Africa and I will soon release it in India," Domapalli told IANS.

Set in rural Andhra Pradesh of the 1960s, the film that explores the chasm that divides classes as a young girl struggles to come of age was screened in the Open Doors section at the ongoing 64th Locarno International Film Festival.

In the film, Vanaja (Mamatha Bhukya), daughter of a low caste fisherman who is struggling to make ends meet, goes to work in the house of the local landlady, Rama Devi (Urmila Dammannagari), in hopes of learning Kuchipudi dance while earning her keep.

How her dreams are left unfulfilled after the arrival of her employer's son is told in a very subtle but effective manner by the director who says he isn't trying to give any message through the film.

"I have woven the threads into the story - gender issue, caste system and clash of old and modern. My film also tells what happens when boundaries that should not be crossed are crossed," said Domapalli who has made it with non-actors whom he handpicked from the middle class families.

"I took people from middle class families. They had acting training for one to two years. The lead didn't know Kuchipudi dance and she had to learn it from scratch," said the director who has managed to extract the best from his cast.

All the actors look natural on screen and their performances make it an interesting watch.

The director describes it as a low budget film and added: "For art house film making inroads in India takes going up against commercial establishments and quite a lot of money."

His next will be "Avani", but before making the film he will release it as a novel and use the money earned from its sales in the making of the movie.

"'Avani's' screenplay is over and bits of novel have also been written. I am writing another novel on young adult fantasy that uses a 14-year-old as protagonist and is set across three worlds."

Courtesy: Times of India

Google Translate welcomes you to the Indic web - Google Translate Blog

2011-07-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

Google Translate welcomes you to the Indic web - Google Translate Blog

Google Translation ఇప్పుడు తెలుగు లొ

2011-07-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

Telugu is now supported by Google Translator

http://googletranslate.blogspot.com/2011/06/google-translate-welcomes-you-to-indic.html

Telugu professors do homeland proud

2010-07-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD: It is said that if there’s one thing Telugus value more than gold, it’s education. What’s well known is that in the best of universities across the world, Telugus are among the creme de la creme of the student pool. But not content with just learning, Telugus are also making a mark for themselves as teachers.

Donning a teacher’s robe is not a novel career choice, just one that has been largely overshadowed by the more visible options of engineering and medicine for Telugus. But these intellectually inclined folk can no longer be ignored.

Analysts estimate that there are easily more than 300-400 academicians of Telugu origin in universities across the US alone, including the Ivy League. They are not just fixtures in the Foreign Language or the South-Asian Studies departments but are distinguished research scholars, professors, heads of departments, deans, vice presidents, among others.

Some very distinguished academicians are people of Telugu origin. Consider Mysore-born Telugu man చల్యంపుడి రాధాకృష్ణ రావు (Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao) (popularly known as CR Rao). Currently a Professor Emeritus at Penn State University, 89-year old Rao is a living legend and among the best known statisticians in the world. He has won innumerable awards, has 28 honorary degrees from universities over 17 countries and has his name etched in history for giving ‘Cramer-Rao bound’ and ‘Rao-Blackwell theorem’ to the world. Contemporary IT students will certainly have heard of రాజ్ రెడ్డి (Raj Reddy), the man behind the establishment of the IIIT at Hyderabad. A native of Katur in Chittoor district, this former professor at Stanford University is a pioneer, having founded the first-of-its-kind Robotics Institute in Carnegie Mellon University, way back in 1979.

CR Rao and Raj Reddy might be most prominent, but many other Telugus are shining on the American academic scene. డా. బాలమురళి అంబాటి (Dr Balamurali Ambati), India’s own ‘Doogie Howser’ became the world’s youngest doctor when graduated at 17. So what drives these academicians to become the achievers that they are?” Telugus do not care for name, fame or designation but teach because of their love for teaching,” explains Pudur Jagdeeswaran, a professor at the University of North Texas. He believes that Telugus, like most Indian professors, are able to bring more to their classroom because of their global outlook. Besides that, their excellent academic records, commitment to hard work and training skills nurtured in India help, he adds.

Which probably explains why several of these academicians are occupying responsible positions in their universities as well. For instance కృష్ణ పాలెపు (Krishna Palepu), the Senior Associate Dean for International Development at Harvard Business School and also Ross Walker professor of Business Administration. మైకెల్ రావు (Michael Rao) is the President of Virginia Commonwealth University. Breaking stereotypes, more and more Telugu teachers are reaching beyond subjects of engineering and medicine to social sciences, media and cultural studies, journalism etc. Speaking for Indian academicians (particularly Telugus) former professor of journalism, అనంత్ బబ్బిల్లి (Ananth Babbilli) also Dean, Provost and Vice President Academic Affairs at Texas A&M says, “Our intellectual depth nurtured by a multicultural and diverse cultural milieu in which we grew up, coupled with a confident global intuition are the secrets of our success”. He received the Texas Professor of the Year award by the Carnegie Foundation.

వంశీ జులురి (Vamsee Juluri), professor of Media Studies at University of San Fransico says that its natural for Telugus to be excellent professors, no matter what their subject, because they come from a culture of learning and a mindset that requires respect for education. On his part he always trying to break stereotypes and represent the Telugu voice of India in his class. He routinely screens Tollywood movies to his Do students to give them a better insight into Telugu culture. While spreading gyan among global students, mana gurus seem to be doing their homeland proud.

Courtesy: TOI

Telugu Film Industry pays tribute to lyricist Veturi

2010-05-30T12:12:00.001-07:00

Telugu film industry Sunday paid rich tributes to legendary lyricist Veturi Sundararama Murthy, who died following cardiac arrest.

He was 74 and is survived by his wife and three sons.

Veturi died Saturday night at a hospital, where he was admitted last week due to multiple problems.

Several prominent film personalities paid their last respects to the noted lyricist at his residence in Srinagar colony. The cremation will take place at Bansilalpet samshan later in the day.

Eminent film personalities, including director K. Viswanath, producer D. Ramanaidu, actors N. Balakrishna, Murali Mohan, Mohan Babu and Nagender Babu paid tributes to Veturi, who left an indelible impression on film industry.

Veturi, a poet who began his career as a journalist, went on to become one of the leading lyricist by penning memorable songs, ranging from classical to folk and the popular ones.

In his career spanning over three decades, he wrote hundreds of songs and also achieved the distinction of being a writer who can write a song within 15 minutes.

"I have lost my brother," said Viswanath.

The lyricist began his career in film industry by penning songs for Viswanath's film O Sita Katha (1974). His songs for the director's other movies like Siri Siri Muvva (1978), Saptapadi (1980) and Sagara Sangamam (1983) became very popular.

Born Jan 29, 1936 at Pedakallepalli in Krishna district, Veturi worked for Telugu dailies Andhra Prabha and Andhra Patrika. In 1994, he won the national film award for best lyrics. He was the second lyricist from Telugu film industry to achieve this distinction but returned the award since Telugu was not declared a classical language.

Veturi was also a recipient of Andhra Pradesh government's Nandi film award eight times for best lyrics.

Courtesy: NDTV

UGC Project in Telugu University

2010-04-03T01:17:00.000-07:00

Rajahmundry, April 02: A socio-cultural literary index of writers from Godavari districts compiling their 1000 years of literary works would be undertaken through a special UGC project of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University.

Vice Chancellor Prof A Bhumaiah announced this presiding over the two-day literary meet of Godavari districts inaugurated at the Literary Centre of Telugu University at Bommuru near here.

He said the special project was approved under self assistance project with Rs 35 lakh UGC support. This project would be implemented in the coming five years requesting writers in the district to extend cooperation in this effort.

Many writers like Adikavi Nannaya ,who translated Mahabharata into Telugu and Madhunapantula Satya Narayan Sastry who wrote Andhra Puranam and others have made tremendous efforts in the field of Telugu literature, he said.

Prof B Satya Narayana, Vice Chancellor, Andhra University and in-charge Vice Chancellor Adikavi Nannaay University said that Telugu was a divine language and writers in Godavari districts have contributed to its and proved to be the main source of inspiration bringing revolution in the field of literature.

Courtesy: ZeeNews

Mauritius - The Telugu Community in country - When differences no longer matter

2010-03-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Port Louis — 'I am a Hindu and my wife is Telugu, but there is no difference,' says Shyam Sungkur, a doctor we interviewed in the Hari Hara Devasthanam Temple this temple situated in Midlands we were told was a Telugu temple. To our questions he adds, 'The religion is the same, the outfits are similar, there are few differences in the cuisine and we all pray to the same God in the same way.' It was on the occasion of the celebration of Ougadi, an occasion believed to be the Lunar Telugu New Year.

Both Shyam and his wife, Jeshina were adamant that there is no difference, although he classifies himself as a Hindu and she as a Telugu . As it turned out, they are probably right. The major difference between the Telugus and the other Hindus is a linguistic one. The Telugus come from the state of Andra Pradesh where Telugu is spoken.

However, in Mauritius and nowhere else, it would seem, although all the Hindus come from India and are Hindus by faith, they tend to classify themselves according to their linguistic and cultural heritage rather than to their religion. So a Tamil may tell you he is not a Hindu but a Tamil. The Marathi is not a Hindu either but a Marathi. Each community has by and large tended to keep to itself and children are brought up conscious of the heavy weight of their ancestral culture. At school, this is enforced by the different classes children go to, each trying to learn her ancestral language and culture.

The sense of belonging to the community is confi rmed by Papaya Goorimoorthee, a lecturer at the MGI. Having been a Telugu teacher himself before he converted to teaching Indian music, particularly the 'Mridanga', he stresses the linguistic and cultural identity which differentiate the Telugu community from the other Hindu communities. 'God cannot be associated with a language,' he concedes, 'but we have our differences. Our weddings are different in the sense that our women do not wear the sindhur (red powder worn in the hair to show that a woman is married) but wear the 'cordon zon' (a yellow thread collar) instead. Our ladies wear the pulloo (the 'tail' of a saree) on the right instead of the left and our cuisine, especially our cakes are different. There are some varieties of cakes which are typical of the Telugu community.'

However, of all the Hindu communities in Mauritius, the most open to others seems to be the Telugu community. Though, according to Papaya, marriages outside the community used to be rare, he thinks that things have changed a lot recently. But he can still tell a Telugu just by looking at one. Chandra Veeranah, a fast food merchant confi rms both the difference and the openness towards other communities. He also gives the example of the temple where we were, which was set up by Telugus but which is being used as a place of worship by other Hindus.

Is Ougadi a Hindu festival then? Contrary to what we have always believed, Ougadi is in fact the Hindu Lunar New Year and last Tuesday, the Hindu community celebrated the year 2067. However, in the Mauritian context, Ougadi has always been associated with the Telugus. The rest of the Hindus celebrate New Year on Sankrati, which, according to scholars, in fact marks the beginning of Uttarayana, the sun's movement northward for a six-month period or the harvest season. Are the people attending the Ougadi celebrations at the temple mostly Hindus or Telgus? The doctor says Hindus, the lecturer and the merchant say they are mainly Telugus. Swami Partha Sarathi Andra, a Telugu who comes from Andra Pradesh, is happy to tell us that the people who come to that temple are 90% Hindus. A lesson in openness and integration.

Courtesy: AllAfrica

Assembly on Telugu's Classical Status

2010-03-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

19th Mar, 2010: The AP State Legislative Assembly today thanked the government for the step of according the "classical language" to Telugu.

The chief miniser K Rosaiah extended his gratutude to the PM Manmohan Singh and other Union Ministers for according the status to the state's language. He thanked all MPs from Andhra Pradesh as well, for their co-operation in achieving the classical language status.

In 2008, the centre had issued a notification declaring that Telugu was a classical language, but the notification was subject to disposal of Public Interest Litigation pending before the Madras High Court.

to the government, for a language to be considered "classical", the following criteria must be fulfilled - high antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years; a body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers; that the literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.

However, the government also says that classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

Courtesy: FullHyderabad

Disney India Making Telugu Language Adventure Film

2010-03-12T00:10:00.000-08:00

The Walt Disney Company in India is launching a locally developed studio project aimed specifically at audiences in southern India, the studio announced on Thursday.

The still untitled fantasy adventure is scheduled to release in January 2011. Filming started last November and features a host of leading local talent.

The Telugu language movie, which will be dubbed in Tamil is expected to broaden the company’s appeal to southern India.

“India is one of the most dynamic and creatively vibrant markets in the world and this film demonstrates Disney's continued commitment to building a robust and diverse slate of locally produced films.” Jason Reed, executive vice president, production, Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures and general manager, Walt Disney Studio International Productions, said in a statement.

The fantasy film is set in the fictitious land of Sangarashtra, and focuses on the journey of a nine year old girl with special healing powers and her quest to save her home from an evil queen, played by internationally renowned actress Lakshmi Manchu. The girl is protected by a blind swordsman.

“We plan to provide Indian audiences with an unparalleled roster of locally relevant stories and engaging characters and will continue to tap into the local creative ecosystem to develop content which resonates with Indian kids and families,”Mahesh Samat, managing director, The Walt Disney Company India Pvt ltd., said in a statement.

K. Raghavendra Rao will produce the movies, and Prakash Rao Kovelamudi will direct.

Courtesy: TheWrap

Thyagaraja in Thailand

2010-02-27T21:31:00.000-08:00

It was a deeply moving experience for many as Indian expatriates came together to organise the first-ever Thyagaraja Aradhana in Bangkok…

Perhaps it's the spirit of Thyagaraja Swami that “looks East” now after having set exotic regions of the world awash in Carnatica.

Celebrating a rich heritage:Pantula Rama (centre), violinist Mutnuri Srinivasa Narasimha Murty and Vankayala Venkata Ramana Murty (extreme left).

The new year for India in ‘Suvarnabhumi', as the Thais call their green and pleasant land, began on an auspicious note with the first-ever Thyagaraja Aradhana in Thailand. As any observer of or participant in the Carnatic world knows, the 20 {+t} {+h} century tradition of the Thyagaraja Aradhana at Thiruvaiyaru in Tamil Nadu on ‘Bahula Panchami', celebrating the 18 {+t} {+h} century saint-composer's memory through his music, is an event like no other. Moreover, it has become the expression of the Carnatic community's cultural confidence in a new country and a celebration of its rich musical heritage wherever the Carnatic diaspora settles, even — especially? — in otherwise remote places on the planet like Cleveland in the US. Not surprisingly therefore, a Thyagaraja Aradhana was organised in Bangkok by the Telugu Association of Thailand (TAT), to celebrate its first anniversary.

The artistes they invited for this jubilee, from Visakhapatnam, were vocalist-violinist Pantula Rama, her violinist husband Mutnuri Srinivasa Narasimha Murty and mridangam vidwan Vankayala Venkata Ramana Murty. All three artistes enjoy good standing in the Carnatic world: most recently, they performed on December 17, 2009 at the Madras Music Academy in its eight-decade-old annual music festival.

The two-day Bangkok Thyagaraja Aradhana began with a regular Carnatic concert by Srinivasa Murthy and Pantula Rama at the Indo-Thai Chamber of Commerce in midtown-Bangkok on a Saturday evening in January with aspects both piquant and poignant. For one, an important sponsor of the one lakh- bahtevent (about Rs. 1.35 lakhs) was a Chinese lady, while the free hotel accommodation for the artistes was courtesy a Pakistani Hindu settled in Kuwait.

Celebration of diversity

Embodying the wonder that is India, a young Sikh, Mr. Baljeet Singh, formerly of Palasa near Srikakulam, AP, welcomed the audience in chaste Telugu. Like his Sikhniwife Reena of Guntur, AP, Mr. Singh speaks, reads and writes fluent Telugu. (Habitués of the Madras Music Academy will instantly recall Mr. Yadavindra Singh, a front row regular at the Academy's festivals, whose family lived in Andhra Pradesh for five generations and who flies down every year from the US to get his ‘Margazhi monthful' of paatu).

In that very spirit, the musical range of the evening was pleasantly pan-Deccan, with requests pouring in for songs in Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil from the enchanted audience, which made full use of the opportunity to appease its emotional hunger for live Carnatic music.

Celebrating a rich heritage:Pantula Rama (centre), violinist Mutnuri Srinivasa Narasimha Murty and Vankayala Venkata Ramana Murty (extreme left).

Despite the lateness of the first evening, the artistes and a respectable slice of the audience were present early the next morning at the new Indian Cultural Centre on Sukhumvit Soi 23 (the same street as the Embassy of India in Bangkok, a location akin to Radhakrishnan Salai in Chennai or Connaught Place in New Delhi). Soon, the intense ‘ bhakti hush' produced by genuine Indian classical music pervaded the hall as the singer, flanked by as many others as the Centre's tiny stage could comfortably hold, launched in her deep, steady voice on the five grand devotional compositions in Sanskrit-Telugu by Thyagaraja Swami collectively celebrated as the ‘ Pancharatna Kriti' or Five Jewels.

Serendipitiously, it was the first concert of 2010 at the Indian Cultural Centre, Bangkok, an outpost of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (Ministry of External Affairs), inaugurated as recently as on September 22, 2009, by its President, Dr. Karan Singh and the Thai Minister for Culture, His Excellency Mr. Teera Salukpetch. The singing was preceded by the screening of a 10-minute clip of the Doordarshan DVD of the original Thayagaraja Aradhana, so as to vivify the original context to the Bangkok audience.

Fittingly, the Bangkok Thyagaraja Aradhana was covered by both a Thai TV channel, TAN-TV (Thai News Network) and a Telugu channel (TV 9) whose presenter was none but the adventurous Hyderabad-based Subbu Peteti Venkata of KtoKfame (the televised journey he made a year ago, minus any money, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir). Said ‘ Subbu' disarmingly, “My knowledge is very limited about Thyagaraja Aradhanas, but I thoroughly enjoy the very thought of everyone here trying to promote Indian culture and heritage in Thailand,” and posted a clip on YouTube soon after.

Of the Thai students from Silpakorn (Arts) University present, Banuwongse, a second-year MA student in Sanskrit said it was very interesting for him to hear “sung Sanskrit”, while his teacher, Dr. Prativa Manjari Rath of Kalinga University, currently on an ICCR teaching assignment at Silpakorn, said, “This is spiritual music. I did not need to understand Telugu to feel moved by its devotional quality.” Said Kittipong, leader of the Thai-Hindi Club of Bangkok: “Some of us relate very deeply to India. There are teachers and students at Mahidol and Silpakorn Universities who have been to South India.” They agreed that hearing Indian classical music live was a very different experience from hearing recordings.

“Well, that's why we decided to invite the artistes,” says Madhavi Vemuri and Aparna Row, the core organisers, who, in the fitness of things, asked Row's guru, Pantula Rama to star in the show. “I never expected it would be such a big event,” said Pantula Rama.

Show of solidarity

After the concert, as the women of the Telugu Association of Thailand served free vadai and coconut chutney to all A.S.N. Shastry, 54, the President of TAT, smiled with satisfaction. What began as a picnic by 12 Andhra families in Bangkok's Lumpini Park a year ago had grown to a 100-strong gathering by Ugadi (Telugu New Year) last April. By January 2010, there were a 140 members and ready to plant their flag. Typically of the singing, dancing nation that is India, they chose to do so with their music.

“I've been in Thailand 25 years,” says Shastry, who works as the factory manager in a large Chinese textile firm and says he was nominated by the Telugu Association as its President by virtue of his long residence in Thailand. “Somehow it all fell into place this year AND we have some money left over for next year's Aradhana.”

Perhaps it's the spirit of Thyagaraja Swami, who was not known to let the murukkucrumble, that “looks East” now after having set exotic regions of the world like the American Midwest awash in Carnatica.

Renuka Narayanan is presently the Director of the Indian Cultural Centre, Bangkok. Mail her at shebaba09@gmail.com

Courtesy: The Hindu

Demand for separate ministry for Telugu

2010-02-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

HYDERABAD: MLC and educationist Chukka Ramaiah has appealed to the government to create a new ministry to protect and preserve the Telugu language, culture and civilisation in the State.

Talking with reporters here today, Ramaiah sought strict enforcement of GO 86 which make it mandatory for all schools in the State to teach Telugu as a language up to Class 10. ``The importance being given to the Telugu language by the government and its departments is going down with each passing day.

This is not the case with other languages.’’ The legislator demanded that all proceedings in district courts be conducted and copies of the verdicts made available in Telugu. ``Unless people openly express their love for their mother tongue, the government and political leaders will not show any concern for it,’’ he said.

The Telugu Bhashodyama Samakhya will observe the International Mother Tongue Day on Feb 21 as a `blackday’ in protest against the government’s neglect of the Telugu language. It will organise a dharna near Indira Park on that day.

Somala Ramesh Babu, president of the Samakhya, said it was the responsibility of the Telugu-speaking people across the world to preserve their language and culture.

Samakhya vice-president GS Varadachary and secretary Kaluva Mallaiah were present at the press conference.

Courtesy: ExpressBuzz

ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ రాష్ట్ర అవతరణ దినోత్సవ శుభాకాంక్షలు

2009-11-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

AP govt makes singing Telugu song mandatory in convent schools

2009-10-30T01:18:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad , Oct 29 The Andhra Pradesh government today asked English medium convents in the state to render a song hailing Telugu culture without fail in the school assemblies in addition to the national anthem.

" Private convents should make children sing మా తెలుగు తల్లికి మల్లె పూదండ (Maa Telugu Talliki Malle Poodanda) song from henceforth," School Education Minister D Manikya Vara Prasad told reporters.

The government took the decision in the wake of a convent school in Kadapa district punishing two children for speaking in Telugu. Placards, with the words "I will never speak in Telugu" written on them, were hung around their necks as punishment.

The action of the school evoked strong protests from outfits working for promotion of Telugu.

The government's decision, however, was sharply criticised by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) that says the song "Maa Telugu Talliki" is against Telangana culture.

Courtesy: Indopia.in

తెలుగు పీఠానికి సాయం చేయండి!

2009-10-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

"అమెరికా ప్రపంచంలో చాలా రాజ్యాలను ప్రభావితం చేయగలుగుతుంది.. అక్కడ మనగలిగి ప్రచారంలోకి వస్తే ఆ భాష విశ్వవ్యాప్తం కావటం సులభం అవుతుంది'' అంటారు కాలిఫోర్నియా విశ్వవిద్యాలయం ప్రొఫెసర్‌ వేమూరి వెంకటేశ్వరరావు. ఆ పని జరగాలంటే అక్కడ తెలుగు పీఠాల అవసరం ఎంతైనా ఉందంటారు. ఆయన ప్రస్తుతం అమెరికాలోని విస్కాన్సిన్‌ విశ్వవిద్యాలయంలో మాత్రమే తెలుగు పీఠం ఉంది. అది మరికొన్నేళ్లలో మూతపడే అవకాశం ఉన్నందున కాలిఫోర్నియా విశ్వవిద్యాలయం బర్కిలీలో తెలుగు పీఠం ఏర్పాటుకు ప్రవాసాంధ్రులు గట్టి ప్రయత్నాలు ప్రారంభించారు. వీటిలో రావు విశేషమైన కృషి చేస్తున్నారు. ఈ ప్రయత్నాలలో భాగంగా హైదరాబాద్‌కు వచ్చిన వేమూరి రావును 'నవ్య' పలకరించింది. ఆ విశేషాలలోకి వెళ్తే..

