చర్వితచర్వణం

Introduction :  “ Ragam taanam pallavi ”, is a song in popular Telugu movie, Sankarabharanam (1980). One of my maternal uncle (మేనమామ) addressed, three of us siblings, as Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi in a letter to my mother. She often recollects fondly. For me, for a long time Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi was just that, a popular song. Actually, Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi ( RTP ) is one of the “items” that is presented in a typical carnatic music concert. This note is for absolute beginners interested in carnatic music. This note has minimal technical descriptions/intricacies. Goal is to know and understand the outline. RTP - Outline :  RTP can be presented by vocal artist (vocalist) or an instrumental artist. The presenter/singer is often referred as the Presenter or Main artist. This main artist is usually accompanied by at least two accompanying artists, one melody (like violin or veena ) and another percussion to keep the rhythm (like mridangam or ghatam ).  RTP item has three sections....

Introduction:  Potana’s Bhagavatam (1450 - 1510) has 12 chapters. Tucked away at the end of Chapter 10.1 is a 140-verse story (verses 10.1-1680-క. through 10.1-1792-గ., scenes 189 through 198 , ), popularly referred as “Rukmini Kalyanam”. [Promo: You can download an android app by CharvitaApps , “ Potana Bhagavatam ” and search for “10.1-1680-క.” to jump right to the story.] The Story:  The story starts with Rukmini (రుక్మిణి) being born in the house of Bhishmaka (భీష్మకుండు, Not to be confused with Bhishma, Pitamaha of Kauravas). She grows up and develops affection towards Krishna, whom she has never met. Rukmini’s eldest brother is Rukmi (రుక్మి - Notice the similarity in name). Elders decide on having Rukmini married to Krishna. Rukmi opposes and decides his friend Sisupala is more suitable for Rukmini. Rukmini sends a messenger to Krishna. Krishna receives the message, arrives on the eve of wedding and takes Rukmini away. Rukmi chases and a fight follows. Rukmi loses. R...

Introduction :  After reading my earlier note, “Potana - A learning tool”, I received a question, if Potana’s (1450 - 1510) verses in Bhagavatam were written in “pure Telugu ”. I think, the question came up because it seems difficult to understand those verses, even for a native Telugu speaker. This is a response on a broader issue and only slightly related to the question above.  The audience for this article is someone who has some level of spoken and reading skill in the Telugu. Real Telugu? Telugu has taken various spoken and written forms.  Language is something that is understood when spoken and Script is a writing system . Let’s start with an example. Let’s see how similar words are represented across languages and writing systems. They have some what similar meaning.  పొద్దున - Telugu word written in Telugu script.  प्रातःकाल - Sanskrit word written in Devanagari script  Early morning - English words written in Latin