నవ్య: బర్కిలీలో తెలుగు పీఠం ఏర్పాటు ఎక్కడిదాకా వచ్చింది?
రావు: విరామం లేకుండా ప్రయత్నాలు చేస్తున్నాం. అనేక మంది మిత్రులు- అమెరికాలోను, ఇక్కడా మద్దతు ఇస్తున్నారు. పీఠం ఏర్పాటుకు సంబంధించి ఏం చేస్తున్నామో స్థూలంగా చెబుతాను. ప్రస్తుతం విస్కాన్సిన్‌ విశ్వవిద్యాలయంలో వెల్చేరు నారాయణరావుగారి నేతృత్వంలో ఒక పీఠం ఉంది.

ఆయన పదవీ విరమణ చేసిన తరువాత ఆ పీఠాన్ని తెలుగుకు కాకుండా మరో భాషకు ఇవ్వాలని నిర్ణయించారు. అంటే అమెరికాలో ఉన్న ఏకైక తెలుగు పీఠం మూసేసే పరిస్థితులు ఏర్పడ్డాయి. అందువల్ల బర్కిలీలో తెలుగు పీఠం ఏర్పాటు చెయ్యాలని అమెరికాలోని తెలుగువారు ప్రయత్నిస్తున్నారు.

నవ్య: అమెరికాలో ప్రతి నలుగురు ప్రవాస భారతీయులలోను ఒకరు ఆంధ్రులు. అలాంటప్పుడు ఇలాంటి పరిస్థితి ఎందుకు ఏర్పడింది..?
రావు: ఇక్కడ మనం ఒక విషయాన్ని గుర్తుపెట్టుకోవాలి. విస్కాన్సిన్‌లో తెలుగు పీఠానికి కావాల్సిన సొమ్మును అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వమే ఇస్తూవచ్చింది కాని దాన్ని తెలుగువాళ్లు ఎక్కువగా ఉపయోగించుకోలేదు. అందువల్లనో మరెందువల్లనో ఆ పీఠాన్ని మరొక భాషకు ఇవ్వాలని నిర్ణయించారు.

ఎక్కువ మంది ఎందుకు చదువుకోవటం లేదని విశ్లేషిస్తే - విస్కాన్సిన్‌ విపరీతమైన చలి ప్రదేశం. అందువల్ల కాలిఫోర్నియా, జార్జియా, అట్లాంటా వంటి ప్రదేశాల్లో ఉన్నట్టుగా అక్కడ మనవాళ్లు ఉండలేరు. దాంతో అక్కడ తెలుగు ప్రజలు తక్కువ, విద్యార్థులు ఇంకా తక్కువ.

నవ్య: బర్కిలీలోనూ ఇలాంటి పరిస్థితి ఏర్పడదని ఎలా చెప్పగలం?
రావు: విస్కాన్సిన్‌లో పీఠం అమెరికా ప్రభుత్వ సొమ్ముతో నడుస్తోంది. కాని బర్కిలీలో పీఠం నిర్వహణకు ప్రత్యేక ఏర్పాట్లు చేస్తున్నాం. కాలిఫోర్నియా విశ్వవిద్యాలయం - పది లక్షల డాలర్లు ( నాలుగు కోట్ల డెబై ్బ లక్షల రూపాయలు ) మనం సేకరించి ఇస్తే తెలుగు పీఠాన్ని ఏర్పాటు చేయటానికి ఒప్పుకుంది. అంటే ఆ సొమ్ముతో పీఠానికి అవసరమైన ఏర్పాట్లు చేస్తారు.

ఒకసారి పది లక్షల డాలర్లను మూలధనంగా సమకూర్చుకోగలిగితే శాశ్వతంగా పీఠం ఏర్పడుతుంది. దీని కోసం గత రెండేళ్లుగా మేం ప్రయత్నాలు చేస్తున్నాం. అందరి సహకారంతో దాదాపు మూడు లక్షల యాభై వేల డాలర్లు ( ఒక కోటీ అరవై నాలుగు లక్షల రూపాయలు ) దాకా సేకరించాం. దీనిని విశ్వవిద్యాలయానికి అందించాం. అప్పుడు వారు తాత్కాలిక ప్రాతిపదికన- తెలుగును బోధించటానికి ఒక బోధకురాలిని నియమించారు. అంతవరకూ బానే ఉంది.

కాని ఇటీవల నెలకొన్న ఆర్థిక మాంద్యం కారణంగా కాలిఫోర్నియా విశ్వవిద్యాలయం కొన్ని కోట్ల డాలర్లు నష్టపోయింది. అదృష్టవశాత్తు మనం ఇచ్చిన సొమ్మును వారు ఎక్కడా పెట్టుబడి పెట్టలేదు. ఆ విధంగా మనం సేకరించిన సొమ్ముకు నష్టం రాకుండా బయటపడ్డాం. కాని వీలైనంత త్వరలో మిగిలిన సొమ్మును వారికి అందించాల్సిన అవసరం ఉంది.

నవ్య: మన రాష్ట్ర ప్రభుత్వం నుంచి, ఇక్కడివారి నుంచి సాయం అడిగారా?
రావు: గతంలో మన రాష్ట్రంలోని తెలుగు విశ్వవిద్యాలయంతో కాలిఫోర్నియా విశ్వవిద్యాలయం ఈ పీఠానికి సంబంధించి ఒక అవగాహన ఒప్పందం కుదుర్చుకుంది. తెలుగు విశ్వవిద్యాలయం కొంత సొమ్మును కూడా అందించింది. ఆ తర్వాత నిధుల కొరత వల్ల కాబోలు.. దానిపై కూడా కోత పడింది.

తెలుగు విశ్వవిద్యాలయం ఇవ్వాల్సిన సొమ్మును ఇచ్చి, ప్రభుత్వమూ సహకరిస్తే - తెలుగు పీఠం ఏర్పాటు పెద్ద కష్టం కాదు. ఈ పరిణామాలను వివరించి రాష్ట్ర ప్రభుత్వ సహకారం కోరడానికి ముఖ్యమంత్రిగారిని కలిసి సాయం అర్థించాల్సి ఉంది. ప్రభుత్వమే కాదు.. తెలుగు భాష మీద మమకారం ఉన్నవారందరూ మాకు సహకరించాలి. అప్పుడే ఈ ప్రయత్నాలు విజయవంతమవుతాయి.

నవ్య: తెలుగు భాషాభిమానుల నుంచి స్పందన ఎలా ఉంది?
రావు: అందరికీ ఈ ప్రయత్నం సఫలమవ్వాలనే ఉంది. కాని పది లక్షల డాలర్లు సేకరించటం అంత సులభమైన పని కాదు. ఇది మాకు ముందే తెలుసు. అయినా పట్టువీడకుండా ప్రయత్నిస్తున్నం లేదు. తెలుగుభాష అమెరికాలో కలకాలం నిలిచిపోవాలంటే ఇదొక మంచి అవకాశం. దీనిని వదిలేసుకుంటే మళ్లీ ఇలాంటి అవకాశం ఎప్పుడు వస్తుందో తెలియదు. అంతేకాకుండా ఈ ప్రయత్నంలో కొంత వరకూ విజయం సాధించాం కాబట్టి మరింత ముందుకు వెళ్తేనే మంచిది.

నవ్య: మీరు తెలుగులో అనేక సైన్స్‌ పుస్తకాలు రాశారు. ప్రస్తుతం తెలుగులో సైన్స్‌ పరిభాష మీద మీ అభిప్రాయమేమిటి?
రావు: సైన్స్‌కు సంబంధించిన మరిన్ని తెలుగు పదాలు రావాల్సిన అవసరం ఉంది. కేవలం వీటిని పుట్టిస్తే చాలదు. వాటిని ప్రచారంలోకి కూడా తేవాలి. ఇక్కడ మీకో ఉదాహరణ చెబుతా. వికీపీడియా అనేది మన కళ్ల ముందు పుట్టింది. పీడియా అంటే విజ్ఞాన సర్వస్వం అని మనకు తెలుసు. హవాయ్‌లో వికీ వికీ అంటే చకచక అని అర్థం. వేగంగా వెళ్లే బస్సులను వికీ అని పిలుస్తారు.

ఏ సమాచారాన్నైనా వేగంగా అందించటం వికీపీడియా ప్రధాన లక్షణం. వికీపీడియా రూపకర్త దీనిని స్ఫూర్తిగా తీసుకొని ఆ పేరును పెట్టాడు. హవాయ్‌ భాషలో ఉన్న ఒక పదం ఇంత విస్తృతంగా ప్రచారంలోకి వచ్చినప్పుడు..తెలుగు పదాలను మనం ఎందుకు ప్రచారంలోకి తేలేకపోతున్నాం? తెలుగులో గబగబ..చకచక..లాంటి పదాలు ఉన్నాయి. మన ఎక్స్‌ప్రెస్‌ బస్సులకు గబగబ అనో చకచక అనో ఎందుకు పేరు పెట్టుకోకూడదు? కొందరికి నా వాదన మొండిగా అనిపించవచ్చు.

కాని హవాయ్‌ భాషకు సాధ్యమైనది తెలుగుకి ఎందుకు కాదు? దీనికి నా దృష్టిలో ప్రధాన కారణం- ఇంగ్లీషు భాషపై మనకున్న మోజు. బ్రిటిష్‌వారికి ఫ్రెంచ్‌ అంటే మోజు. దానిలో మాట్లాడితే గొప్ప అని వారు భావిస్తారు. మనకి ఇంగ్లీషు.. అంతే తప్ప తెలుగు పదాలను ప్రచారంలోకి తేవటానికి భారీగా ప్రయత్నాలు జరగటం లేదు.

నవ్య: ఇంగ్లిషు విశ్వజనీనమైన భాష అయినప్పుడు దానిలోనే నేర్చుకోవటం వల్ల అనేక ఉపయోగాలు ఉంటాయి కదా..
రావు: నేను ఇంగ్లీషు నేర్చుకోవద్దనటం లేదు. అది తిండి పెట్టే భాష. దానితో పాటుగా తెలుగును కూడా నేర్చుకోమంటున్నా. పరిపుష్ఠం చేయమంటున్నా. మీరు పుట్టకముందు సంగతి ఒకటి చెబుతా.

1968లో కంప్యూటర్‌కు సంబంధించిన అంశాలను అచ్చమైన తెలుగులో వివరిస్తూ వ్యాసాలు రాశాను. అవి పత్రికల్లో ప్రచురితమయ్యాయి కూడా. పుస్తకంగా వేద్దామనుకున్నాం కాని కుదరలేదు. అప్పుడే మనం కంప్యూటర్‌కు సంబంధించిన కొన్ని పదాలను ప్రచారంలోకి తెస్తే- ఇప్పుడు ఇంగ్లీషుపై ఆధారపడాల్సిన అవసరం ఉండేది కాదు కదా..?

నవ్య: మీ వంతు ప్రయత్నాలు ఇంకా ఏం చేస్తున్నారు?
రావు: నేను ఇండియా వదిలేసి చాలాకాలమయి పోయింది. నెట్‌లో సైన్స్‌కు సంబంధించి అనేక వ్యాసాలు రాస్తున్నా. ప్రస్తుతం మాత్రం తెలుగు పీఠంపైనే ప్రధానంగా దృష్టి కేంద్రీకరించా. మీ ద్వారా పాఠకులకు నా విన్నపం ఒకటే. తెలుగును బతికించుకోవాలంటే అందరం కలిసి సంఘటితంగా ముందుకు వెళ్లాలి.

అందరూ తలో చేయి వేయాలి. ఒక రూపాయా.. పది రూపాయలా అనేది ప్రశ్న కాదు. తెలుగు పీఠానికి సంబంధించి మరిన్ని వివరాలు తెలుసుకోవాలనే ఆసక్తి ఉన్నవారు ఈ కింది ఫోన్‌ నెంబర్‌ను సంప్రదించవచ్చు 9491822218.

కాలిఫోర్నియా విశ్వవిద్యాలయం - పది లక్షల డాలర్లు ( నాలుగు కోట్ల డెబై ్బ లక్షల రూపాయలు ) మనం సేకరించి ఇస్తే తెలుగు పీఠాన్ని ఏర్పాటు చేయటానికి ఒప్పుకుంది. అంటే ఆ సొమ్ముతో పీఠానికి అవసరమైన ఏర్పాట్లు చేస్తారు. ఒకసారి పది లక్షల డాలర్లను మూలధనంగా సమకూర్చుకోగలిగితే శాశ్వతంగా పీఠం ఏర్పడుతుంది. దీని కోసం గత రెండేళ్లుగా మేం ప్రయత్నాలు చేస్తున్నాం. అందరి సహకారంతో దాదాపు మూడు లక్షల యాభై వేల డాలర్లు ( ఒక కోటీ అరవై నాలుగు లక్షల రూపాయలు ) దాకా సేకరించాం.

-సివిఎల్‌ఎన్‌

Courtesy: ఆంధ్ర జ్యోతి

Prof Vemuri Rao UC Davis university california Berkeley Andhra USA America united states classical

Seminar on Telugu short story

2009-07-18T00:49:00.000-07:00

TIRUPATI: A two-day seminar on ‘Peasant Life as Depicted in Telugu Short Story’ began here today by Sahitya Akademi in association with the Telugu Department of Sri Venkateswara University (SVU).

The seminar coincides with the 20th death anniversary of G N Reddy, former vice-chancellor and founder-professor of Telugu department of the university.

Vice-Chancellor N Prabhakar Rao paid tribute to the former vice-chancellor and lauded his contribution to the university, especially the Telugu department.

‘’It is noteworthy that a programme on Peasant Life in Telugu literature was organised on the occasion of GK Reddy’s death anniversary.

Reddy himself was from an agricultural family,’’ Rao said and explained briefly about farmers’ themes in Telugu short stories.

In his keynote address, short story writer and critic Singamaneni Narayana expressed concern that the present-day crisis in the agriculture sector might make farming extinct.

Noted writer Kethu Viswanath Reddy explained about depiction of farmers and their life in Telugu short stories.

AS Ilangovan and Maduranthakam Narendra also spoke.

Courtesy: ExpressBuzz

పాప్ కింగ్" మైకెల్ జాక్సన్ మృతి

2009-06-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

పాప్ కింగ్ మైకెల్ జాక్సల్ గుండెపోటుతో శుక్రవారం మృతి చెందారు.

పాప్ సంగీత ప్రపంచాన్ని కొన్నేళ్లపాటు శాసించిన మైకెల్ జాక్సన్ (50) శుక్రవారం వేకువజామున స్థానిక కాలమానం ప్రకారం 2.26 గంటలకు మృతి చెందారని అధికారిక వర్గాలు వెల్లడించాయి.

రాత్రి గుండెపోటు రావడంతో లాస్ ఏంజెలెస్‌లోని ఓ ఆస్పత్రికి జాక్సన్‌ను తీసుకెళ్లారు.

అయితే ఆస్పత్రికి తీసుకెళ్లే సమయానికే ఆయనలో చలనం లేదని లాస్ ఏంజెలెస్ కౌంటీ కార్నర్స్ కార్యాలయ ప్రతినిధి ఫ్రెడ్ కారల్ సీఎన్ఎన్ ఛానల్‌తో చెప్పారు. రాత్రి 12.30 గంటల సమయంలోనే జాక్సన్‌కు గుండెపోటు వచ్చినట్లు లాస్ ఏంజెలెస్ అగ్నిమాపక శాఖ వైద్య సిబ్బందికి సమాచారం అందించారు.

ఆ సమయంలోనే జాక్సన్ శ్వాస తీసుకోవడం లేదు. అనంతరం ఆయనను వైద్య సిబ్బంది రోనాల్డ్ రీగన్ యూసీఎల్ఏ మెడికల్ సెంటర్‌కు తీసుకెళ్లారు. అయితే ఆస్పత్రికి తీసుకెళ్లిన తరువాత వైద్యులు ఆయన మృతి చెందినట్లు ధృవీకరించారు. మైకెల్ జాక్సన్‌కు అంతిమ నివాళులు అర్పించేందుకు పెద్ద సంఖ్యలో అభిమానులు ఆస్పత్రి వద్ద, ఆయన నివాసం వద్ద గుమిగూడారు.

Courtesy: వెబ్‌దునియా

Jefferson Goblet Award for Telugu boy’s thesis

2009-06-19T01:22:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD: Here is a boy who has taken Telugu pride to sky high, literally. A Doctoral Candidate in University of Michigan శివ శంకర్ రుద్రరాజు (Siva Shankar Rudraraju) beat out over 90 competitors to win the prestigious Jefferson Goblet Best Student Paper Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for the year 2009.

The award, constituted under the name of former American President Thomas Jefferson, is given by the AIAA to a strong piece of writing by the student in support of the continued research and development of flight engineering. Siva is doing his PhD thesis under the direction of Associate Professor Krishna Garikipati, and Anthony Waas, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Felix Pawlowski Collegiate Professor of Aerospace Engineering. His winning paper was co-authored by Professors Garikipati and Waas along with Amit Salvi from Aerospace Engineering.

A native of Konaseema Godilanka, Siva’s parents RVVSN Subba Raju and Padmavathi are currently residing in Alwal of Hyderabad.

Courtesy: ExpressBuzz

The dynamic music of poetry

2009-05-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

- Mrunalini

It is quite heartening to see that Telugu cultural meets these days are concentrating on music and literature. Not exclusively, but as one art. Whether it’s Carnatic classical or film music, or non-film music called Lalitha sangeetham, lyrics seem to have suddenly gained status as a very important aspect of music.

One always knew music without literature i would appeal only to a connoisseur and literature without music to a select few. Only when they come together does it become a wholesome art. They complement each other and enhance each other’s value. In fact, a good poet has something of a musician in him. As T S Eliot said in The Music of Poetry, “I think that a poet may gain much from the study of music… the properties in which music concerns the poet…are the sense of rhythm and the sense of structure…the use of recurrent themes is as natural to poetry as to music.” In one sense, maybe music is mass art, while literature is elite art. Many times literature becomes a mass art when it takes the help of music.

For instance, from the Bhakti movement to the Dalit movement, literature related to social movements was communicated to the common man only through music. We have scores of examples from all Indian languages about the effect of musical literature on the masses.

The Pashuram of Tamil, Padakavitha of Telugu, Vachana Sahitya of Kannada, Vaishnava Geeth of Bengali, Ashtapadi of Sanskrit or Bhajans of Meera and many more such literary creations are great examples of musical literature.

Some of the best poetry in Telugu is in the Padakavitha of Annamayya, which emerged in the Bhakti movement all over India (15th, 16th centuries) and the Kritis of Thyagaraja (19th century). Both these Vaggeyakaras (those who write, compose and sing) are the greatest gifts of the Telugus to Indian music.

Recently there has been a spurt of publications in Telugu on Annamayya, which try to understand his poetry in greater depth. These books attempt to show the reader that Carnatic music has great literary value and only when one understands these nuances can a singer do justice to the rendition. This presupposes that the singer should be a Telugu-speaking person, which may not be totally acceptable in the case of Carnatic music. There are scores of Tamil singers who render Thyagaraja day in and day out. And we have the most famous example of M S Subbulakshmi singing Annamacharya to great effect.

So you don’t actually need to be a natural speaker of the language but, it goes without saying, you render better if you know what you are rendering. This month, which celebrates the birth anniversaries of both Annamayya and Thyagaraja calls for a small comparison of these two masters of music, especially with regard to the literary values in their creations. Thyagaraja has been easier for the singer to learn, for the simple reason that his lyrics are less complicated and his ideas less complex. His language is also closer to modern Telugu. One does not need a Telugu pundit to explain him. One only needs to know the language. Moreover, for Thyagayya, music was the be-all and end-all. Lyrics were complimentary to his musical genius.

But Annamayya’s language is 500 years old, his lyrics are closer to the local Rayalaseema idiom and he sang quite often in the colloquial manner of the common folk. At the same time, he was also a great poet, who could turn words in innumerable ways, keeping the reader guessing as to its meaning. The search for better and deeper interpretations of Annamayya’s Sankeertanas is going on in Telugu right now, on the occasion of his 601st birth anniversary. But the search is a long one; like the proverbial Mahabharata, which means different things to different people, Annamayya too is being interpreted and explained in myriad ways. His raagas are often tampered with, since we do not exactly know in which ragas they were set, unlike Tyagaraja, whose kritis have to be rendered in the ragas he meant them to be.

It appears as if Thyagaraja is more fortunate; both his lyrics and the ragas are quite clearly known since he is more recent in history and his disciples have been very successful in carrying out his tradition. But Annamacharya’s case is different. He is open to all.

And every musician worth his salt is composing him according to his talent. Maybe, looking at the brighter side, we could say, Annamayya is dynamic.

Courtesy: ExpressBuzz

State 2nd in Telugu, no thanks to teacher

2009-05-31T05:16:00.000-07:00

HOSUR: Nothing could prevent sincere students from victory. This was proved by a student from a backward hill hamlet in Denkanikotta taluk in Krishnagiri district.

ప్రశాంత్ కుమార్ (Prasanth Kumar) (15), attached to Government Higher Secondary School in Javalagiri near Denkanikotta, has bagged second rank at State level in Telugu subject in SSLC examinations.

What is special in this? He achieved the milestone when there was no teacher in the school to teach Telugu subject.

Many parts of Krishnagiri district comprise mixed multi-lingual population.

In several government schools in Hosur and Thally panchayat unions, the government has arranged for students to study Telugu and Kannada as their second language but there were no adequate teaching staff in most of the schools.

Even in Javalagiri Government School, there was no teacher. The teachers, with the help of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), used to teach students, but not regularly. Prasanth Kumar, hailing from backward T Sulagundam hill hamlet in Anchetty forest range, studied without any guidance from the teachers and secured 96 marks in Telugu.

Kumar’s father died when he was born and it was his mother Rathinamma struggling alone with daily labour works to survive the family. Poverty is hindering my studies, but I want to become an IAS officer, said Kumar. He said he is working hard to secure higher marks in Plus Two examinations to achieve his ambition.

Courtesy: ExpressBuzz

160,000 singers in Hyderabad set new world record

2009-05-13T04:43:00.000-07:00

A whopping 160,000 people sang in chorus seven keerthanas, or hymns in praise of god, of Telugu saint-poet Thallapaka Annamacharya in Hyderabad on Sunday evening, and broke a 70-year-old world record.

A representative of the Guinness Book of World Records announced that the previous record is broken at the grand spiritual musical event, organised to mark the 601st birth anniversary of Annamacharya.

"I have great pleasure in announcing that more than 70 years later the record has been broken," said Guinness Book representative Raymond Marshal amid thunderous applause at the sprawling Parade Grounds in Secunderabad, Hyderabad's twin city.

He also presented the certificate from Guinness Book of World Records to state Minister for Finance K. Rosaiah.

It was on Aug 2, 1937, that 60,000 people sang the national anthem in Germany to set the world record.

The programme, లక్షగళసంకీర్తనార్చన (Laksha Gala Sankirthanarchana), was organised jointly by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), the Andhra Pradesh state cultural council and Andhra Silicon.

The organisers said 160,000 people sang the keerthanas in one voice.

Renowned Carnatic musician M. Balamurali Krishna, singer Kavitha Krishnamurthy and her husband L. Subramanyam and Garimella Balakrishna Prasad led 160,000 singers, both professionals and amateurs. Telugu actor Nagarjuna, who acted in film "Annamayya", was also present.

Annamacharya, who was born in 1408, composed 32,000 Sankeerthans eulogising Lord Venkateswara.

The TTD, which manages the affairs of the Lord Venkateshwara temple at Tirumala, is organising Annamacharya's 601st birth anniversary celebrations on a grand scale.

TTD chairman D.K. Audikesavulu Naidu announced that Tallapaka, the birthplace of Annamacharya in Kadapa district, will be developed as a major spiritual centre.

The TTD is also making efforts to propagate Keerthanas of the first Telugu lyric poet worldwide by organising spiritual programmes, including group rendering of Sankeerthans and lectures on his literary works.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times

ABK approaches SC over Telugu's classical status

2009-05-06T01:50:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD: Aggrieved over the way the issue of classical status to Telugu language has been held up in a legal tussle, chairman of the AP

official language commission ABK Prasad approached the Supreme Court praying it to resolve the matter. It can be recalled, following a petition by a Chennai based lawyer that the Madras High Court had earlier said that granting of classical status to Telugu and Kannada shall be subject to the outcome of the writ in Madras High Court.

"This order of the Madras High Court is coming in the way of release of assistance and grants by the central government to universities and academicians who are keen to pursue greater research into the richness of Telugu language," ABK said in his petition to the apex court. KV Dhanunjaya, the advocate for the commission in the Supreme Court told TOI that Madras High Court has no jurisdiction to hear this case and the grant of classical status to Telugu language is a bonafide decision taken by the Government of India and it cannot invite any objection by a resident of Tamil Nadu at all.

Incidentally, ABK, whose term as chairman of the official language commission has come to an end on Saturday, is leaving the office with this special leave petition in the apex court.

During his two terms in office, ABK had relentlessly worked for the usage of Telugu language in the administration and could succeed in bringing tangible progress in at least 7 districts.

Courtesy: TOI

స్లమ్‌డాగ్‌ మిలియనీర్‌కు 8 ఆస్కర్‌లు

2009-02-23T02:07:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: ఈనాడు

Grim translation scenario not helping Classical Telugu

2009-02-14T17:31:00.001-08:00

HYDERABAD: Telugu may have attained classical language status, but very few people will get to read any of its literary texts, if current

translation trends continue. At present, translation of Telugu literary works is taken up sporadically, and that too only into English and not Indian vernacular languages.

In view of the recently accorded classical language status for Telugu and Kannada languages as well as the establishment of a Translation Mission of India, a ninth CLAI (Comparative Literature Association of India) biennial international conference being held at the University of Hyderabad acquires significance.

Speaking of the grim Telugu translation scenario, M Sridhar, a Telugu translator and professor of English in the University says, "Given a choice, people would prefer reading Adiga or Chomsky novels rather than Chaya Devi or Raavi Shastry. Texts and literature sourced from English are still perceived as windows to the world." Most other Indian languages face a similar situation, he added.

Market dynamics go against cross vernacular translations, so publishers and authors are also drawn to higher sales and wider exposure that English provides. Then there is the problem of publishers playing favourites when selecting the recipient language, with Kannada, Oriya and Bengali being popular languages.

"Translation can be an important medium of networking the country and also gives an insight into the linguistic heritage and shared values of different regions," says Tutun Mukherjee, head, department of Comparative Literature in the University of Hyderabad adding that the conference will also take up travel writing, literature of the marginalised, tribal literature, philosophy, religion and women's writing.

However, recent Central government grant of Rs 90 crores to the Mission towards translation of knowledge-based texts into 23 vernacular languages is raising hopes of translators.

Courtesy: TOI

First Telugu Bloggers' Meet in America : 1st Feb '09, Bay Area, California

2009-01-19T23:30:00.000-08:00

"TELUGU...from palm manuscripts of ancient times...to palm OSes, laptops of today...that is our aim" - vee tel, telugublog, Feb 2006

From the starting of the Telugublog group, leading to the nascent bloggers' meets in Hyderabad, India, to the wide-spread attention garnered by the e-Telugu meetings in the National and Regional media, the Telugu Computing Movement has indeed come a long way.

The future of this mellifluous, Classical language indeed lies in the adoption of new technology and making people aware of the new medium to take their ideas and thoughts to the world.

This Movement is now going to take on a new chapter with the first ever Telugu bloggers' meet going to be organized outside the shores of India. We aim to bring the Telugu Computing Movement to America and invite you to be part of this historical event. The Telugus in North America have been among the highly skilled and successful communities present here, and are a reservoir of talent which is still untapped. The Silicon Valley will the starting point for this movement in the United States.

The first Telugu Bloggers' Meet in North America is going to be organized in the Bay Area, California on Feb 1st, 2009.

Venue: 4251 Escudo Ct, Dublin, CA 94568

Date: 1st Feb 2009

Time: 2:00pm to 4:00pm

ALL Telugu bhAshAbhimAnyulu are invited !

Agenda

How can we , as a team contribute to create more awareness of our language in this new wave of Telugu blogging
Use upcoming BATA / SiliconAndhra / ATA, TANA functions to be a launch pad for expanding Telugu Blogs and popularizing the Telugu Computing Movement
How can we share Dr Vemuri gaari untiring effort at University of California, Berkeley
See if Koumudi would be interested in promoting/conducting a "kathA" competition, TOPIC focussed on creating awareness / promoting the telugu language.
How can we try to improve the pathetic state of "nATakam" and folk arts
How efficiently can we use local Telugu Associations from different states in our effort
Making the national, regional and international media, include Telugu Magazines/ webzines like Koumudi, Telugunaadi, eeMaata a medium to propagate Telugu Computing Movement globally

Amaravati to take leaf out of Vietnam

2009-01-19T23:25:00.000-08:00

HYDERABAD: The sustainable development framework of the ‘Hoi An’ heritage site in Vietnam would be implemented to develop Amaravati in the State.

Delivering a lecture at the Archaeology and Museums Department here today, Prof. Amareswar Galla pointed out that critical aspects of the development of ‘Hoi An’ could be proposed as possibilities in the development of the Buddhist heritage site in Andhra Pradesh. ‘’For any society, heritage values are of utmost importance in order to ensure cultural rights of the people as they are pivotal to their sense of identity or belonging to a place in this multi-cultural world,’’ said Prof. Galla, who is a faculty member in Museum Studies in Queensland University and is also UNESCO chair in Museums and Sustainable Heritage Development. During the course of his lecture, Prof. Galla lamented the lack of community participation and collaborative initiatives in heritage conservation, which was precisely why the ‘Hoi An’ model was relevant for the development of Amaravati.

Prof Galla added that the model, through capacity building, brought together cultural heritage, voluntarism and community participation.

Speaking on the occasion, Andhra Pradesh Official Language Commission (APOLC) Chairman ABK Prasad stressed the need to develop the Amaravati site in the wake of Telugu getting classical language status.

“There is a dire need to preserve the rich Telugu heritage and culture,’’ said Prasad, the guest of honour.

Tourism and Culture Department Special Secretary GN Rao also attended the lecture, which was presided over by Department of Archaeology and Museums director P Channa Reddy. On the occasion, the Archaeology and Museums Department felicitated Prof Amareswar Galla and ABK Prasad for their contributions to Telugu culture.

Courtesy: ExpressBuzz

World Telugu Federation meet from today

2009-01-09T01:14:00.000-08:00

VIJAYAWADA: The 8th biennial meet of the World Telugu Federation (WTF) will begin on Friday amid impressive preparations being made at VR Siddhartha Engineering College (VR SEC) to make it a grand success. The three-day event is expected to attract 3,000 delegates from across five countries.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy is not attending the meet in view of his busy schedule. WTF representatives say that efforts are being made to seek the Chief Minister’s participation just like he attended an alumni meeting in Andhra Loyola College. Now, finance Minister K. Rosaiah will participate in the inaugural function of the WTF meet.

WTF president V.L. Indira Dutt, industrialists Gokaraju Ganga Raju and Malineni Rajaiah and VR SEC convener P. Lakshmana Rao said that various events were being organised to attract participation of people in cultural, literary, entertainment and business sessions. Addressing a press conference held at VR SEC, they said that this was the first time that the WTF meet was being organised in Vijayawada in its 16 years of existence.

Earlier, such meets were organised in Hyderabad, Chennai, Singapore and many other cities.

“Now we are happy that this meet is being held here though it is delayed. From industry side, we are giving all support possible.

We are ready to seize this opportunity after four years again,” said Mr. Rajaiah, who is president of Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Culture and tourism minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy will inaugurate the cultural programmes on the first day.

On January 10, the WTF women wing meet will be held when Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development Daggubati Purandeswari will be chief guest. Ms. Indira Dutt will preside over the programme. Throughout the day, there will be cultural programmes.

There will be a literary meet on January 11 morning when animal husbandry minister Mandali Buddha Prasad will be chief guest. The valedictory meeting will be held at 4 p.m. when transport minister Kanna Laxminarayana will be chief guest. A youth meet will be held at 5.30 p.m. in which many Tollywood artists are expected to participate.

Courtesy: The Hindu

మేటాస్ మెట్రో ఒప్పందం రద్దు?

2009-01-08T01:29:00.000-08:00

హైదరాబాద్: సత్యం కంప్యూటర్స్‌ పతనావస్థకు చేరిన నేపథ్యంలో మేటాస్‌ కూడా ఆర్థికంగా బలహీనపడిందని రాష్ట్రప్రభుత్వం భావిస్తోంది. మేటాస్‌కు అప్పగించిన హైదరాబాద్‌ మెట్రో రైలు, కృష్ణా జిల్లా బందరులో ఓడరేవు పథకాలను రద్దుచేసుకోవాలని యోచిస్తున్నట్లు తెలిసింది. మెట్రో రైలు ఒప్పందానికి సంబంధించి గతంలో ఢిల్లీ మెట్రో రైలు ఎండీ శ్రీధరన్‌ సంచలన వ్యాఖ్యలుచేశారు. ఎన్నికలు తరుముకొస్తున్న సమయంలో విమర్శలు మళ్లీ చెలరేగితే రాజకీయంగా దెబ్బతింటామన్నది వైఎస్‌ సర్కారు ఆందోళనగా కనిపిస్తోంది. సత్యం కంప్యూటర్స్ లో వేల కోట్ల అక్రమాలు జరిగిన మాట వాస్తవమేనని రామలింగరాజు ఒప్పకోవడంతో ఈ ప్రాజెక్టుల సందిగ్ధంలో పడిపోయాయి. మెట్రో ప్రాజెక్టుతో పాటు, విశాఖపట్నం వద్ద సత్యంకు కేటాయించిన యాభై ఎకరాల విషయంలోనే ఇదే వైఖరిని అవలంభించవచ్చని తెలుస్తోంది. నాలుగు కంపెనీలతో కూడిన మేటాస్ కన్సార్టియం మెట్రో ప్రాజెక్టును దక్కించుకుంది. ఇందులో 52 శాతం కన్సార్టియం భాగస్వామ్యం కాగా, 11 శాతం రాష్ట్ర ప్రభుత్వానిది. అంతర్జాతీయంగా సత్యం ప్రతిష్ట దెబ్బతినడంతో మెటాస్‌ సంస్థలతో ఉన్న ఒప్పందాన్ని రద్దు చేసుకోవాలనుకుంటున్నట్లు సమాచారం.

Courtesy: TeluguOne
hyderabad metro rail maytas satyam

ఈ-తెలుగు : Online Telugu forum comes of age

2008-12-21T18:02:00.000-08:00

HYDERABAD: None would have imagined that an insignificant Google group created by a software engineer could position the Italian of the East as the second most used language on the cyber world.

www.etelugu.org, an association of the linguistic compatriots on the virtual world, boasts of over 80,000 pages created for Telugu Wikipedia, the modified storehouse of information.

“From the stage of merely translating the existing text, we have matured into creating our own content. Our Wikipedia has basic information about almost every place in Andhra Pradesh, contributed by people hailing from the respective locations,” says Thummala Sirish Kumar, one among the founder-members.

Over 3000 members are now working gratis to create and translate content for it. Publishing and selling the information is also free of cost, albeit after due credit.

The initial Google group of 70 members was the brainchild of Chava Kiran Kumar, a software engineer working with Microsoft.

With augmented membership, it was transformed into an online association that brought together all the individual blogs in Telugu.

“Telugu blogs have increased from 100 to 1500 after etelugu came. Even now, very few know that languages other than English could be enabled on computer.

One does not need technical expertise to do this,” says Mr.Thummala.

Chat room

A simple change in the system’s configuration is all one has to do , he says and adds that it will greatly benefit elders wishing to chat with children abroad. Whoever has a doubt can access the site’s help centre or the chat-room of www.computerera.co.in, a webzine actively generating content.

“To help the not-so-tech-savvy, we have the know-how to remotely access the system and change the configuration,” explains Nallamothu Sridhar, the man behind the webzine. The association also proposes to offer free technical help for those who want their websites in Telugu.

Many of the etelugu members worked to create the Telugu versions of Google, Yahoo and Mozilla Firefox.

They are also eager to change the State government websites to Telugu.

“Online local dailies offer no provision of feedback in Telugu, because most of them use customised fonts. We are trying to persuade them to use Unicode, a common font,” says Mr. Sridhar.

The association will give a presentation about using Telugu on internet on Saturday at the ongoing Hyderabad Book Fair on Necklace Road from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Historical పళనాడు valour celebrated

2008-12-21T17:57:00.000-08:00

Weapon used by Brahmanaidu in war still being preserved at Chennakesava temple

Weaponry show: A temple priest displaying ‘Konathalu’ used by Palnadu warriors at the Chennakesava temple in Karampudi on Friday.

KARAMPUDI (GUNTUR DT): A century-old tradition of celebrating the valour of Palnadu warriors, ‘Palnadu Veeraradhana Utsavalu,’ is still in vogue here at the dilapidated Veeralamma temple.

A ‘trishul’-like weapon used by Brahmanaidu in the Palnadu war is still kept at the Chennekesava temple here. It is now worshipped as ‘Narasimhavataram’ and taken out in procession during these festivities.

“The festivities were also part of the Brahmanaidu’s mission to preserve Vaishnavism. Since Lord Chennakesava was the presiding deity during the reign of Palnadu kings, we are continuing the tradition,” says temple priest Simhadri Chari.

Beginning with the new moon (Amavasya) in the month of Karthika, the colourful ritual goes on for five days led by seer of Veeramalla temple, the 10-year-old Tarun Chennakesav. The festivities ended last month, but the local MLA Janga Krishna Murthy and a few others insist on a full-fledged ‘Palnadu Utsavalu’ from last year. Its second edition kicked off on Friday at Piduguralla.

Carnival

The descendants of Brahmanaidu, called Acharavanthulu, arrive in the town from twelve districts and take part in the ritual providing a carnival-like ambience. The highlight of these rituals is the colourful procession, in which various weapons used by warriors, called ‘Konathalu’, were paraded.

The legend has is that the mighty warriors, who died in the famous Palnadu war turned into stones and then into ‘linga’.

The pool used to be called as ‘Veerulagutta’ and the descendants used to hold an annual celebration in memory of the dead. During the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb, two military commanders, Jaffar and Farid were supposed to have rested at the place and while cooking food made use of the stones.

Realising their mistake later, they constructed a temple honouring the 66 soldiers. Two tombs have also been built for the two commanders later.

The unique feature here is communal harmony. Many a Muslim elder still takes part in the festivities and Sk. Hasan keeps guard at the Chennakesava temple.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Steps to promote Telugu culture in Mauritius

2008-12-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

Kakinada: The ఆంధ్ర లలిత కలా సమితి (Andhra Lalitha Kala Samithi) of Mauritius is making efforts to protect Telugu culture in the island nation and focussing on the need for every person in Andhra Pradesh to contribute his/her mite to enrich their State’s culture and heritage. Use of Telugu language played a crucial role in this endeavour, according to samithi president Sanjeeva Narasimha Appadu.

Speaking to reporters at Viswa Viznana Adhyatmika Peetham, Pithapuram, on Thursday in the presence of the peetham founder Umar Alisha, Mr. Appadu said the organisation was spreading awareness about the importance of protecting our culture and heritage through its quarterly magazine Andhra Lalitha Kala and conducting other events to promote the Telugu culture and its values throughout the world. Mr. Appadu said he keeps visiting Andhra Pradesh to coordinate the samithi’s activities and this was his second visit to Viswa Viznana Adhyatmika Peetham which was striving to spread the fragrance of Telugu culture and traditions.

Peetham founder Umar Alisha said his discourses were regularly broadcast by the Mauritius state radio which has Mr. Narasimha Appadu as its chief Telugu programmer. Mr. Alisha further opined that Telugu language should be promoted by every citizen of the State if it were to withstand the onslaught of Western influences.

Courtesy: The Hindu

'Telugu' is the focus of Hyderabad Book Fair this year

2008-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Focus this year to be on Telugu , post the classical status

HYDERABAD: For bookworms of the twin cities, here is good news.

It’s time for the 23rd Hyderabad Book Fair. Conducted by the Hyderabad Book Fair Society, this year’s fair will be held for ten days starting December 18 at People’s Plaza, Necklace Road.

With Telugu language having been given the classical language status, the focus this year would be on Telugu literature, said S. Srinivasa Rao, president, Hyderabad Book Fair Society.

Over 50 stalls will be exhibiting Telugu publications at the fair.

The fair will also include many competitions for visitors such as ‘Book Hunt’, talking in Telugu for three minutes non-stop etc.

Mr. Rao further added that other programmes to encourage Telugu language too would be held.

Free passes

This year, the fair sees the participation of Dravidian University for the first time.

Of the over 200 book stalls to be set up, more than 110 stalls will be exhibiting publications in English Language.

Ten stalls have also been earmarked for daily newspapers.

A 10 per cent discount will be offered on all books. According to Mr. Rao, the society distributed over one lakh free passes to various educational institutions.

The entry ticket is a nominal Rs. 5 and the entry is free for students, teachers, children and journalists.

Twenty-five experts in the field of Telugu literature who helped protect the language and culture will also be recognised felicitated at the fair.

Courtesy: The Hindu

'Telugu must in all offices'

2008-12-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

95 p.c. implementation in Nizamabad: Language panel chief

Srikakulam, Chittoor districts placed second and third respectively
A.B. K. Prasad for steps to implement Telugu in full by February-end

KADAPA: Nizamabad district is ‘numero uno’ in the State with a 95 per cent record in implementation of Telugu in all official correspondence followed by Srikakulam and Chittoor districts in the second and third place, Official Language Commission Chairman A.B.K. Prasad, said on Wednesday.

Four districts were implementing Telugu in official correspondence, Mr. Prasad told newsmen here. Quoting official claims, he said implementation of Telugu as official language was 66 per cent in Kadapa district and exhorted the officials to strive for increasing it to over 80 per cent.

Lauding district Collector M.T. Krishna Babu’s directive two days ago, to mandatorily forward all note files to him in Telugu, he said the official concerned responded positively though belatedly. The Commission would forward a report to the government suggesting action on districts which fail to enforce the official language.

The commission chairman complimented the district panchayat office for ensuring 85 per cent implementation of Telugu in its official correspondence. He lauded the efforts of Khader Basha, administrative officer in district panchayat office, though Telugu was not his mother tongue.

He advised other government departments in the district to emulate the district panchayat office.

Mr. A.B.K. Prasad was chief guest at the ‘Telugu Vikasam’ programme, a competition conducted for junior and senior assistants and supervisory staff in drafting note file in Telugu at Kalakshetram here.

British days

Addressing a meeting in the evening, Mr. A.B.K. Prasad recalled that British officers such as Charles Phillip Brown, Thomas Munroe and MacKenzie ensured all official correspondence in Telugu one-and-a-half century ago, for the understanding of the common man, but the penchant to use English has increased in recent times.

Official language was being effectively implemented in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, but not so vigorously in Andhra Pradesh, he lamented.

Cautioning that lack of frequent use would lead to diminishing influence of a language, he said IAS and IPS officers should follow the stipulation of adhering to all correspondence in native language of any State within an year of their posting.

He wanted steps to ensure improvement in the implementation of Telugu by end of February. District Revenue Officer K. Madhusudan, said in his report, that implementation of official language was 81 per cent in Kadapa Collectorate and 82 per cent in the SP’s office, and the district average was 66 per cent. Efforts were on to draft land acquisition notices in Telugu, he said.

Poor implementation

The chairman lamented poor implementation of Telugu at 25 per cent in the Social Welfare and School Education Departments, 12 per cent in Annamayya project and five per cent in Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanthi project.

The State government’s service rules, a dictionary and 10 other books would be released in Telugu soon, he said. He gave away prizes to winners of the note file drafting and elocution contests. Joint Collector M. Girijasankar, Zilla Parishad CEO Venkataswamy and DEO G.A. Hemanath, Yogi Vemana University Head of Telugu Department Rachapalem Chandrasekhar Reddy participated.

Courtesy: The Hindu

తెలుగు బ్లాగుల దినోత్సవ కవరేజ్

2008-12-15T23:35:00.000-08:00

http://computerera.co.in/blog/?p=1147

Call to promote Telugu language

2008-11-20T00:48:00.001-08:00

Former energy secretary E.A.S. Sarma speaking at a meting in the city on Saturday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: The ways and means to enhance the use of Telugu in the wake of its obtaining the classical language status, were discussed at a meeting organised by Visakha Sahithi, literary association, here on Saturday evening.

Initiating the discussion, president of Visakha Sahiti, K. Malayavasini who was a retired Telugu professor in Andhra University, lamented the increased use of English in day to day affairs, even at home. The situation had come to such a pass that the officialdom as well as the parents need to be convinced on the importance of the use of Telugu. “We have to bring about the change at both ends and also the general public in order to save our Telugu language and bequeath the rich heritage to our children,” she said. She also felt the time was most opportune to patronize the rich cultural heritage, folklore, poetry, drama and other art forms.

Another retired Telugu professor of AU and noted scholar Vedula Subrahmanya Sastry suggested making study through Telugu medium compulsory in high school which would automatically provide the strong foundation for the language to develop. Former Energy Secretary EAS Sarma wanted all the government orders to be issued only in Telugu so that it could be easily understood by the lay people. He felt there was a need to bring pressure on the Government through a public movement for the purpose. Praja Spandana president CS Rao, Ganapathiraju Narasimha Raju and others spoke.

Courtesy: The Hindu

'Mother Tongue Week' observed

2008-11-20T00:46:00.000-08:00

Students of Nalanda Vidyaniketan observed mother tongue week. On the occasion of the valedictory of the week on Saturday, the students wore traditional attire and communicated only in Telugu. Principal G. Gayatri said though the medium of teaching was English, the school’s objective was to encourage students learn their mother tongue.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Andhra Pradesh: 5 walled cities from 300 B.C. unearthed

2008-11-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

HYDERABAD: Andhras flourished during the time of Chandragupta Maurya much before the advent of the Satavahanas, and were said to be as powerful as Mauryans. They had 30 fortified walled cities way back in 300 BC, wrote the Greek traveller Megasthenes in his Indika. In what could be an exciting discovery, the State Department of Archaeology and Museums has identified five of those 30 walled cities.

The Department has found physical evidence proving Megasthenes right and by the same token –– throwing light on the existence of Andhras and Telugu language before the Satavahana period. The study is part of a project taken up to find the 30 walled cities mentioned by the Greek traveller and historian in his travelogue.

‘‘Though the Andhras were mentioned in books dating back to 1,000 BC, we have physical evidence like coins and pottery only from the Satavahana period (200 BC - 200 AD). Our research based on Indika of Megasthenes strengthens the theory that the Andhras existed before the Satavahanas.

Excavation of these sites will provide more physical evidence on history, administration, language, customs and traditions of our ancestors,’’ said P Chenna Reddy, Director of Archaeology and Museums Department.

Megasthenes is believed to have visited India as an Ambassador of Seleucus I of Syria to the court of Chandragupta Maurya around 305 BC.

In Indika, Megasthanes indicates that the Andhra (mentioned as Andarae) kings belonged to a powerful race and possessed an army of 100,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, 1,000 elephants and had 30 well-built fortified towns.

With Telugu obtaining classical language status, the project assumes importance and is likely to give an insight into its origins and the historical existence of Andhras. The officials have so far examined 18 sites with historical importance and singled out five.

Archaeologists recovered bricks, pottery, coins and other evidence from these sites at Dhoolikatta, Kotilingala (both Karimnagar district), Satanikota (Kurnool district), Dharanikota (Amaravathi) and Bodhan (Nizamabad district).

The project was taken up in October, 2005 and efforts are on to identify the remaining Megasthanes towns in Andhra Pradesh as well as at a few places in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

Courtesy: ExpressBuzz

India makes history, launches Tricolor on Moon

2008-11-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

మువ్వన్నెల జాబిలి

చంద్రయాన్‌-1 ఎంఐపీ ప్రయోగం జయప్రదం

ఇది జాతిస్వప్నం: కలాం

చిన్నారులకు మా కానుక: నాయర్‌

బెంగళూరు, హైదరాబాద్‌, న్యూస్‌టుడే: జాబిలిపై కోట్లాది మంది భారతీయుల ముద్ర దిగ్విజయంగా నమోదైంది. చంద్రమండల ఉపగ్రహం.. చంద్రయాన్‌-1లో చరిత్రాత్మక ఘట్టాన్ని భారత అంతరిక్ష పరిశోధన సంస్థ (ఇస్రో) శాస్త్రవేత్తలు అద్భుతంగా పూర్తి చేశారు. చంద్రుడిపై భారత త్రివర్ణం కాలుమోపింది. దీంతో భారత సాంకేతిక సత్తాను విశ్వవ్యాప్తంగా చాటినట్లయింది.

ఇక్కడి వ్యోమనౌక నియంత్రణ కేంద్రం (ఇస్ట్రాక్‌) ఆదేశాల ప్రకారం చంద్రుడికి నూరు కిలోమీటర్ల ఎత్తులో ఉన్న చంద్రయాన్‌-1.. మూన్‌ ఇంపాక్ట్‌ ప్రోబ్‌ (ఎంఐపి)ని శుక్రవారం రాత్రి 8.06 గంటలకు జారవిడిచింది. అనుకున్న రీతిలోనే 25 నిముషాల వ్యవధిలో 8.31 గంటలకు చంద్రుడి దక్షిణ ధ్రువానికి సమీపంలో జాబిలి ఉపరితలాన్ని ఢీకొంది. గమ్యస్థానాన్ని చేరినట్లు సంకేతాల్ని కూడా పంపిందని ఇస్రో ఛైర్మన్‌ మాధవన్‌ నాయర్‌ విలేఖరులకు తెలిపారు. సంకేతాలు వెలువడిన వెంటనే ఇస్రో సిబ్బందిలో ఆనందం వెల్లివిరిసింది. ఎంఐపీపై భారత త్రివర్ణ పతాకాన్ని చిత్రించారు. ''భారత త్రివర్ణ పతాకాన్ని విజయవంతంగా చందమామ ఉపరితలంపై ఉంచాం. ధ్రువప్రాంతంలో మేం అనుకున్న ప్రాంతమైన షాకిల్టన్‌ గోతి వద్దే దీన్ని నిలిపాం. ఈ ప్రాంతం చుట్టూ పర్వతాలు ఉన్నాయి. ఎంఐపీలోని కెమెరాలు ఫొటోలు తీస్తున్నాయి'' అని ఇస్రో ఛైర్మన్‌ మాధవన్‌ నాయర్‌ తెలిపారు.

ఎంఐపీ చంద్రుడి ఉపరితలాన్ని తాకిన తరువాత.. చంద్రయాన్‌-1 వ్యోమనౌక చంద్రుడి అవతలి భాగంవైపునకు వెళ్లిపోయింది. అనంతరం రెండు గంటల తరువాత ఇది తిరిగి భూమి ఉన్న వైపునకు వచ్చింది. అప్పుడు ఎంఐపీ తీసిన ఫొటోలను భూమికి పంపుతుంది. ''ఉపగ్రహంలోని అన్ని కీలక వ్యవస్థలూ సక్రమంగానే పనిచేస్తున్నాయి. ఎంతో ప్రశస్తమైన కార్తీక మాసంలో, జవహర్‌లాల్‌ నెహ్రూ జయంతి రోజున ఈ విజయం సాధించాం. బాలల దినోత్సవం రోజున.. చిన్నారులకు ఇది మా కానుక'' అని మాధవన్‌ నాయర్‌ పేర్కొన్నారు.ఎంఐపీ ప్రయోగం విజయవంతం కావడంపై రాష్ట్రపతి ప్రతిభాపాటిల్‌.. శాస్త్రవేత్తలకు అభినందనలు తెలిపారు. ఇస్రో చరిత్రలో ఇది నూతన అధ్యాయమని అమె పేర్కొన్నారు. కాంగ్రెస్‌ అధ్యక్షురాలు సోనియా గాంధీ, లోక్‌సభలో విపక్ష నేత అద్వానీ, ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్‌ ముఖ్యమంత్రి వై.ఎస్‌.రాజశేఖరరెడ్డిలు కూడా ఇస్రో శాస్త్రవేత్తలకు శుభాకాంక్షలు తెలిపారు.

జాతి స్వప్నం: కలాం
ఈ ప్రయోగాన్ని వీక్షించేందుకు విఖ్యాత శాస్త్రవేత్త, మాజీ రాష్ట్రపతి అబ్దుల్‌ కలాం బెంగళూరు వచ్చారు. ఆయన సూచన మేరకే చంద్రయాన్‌-1లో ఎంఐపీని చేర్చారు. ''భారత చరిత్రలో ఇది మర్చిపోలేని రోజు. ఇది జాతి స్వప్నం. అంగారకుడిపై కాలుమోపటమే తదుపరి స్వప్నం. అదీ నెరవేరుతుంది'' అని వ్యాఖ్యానించారు.

Courtesy: ఈనాడు

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INDIA LEAVES ITS FOOTPRINTS ON MOON

HISTORY MADE AT 8.31 P.M. FRIDAY: A close-up photograph of the Moon’s surface taken by the video camera of the Moon Impact Probe on Friday (November 14, 2008) as the MIP approached the Shackleton crater after separating from Chandrayaan-1.

BANGALORE: “Just as we had promised, we have given India the moon,” said G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, after the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) onboard Chandrayaan-1 successfully ejected and landed on the lunar surface on Friday night. With the tricolour painted on its sides the probe marked India’s presence on the Moon and put India in the elite club of Russia, the U.S., Japan and the European Space Agency, which have impacted probes on the Moon.

Surrounded by scores of space scientists and with the former President and pre-eminent scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam by his side, a jubilant Mr. Nair told presspersons gathered at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC): “It was during Jawaharlal Nehru’s time that the nucleus for a space programme started. It is befitting that on children’s day, celebrated in his honour, that India should plant its flag on the lunar surface,” he said.

The MIP, one of Chandrayaan’s most important scientific payloads, and of undeniable geopolitical importance, had piggy-backed on the lunar craft for about 400,000 km detaching itself successfully from the mother-craft at 8.06 p.m.

After a 25-minute flight, the MIP impacted the Moon’s surface at a speed of 1.6 km per minute, landing on its target near the Shackleton crater on the south pole of the moon, Mr. Nair said.

ISTRAC, situated in the non-descript industrial suburb of Peenya, was on Friday night, a hub of high activity with people lining the streets to greet Mr. Kalam who had flown in from Chandigarh.

“Chandrayaan has kindled a great interest in young minds,” said Mr. Kalam, who had flown in after attending a children’s day function earlier on Friday.

“I hope we will be able to have young astronauts walk on the Moon’s surface in 15 years,” he said.

It could however be sooner, within seven years, that an Indian astronaut will be sent into space, said Mr. Nair.

Courtesy: The Hindu

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चंद्रमा की धरती पर लहराया भारतीय राष्ट्रध्वज

एजेंसियां
नई दिल्ली, शुक्रवार, नवंबर 14, 2008

चंद्रमा के तल पर चंद्रयान-1 के मून इंपैक्ट प्रोब के उतरने और भारतीय तिरंगा फहराने के साथ ही चंद्रमा पर भारत का प्रतिनिधित्व हो गया और इस क्षेत्र में दबदबा कायम करने वाला भारत चौथा देश बन गया। इसरो के अध्यक्ष जी माधवन नायर ने मिशन की सफलता पर कहा कि हमने चंद्रमा तक का पूरा रास्ता तय कर लिया है। हमने भारत को चांद दे दिया है।
शुक्रवार रात ठीक 8.31 बजे चंद्रमा की सतह पर 35 किलोग्राम के मून इंपैक्ट प्रोब 'एमआईपी' को उतारकर अमेरिका पूर्व सोवियत संघ और यूरोपीय अंतरिक्ष एजेंसी के बाद भारत चंद्रमा का मार्ग तय करने वाला चौथा राष्ट्र बन गया है। पूर्व राष्ट्रपति और अंतरिक्ष विज्ञानी डॉ. एपीजे अब्दुल कलाम के साथ उल्लास से भरे नायर ने बताया कि इस सफल अभियान में पृथ्वी से करीब चार लाख किलोमीटर की ऊंचाई पर एमआईपी शैक्लेटान क्रेटर के पास दक्षिणी धुव के बहुत नजदीक उतरा है। चंद्रयान-1 के प्रक्षेपण के 24 दिन बाद अभियान की सफलता पर नायर का कहना था कि एमआईपी में लगे कैमरे को चालू कर दिया गया है और चंद्रमा की सतह की तस्वीरें मिली हैं। कलाम ने इसरो की सफलता पर वैज्ञानिकों को बधाई दी।

Courtesy: NDTV

India Probe Lands on Moon

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チャンドラヤーン１号、最終軌道に入る

インド初の月面探査衛星チャンドラヤーン1号は11月12日、月面から100キロ上空の最終軌道に到達した。チャンドラヤーンは約2年間、軌道にとどまり、一連の実験を行う。ＰＴＩ通信が伝えている。

　チャンドラヤーン1号の最終軌道突入は、3日間にわたって軌道修正用エンジンを繰り返し点火することで行われた。最終段階60秒の操作はバンガロール（ベンガルール）にあるインド宇宙研究機関（ＩＳＲＯ）のステーションから行われ、チャンドラヤーンは予定の軌道に乗った。スリハリコタのサティシュダワン宇宙センターから打ち上げられてから、ちょうど3週間後のことになる。（提供：インドチャネル）(Japanese)

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印度國內高度評價探測器成功撞月

新華網孟買１１月１５日電（記者文建）印度月球探測器“月船１號”所攜帶的月球撞擊探測器１４日晚成功撞擊月球，印度媒體對此普遍給予高度評價，有關專家稱，“撞擊月球有重要象徵意義”。

“撞擊月球不僅是巨大的科技成就，同時具有重要的象徵意義，”“月船１號”項目負責人安納杜拉伊對媒體說，“從某種意義上說，這標志我們已經登上了月球。”不過安納杜拉伊表示，還有大量探測工作要做，有關月球的科學研究工作才剛剛開始。

印度國際戰略問題專家蘇布拉馬尼揚說，探測器成功撞月，表明印度空間探測技術已步入世界先進國家行列。

印度前總統、火箭專家、撞月計劃的首個提出者卡拉姆稱讚說，探測器撞月是個了不起的技術成就。他說，隨著此次撞月成功，印度有望在１５年內把月球變成新的經濟和戰略制高點。

Courtesy: Xinhuanet (Chinese)

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Une sonde indienne se pose pour la première fois sur la Lune

Pour la première fois, une sonde indienne s'est posée sur la Lune, vendredi, et elle a aussitôt commencé à transmettre des photos, annonce l'Organisation indienne de recherche spatiale (ISRO).

La sonde s'est détachée de Chandrayaan-1 ("véhicule lunaire 1", le vaisseau mère de la mission) à une centaine de kilomètres de la surface de la Lune et s'est posée au pôle Sud à 15h01 GMT, ont déclaré des responsables indiens à Bangalore.

Courtesy: LExpress (French)

అమెరికా 44వ అధ్యక్షుడిగా ఒబామా

2008-11-04T23:39:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: ఈనాడు

నువ్వా నేనా

2008-11-04T02:38:00.000-08:00

click for larger image

Courtesy: ఈనాడు

america president elections obama mccain vote voting Telugu Andhra India Indian Hyderabad

'Telugu language has 4000-year history'

2008-11-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

HYDERABAD: Telugu, which got classical language status, has a 4,000-year old history. This was revealed by a city-based author S Venugopal in his book titled 'Vishwa Vijetha' .

Venugopal claimed that the word Telugu derived from 'Trikalinga.' Later it became 'Tenugu' and people in the Deccan plateau used to call it as 'Telanga' and now it has become 'Telugu' . In fact, historians found a word 'Telangana' near Jeedimetla (earlier Jeedimatta ) of Hyderabad city on stone inscriptions dating back to 13-14 AD.

Interestingly, the original pronouncement of 'Telugu' is Tel and Agu. Tel means 'south corner.' A poet Sanganabhatla Narasaiah said that river Godavari was called as 'Telivaha' and Telinadi.' Gradually, Telinadi has become 'Telugu.'

The word 'Telanga' is also used in the Mahabharata, Venugopal asserted. He claimed that during the Mahabharata time, Anga Desam was famous for female elephants . Anga means a female elephant. These elephants ate only 'Tala' trees. So these elephants were referred to as 'Tala Angadulu' and later became Tala Anga then Talanga and now Telugu.During King Harishchandra's regime, the Telugu language come into limelight , he added.

Courtesy: TOI

'Classical Status' : Celebrations galore

2008-11-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

New Delhi (PTI): It was a double delight for Telugus across the country as their centuries-old language was conferred the classical language status on Saturday on the 53rd formation day of Andhra Pradesh.

State Governor N D Tiwari kick-started the three-day celebrations here this evening. He also congratulated the people from the state on the occasion of their language getting classical language status.

Speaking on the occasion, he recalled the vital role played by Sardar Vallabhai Patel in integrating the Hyderabad Province into India.

He also expressed confidence that the Telugus will continue to contribute their mite as proud citizens of the nation and for overall development of the country.

State Agriculture Minister Raghuveera Reddy and officials also participated in the celebrations in Andhra Bhavan here.

A photo exhibition on the achievements of the Congress government was also inaugurated on Saturday.

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HYDERABAD: Statements continued to pour in on Saturday too, hailing the decision of the Union government according a “classical language” status to Telugu.

Potti Sriramulu Telugu University organised “victory celebrations” with a meeting on its premises in the Public Garden here participated by different eminent scholars.

PSTU Vice-Chancellor A. Bhoomaiah said the recognition would help the language to keep up glorious past legacy and, at the same time, pave way for further efforts to develop it. Poet and former chairman, State Official Languages Commission C. Narayan Reddy said time had come to take up an action plan to take Telugu beyond the confines of Andhra Pradesh. Jetti A. Oliver, chairman, Telugu Vedantha Sahiti Samithi, contended that original writings in Telugu in the fields of science, technology and theology must be promoted to phase out avoidable translations and sought funds for this purpose by the government.

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HYDERABAD: Welcoming the decision to give Telugu and Kannada classical languages status, Dravidian University, Kuppam in a joint press statement on Saturday said that it was a victory of the Dravidian family of languages. The university also pointed out its role in getting the status for both the languages. The University had organised an important lecture by eminent historian Iravatham Mahadevan who established a close nexus between the Harappan Civilisation and Telugu language. Also, the CM Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy had emphasised the need to give classical status to Telugu at an Awards function organised by the Univeristy which honoured scholars who contributed their might for the development of the five Dravidian languages.

The University had also strongly voiced its concern to declare Kannada and Telugu as classical languages at a meeting organised by Krishna District Writers Association of the University held in June.

According to the press release, the University in its endeavour to achieve the same had worked very closely with reputed scholars like BH Krishnamurti, ABK Prasada etc. Vice-Chancellor of the University, Cuddapah Ramanaiah expressed his thanks to both the State and Central government for fulfilling the desire of people of both the states.

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Telugu film industry hails decision

HYDERABAD: The Telugu film industry has hailed the Central Government’s decision to accord classical language status to Telugu.

It is as a matter of pride for the entire Telugu community several organisations of the Telugu film industry opined.

In a joint statement issued here on Saturday, the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber, Telugu Film Producers’ Council, Movie Artistes’ Association and Telugu Film Directors’ Association said that it was fitting that Telugu had been bestowed the honour in view of its history dating back to several centuries. K. S. Rama Rao, Tammareddi Bharadwaja, M. Murali Mohan and N. Shankar, belonging to the four organisations respectively, also lauded the contribution of former Chief Minister and TD leader late N.T. Rama Rao in spreading the greatness of Telugu community worldwide.

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Rajahmundry: Member of Parliament Vundavalli Aruna Kumar has said that according of classical language status for Telugu is a great honour for the people of Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking at a special function organised at Anam Kalakendram on Saturday, the MP said that it was a result of the concerted efforts made by the Telugu people at various levels.

This would help establish Telugu pithams in the country for development of the language.

MLA Routhu Surya Prakasa Rao hailed the Centre’s decision.

Kandula Durgesh, MLC, stressed the need for use of the language from primary level of education. K. Nirupa Rani, Vice-Chancellor of Adikavi Nannaya University, said that Telugu language was an ancient property given to this generation and it was a gift to the future generation.

The Vice-Chancellor appealed to the Telugu people to strive for the promotion of the language.

Endluri Sudhakar, professor, Telugu University, Karri Rama Reddy, neurologist, Viswanadha Gopalakrishna, scholar, S. Saibaba, DSP, M. Francis, Assistant Director, Information Department, and others attended the programme.

Earlier, Mr. Aruna Kumar, Mr. Surya Prakasa Rao, Mr. K. Durgesh and others garlanded the statue of Nannaya and the portrait of Potti Sriramulu.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Telugu gets official 'Classical Language' status

2008-10-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

తెలుగుకు ప్రాచీన హోదా

కన్నడానికీ దక్కిన గుర్తింపు
రాష్ట్రావతరణకు కేంద్ర కానుక
మద్రాస్‌ కోర్టు తీర్పు తర్వాతే అమలు
మంత్రి అంబికా సోనీ వెల్లడి

న్యూఢిల్లీ, న్యూస్‌టుడే: తెలుగు, కన్నడ భాషలను ప్రాచీన భాషలుగా గుర్తిస్తున్నట్లు కేంద్ర ప్రభుత్వం ప్రకటించింది. శనివారం ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్‌, కర్ణాటక రాష్ట్రావతరణ దినోత్సవాల సందర్భంగా ఈ కానుక ప్రకటించినట్లు పేర్కొంది. అయితే భాషలకు ప్రాచీనహోదా కల్పించడానికి కేంద్రం నిర్దేశించిన అర్హతలపై భాషా నిపుణుల సంఘం సభ్యుడొకరు మద్రాస్‌ హైకోర్టులో దాఖలు చేసిన ప్రజాప్రయోజన వ్యాజ్యంపై వెలువడే తీర్పునకు లోబడే ఈ ఆదేశాలు అమలవుతాయని కేంద్ర పర్యాటక, సాంస్కృతిక శాఖ మంత్రి అంబికా సోనీ తెలిపారు.
కోర్టు తీర్పు వెలువడిన నాటి నుంచే ప్రాచీన హోదా అమల్లోకి వస్తుందని పేర్కొన్నారు. శుక్రవారం సాయంత్రం ఢిల్లీలో ఆమె విలేకరులతో మాట్లాడారు. ''కన్నడ, తెలుగులను ప్రాచీనభాషలుగా గుర్తించాలని కర్ణాటక, ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్‌ ప్రజలు, రాజకీయ వర్గాల నుంచి మాకు అనేక వినతిపత్రాలు అందాయి. వీటన్నింటినీ భాషానిపుణుల సంఘానికి నివేదించాం. తాజాగా ఈ సంఘం తెలుగు, కన్నడాలను ప్రాచీన భాషలుగా గుర్తించవచ్చని సిఫారసు చేసింది. నవంబర్‌ 1న రెండు రాష్ట్రాల అవతరణ దినోత్సవాలను పురస్కరించుకొని వీటిని ప్రాచీన భాషలుగా గుర్తిస్తూ కేంద్రం నిర్ణయం తీసుకొంది. అయితే ఇది మద్రాస్‌ హైకోర్టులో పెండింగ్‌లో ఉన్న రిట్‌ పిటిషన్‌పై తీర్పునకు లోబడి ఉంటుంది. ఆ పిటిషన్‌ను కొట్టివేయాలని కోరుతూ కేంద్రం కోర్టును కూడా ఆశ్రయించింది'' అని వివరించారు. ఈ వ్యవహారంపై కోర్టు స్టే ఇవ్వకపోవడం వల్ల తాము ప్రకటన చేస్తున్నట్లు తెలిపారు. తొమ్మిది మంది సభ్యులున్న భాషా నిపుణుల కమిటీలో ఏడుగురు తెలుగు, కన్నడలకు ప్రాచీనహోదా కల్పించడానికి ఆమోదముద్ర వేయగా, ఒకరు వ్యతిరేకించారని సోనీ పేర్కొన్నారు. కేంద్రం నిర్దేశించిన 1500 ఏళ్ల చరిత్రను ఆధారంగా చేసుకొనే ప్రాచీనహోదా కల్పిస్తున్నట్లు చెప్పారు. ఈ నిర్ణయం వల్ల ఎంతమేర ఆర్థిక ప్రయోజనం కలుగుతుందో తనకు తెలియదనీ, అది తన శాఖ పరిధిలోకి రాదని ఆమె ఒక ప్రశ్నకు సమాధానంగా తెలిపారు. భాషా నిపుణులకు అంతర్జాతీయ స్థాయి పురస్కారాలు రావడానికీ, యూజీసీ, కేంద్ర విశ్వవిద్యాలయాల్లో విశిష్ట విద్యా కేంద్రాలను (సెంటర్‌ ఆఫ్‌ ఎక్స్‌లెన్స్‌) ఏర్పాటు చేసుకోడానికి అవకాశం ఉంటుందన్నారు. తెలుగు, కన్నడంతో కలిపి దేశంలో ఇప్పటి వరకు నాలుగు భాషాలకు ప్రాచీనహోదా లభించినట్త్లెందని పేర్కొన్నారు. ఇంతకుముందు సంస్కృతం, తమిళంలకు ఈ గుర్తింపు లభించింది.

కేబినెట్‌ చర్చించలేదు:

ప్రాచీనహోదా అంశంపై ఇంకా కేబినెట్‌లో చర్చించలేదని అంబికా సోనీ తెలిపారు. శనివారంలోగా కేబినెట్‌ సమావేశం జరిగే అవకాశం లేనందున ప్రధానమంత్రి ప్రత్యేక అనుమతితో ఈ ప్రకటన చేసినట్లు చెప్పారు. కేబినెట్‌ ఆమోదం తర్వాతే ఇది పార్లమెంటుకు వెళుతుందన్నారు. తెలుగుకు ప్రాచీన హోదాపై రాష్ట్ర టాస్క్‌ఫోర్స్‌ సభ్యుడు యార్లగడ్డ లక్ష్మీప్రసాద్‌ హర్షం వ్యక్తంచేశారు.

Courtesy: ఈనాడు

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Evidence collected to show that Telugu enjoyed a literary history of over 2,000 years

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: A.B.K. Prasad, Chairman of Official Language Commission, displaying a rare marble piece depicting the ancient Telugu literature.

HYDERABAD: The announcement by the Centre according classical status to Telugu climaxes four years of relentless efforts made by the State government, particularly the State Official Languages Commission (SOLC).

In the case of Telugu, the SOLC worked hard for several months to collect evidence to show that Telugu, indeed, enjoyed a literary history of over 2,000 years.

It delved into records and took photographs of several edicts as historical evidence and submitted the claim before the seven-member “Linguists’ Committee” of the Ministry of Culture.

The committee which has two Telugu experts as members -- Bh. Krishnamurthy, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad, and K. V. Subba Rao of Delhi University -- first deferred its decision but finally had to yield, going by the list of evidences which included Bhattiprolu, Addanki and Dhannajaya edicts and ancient coins of Kotilingala and Singavaram.

YSR happy

Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy said Telugu was the sweetest and the best among the languages and expressed happiness that it had finally secured what was due to it a day before the State Formation Day. He thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Minister of Culture Ambika Soni for the decision.

A.B.K. Prasad, chairman, SOLC, who rushed to the Chief Minister soon after the announcement in New Delhi, said Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka too would get a grant of Rs 100 crore each to develop their respective languages.

‘Ultimate victory’

TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu described the classical status accorded to Telugu as the ultimate victory of Telugu people.

APCC president D. Srinivas hailed the decision, thanking the Prime Minister and the UPA chairperson for the gesture.

State CPI (M) secretary B.V. Raghavulu also welcomed the decision.

Political parties and literary organisations, including Lok Satta and Telangana Rachaithala Vedika, also welcomed the Centre’s decision.

Courtesy: The Hindu

India's First Lunar Mission launched from Andhra Pradesh

2008-10-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

నింగికెగిరిన చంద్రయాన్‌-1
సంపూర్ణ ఫలితానికి 8 వరకూ ఆగాల్సిందే
శాస్త్రవేత్తలకు రాష్ట్రపతి, ప్రధాని అభినందనలు
ఇతర దేశాల నుంచీ ప్రశంసలు
శ్రీహరికోట, నెల్లూరు- న్యూస్‌టుడే

ప్రపంచం మొత్తం ఆసక్తిగా మనవైపే చూస్తున్నవేళ.. గగనమంతా కరిమబ్బులు పందిళ్లు వేసినట్లు ఉన్న సమయాన.. సన్నని జల్లులే అక్షింతలైన శుభతరుణంలో.. భారత అంతరిక్ష సంస్థ (ఇస్రో) తన అవిరళకృషితో భారతావని కీర్తిని అంతరిక్ష చిత్రపటంలో ఆ'చంద్ర'తారార్కం చేసింది. భారతీయుల ప్రతిష్ఠను చందమామ నుంచి చాటేందుకు సిద్ధమైన చంద్రయాన్‌-1 ఉపగ్రహాన్ని తీసుకొని ప్రయోగ వాహకనౌక పీఎస్‌ఎల్‌వీ సి-11 బుధవారం ఉదయం 6.22 గంటలకు వీక్షకుల కరతాళ ధ్వనుల మధ్య శ్రీహరికోటలోని సతీష్‌ ధావన్‌ అంతరిక్ష ప్రయోగ కేంద్రం (షార్‌) నుంచి అంతరిక్షంలోకి దూసుకెళ్లింది. దీంతో చంద్రుడి మీదకు యాత్ర చేపట్టిన ఆరో దేశంగా భారత్‌ అవతరించింది. ఉరుములు, వర్షం మంగళవారం సాయంత్రం నుంచి శాస్త్రవేత్తలను కంటి మీద కునుకు లేకుండా చేసింది. అయితే బుధవారం ఉదయానికల్లా వరుణుడు కరుణించాడు. దీంతో ప్రయోగాన్ని చేపట్టారు.

ప్రయోగం జరిగిన సుమారు 18 నిమిషాల తర్వాత 255 కి.మీ.ల పెరిజి (భూమికి అతి దగ్గరగా ఉండే బిందువు).. 22,860 కి.మీ.ల అపోజి (భూమికి అతి దూరంగా ఉండే బిందువు)తో ఉన్న దీర్ఘవృత్తాకార భూకక్ష్యలోకి 1,380 కేజీల చంద్రయాన్‌ ఉపగ్రహాన్ని పీఎస్‌ఎల్‌వీ సి-11 విజయవంతంగా ప్రవేశపెట్టింది. దీంతో 49 గంటల కౌంట్‌డౌన్‌ తర్వాత షార్‌లోని రెండో ప్రయోగ వేదిక నుంచి జరిగిన చంద్రయాన్‌-1లోని తొలి దశ ప్రయోగం విజయవంతంగా ముగిసింది.

రెండోదశలో చంద్రయాన్‌ ఉపగ్రహం భూకక్ష్యను విడతలవారీగా పెంచుకొంటూ వెళ్లి చంద్రుని కక్ష్యలోకి ప్రవేశపెడతారు. మూడోదశలో చంద్రుని చుట్టూ 100 కి.మీ.ల దూరంలో రెండేళ్లపాటు పరిభ్రమించేలా చంద్రయాన్‌ ఉపగ్రహ కక్ష్యలను నియంత్రిస్తారు. ఇందుకోసం ఉపగ్రహంలో ఉన్న లిక్విడ్‌ అపోగీ మోటార్‌ (లామ్‌)ను అవసరమైన సమయంలో పేలుస్తారు. అనంతరం ఉపగ్రహంలోని 11 ప్రయోగ పరికరాలను పనిచేసేలా చేస్తారు. దీంతో చంద్రయాన్‌ ఉపగ్రహం పూర్తిస్థాయిలో విజయవంతమైనట్లు ధ్రువీకరిస్తారు. ఈ మొత్తం కార్యక్రమం నవంబరు 8వ తేదీ వరకు కొనసాగుతుంది. ఈ పనిని ఇస్రోకు చెందిన టెలీమెట్రీ, ట్రాకింగ్‌ అండ్‌ కమాండ్‌ నెట్‌వర్క్‌ (ఇస్ట్రాక్‌) చేపడుతుంది. నవంబర్‌ 8 తరువాత చంద్రయాన్‌-1 నుంచి వచ్చే సంకేతాలను బెంగళూరుకు సమీపంలోని బ్యాలాలులో ఉన్న డీప్‌ స్పేస్‌ నెట్‌వర్క్‌ (డీఎస్‌ఎన్‌) చేపడుతుంది.

1,380 కేజీల చంద్రయాన్‌ ఉపగ్రహంలో 880 కేజీల ఇంధనాన్ని నింపారు. ఇందులో సుమారు 760 కేజీల ఇంధనాన్ని ఉపయోగించుకొని ఉపగ్రహం భూకక్ష్య నుంచి చంద్రుని కక్ష్యలోకి చేరుకోగలుగుతుంది. చంద్రుని కక్ష్యలోకి చేరే సమయానికి ఉపగ్రహంలో సుమారు 100 నుంచి 120 కేజీల ఇంధనం మాత్రమే మిగులుతుంది. ఇది చంద్రుని చుట్టూ పరిభ్రమించే సమయంలో ఉపగ్రహాన్ని నియంత్రించేందుకు ఖర్చవుతుంది.

చంద్రయాన్‌-1 విజయవంతంగా కక్ష్యలోకి ప్రవేశించడంతో షార్‌లోని మిషన్‌ కంట్రోల్‌లో సంబరాలు మిన్నంటాయి. శాస్త్రవేత్తలు పరస్పరం అభినందనలు తెలుపుకొన్నారు. చంద్రయాన్‌-1.. భారతీయులకు ఓ మధుర జ్ఞాపకమని ఇస్రో ఛైర్మన్‌ మాధవన్‌ నాయర్‌ ఈ సందర్భంగా పేర్కొన్నారు. చంద్రయాన్‌-1 ప్రాజెక్టు డైరెక్టర్‌ మైలస్వామి అన్నాదురై మాట్లాడుతూ.. ''మా బేబీ జాబిలి దిశగా పయనం ఆరంభించింది'' అని పేర్కొన్నారు. రాష్ట్రపతి ప్రతిభాపాటిల్‌, ప్రధాని మన్మోహన్‌ సింగ్‌లు ఇస్రోకు అభినందనలు తెలిపారు. ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా పలు దేశాలు కూడా ఇస్రోపై ప్రశంసల జల్లు కురిపించాయి. రూ.386 కోట్లతో చేపట్టిన చంద్రయాన్‌-1.. ఇప్పటి వరకూ చేపట్టిన అంతరిక్ష యాత్రలన్నింటిలోకి అత్యంత చౌకైనదిగా భావిస్తున్నారు. చంద్రయాన్‌-1 తొలిసారిగా చంద్రుడి త్రీడీ మ్యాప్‌లు తయారుచేస్తుంది.
Courtesy: ఈనాడు

*****

Hyderabad, Oct 22 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Wednesday congratulated Indian space scientists on the successful launch of the country’s first unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-I. The chief minister, in his congratulatory message to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Madhavan Nair, said it was a truly historic moment for the entire country and “more so for Andhra Pradesh since it is from our soil that the Chandrayaan-I lifted off successfully”.

“I wholeheartedly congratulate all the space scientists and all others connected with the Chandrayaan-I mission. The whole nation is proud of you all today as India enters the moon club.”

Wednesday morning’s launch was a historic and momentous event, he said.

“I am happy that the launch was perfect and precise. With this, we have completed the first leg of the mission and it will take 15 days to reach the lunar orbit.”

The chief minister hoped that the mission will help Indian scientists locate He-3, which has the potential to produce a large amount of energy. The scientists hope to transport it to the earth to run nuclear plants.

The 44.4-metre-tall, 316-tonne rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11), had a copybook launch at 6.22 a.m. from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh Wednesday morning and completed its mission by placing Chandrayaan-1 into its scheduled orbit around the earth within 18 minutes, as planned.

The spacecraft carries 11 scientific instruments, five from India and six from universities and laboratories of the European Space Agency, the US and Bulgaria.

Courtesy: ThaIndian

Buddhism in Modern Andhra: Literary Representations from Telugu

2008-10-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

OUP is providing free access to the first issue of their new journal, which contains the following article:

Velcheru Narayana Rao
Buddhism in Modern Andhra: Literary Representations from Telugu
J Hindu Studies 2008 1: 93-119

http://jhs.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/1/1-2/93.pdf

Country’s first women TV channel, in Telugu

2008-10-09T23:39:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad-based Rachana Television Private Limited launched the country’s first TV channel devoted exclusively for women on Thursday.

Vanitha TV in Telugu will have all programmes related only to women including health, counselling and discussions on women empowerment and will be beamed across Andhra Pradesh on a 24x7 basis.

The Rachana TV launched by Tummala Narendra Chowdary, also has a 24-hour news channel in Telugu, NTV. It is launching Vanitha just one year after it started its operations. The new channel, which went on air at 5 pm, will be headed by well known writer Volga.

As Chief Editor, Volga believes that the channel will attempt to view the world through a woman’s perspective and will not engage in “gender politics”.

Courtesy: IndianExpress

AsiaNet lauches Telugu Entertainment Channel 'Sitara' in Andhra Pradesh

2008-10-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

Asianet Television Network, a South India-based infotainment group, has made announcement about the launching of its Telugu entertainment channel ‘Sitara’ in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Vijay Babu, Asianet Chief Operating Officer, said that the media Group would also launch a 24-hour news channel in the state by next month (Nov 2008).

Sitara will have a two-phase roll-out. During the initial phase of launching, the channel will air in-house content and blockbuster movies, whereas second part would see replacement of prime time films with soaps and reality shows.

Mr. Babu also said that Sitara offers superior content supported by over a decade of experience in the South Indian market.

“Andhra Pradesh viewers have traditionally been great admirers of cinema. It has always been an important quotient of television programming. Sitara has been aggressively acquiring new blockbuster and old favourites and has an impressive library to its credit,” he added.

Sitara will be available on Hathway Cable & Datacom, which has a major presence in Hyderabad, and other cable networks.

“We have signed up with Hathway for distribution. Within 20-30 days, we will reach across the whole of Andhra Pradesh. We have also done distribution deals for our upcoming news channel,” avers Babu.

Mr. Babu also said that the Group has also decided to increase its foothold in other southern states.

Founded in Kerala over 18 years ago, Asianet is one of the first satellite television channels. It has Malayalam and Kannada entertainment channels.

Courtesy: TopNews

Andhra boasts of producing maximum IITians

2008-09-30T01:58:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh breeds the most number of IITians in the country. At least the JEE organizing committee's report to MHRD proves so. This

year the maximum number of students qualifying for IIT from a single state - 1,697 - came from Andhra Pradesh with Uttar Pradesh following next with 1,194 students out of a total of 5,524 successful candidates.

According to the data compiled after the joint entrance examination (JEE) in 2007, Andhra had given the highest number of students to IITs - 1,384. According to IIT veterans, Andhra Pradesh has been on the top of the state-wise list of qualifying students in the last few years.

"This has been a general perception among all IITians that number of students coming to IIT from AP is more than from other state. The main reason for it is that Hyderabad is a major hub of coaching centres like Kota. And I must say, these coaching centres are doing a great job in training students for IIT JEE," said M S Anand, director, IIT-Chennai.

According to IIT professors, many students from south India migrate to Hyderabad for coaching and manage to crack JEE. So the students coming from Andhra Pradesh may not necessarily be natives. Most of them are known to go for a seat in IIT Chennai or IIT Bombay. And, with IIT Hyderabad debuting this year under the mentorship of IIT Chennai, the number is expected to go up.

"Students in Andhra Pradesh did not have an IIT till now. But they studied really hard and usually joined Chennai or Bombay. But of late, it seems most of them are going to IIT-Bombay. They say they like the food there better!" remarked Anand. Surprisingly, only 202 out of 9,929 students qualified from Tamil Nadu itself.

According to R Chattopadhyay, JEE chairperson, IIT-Delhi, this trend has come up in the last couple of years. "Once the students join the classes, nobody knows who comes from where because they all mingle so well. But the figures in the last two years have shown that most students qualify from Andhra. Many students also travel to Hyderabad for coaching adding to the number," he said. According to IIT officials, while IIT Delhi mostly gets students from north India in BTech, there are many students from Andhra Pradesh in the MTech course.

As for the maximum number of students appearing for JEE, UP leads the pack with 72,028 students appearing for JEE 2008 while 57,488 in 2007. Bihar also had a huge number of IIT aspirants - 30,490 this year and 14,854 in 2007 - however, unlike UPSC exams, they could not take IITs by storm. While 533 qualified this time, 146 were successful last year.

Courtesy: TOI

telugu

Google News in Telugu

2008-09-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Google వార్తలు ... finally

http://news.google.com/news?ned=te_in

Sources include ఆంధ్రజ్యోతి, యాహూ!, వెబ్ దునియా, సిఫీ, ఆంధ్రప్రభ etc.
Interestingly, not all these portals contain unicode (ex. ఆంధ్రజ్యోతి) text, though we see article snippets in unicode. This technology - of internally converting a proprietary font to unicode - can have a high future potential if leveraged properly.

Telugu Bhasha Rath Yatra

2008-09-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

KURNOOL: The chariot of Telugu Bhasha Vikasa Udyamam, with a message to promote use of Telugu, was flagged off at Srisailam on Friday. Executive Officer Sankar Reddy, president of the Udyamam Kalkura, J.S.R.K. Sarma, Y. Ramanaiah and others were present. The chariot will go round the district with the message.

Courtesy: The Hindu

ఫైర్ ఫాక్సు 3.0.2 తెలుగు (బీటా) విడుదల

2008-09-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

Firefox 3.0.2 Telugu (beta) released

click for larger image

శుభవార్త. నిన్న అనగా 23 సెప్టెంబరు 2008న ఫైర్ ఫాక్సు 3.0.2 తెలుగు బీటా
విడుదల అయ్యింది.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html#beta_versions నుండి మీరు తెలుగు ఫైర్‍ఫాక్సు ను తెచ్చుకొని, మీ కంప్యూటరులో స్థాపించుకొండి. మరిన్ని వివరాల కోసం
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox-te చూడండి.
కంప్యూటరుపై పూర్తి తెలుగు అనుభూతిని పొంది, మీ అమూల్య సలహాలు, సూచనలు firefox_te@googlegroups.com కు ఈమెయిల్ ద్వారా తెలియ చేయండి.
ఈ కృషిలో 1.5 వర్షన్ నుండి పని చేసిన స్వేఛ్చ జట్టు (సునీల్) మరియు, 2.0
వర్షన్ చేసిన సి-డాక్ సంస్థ (రామన్), మరియు 2.0.0.13 మరియు 3.0.2 తెలుగు
అనువాదానికి ముఖ్య కర్త అయిన కొత్తపల్లి కృష్ణబాబుకి అభివందనాలు.

Discussion in TeluguBlog group

http://te.www.mozilla.com/te/firefox/3.0.2/whatsnew/

Language of 'sinful' influence

2008-09-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

C Mrunalini

THESE are the times when language plays a major role in identity politics. India has the distinction of having created states on the basis of language.

Andhra Pradesh pioneered the effort, with Potti Sreeramulu sacrificing his life for it. But while we all revere and respect our languages, and some even go the extent of fanaticism with regard to another Indian language, one truth stands out.We were, are and continue to be enamoured of English.

The ongoing language movements are up in arms against the excessive use of English and the disrespect shown to our mother languages. While one section among Telugus is all for only Telugu medium at the primary level, another demands the opposite. They want English in government schools. This conflict between two different ideologies is more than a century old, though with a different perspective and in different contexts. That is the truth M Sreedhar, Professor of English at the University of Hyderabad, brings out with an interesting book on the reception to English by Telugus in the early decades of the 20th century, when the national movement was in full swing.

Entitled 'Reception of English — Cultural Responses in Telugu Documents', this book, published by Cambridge University Press, is topical in subject and purpose. The author has made a clear departure from traditional thinking in talking not about the “influence” of English but its “reception” by Telugus.

This book traces the reception of the Telugus to English language and education from the Kavali brothers (1825) up to Kanche Ilaiah (2006). The responses are three-fold.

One is entirely, unabashedly in favour of English. Caveli (should be Kavali, but spelt according to British usage), Venkata Ramaswami, Yenugula Veeraswamy,Vennelacunty Soob Row (should be Subba Rao but changed according to British preferences), as they appear in their writings, expressed the greatest reverence for English language and education. They wrote before the advent of national sentiment in India. But Kandukuri Veeresalingam Panthulu, Gurazada Apparao and Tallapragada Viswasundaramma belonged to the age of nationalism. Still, they also appear to favour everything English.Viswasundaramma was probably the first Telugu female poet to use English words in her Telugu poetry. The difference between Kandukuri and Gurazada was that the former found everything about the British fine, while the latter found some British policies detrimental to the Indians.

The second response is to see British character through their language. Language, to these perceptive writers, was not just a mode of communication, but an imposing of a culture. The Dalit poet, Gurram Joshua, is a fine example of this. He was aware of what the British could do to Indians, through enforcing their religion via language and education.

Digavalli Venkata Siva Rao, who recognised the influence of Western style of life via English education on the Indian youth and Garimella Satyanarayana,who called English education “sinful” and conducive to slavery, had similar responses.

The third response is disgust and anger. Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Viswanatha Satyanarayana, and to some extent Mokkapati Narasimha Rao represent this response. Panuganti is at his satirical best when he writes about a Telugu native who can’t speak in Telugu. “This gentleman is very proud of his English proficiency and not in the least apologetic about his ignorance of his mother tongue.” The conflict between the traditionalist father figure and the modern daughter vis a vis English education, as depicted in Gopichand’s novel is a fine example of the turmoil of the orthodox Telugu family in the 20th century.

Probably the writer of this book, Sridhar, is making a statement of his own by quoting the renowned novelist Buchibabu who realised in the 1950s itself that many English words had become Telugu; he was saying ‘sorry, thanks, colour, photo, please, excuse me, Influenza’ and could find no Telugu equivalents. As Sridhar observes in his preface “I always try to defend the openness of the Telugu language to influences from everywhere against the linguistic purity that Tamil has for long observed.” Sridhar, an accomplished translator, has used other translations for some texts and,wherever necessary, done his own translations, all of which make for easy and enjoyable reading. Sridhar is very much aware of the Telugu language movements in the state today and has a piece of advice for them: “The predominance of English in everyday Telugu in a globalised world has only accentuated the growth of English. There is no point in wishing to return to the “golden age” of pure Telugu. Nor are attempts to preserve the local colour and flavour of our languages a meaningful exercise.What is perhaps needed is a delicate balance.” There may or may not be any takers for this advice, but he has definitely attempted a delicate balance in his tone and selections in this book.

Partab is a senior sports journalist, based in Chennai.

partabramchand@yahoo.com

Courtesy:ExpressBuzz

All in the FAMILY

2008-08-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

CHENNAI : It is hard to separate Tamil Nadu from the Telugus. The community has been a part of this state for so many centuries and generations, that it is almost impossible to differentiate where one culture ends and the other begins. And that is how most Telugus, who have made Chennai their home, feel.

The Telugu community's entrepreneurial skills are well-known , foraying into hotels, hospitals, movie studios, businesses and the textile industry. నల్లి కుప్పుసామి చెట్టి (Nalli Kuppusami Chetty), owner of the famous Nalli store, calls himself a Tamil though his impeccable Telugu might give him away. A Telugu Chettiar, who belongs to the weaving community of Padmasaliars, Kuppusami's origins lie in Kancheepuram, from where his grandfather నల్లి చిన్నసామి చెట్టి (Nalli Chinnasami Chetty), a weaver, came to set up the pioneering brand in the city in 1928.

"Our shop's USP continues to be wedding sarees. We get four generations of customers," says 67-year-old Kuppusami , who has also authored about 20 books. Nalli saw a major expansion under the third-generation Kuppusami, who took over in 1956. The business which started as a 250 sq ft shop earning Rs 25 lakh per year, is now worth Rs 450 crore with branches all over India.

His eldest son Ramanathan K Nalli, 49, looks into the export side of the business . "Youngsters do not think Nalli is a 'cool' brand," says Ramanathan. And that is what Nalli Next intends to address, with its selection of sarees that will convey the message of being hip. His daughter and president of Nalli, 23-year-old Lavanya R Nalli brought about the corporatisation of the family-run business. Her pet project , Lavanya Nalli, an independent venture , hopes to bridge the gap between luxury brands and mass retailers. "They will be designer saris without the designer tag. Right now, the market is only flooded with embellished sarees that pose as designer sarees," says Lavanya.

Part of the same weaving community is K Rajaram, 49, from Kumbakonam, who set up an exquisite silk sari boutique named after his wife in 1998, which is now well-known as Sundari Silks. Talking about the trade's challenges, Rajaram says, "Sadly, the cost of living has gone up, and everyone is interested in technology . Soon, power looms will take over."

"There is great demand but no supply ," says Nalli Kuppusami. "Weaving is skill-intensive and takes years of training , and very few are interested in continuing the tradition."

Competition and inflation also threatens the retail industry but it does not worry Aravind Ramaswamy, owner and MD of Naihaa, a unit of Naidu Hall. Naidu Hall was set up in 1939 by his grandfather M G Nehru, a tailor from Gudiyatham, which started by selling ready-made blouses and bras. Aravind joined the business when he was in class VIII to help his father Ramaswamy. From taking care of the whole marketing division to designing ad layouts, he relies on technology to take his business forward . The turning point was in 2001 when his father passed away. The business split in 2005, and with that he embarked on giving new meaning to the age-old brand. Decentralisation and expansion plans followed - there are now 11 Naihaa stores and 20 FG (Feel Good) shops, which are his brainchild. So are the women's lingerie store Mermaid, and the new baby store Bloo-Pink . Future projects include hotels, cafes and stationary shops. With the next-generation continuing to better their trade, the family businesses are in safe hands.

FILM FARE

In the 70s, Casino theatre was the place to go for spine-chilling Hitchcock thrillers and Eastwood westerns. Today, the rundown theatre is frequented only by those who want to catch Telugu movies. Jayaseelan, manager, Casino, says the theatre has been screening only Telugu movies since 2003, playing four shows a day.

The mushrooming of multiplexes has hit the business of the single-screen Casino theatre. The theatre has screened blockbusters such as the Chiranjeevi-starrer , 'Shankar Dada MBBS' and Trisha's 'Pokiri' and 'Varsham' , and the recently released 'Ready' . "These days, if a movie runs for 25 days, it is equivalent to 100 days for us. We cannot afford the advance fee for either Tamil or English movies but by playing Telugu movies, we survive," says Jayaseelan. "If a Trisha movie is being screened, we get a large Tamil audience too. Otherwise only Telugus frequent this place," he says.

KNOW THE TELUGUS

The major influx of Telugus into the Madras province took place around the 15century under the rule of the famous Vijayanagara king, Krishna Devaraya The community is made up of several sects that include Kamma, Reddy, Raju, Vellamma, Kapu, Chettiars, Naidu, Brahmins who are into hospitality, healthcare, entertainment and judiciary For many Telugus, the ritual of tying the sacred thread or mangalsutra is secondary.
Foremost is the practice of applying జీలకర్ర బెల్లము (jeelakarra bellamu) - a paste made from cumin seeds and jaggery - on top of each other's heads which signifies the intricacies of marriage పప్పు చారు (Pappu charu) , a thinner, diluted version of sambar (without sambar podi) is the staple diet in most homes.

పెసరట్టు (Pesarattu) , a variant of dosa prepared from moong dal is a signature breakfast dish. It is often served with upma and known as MLA Pesarattu The pachadis and pickles of Andhra are equally popular; the most well-known being గోంగూర పచ్చడి (gongura pachadi) (made from a sour spinach) and the ఆవకాఇ (avakai) (mango) pickle The wafer-like పూతరేకులు (pootharekulu) , or paper sweet from Rajahmundry made from thin foils of rice paper interspersed with finely ground sugar is much relished by Telugus and non-Telugus . The West Godavari బొబ్బట్లు (bobatlu) or sweet puris made with maida and Bengal gram is another sweet that is sure to melt in your mouth

Courtesy: TOI

Telugu unicode on 3G iPhone's browser

2008-08-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Discussion in తెలుగుబ్లాగు group

తెలుగు లో Google Talk చ్యాట్

2008-08-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

ఇప్పుడు Transliteration Bots ఉపయోగించి Google Talk లో తెలుగులో చ్యాట్టింగ్ చెయ్యవచ్చు

Steps:

1) First add the Telugu transliteration bot en2te.translit@bot.talk.google.com to your Google Talk friend's list
2) Start a chat session with your friend
3) Convert the chat session to a group chat and invite the bot to it.

Telugu Cultural Center and Library in Coimbatore

2008-08-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

Coimbatore, Aug 16 : As part of promoting Telugu language and culture, Hyderabad-based C P Brown Academy has opened a cultural centre and library in the city.

The main objective of the Centre was to help create a learning infrastructure for the benefit of Telugu children and help them understand, appreciate and stay connected with their rich, linguistic literary and cultural heritage, Dinakar Rao, Director, Alpha Foundation, which runs the academy, told reporters here today.

The academy is collecting and consolidating data bank for Telugu literature already available and taking steps for digitizing fresh literary works for establishing a comprehensive resource centre and physical library, which Rao said would become operational in five months.

Stating that the Academy has instituted an award తెలుగు భారతి (Telugu Bharathi) on the lines of Jnanpeeth, he said that it proposed to open centres in various parts of the country, where Telugu diaspora was living in sizeable numbers.

The Academy has also plans to start centres and libraries to promote Urdu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Marathi, Rao said, adding libraries would be set up in Rajapalayam and Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu shortly. -Agencies

Courtesy: ChennaiOnline

A Titan gets his dues

2008-08-16T04:11:00.000-07:00

C Mrunalini

Telugus are generally pulled up for not having a sense of pride in their culture. They don’t do enough to preserve the contributions of their cultural or literary figures. This observation is not far from the truth, but a few of the present generation are making sincere efforts to hand on the literary legacy of Telugu stalwarts to future generations. One such attempt appears in the form of anthologies of published and unpublished works of great Telugu writers, which also put them in a historical perspective. The work of Sri Sri, considered the greatest modern Telugu poet, was preserved in many volumes by his friend Chalasani Prasad. The latest one to hit the stands in this endeavour is an exhaustive and heavy (literally and figuratively) book on రచకొండ విశ్వనాధ శాస్త్రి (Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastry) (1,372 pages) by Manasa Publications. This eminent writer was born on July 30, 1922, and died on November 30, 1993.

Raavi Sastry, as he is fondly referred to, was a writer who got away with incomplete novels on more than one occasion. Readers waited with bated breath for the second part of his Raju-Manishi and Rattalu-Rambabu, but did not actually mind his not writing them ever. They went back to the first part and relished it again. He was a master of characterisation and style and could convey more in a single sentence than a lesser writer might in a whole story. He was a novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist, and right up there with the best in every category. He was a man who knew his genres, who knew what he wanted to write and how he wanted to write. He was not a writer who assumed content was enough, that form would take care of itself. He placed great emphasis on form and created a novel or a short story that was impossible to imitate or emulate. An anthology such as this is valuable because it traces the evolution of a writer, from one who enjoyed writing sex-and-thrill stuff as a teenager to one who became a committed Marxist novelist.

Raavi Sastry was a humanist to the core. He himself was a part of the legal system that worked better for the rich. He took up the cause of the poor both in his life and his writings. Most of his short stories and novels described the exploitation of the poor by middlemen, the flourishing trade of the bootleggers, the lumpen class and the innocence of the common man. His skill as a writer lay in his unwavering commitment to the downtrodden and an extraordinary command of language and style. His language was a combination of realism and grandeur, a feat that none in modern Telugu could match. Though his subjects were serious (how money power and muscle power ruin the poor and disadvantaged) his tone was often satirical, and he used both the regional dialect and scholarly tone with equal felicity. It made for a deadly combination, with the people whom he was deriding themselves enjoying the portrayals. The influences he acknowledged were many, ranging from Charles Dickens to Chekov to Sri Sri to James Joyce. But the end product was his own, where you found few traces of any influence. A spontaneous writer, he has been sometimes accused of making all his characters talk like him (an allegation not without foundation). Whatever his faults, his impact on the reader is undeniable.

In his short stories, he comes out alternately as sensitive and a satirical; in his novels he is a hard-hitting Marxist philosopher and he is at ease in every genre. He has been translated into English, though his style does not lend itself to translation. Of course, the translations do give a glimpse of his genius as a prose writer and his commitment to an egalitarian society. His quote, “a coward can never become a good human being. You need to be brave to be good” is one of my personal favourites in Telugu.

C Mrunalini is a well-known writer of short stories, a translator and a critic
mrunalini8@gmail.com

Courtesy: NewIndPress

Telugu TV Industry: The battle for eyeballs

2008-08-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

There is a mad rush to grab eyeballs in the Telugu TV industry and how. After all, the largest spoken language in the country after Hindi, the six-crore plus population in the state and a huge diaspora is any adman's and marketer's delight.

In the last few months alone three new channels have been launched and more are waiting to go on air. Nine months ago, Rachana Television Private Ltd launched NTv , a 24-hour news channel and Bhakti Tv , a niche devotional channel. Around the same time, Shreya Broadcasting Pvt Ltd launched TV5, a 24-hour news channel. Now the market is abuzz with the impending launch of Saakshi TV after Saakshi daily by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's son Y Jaganmohan Reddy sometime in October-November.

Among the national players, Zee TV, after its foray into Teluguland three years ago with its Zee Telugu, a general entertainment channel (GEC in industry parlance) is soon going to launch its Zee 24 Ghantalu (hours in Telugu), a 24-hour news channel in October. Similarly AsiaNet , which has a bouquet of channels in Malayalam is all set to launch Sitara, its Telugu channel. Giving a twist to this TV saga is Star TV that is reportedly eying AsiaNet , which will enable it get a footprint south of the Vindhyas, according to market observers.

Interestingly, while some are high profile people behind the channels, some are hardly known outside their business circles. However, promoters are looking at various benefits— including political clout— some say pejoratively, in a state that is highly stratified along regional and caste lines. More interesting is the timing of most of the channels' launch in the next few months.

"Elections," quip analysts. The state is slated to go in for elections early to mid next year. The Lok Sabha elections too could be around the same time. Of course, the local players are more keen on the Assembly elections.

There is another reason for this Telugu channel boom. "The Telugu 'bidda' has tasted the quality of the world. If you look around, every fourth or fifth family in the state has a member in the US," says A S Raghunath, a Delhi-based media consultant. In fact, cable and satellite penetration (C&S) in the South is much higher than in the North and AP's C&S penetration is 92 per cent, the highest in the country, aver industry experts.

Channel struck

While the total advertising market (print and television) in the state is put at about Rs 890 crore, of this the television advertising market alone accounts for a mouthwatering Rs 460 crore per annum, according to market estimates. Predictably, everyone wants to get a slice of that pie.

"Having a GEC channel under Zee Telugu , we decided to have a 24-hour news channel as it adds to our bouquet of channels. Even before that for Zee, the strategy was, after going national and international, the next destination in expansion was South and we started with Zee Telugu ," explains T Sanjay Reddy, CEO, Zee Telugu. He claims that Zee Telugu already has four per cent share of that Rs 460 crore in 2007-08 and is confident of doubling it to 10 per cent.

"But the Telugu TV market is one of the most saturated ones," differs a veteran TV executive. Then why are so many players rushing in? "It's sheer optimism that they will succeed. Interestingly, everyone is lured by the example of TV9 which found a place for itself after Etv ," she explains.

Another reason for national broadcasters to get into the regional space is: the regional advertising market, which is increasing every year showing traction and growth while the national advertising pie is under pressure. Moreover, national advertisers drove broadcasters in a way to go regional as well. The reason? "Earlier, pan-India advertisers did not get their money's worth. With a bouquet of channels including regional ones, they assure advertisers more bang for their buck," says an industry source.

Different strokes for different folks

While for national broadcasters it's a need to have a pan-Indian footprint, albeit driven by advertisers, the reason for local players to take on the airwaves is mixed. For some it's a pure business opportunity that has to be cashed in.

"Our vision is to plan and concentrate on niche channels. We launched NTv with a clear focus on news. Ditto with our Bhakti TV , the niche devotional channel. In fact, I'm seeing a fall in viewership of GEC channels and news channels are taking away the viewers from GEC channels," observes D Rajendhira Prasadh, COO, Rachana Television Pvt Ltd.

True, as one need not be a couch potato to surmise that these days news channels have become the index of general entertainment channels because much of the content of the general entertainment channels (GEC) is being packed as news genre. And who better than Rajendhira Prasadh knows this truth as a veteran of Telugu television business first with Citi Cable in 1993 and then as a co-promoter of Maa TV which became a popular GEC until he sold his stake to exit it even as megastar Chiranjeevi, actor Nagarjuna and N Prasad of Matrix Labs (also known as Matrix Prasad) invested in the channel.

"For us this is the business of news and we are focused on Andhra Pradesh. We do not have any other agenda. If you see our news, it is neutral and unbiased and we give a platform for all political parties in a fair manner. That's why we have already shot into the third place in the state with our TRPs (television rating points) in just nine months of our launch," says B Surendra Nath, vice chairman, Shreya Broadcasting Pvt Ltd, promoters of TV5 .

While national broadcasters are heading to Hyderabad, in a strange move, homegrown Telugu channels are headed out. TV9 is a case in point. Launched in 2004, it soon emerged as a prominent news channel in the state. Recently it launched TV9 Kannada and Gujarati and is now reportedly launching an English news channel too. However, in the GEC segment ETV launched Marathi, Urdu, Kannada and Bengali versions among others a few years ago.

Making business sense, locally

Interestingly, the model of localization with district editions across the state so that viewers get more local news has attracted more advertisers. The concept pioneered by Eenadu and followed by others is now being replicated by some new entrants.

According to sources, the soon to be launched TTv is going for localization where it is going to have programmes for the three regions of the state - Telangana, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema - which are distinct socio-economic regions with their own dialects. This will cater to both viewers and advertisers. However, primetime programmes will be common.

"Our focus is regional, covering districts. While our news is local, we have also been focusing on local advertisers in a big way. In fact, we worked hard to remove the perception that TV advertising is expensive by making it affordable," says TV5's Surendra Nath.

As more channels hit the airwaves in the next few months, "there is of course going to be a clutter," quips Zee’s Sanjay Reddy. And there will be— like in other industries—a wave of consolidation faster than before when big players will gobble up smaller ones in a bid to enlarge their bouquets. Even before that, channels will have a tough job holding that notoriously fickle viewer attention. Or, face the axe of the remote as viewers simply flip to some other channel.

Courtesy: TOI

Sacramento, California: Autobiography of Gollapudi Maruthi Rao released

2008-07-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

An event named గొల్లపుడి గారితొ ఓ సరదా సాయంకాలం (Gollapudi Garitho O Sarada Sayankalam) (Eng: A pleasant evening with Gollapudi) hosted by a local India Restaurant at Sacramento carried out the release of autobiography of Gollapudi Maruthi Rao titled as అమ్మ కడుపు చల్లగ (Amma Kadupu Challaga) by the popular Cardiologist and resident of Sacramento Dr. Gopal Nemana.

The author is well known for fifty years of contribution with versatility in creative and performing arts.

Gollapudi has enormously contributed to the theatre and film industry. He is a recipient of many honorable awards for his works in Literature, Theatre, Film and Social fields. He started his acting career in 1982 and performed dynamic roles of villain, comedian and character artist. He is also well proficient in film stories and scripts.

Maruthi Rao had an interaction with audiences with his unique touch, sharing his experiences that spanned over five decades of association with Telugu domains.

Courtesy: IndiaGlitz

Kannada, Andhra leaders demand classical language status for Kannada and Telugu

2008-07-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

New Delhi, July 19 (ANI): Several ministers and leaders of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on Saturday strongly pitched for conferring the Classical Language status for Kannada and Telugu languages at a seminar here.

It was organized by the Karnataka Sangha, the Hampi-based Kannada University, the Kannada Development Authority, the Dravidian University in Kuppam and P.S. Telugu University, Hyderabad.

Inaugurating the seminar, former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily said: All languages cannot be classified as classical languages but those which deserve it, cannot be denied the status.

To qualify for being declared as classical, a language should be ancient, should have an independent tradition, and must have a large and rich body of ancient literature, he added.

Moily pointed out that Tamil, Telugu, Malyalam, and Kannada languages had similar ancestry. Tamil was accorded the status of a classical language in 2004 and the same status cannot be denied to Kannada and Telugu, he said.

Moily, who is himself a well-known author in Kannada, having translated the Ramayana, said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had appointed a committee to examine the question of granting classical status to Kannada and Telugu. The Committee had met last month and would meet again in August.

Moily said that Kannada literature dated back to the pre-Christian period and the language had retained its identity even after being influenced by Sanskrit. Epic poems were inscribed on stones in Karnataka, he added.

Telugu, which was a twin Dravidian language, had a similar tradition and Moily wanted scholars from both states to coordinate their efforts to persuade the Government of India to grant classical language status for both Kannada and Telugu.

Karnatakas Minister of Higher Education, Aravinda Limbavali, who represents the Bharatiya Janata Party, said, We need not argue for the antiquity of these languages. The Bharatiya Janata Party in the State and the Congress in the Centre both national parties — will have to work together to get the classical status for the languages.

Mandali Buddha Prasad, a Minister in the Andhra Government, pointed out that Telugu and Kannada were sister languages. The Vijayanagara Kingdom of Krishnadevaraya included parts of present Karnataka and Andhra and both States should now coordinate efforts, he added. He said that it was a happy coincidence that Moily, who was a former Chief Minister of Karnataka, was in charge of party affairs for Andhra.

Ex-Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad University and the member of the expert committee Dr. Bh. Krishnamurthy highlighted the historical importance of Kannada and Telugu languages, which have a recorded history of 1500 to 2000 years.

He said, As far as academic arguments are concerned, we have enough evidence which prove the antiquity of these languages.

He also told reporters that the committee has already recommended that the languages be given their deserving status.

Vice Chancellor of the Dravidian University of Kuppam, Dr. G. Lakshminarayana said Telugu and Kannada were the senior most in the Dravidian family of languages. They rightfully deserved being given the status of classical languages.

Karnataka Sangha President Purushothama Bilimale said, The classical status would give international recognition to them and would also help getting Rs. 100 crore from the Center for the promotion of the languages. When we see that Tamil has been given the Classical language status and not the others, which are of same origin, then it hurts the sentiments of the people.

The seminar was also addressed by Mukyamantri Chandru, Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, Prof. Krishnamurti, former Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad University, A.B. K. Prasad, Chairman of the Official language Commission, Hyderabad.

The seminar passed a resolution, signed by the participants, strongly urging the Union Government to declare Kannada and Telugu languages as classical languages immediately.

The resolution pointed out that there are Kannada and Telugu books on grammatical tradition, dictionaries, encyclopedias and books on science, agriculture and medicine. Both languages have written records dating from the First Millennium. (ANI)

Courtesy: ThaIndian

దక్షిణ భారత పక్షులు : Telugu edition of 'Birds of South India' released :

2008-07-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD: For the first time, a field guide book in Telugu on birds of South India, with illustrations and their local names, was released here on Saturday.

The Telugu translation of Birds of South India దక్షిణ భారత పక్షులు (Dakshina Bharatha Pakshulu) will be a useful handbook not only for the frontline staff of the Forest department to help in bird observations, but also to avid birdwatchers, who may not understand English or English names.

The book, published by the Bombay Natural History Society, was authored by Richard Grimmet and Tim Inskip and translated through the initiative of the Birdwatchers’ Society of Andhra Pradesh (BSAP). Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden Hitesh Malhotra released the book.

India and Maldives

The book covers about 600 species of birds from Central and South India, including Maharashtra, Pondichery, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep and also of Maldives, said BSAP President Siraj Taher. He said the field guides were mostly in English and hence the effort to translate them into regional languages.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Delhi, July 19th : Seminar on Classical Status for Telugu and Kannada

2008-07-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

New Delhi, July 16 (ANI): Delhi Karnataka Sangha is organizing a seminar on the Classical Status for Kannada and Telugu languages in the national capital on Saturday (July 19).

The day-long programme will be organised in association with the Kannada University Hampi, Dravidian University Kupppam, Potti Shriramula Telugu University Hyderabad and Kannada Development Authority Bangalore.

Former chief minister of Karnataka and senior Congress leader, M. Veerappa Moily and State minister for Higher Education, Aravinda Nimbavali are scheduled to attend the seminar to be held at R.K.Puram in South Delhi. The need for the seminar was felt after observing that linguistic identity in India was passing through a crisis period. Speech communities were seeking more space in the language politics of the country.

Languages, which are not included in the eighth schedule of the constitution of India, are putting forward their case for inclusion in the list.

Languages like Kannada and Telugu have stood the test of time. They were languages of the people in the first millennium and continued to be the media of expression in the new world.

However, due to political reasons, the Government of India could not declare these ancient languages as classical languages. he criteria prescribed to declare a particular language as 'the Classical Language' is that a language should be of great antiquity and should have its early texts dating back at least 1,000 years.

The language should also have a body of ancient literature and texts considered a valuable heritage. Its literary tradition should be original and not borrowed from another speech or community.

Besides, its literature must be distinct from modern etcetera are all holds good for a few other languages like Kannada and Telugu.

Other distinguished participants in the seminar will include chairman of the Kannada Development Authority in Bangalore, Mukhyamantri Chandru, State minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mandali Buddhaprasad, Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh official Language Commission A.B.K. Prasad and internationally recognized linguist Prof. Bh. Krishnamurty. They will present their views at the inaugural session.

Prof. D. Javare Gowda, former Vice Chancellor of the Mysore University, Dr. P.S. Subramaniam, Professor of Linguistics in Bangalore, Dr. S. Shettar noted Historian, Dr. Hampa Nagarajaiah, the Linguist and Researcher, Dr. Pradhan Gurudatt, the Chairman of Karnataka Translation Academy, Bangalore and Prof. H.S. Shivaprakash of the Jawaharlal Nehru University will be leading the panel discussion in the post lunch session.

Dr. Manjulata, Vice Chancellor of the P.S. Telugu University, Hyderabad will Chair the session. (ANI)

Courtesy: NewsTrackIndia

Changing fashions in Telugu literature

2008-07-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

C Mrunalini

Literature is a highly creative and intellectual process. However, does it also have a leaning towards “fashion”? Does it also succumb to something called “the in-thing to do” at a certain period or age?

Litterateurs may not like to admit it, but it is often true that literary production does take into consideration the mood, temper and taste of the age. I am not just referring to the “popular” literature. This tendency is true of any literature. Just as literature has its “dos” it also has its “don’ts” where content and form are concerned.

Given this situation, it is not surprising that certain genres of writing simply seem to vanish, leaving a vacuum in the literary arena. The one genre that is slowly becoming an endangered literary species in Telugu is the “psychological novel”.

There was a time in Telugu (from the late forties to the early sixties of 20th century) when every writer tried his (or her) hand at this genre. Freud and Adler being favourites of the novelists, all sorts of human behaviour were touched upon. Looking into the minds of people with great sympathy and understanding, and trying to find causes for the disorder of a human mind had become the passion of the Telugu novelist.

This passion resulted in quite a few masterpieces — అసమ్ర్థుని జీవయాత్ర (Asamarthuni Jeevayatra) (T Gopichand), అల్ప జీవి (Alpa Jeevi) (Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastry), చివరకు మిగిలేది (Chivaraku Migiledi) (Buchibabu), కీలుబొమ్మలు (Keelubommalu) (G V Krishna Rao), ఆత్మ బలి (Aatma Bali) (Sripada Subrahmanya Sastry), ఒకే రక్తం (Oke Raktham), ఒకే మనుషులు (Oke Manushulu) (Kommuri Venugopala Rao), హిమజ్వాల (Himajwala) (Vaddera Chandidas) and సరద (Sarada) (C Anandaramam) to name a few. However, by the 1980s, this genre slowly started disappearing from the main stage, leaving it to a very few writers such as Kasibhatla Venugopal (who is still faithful to it) to keep it alive.

The immediate reason for this drift is the emergence of extremely strong, idealistic and absolutely essential literary movements, which stemmed out of inequalities and marginalisation in all spheres of life. The feminist, dalit and regional movements in Telugu literature brought about a social realism that left no scope for the writer to dwell on the mind of an individual.

Movements celebrate the voice of masses, the anguish of groups, the sentiments of victims and collective behaviour instead of the thought processes of one human being. When there is a strong argument for a social and cultural cause, experimental writing (which is what psychological novels are generally referred as) naturally takes a back seat. It is now no longer the “in-thing” to write a psychological novel; a novel that looks into the deep layers of the human mind as against the root causes of a whole social and cultural system may not be really welcome.

However, somewhere, at some point of time, even amid the collective protests of victimised groups, one needs to look deeply and carefully into one’s own self, to understand the truth of life. Maybe when creativity shakes away the shackles of “literary correctness”, the psychological novel will emerge again.

C Mrunalini is a well-known writer of short stories, a translator and a critic
mrunalini8@gmail.com

Courtesy: NewIndPress

Classical Status

2008-07-08T03:58:00.000-07:00

July 7: Telugu and Kannada may soon get classical language status. Union culture minister Ambika Soni on Monday said that a meeting of the experts committee for granting classical language status to Telugu and Kannada has been convened to meeting on August 8. Once the report is submitted to her, Ms Soni will forward it to the ministry of home affairs. This was revealed by Ms Soni when KPCC president M. Mallikarjuna Kharge, the head of the Karnataka Congress delegation, called on her.

During their meeting here, both leaders discussed matters related to granting classical language status to Kannada. Mr Kharge urged that the Centre should expedite the matter.

Courtesy: Howrah

Rights panel asked to protect rights of children to learn Telugu

2008-06-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD : The తెలుగు భాషోద్యమ సామఖ్య (Telugu Bhashodyama Samakhya) and తెలుగు భాషా చైతన్య సమితి (Telugu Bhasha Chaitanya Samithi) have jointly appealed to AP State Human Rights Commission chairperson B. Subhashan Reddy to protect the rights of children to learn in Telugu medium.

In a memorandum submitted to Justice Reddy here on Thursday, a delegation comprising the representatives of the two organisations said that the State had a responsibility to provide free and compulsory education to every child in the 6-14 age groups.

Article 350 A of the Constitution envisaged that the State or local authority had the responsibility to provide education to the children in their mother tongue. The delegation consisted of G.S. Varadachari, C. Dharma Rao and K. Nageswara Rao.

They recalled that it was universally accepted that mother tongue was the best and easiest tool of learning and the same had been endorsed by the UN convention.

Courtesy: AndhraCafe

Kuchipudi dancers in California set World Record

2008-06-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

Dancers in Cupertino will be forever memorialized in a book that honors loud burps, long fingernails and large groups of breastfeeding mothers.

"We are in the history books," Anand Kuchibhotla said today, after his group, Silicon Andhra organized a dancing feat that earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Saturday, 380 కూచిపుడి("kuchipudi") dancers set a world record for being the largest group of Kuchipudi dancers performing continually for more than 5 minutes on a flat stage. They danced for 8 1/2 minutes.

Guinness adjudicator Danny Girton oversaw the event, and handed a certificate to Kuchibhotla, a 46-year-old Internet startup vice president who grew up with kuchipudi dancing in his home state of Andhra Pradesh and came up with the idea.

"When he announced that we met all the standards, 2,000 people in the audience gave a standing ovation. They were screaming and saying 'Wooooooooo.' It was unbelievable," Kuchibhotla said.

Pronounced Koo-chee-poo-dee, the dance is about 1,000 years old, born in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after a village by the same name. Dancers often represent Hindu gods, and act out stories for their audiences.

Dancers flew in from Russia, India, Singaore, Germany, England, Canada, and came from all over the United States. They flocked to Cupertino not only to set a world record but for the world's first international three-day kuchipudi convention, organized by Kuchibhotla's group, Silicon Andhra.

Kuchibhotla said that anyone is invited to try to beat the Cupertino dancing numbers, but he's warned, that he believes Guinness will have a new entry at the next Kuchipudi convention planned December 2010 in India.
"That's when we're going to break the new record we just set," he said.

Courtesy: Mercury News

Telugu India classical dance usa north america

అమెరికాలో 20 నుంచి కూచిపూడి నృత్యోత్సవాలు

2008-06-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

రెడ్‌హిల్స్‌, జూన్‌ 18 : కూచిపూడి నృత్య చరిత్రలోనే ప్రప్రథమంగా అమెరికాలోని సిలికాన్‌ వ్యాలిలోని 'క్యూపర్టినో'లో అంతర్జాతీయ కూచిపూడి నృత్యోత్సవాలు నిర్వహిస్తున్నారు. సిలికాన్‌ ఆంధ్ర ఆధ్వర్యంలో మూడురోజుల పాటు జూన్‌ 20, 21, 22 తేదీల్లో నిర్వహిస్తున్న ఈ ఉత్సవాలకు సాంస్కృతిక శాఖ సౌజన్యాన్ని అందిస్తూ కళాకారుల ప్రయాణ నిమిత్తం 15 లక్షలు విడుదల చేసిందని సాంస్కృతిక శాఖ అధికారులు తెలిపారు.

ప్రపంచంలోని 20 దేశాల నుంచి సుమారు 1500 మంది నృత్య కళాకారులు ఈ సమ్మేళనంలో పాల్గొననున్నారు. మన రాష్ట్రం నుంచి డాక్టర్‌ శోభానాయుడు, కళాకృష్ణ, మంజు భార్గవి, డా.జొన్నల గడ్డ అనూరాధ, వేదంతం రామలింగ శాస్త్రి, స్వాతి సోమనాథ్‌, స్వప్న సుందరి, పి.రమాదేవి, ఆనంద శంకర్‌ జయంత్‌ , వేదాంతం సత్యనారాయణ శర్మ, ఉమారామారావు, మృణాళిని తదితరులు పాల్గొంటున్నారని సాంస్కృతిక శాఖ వారు తెలిపారు.

Courtesy: AndhraJyothy

International Kuchipudi Convention 2008 Cupertino Bay Area America USA Telugu Andhra Classical Dance

Panel studying classical language status for Telugu, Kannada

2008-06-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) A committee of experts is examining whether to grant Telugu and Kannada the status of classical languages. Tourism Minister Ambika Soni conveyed this to visiting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy here Thursday. During the half-hour meeting, Reddy urged Soni, who is also the culture minister, to grant classical language status to Telugu.

Soni said an experts committee is examining the issue of granting Telugu and Kannada classical languages status.

She said the majority of experts has formed a view and efforts are being made to arrive at a consensus on the issue.

She expressed the hope that the committee would reach a decision on the subject shortly and said it would be forwarded it to the government, according to an official statement issued here.

Courtesy: Thaindian

Three National Awards for Telugu Cinema

2008-06-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

The 54th National Film Awards ceremony, the nation's most prestigious awards, was held on June 10, 2008, in New Delhi. Tollywood had a prominent presence with three Telugu movies bagging awards.

The Telugu movie Hope received the award for Best Feature Film on social issues. The Telugu film industry, famed for larger-than-life movies has come up with the Telugu animation film, Kittu that bagged the Best Animation Film Award. The award for Best Feature Film in Telugu went to Kamli.

The members of three juries for Feature and Non Feature Films, namely Buddhadeb Dasgupta, K. Bikram Singh and Ms. Madhu Jain selected the recipients of the 54th National Film Awards by submitting their recommendations to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, P.R. Dasmunsi.

Courtesy: OneIndia

6వ అమెరికా తెలుగు సాహితి సదస్సు

2008-06-03T23:52:00.000-07:00

YOU ARE INVITED

You are invited to participate in the 6th America Telugu Sahithi Sadassu (Telugu Symposium of America), the popular national forum for Telugu writers, scholars, critics, literary enthusiasts and all those who love Telugu language & culture in North America. The Symposium is organized by Vanguri Foundation of America (a non-profit organization dedicated to promote Telugu language and creative writing since 1994), well known Telugu web magazine www.koumudi.net, SiliconAndhra and several Telugu literary enthusiasts from Bay area. The previous such Symposiums were held in Atlanta (1998), Chicago (2000), Detroit (2002), New Jesey (2004) and Houston (2006).

The legendary Telugu writer & film actor Sri Gollapudi Maruthi Rao is the Chief Guest of 6th America Telugu Sahithi Sadassu. Smt. Balabhadrapathruni Ramani (well known author of novels, short story, movie scripts and TV serials, on her first visit to USA) will deliver the Inaugural address. Sri Satyam Mandapati (Austin, TX) respected writer and literary stalwart of North America will deliver the Keynote Address. The autobiography of Sri Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, recent publications of "Kalaprapoorna" Dr. A. Anasuya Devi (well known folk & light music singer), and special publications of VFA including the 10th volume of the internationally acclaimed America Telugu Kathanika series will be released.

Smt. Attaluri Vijaya Lakshmi (Famous writer of plays, novels & poetry), Dr. R.Anantha Padmanabha Rao (Director of Bhakti channel of TTD, Tirupathi) and others are distinguished participants and special invitees.

Special attractions include participation by several writers in Sweeya Rachana Pathanam, friendly literary contests (organized by Savithri Machiraju) on writing classical poetry (Ataveladi, Tetagiti etc), "anthakshari" type program of reciting classical poetry, and a workshop on how to write a creative short story. Additional attractions are a special Youth Forum for second generation Telugu students from all over USA, a "Thank you" event for all those who supported establishment of Telugu Studies at University of California, Berkeley (Organized by Dr. Vemuri Venkateswara Rao), and Book Exhibition

The two day event is divided into several interesting sessions to review the development of Telugu literature in India and in North America. The topics include Sampradaya Sahityam, Contemporary trends, Telugu literature in North America (Diaspora), Teaching of Telugu language in USA, developments in computer technology related to Telugu fonts & Telugu e-mail.

Please visit www.koumudi.net for complete details.

YOU ARE REQUESTED

We sincerely request your generous financial support to conduct this only Telugu Symposium of its kind in North America. Registration fee & donation are tax-deductible (Tax ID # 76-0444238). Please make checks payable to Vanguri Foundation of America, Inc and mail to the address shown on left or register & donate online at www.tickets2events.com

Contact Information

For Registration, Donation and participation in the programs

Chitten Raju Vanguri

Phone: 832 594 9054

E-mail: rvanguri@wt.net

Organizing Volunteers

Dr. Vemuri Venkateswara Rao (vemurione@yahoo.com)

Kiran Prabha (rao_pathuri@yahoo.com, 925.548.7431)

Anand Kuchibhotla, 408 718 0040, anand@kuchibhotla.com

Kumar Kalagara (kumar.kalagara@gmail.com,

916.337. 0914)

Raghu Malladi (rmalladi@rationalit.com, 510.823.3197)

Rao Tallapragada (rao@infoyogi.com, 408 375 7853)

Mruthyunjayudu Thatipamala 408 386 2909, mj_thatipamala@yahoo.com

Dr. Pemmaraju Venugopala Rao (phspvr@physics.emory.edu

404 727 4297)

A modern spark in Telugu literature

2008-06-01T00:52:00.000-07:00

C Mrunalini

Every literature, especially Indian regional ones, have a few works that are their pride. For the Telugu people, a few of these are the transcreation of వ్యాస మహాభారత (Vyasa Mahabharata) by the three eminent poets, నన్నయ్య (Nannaya), తిక్కన్న(Tikkana) and ఎర్రన్న (Errana). (the Kavitraya); then the Bhagavatham of Potana, which has left its mark on the region since it was written in the 15th century. In the 18th century there was Vemana who is remembered with pride for being the first satirist and social critic. In the modern age, the work that continues to be talked about and even retold in many forms is కన్యశుల్కం (Kanyasulkam) (first published in 1897, the present edition published in 1909) by Gurazada Appa Rao.

Kanyasulkam is a play on the evils that plagued the society during the Reformation Age of modern Indian history. The play, which has more than 50 characters, is heralded as the one work that brought modernism to Telugu literature in all its nuances — in subject, form, language, intention and thought processes. It is considered the best play ever written in Telugu.

However, the question that needs to be asked is where the play stands when compared to other works of the time. This is probably what bothered eminent scholar U A Narasimha Murthy of Vizianangaram (the hometown of Gurazada and also the town where the story of the play is situated). That is why he recently came out with an extraordinary account of Kanyasulkam.

Narasimha Murthy also speaks of the various influences on Gurazada that made him the master playwright that he was. Thus, Shakespeare, Moliere, and Ibsen are discussed as the major influences on Gurazada — something that was probably true for most regional literature of that time.

Where this book makes a mark is in its analysis of Kanyasulkam in the light of the first drama in other Indian languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Assamese, and Oriya. This is where the scholar reminds us of the need for comparative study of Indian literatures and this work (722 pages) is a classic example of how a comparative study can be done between Indian literatures.

The book, titled Kanyasulkam and 19th Century Indian Plays, is truly comparative because it is not judgmental. It takes into account the cultural, political and literary environment of the times in all regions of India. Quite obviously this scholar has received both inspiration and information from the great English, Bengali and comparative scholar Sisir Kumar Das, whose History of Indian Literature is a wonderful resource text.

The beauty of Murthy’s analysis is that he is totally objective in his approach. Though a great admirer of Gurazada and his play Kanyasulkam (which Telugu person isn’t?), he is totally unemotional in dealing with the subject. Murthy agrees that child marriages, selling of girls, problems of child widows, and the nautch girl question were all common subjects of late 19th and early 20th century writings. He reminds us that it was not Gurazada who brought in the colloquial language to literature in modern India as many admirers claimed but that this happened earlier in other Indian languages.

However, he also points out that Kanyasulkam is not only the lengthiest drama (226 pages) but also a play that deals with all the problems at the same time, while the other languages deal with one or two at a time. Again, the beauty of this play lies in all these problems being displayed with great dramatic skill, aesthetic sense and linguistic beauty, and not in a preaching tone.

Murthy also notes that among the South Indian languages, Gurazada’s Kanyasulkam is the first to portray the plight of women with such sensitivity and depth. Kanyasulkam has been discussed so often among Telugu literary critics that one more book would normally give a sense of déjà vu. However, this volume is a rare contribution not only to Telugu but also to Indian literature in general.

C Mrunalini is a well-known writer of short stories, a translator and a critic

mrunalini8@gmail.com

Courtesy: NewIndPress

Tallapaaka: Annamacharya’s 600th birth anniversary celebrated

2008-05-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

MUSICAL TRIBUTE: Eminent cultural artists performing during the 600th birth anniversary celebrations of saint-composer Annamacharya at his birth place of Tallapaka village in Kadapa district on Monday. The event was organised by the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams.

తాళ్ళపాక (Tallapaka) (Kadapa district): తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య (Tallapaka Annamacharya), the first ‘vaggeyakara’ (singer-composer) who scripted 32,000 keerthanas in praise of Lord Venkateswara more than five centuries ago, was accorded a glorious tribute on his 600th jayanthi celebrations at his birth place, Tallapaka.

About 1,000 eminent singers, who volunteered from various parts of Andhra Pradesh and the country, rendered Annamacharya keerthanas in a సప్తగిరి సంగీత గోష్టి గానం (Sapthagiri Sangeetha Goshti Ganam) to mark the birth anniversary of the first lyrical poet of Telugu who dedicated his life to the worship of Lord Balaji of Tirupati.

Rich contribution

Coupled with his works whose contribution to Telugu literature is considered immeasurable, the saint poet is reputed for his opposition to the economic and social inequalities as well as superstitions prevalent during his time (1408-1503).

The air was rent with the praise of Lord Venkateswara as a large number of violinists, mridangam and tabla artistes and hundreds of singers rendered keerthanas in the presence of a galaxy of peethadhipathis, film personalities, officials and devotees on a dais decorated with the temple of Tirumala as its backdrop. Artistes and members of Annamacharya Seva Samithis and Dasa Sahitya Project from various districts rendered devotional songs in praise of the ‘Lord of Seven Hills’ and his ardent disciple, Annamacharya, in mikes fitted to vehicles during a six-km ‘sankeertana yatra’ flagged off by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams chairman B. Karunakar Reddy.

The 12th descendent of Annamacharya, Harinarayanacharyulu, showered flowers on the 108-foot statue of the saint poet, slated for inauguration by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on May 22, and the ‘utsava vigrahas’ of Lord Venkateswara from a helicopter.

Annamacharya keerthanas — భావములోన భాగ్యములందు (Bhavamulona Bhagyamulandu), బ్రహ్మ కడిగిన పాదము (Brahma Kadigina Paadamu), ఎంతమంత్రమున ఎవ్వరు తలచిన (Enthamathramunna evvaru thalachina), కొడగంటినయ్య పురుషోత్తమ (Kodagantinayya Purushothama), కొండలలో నెలకొన కోనేటి రాయుడు (Kondalalo Nelakonna Konetirayudu), నారాయణతె నమో నమో (Narayanate namo namo) and ముద్దుగారె యషోద (Muddaugare Yashoda) — were rendered with great precision enthralling the audience.

Eminent singers P.B. Srinivas, Shobha Raju, K. Jyothirmayee, mridangam exponent Yella Venkateswara Rao and others were among the 1,000 artistes who rendered the keerthans and Annamacharya Trust Director Medasani Mohan presided over the function. Later, Mr. Harinarayanacharyulu felicitated the peethadhipathis.

Courtesy: The Hindu

A.P. Languages Commission disagrees on inscription finding

2008-05-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Official Languages Commission has stated that it was stunned by the “false picture” presented by Iravatham Mahadeven of the Indus Research Centre and Roja Muthiah Research Library, Chennai, about the earliest Telugu inscriptions.

In a rejoinder to Mr. Mahadevan’s statement published in The Hindu on April 30 under the heading ‘Andhra and the Indus civilisation,’ the Commission Chairman A. B. K. Prasad stated in a release here that litterateurs as well as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) experts knew that both Tamil and Telugu languages were ancient with a culture of their own as leading members of the Dravidian family of languages, spread over a period of 2400 years and beyond.

‘Blatant distortion’

“But, Mahadevan’s contention that the earliest Telugu inscription is dated only in the 6th century A.D., in the post-Christian era, and also that the earliest Telugu literature in the 11th century C.E. is not only far from truth but also blatant distortion of the recorded facts.”

“It is regrettable that he [Mr. Mahadevan] should conveniently avoid mentioning of the most unassailable evidence of the earliest Bhattiprolu (Guntur district) inscriptions of 3rd century B.C. which contained several Telugu roots or words even a century before the Emperor Ashoka of 300 B.C. All the three inscriptions of Bhattiprolu dated back to 400 B.C. i.e. 2400 years ago! Likewise, the Telugu language found at Kantamanenivarigudem, Guntupalli in West Godavari district and Gummadidurru and Ghantasala in Krishna district, all dated back to 2nd century A.D.,” Mr. Prasad said.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Swaralaya award for P.Susheela

2008-05-02T00:46:00.000-07:00

The recipient of this year"s Swaralaya-KPAC Sulochana Award will be playback singer P. Susheela.

This award, with a purse of Rs. 50,000, established in memory of K.P.A.C. Sulochana, the great theatre playback artist, is given to female playback artists of exemplary talent. P. Susheela is receiving this award for her great contribution to the growth of South Indian film music.

Recognized as a legend in the world of South Indian cinema, పులపాక సుశీల (Pulapaka Susheela), born in 1935 at Vijaynagaram, Andhra Pradesh, has recorded many songs in most of the Indian languages, predominantly Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada.

In a career that covers over four decades, she has received the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer five times in 1969, 1972, 1978, 1983 and 1984.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh honoured her with the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for lifetime achievement to Telugu Cinema in 2001. Four years later, she received the Special Jury Swaralaya Yesudas Award for outstanding performance in music.

She is also a recent recipient of the prestigious Padmabhushan award.

Courtesy: OneIndia

Tech workers from India celebrate their culture and Telugu language

2008-04-23T00:28:00.000-07:00

Article in The Sacramento Bee

Ranbaxy and the Telugu connection

2008-04-17T00:58:00.001-07:00

Stock market pundits may be unsure of why Ranbaxy Labs has moved to buy a sizeable stake in Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, but folks down South are not surprised. They term it the Malvinder-Garu magic.

Ranbaxy has shown an uncanny ability to acquire stakes in companies promoted by Telugu entrepreneurs, sometimes in the backyard of its chief rival Dr Reddy’s Labs.

In 2006, Ranbaxy bought 45% stake in biopharma firm Zenotech Labs, a Hyderabad-based firm promoted by Jayaram Chigurupati, a respected Telugu scientist who once worked at Dr Reddy’s. Later, Ranbaxy bought a 14.9% stake in another Hyderabad-based company, Krebs Biochemicals, in which the promoter of Dr Reddy’s, Anji Reddy, had a 5.1% stake.

The country’s largest drug maker also bought a minority stake in Jupiter Bioscience, founded by late KS Sarma and now run by his son, Venkat Ramana Kalavakolanu. Orchid’s Kailasam Raghavendra Rao is the latest in the illustrious line of Telugu entrepreneurs facing Ranbaxy’s acquisitive attitude.

The only difference this time is that Ranbaxy group had been buying up shares in the open market, while the earlier ones were all negotiated deals. While the twists in the Orchid sage have been worthy of the climax of any Telugu movie, one hopes Ranbaxy’s Telugu fetish will again have a happy ending, just like in Tollywood.

Courtesy: Economic Times

NTR literary award for Somasundaram

2008-04-17T00:56:00.000-07:00

TIRUPATI: Noted writer Avanthsa Somasundaram has been selected for the prestigious NTR Jathiya Sahitya Puraskaram (NTR National Literary Award) for the year 2008-09.

Announcing this here on Saturday, NTR Vignana Trust chairperson Lakshmi Parvathi said the octogenarian was selected for the award in recognition to his immense contribution to Telugu literature. Somasundaram, who started writing at the tender age of 10, has 78 literary works to his credit so far.

The award will be presented at a function to be held at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on May 28. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a certificate and a citation. Somasundaram was selected for the award by the selection committee comprising Potturu Venkateswara Rao, Siva Reddy, Rachapalem Chandrasekhar, Mukthevi Bharati and Akkiraju Ramapathi Rao.

Noted Kannada writer SL Bairappa of Karnataka was the first recipient of the award instituted by NTR Vignana Trust last year. Trust executive director KV Ramanachary, members Potturu Venkateswara Rao, Mrunalini and Jwalamukhi were present.

Courtesy: NewIndpress

Telugu Bharati Puraskaram for ex-VC

2008-04-11T02:06:00.000-07:00

The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakh Governor to present the award on April 20

The award is instituted by C.P.Brown Academy

HYDERABAD: Veteran linguist and former Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad, Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, has been selected for the award of the first ever Telugu Bharathi Puraskaram instituted by C. P. Brown Academy, Hyderabad, for the year 2008.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakh and a gold medal and it will be presented by Governor Narayan Datt Tiwari at a function to be held on April 20.

The awardee is selected by a jury of literary luminaries aided by nominations received from a representative cross section of Telugu writers, editors, critics, academicians and scholars for the purpose.

Unanimous selection

According to P. Dinakara Rao, convener, and M. Hanumantha Rao, chief consultant of C.P.Brown Academy, the jury has unanimously selected Prof. Krishnamurti for the award.

They said C. P. Brown Academy was established in 2007 by the Alpha Foundation to promote resurgence of Telugu language and culture through various activities such as publication of Telugu self-learning texts and other books and magazines, and institution of awards in recognition of excellent work in various Telugu literary forms and researches.

Prof. Krishnamurti is an internationally acknowledged authority on linguistics.

He worked in Andhra University, Sri Venkateshwara University and Osmania University before being appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Hyderabad Central University.

He was a visiting Professor to University of Michigan, Cornell University, Australian National University, Tokyo University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Illinois apart from heading various linguistic bodies in the country.

Prof. Krishnamurti has 25 books and over 120 research papers to his credit, both in English and Telugu.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Bay Area Telugus celebrate Ugadi

2008-04-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

FREMONT: On the occasion of beginning of Telugu New Year సర్వధారి నామ సంవత్సరం (sarvadhari naama samvatsaram), Bay Area Telugu Association (BATA) and BharatFamily.com presented a day-long Telugu Mela on April 5 at Hindu Temple, Sunnyvale. Highlights of the day-long event 'Mela' included "Youth Talent Show" during the day and a spectacular cultural event in the evening.

The dances, songs, and music presented during both the Youth Talent Show and in the evening cultural program were a feast to the audience as all of the performances were well presented and fascinating. The Youth Talent show has been providing a platform for youth to showcase their talents in music, dance, singing, and other fields. This year's talent show had more than 70 entries in various categories with over 150 children participating in sub-junior, junior and senior categories. The show was anchored by youth introducing the performers and items in Telugu.

The Youth Talent show was very efficiently and professionally organized and conducted by Srilu Veligeti, Vijaya Aasuri, Preethi, and Aparna Pasumarthy.The hall was well decorated and adorned with traditional Telugu toranalu, mango leaves leaving the audience with a distinct impression of celebrating Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh. BATA advisory board member and Cultural Chair Mrs. Vijaya Aasuri started the evening program and announced the program was developed to showcase and celebrate Telugu culture while entertaining the audience.

At the beginning of the evening's cultural program, Vijaya Aasuri introduced the American Telugu Association (ATA) representatives (Chandra Reddy Gavva, Mohan Mallam, Hanimireddy Lakireddy, Rajendar Reddy Jinna, and Buchanna Gajula) who attended the event. Speaking at this occasion, representatives of ATA wished the audience a happy Ugadi. Dr. Hanimireddy Lakireddy served as the Chief Guest of the event.

Dr. Lakireddy applauded the fully packed attendees in embracing and promoting the Telugu culture and traditions with lot of enthusiasm. The main cultural event in the evening started with a Prayer song directed by Jayashree Varadarajan. Then a dance "okapari okapari" by anjali and Ramya reminded the beauty of classical art.

Then the dance for "sita rama kalyanam" by 40 kids showcased the insights of lord Sita Rama wedding. Coordinating 40 young kids in a single dance was a challenging task, but the directors Vijaya Aasuri and Srilu Veligeti prepared the kids so nicely that the kids performed to the script excellently. Following by this was another classical dance "Ksheeradhi Kanyakau" by Anjali and Ramya enlighten the audience with classical form of art.

The mini skit show "Ugadi special" by Sirisha, Chakrapani, Prasad, and Kamesh brought the audience to the lighter side of the life with laughter and comedy. This was directed by Brahmanandam Gorthi. The finale was set to some fast foot tapping hits from recent movies. Several vendors such as tax consultants, Telugu TV channels, boutiques, mehendi, jewelry, fashion dressings, financial services, real estate, food stalls, etc. were setup at the Mela. Part of the talent show, BATA in association with AAA Gems and Beads organized an Art Camp and Painting Competitions headed by Arvind Kotha (a Guinness book record holder).

There were over 100 kids participated in this art camp and the winners were awarded with the recognition trophies.The following businesses sponsored the event: Grand Sponsor: BharatFamily.com; Event Promoted by: Ravi Tax Services & Raji Insurance; Platinum Sponsors: Namasta Plaza, Channel Real Estate & Mortgage; Gold Sponsors: Shree Travels, IndoGain, Peacock Indian Cuisine.

Courtesy: IndiaPost

సర్వధారి నామ సంవత్సర ఉగాది శుభాకాంక్షలు

2008-04-08T05:19:00.000-07:00

'వెన్నెల్లో హరివిల్లు' - కాలిఫోర్నియా కథకుల గుండె చప్పుడు

2008-04-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

'వెన్నెల్లో హరివిల్లు', a book by శ్రీ బ్రహ్మానందం గోర్తి గారు was released at the 3rd తెలుగు సాహితి సదస్సు organized by కాలిఫోర్నియా తెలుగు సమితి at the India Community Center, Milpitas, California in March 2008

Unique Kuchipudi spectacle to be staged in America

2008-04-01T00:50:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad, April 01: KUCHIPUDI is now going global. In an unprecedented way, about 2,500 Kuchipudi dancers, gurus from across the world, are going to grace a three-day International Kuchipudi Dance Convention.

This was disclosed by Kuchibotla Anand of SiliconAndhra in a press meet organised at Ravindra Bharathi in the city that was attended by Department of Culture director Rallabandi Kavitha Prasad, Vempati Chinna Satyam’s son Vempati Venkat and Kuchipudi dancers and gurus Sobha Naidu, Alekhya, Usha Gayathri, Ramadevi, Kothapalli Padma, KV Satyanarayana and Jonnalagadda Anuradha.

SiliconAndhra, a US-based organisation promoting Telugu culture among Telugu-speaking people of the United States, is organising the event in association with Department of Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, and Potti Sriramulu Telugu University at Flint Center, Cupertino City, California from June 20 to June 22.

“Cupertino City Mayor Dolly Sandoval told us that she would grace the occasion in a traditional sari while many senators, congress members will participate in Kuchipudi Sobhayatra (parade) on the streets of the city which will be monitored by the US civilian police,” said Kuchibhotla Anand of SiliconAndhra.

Choreographed by Kuchipudi exponent Vempati Chinasatyam, the convention will have 500 Kuchipudi dancers dancing on stage simultaneously in a tribute to Kuchipudi Kalamathalli. This unique feat will be supervised by officials of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Jonnalagadda Anuradha from Department of Dance, University of Hyderabad, is coming up with a book Srujana Ranjani Natya Manjari detailing the history, greatness, critical issues and future of Kuchipudi.

Dancers and dance gurus spanning five generations, including Vempati Chinna Satyam and Yamini Krishnamurthy, will be seen together on a single platform on the occasion.

To be organised every two years, the next convention will be held in Hyderabad in 2010.

Explaining the importance of the convention, Kavitha Prasad said, “The convention aims at promoting the dance at the international level, giving global exposure to Kuchipudi gurus and providing inspiration to the local Americans learning the dance form.”

The convention will witness lecture demonstrations, panel discussions, historic exhibits and workshops.

Courtesy: Siasat

Telugu Times Takes Partner, Celebrates Milestone

2008-03-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

Dublin, Mar 25, 2008 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Telugu Times, the first global Telugu newspaper published in the US since February 2004, has completed 4 successful years of publication and partnered with CineMaya Media Group, a South Asian Media - Entertainment - Marketing services company in North America.

CineMaya, now the Publishing Partner of Telugu Times, has taken an equity stake in Telugu Times, and will now handle advertising sales, editorial content generation, distribution, marketing, and brand development in North America. The new joint Hyderabad office for Telugu Times and CineMaya Media Group will provide back-end processes, editorial, online, and sales from India, and provide a platform to expand CineMaya's overall business within the region.

A celebratory anniversary event was held at the pool side lawns of Club Jayabheri in Hyderabad, on the evening of Saturday, March 15. Those in attendance included advertisers, advertising agencies, marketing persons, political and film personalities, the Honorable Atluti Subba Rao, President of The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and film star turned real estate baron Murali Mohan, amongst others.

The Non Resident Telugu Community is the fastest growing community amongst Indians in the US with an estimated population of over 500,000. Telugus play an active role in the American economy and maintain a close bond with their homeland Andhra Pradesh, India.

Jayaram Komati, Chairman, Telugu Times Media said, "We are very happy that Telugu Times has been able to flourish by completing its fourth successful year and has become an important brand among the Telugu families in the US. We are excited that our partnership with CineMaya Media Group will allow us to expand our reach and presence within the community."

Komati is a restaurateur and owner of the Swagat Group of Restaurants, and is a well-known community leader in the US. He is also the President Elect for the Telugu Association of North America (TANA), a nationwide umbrella body of the Telugu community in USA.

"In USA, Malayalees, Punjabis, Gujaratis, Tamilians and other Indian communities have newspapers in their own languages and the Telugu Times has filled the gap for the Telugu community. Telugu Times has become known not only as a media vehicle for the Telugu community for comprehensive news, but also a media connection between the community and its motherland," said Prasad Garapati, Vice Chairman of the Telugu Times, and an entrepreneur with numerous business interests in India, Dubai, and the US.

From New York, Sunil Hali, Chairman, CEO and Publisher of CineMaya Media Group, said, "The Telugu community is the second largest Indian ethnic group in the US and is rapidly expanding to Canada. Partnering with Telugu Times is a natural choice for us as it complements our overall business model of serving Non-Resident Indians with a platform of media vehicles, entertainment, and marketing services."

Courtesy: Trading Markets

Governor launches Telugu daily 'సాక్షి'

2008-03-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD : Governor N.D. Tiwari launched Telugu daily ‘Sakshi’ brought out in 23 multi-coloured editions by Jagati Publication of which Y.S. Jagan, son of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, is chairman, at an impressive function at HICC on Sunday.

Besides the Chief Minister, B.V. Raghavulu (State CPI-M secretary), K. Narayana (CPI secretary), Bandaru Dattatreya (BJP president), Asaduddin Owaisi, Majlis MP, were among the political leaders who attended. B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman, Satyam Group, launched the daily’s web edition.

M. Veerappa Moily, AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, megastar Chiranjeevi, Akkineni Nagarjuna, N. Srinivasan, Vice-chairman and managing director of India Cements, Pullela Gopichand and Mithali Raj launched the political, glamour, women’s, business and sports pages respectively of the newspaper.

An impressive laser show and a choreographic presentation on evolution of newspapers over the centuries were highlights of the function. Congratulatory messages from Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman were shown on video screen.

Courtesy: AndhraCafe

NRI భరత్ నల్లూరి on Hollywood horizon

2008-03-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

Telugu NRI Bharat Nalluri's Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day has baffled the critics in US. Though it was released with big movies like 10000 BC and The Bank Job, The movie is impressing the audience. Bharat Nalluri, who was born in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, has directed this film for the first time. He is a director in British Television. His name aand woks are closely associated with production company Kudos Film and Television.

Nalluri's Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is based on the novel by Winifred Watson written in 1938. The movie deals with the story of a dowdy governess, who finds adventure and love when she works as a starlet's personal assistant for 24 hours. This movie is comedy.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day has been directed Bharat Nalluri and produced by Nellie Bellflower and Stephen Garrett. Frances MacDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace, Ciaran Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Mark Strong are in the star cast. Paul Englishby has composed the music of the movie.

Courtesy: OneIndia.in

చందమామ (Chandamama's) Telugu site launched

2008-02-27T01:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.chandamama.com/telugu/

Good to see that it is in Unicode

******

Readers looking for Chandamama’s Telugu stories can now find them at www.chandamama.com/telugu. The site contains a mix of popular Chandamama Telugu stories from mythology, historical, comical to contemporary. It is the first of Chandamama’s 12 language editions to go online. Following this in March’08 will be sites in Hindi and Tamil.

Commenting on the launch of the Telugu site, Chandamama CEO L. Subramanyan said, “We are excited to be the first children’s site in India to be available in two languages.” He also pointed out that “the Telugu site contains original stories written for the Telugu publication and in many cases these are different from the stories you will find on the English site. For example: On the Telugu site we are serializing the Ramayana, whereas on the English site our mythology segment contains stories from the Life of Krishna, the Devi Bhagvatam and Stories of Lord Ganesha.”

The launch of Chandamama Telugu is part of our 60 year commitment “to reach out to children and impart values and education, irrespective of language. We are conscious of our pan-Indian multi-lingual presence and we will continue to build on this in every one of our offerings,” he said.

Commenting on the launch, విశ్వనాధ రెడ్డి (Viswanatha Reddi), Editor & Publisher, Chandamama said, “It is indeed fitting that the first Indian language edition of Chandamama.com should be Telugu. Chandamama was initially launched, in 1947, in Telugu and Tamil. We had committed to the language editions available to our readers. This is the beginning of that commitment.”

The site content is classified into:
Classical: Including mythology, Panchatantra stories, Jataka Tales, Vikram/Vetala etc.
Contemporary: Including Indian and world history, stories about Indian achievers among others.
Current content: Deals with stories on science, general knowledge, sports etc as relevant to children.

Courtesy: MoneyControl

Entries called for Telugu short stories

2008-02-27T01:08:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: R. S. Krishna Moorthy Memorial Committee has once again called for entries for its annual award for compilation/ collection of Telugu short stories.

The cash component of the awards has been hiked to Rs. 5,000, Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 2,000 for the first, second and third prize winners respectively from this year. Earlier, it was Rs. 3,000, Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000.

Announcing this, R.Sailaja, member of the Committee, said the format for the award has also been changed. From this year on, awards would be presented for best anthologies released or published by writers instead of individual stories.

Interested writers could send two copies of their anthologies of short stories published during 2007 to N.S.Murthy, 2, Ground Floor, Mytri Palace, 4th Main, 20th Cross, Nspalaya, Bangalore-76. March 31 is the last date for entry. The awards are being given since 2002.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Council seeks Classical Status for Telugu

2008-02-23T00:26:00.000-08:00

Adopts resolution demanding recognition for 2,000-year-old epigraphical, historical evidences of language

TDP pressed demand as it feared the Centre was playing into the hands of DMK

Hopes pinned on crucial meet of sub-group of Union Ministry of Culture in Delhi on Feb.28

HYDERABAD: The State Legislative Council on Thursday adopted a unanimous resolution appealing to the Central Government to confer the status of classical language on Telugu.

The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, urged the Centre to recognise the 2,000-year-old epigraphical, literary and historical evidences of Telugu. It should consider the distinct history of Telugu as a classical language.

Earlier, the Telugu Desam obstructed the proceedings of the House shouting slogans as they demanded the resolution to mark the International Mother Tongue Day declared by the United Nations. The question hour of the House was lost in the disturbance.

Charge against Centre

Initially, the State government wanted to move the resolution on Friday after perusing the resolution passed by the Legislative Assembly on the same request three years ago.

As the TDP remained adamant on the demand, Finance Minister K. Rosaiah sent for the Assembly resolution to draft the present document on the same lines. Leader of Opposition Dadi Veerabhadra Rao said the TDP pressed the demand as it feared the Centre was playing into the hands of the DMK which ‘conspired’ to see that only Tamil remained a classical language and Telugu did not earn that status.

He said the DMK was trying to get the eligibility norm for classical language tougher by proposing the 2,000 year rule.

Union Minister for Culture Ambika Soni even informed Parliament that there would be no relaxation in the criteria which was currently 1,500 years.

Optimism

Meanwhile, high hopes are pinned by the Government and the State Official Languages Commission on the crucial meeting of the sub-group of the Union Ministry of Culture taking place at Delhi on February 28 on the plea to accord classical status to it.

A positive outcome is expected from this meeting for three major reasons—strong epigraphical, literary and historical evidences provided by the Commission firmly establishing that Telugu existed even before Christ; the pressure mounted by the Chief Minister on the Prime Minister and the presence of Telugu-speaking members on the sub-group.

The stand taken by the Archaeological Survey of India, testifying whatever historical evidences cited by the commission on Telugu’s antiquity came as a moral booster.

One of the two Telugu members on the sub-group is Bhadriraju Krishnamurthy, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad, who himself is a linguist.

The other member is K. Subba Rao who served Delhi University and is acclaimed as an authority on Telugu.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Need to protect Telugu stressed

2008-02-23T00:24:00.000-08:00

VIJAYAWADA: Stressing the need for protecting Telugu language, Third Additional Senior Civil Judge G.V. Subrahmanyam on Thursday said he would pronounce at least one judgment a month in Telugu, which, he said, would be his contribution to protection of the mother tongue.

Mr. Subrahmanyam, who was the chief guest at a meeting organised by తెలుగు భాష చైతన్య సమితి (Telugu Bhasha Chaitanya Samithi) to mark the International Day of Mother Tongue, said promotion of Telugu should not be at the cost of foreign languages. There was a need to teach other languages too to the present generation. “They should not be deprived of their mother tongue. They should be able to read Telugu literature and understand the culture of this land, before learning foreign languages,” he opined.

Referring to the record he had as the first judge to pronounce a judgment in Telugu, Mr. Subrahmanyam said that the opportunity had come his way in the form of a plaint in Telugu. “There are several technical problems to deliver judgments in Telugu. We have been trained in English and the entire legal jargon is in English. No dictionaries are available to know the appropriate meanings to certain English words,” he observed.

Divisional Railway Manager S.K. Sharma underlined the need to promote mother tongue and advised parents to take the lead.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Chittoor: Mother Tongue Day observed

2008-02-23T00:22:00.001-08:00

Speaking on the occasion of Mother Tongue Day in Chittoor, ZP CEO Venkaswamy exhorted the people to love Telugu language and strive for its development.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Grant Classical Status to Telugu : YSR

2008-02-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on Monday urged Union Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs Ambika Soni to take the initiative in facilitating the grant of classical language status to Telugu.

A press release said Dr. Reddy spent considerable time over the telephone talking to Ms. Soni and trying to impress upon her the necessity, especially considering the fact that a high-level meeting is convened in New Delhi on Wednesday.

He also told her that he had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 24, 2007 on the issue.

After Hindi, the number of Telugu-speaking people came second in the country. Telugus in India apart, the issue was also dear to an estimated 10 crore Telugu-speaking people living in different parts of the globe, the Chief Minister pointed out.

He told her that there is historical evidence to prove that Telugu enjoyed prominence among ancient Dravidian languages. Dr. Reddy also reminded Ms. Soni that an order issued by Union Ministry of Home Affairs in 2005 also made mention of the importance of Telugu, which has a history of over 1,000 years.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Staging Telugu humor

2008-02-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

HYDERABAD: Andhra Saraswatha Parishad and Department of Culture are jointly organising a unique programme of adapting humorous episodes in various genres of modern Telugu literature to the stage.

Under the theme ఆధునిక తెలుగు సాహిత్యంలో హాస్యం (Adhunika Telugu Sahityamlo Hasyam) (Humour in Modern Telugu Literature), episodes from popular literary works – story, novel, drama, essays- were selected and adapted to stage presentation by prominent personalities from theatre, said Parishad chairman and Jnanpeeth awardee C. Narayana Reddy and director culture, R. Kavitha Prasad at a media conference here on Wednesday. These selected plays would be presented at Ravindra Bharati on February15 and 16. The episodes to be presented were taken from K.Narayanarao’s drama ‘Vara Vikrayam’, M. Narasimha Rao’s story ‘The Perfect Life’, Chilakamarthi’s ‘Ganapathi’ novel and more.

Also slated to be staged are Gurajada’s ‘Kanyasulkam’, ‘Gyara Kaddu- Bara Kotwal’ of Suravaram Prataba Reddi, ‘Sakshi’ an article written by Panuganti.

Dr. Narayana Reddi said that Telugu literature has several works known for their intricate humour and thus this effort to present them to the present generation.

A book comprising above stage presentations has also been brought out and it would be released on the inaugural day by Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, he said.

Courtesy: The Hindu

హ్యాపీ డేస్ (Happy Days) is now a comic

2008-02-13T01:36:00.001-08:00

They are here, there, everywhere. Now, the latest development for the హ్యాపీ డేస్ (Happy Days) family is that their film will now be made into a comic book by Panel Animation Studio.

The studio has just launched its animation branch and will henceforth publish comics under Panel Comix series. So, Shekhar Kammula’s 'Happy Days' will be made into a series too.

In fact, it will be the first. Since it revolves around the lives of eight college students and since college days make an interesting read, apparently, the company has decided to take the initiative and cash in on the film’s popularity.

The comics will be made in the popular Japanese ‘Manga’ style. Another highlight is that it will released in both Telugu and English languages.

We hear one Mr Shekhar Kammula is smiling ear to ear.

Courtesy: IndiaGlitz

Short Stories Requested for publication in America Telugu Kathanika -Volume 10

2008-02-13T01:30:00.000-08:00

Vanguri Foundation of America, Inc (VFA) will be publishing America Telugu Kadhanika-Volume 10, an anthology of Telugu short stories written by Telugu writers of North America on the occasion of Sixth America Telugu Sahiti Sadassu which will be held this year.

This is to request all Telugu writers of North America to send us copies of the stories, preferably written or published in the last couple of years. Please limit your submission to two stories. Stories published any where in the world or unpublished stories are also welcome.

We also request suggestions on stories to be included from any readers, members of Raccabanda and other Telugu literary news groups, Editors of web magazines and other Telugu publications. Please send copies of recommended stories written by North American Telugu writers or let us know the details of the author and where the story is published. Your help will be prominently acknowledged in the Kadhanika volume to the extent possible. Please limit your recommendation to two stories per author.

Please send the stories and suggestions via e-mail in PDF format or mail hard copy to:

Vanguri Foundation of America

PO Box 1948

Stafford, Texas 77497.

Stories can also be faxed to toll free 1 866 222 5301.

Last date for receiving stories or story recommendations is March 15, 2008.

Please contact rvanguri@wt.net or call 832.594.9054 for details.

Entries for best journalist award in Telugu

2008-02-08T23:51:00.000-08:00

Only news stories published in Telugu will be considered

HYDERABAD: Ramon Magsaysay award winner Palagummi Sainath has announced an award to encourage Telugu journalists who are striving to bring to light the problems of rural Andhra Pradesh.

Award committee chairman K. R. Venugopal, former IAS officer, has invited news stories that reflect on issues relating to poverty, agriculture, education, public health, Dalits, tribes, the differently-abled and gender. Each journalist can send only one story. A series of stories written on the same subject can also be sent as a single entry. The award includes Rs. 25,000 cash.

Only news stories published in a Telugu daily or a Telugu news magazine published in 2007 will be considered. If any good story comes to the notice of the award committee suo motu, it would also be considered.

The entries should reach K. Jojaiah, secretary, Foundation for People’s Journalism, Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram, Bagh Lingampalli, Hyderabad- 500 044 on or before March 5.

Courtesy: The Hindu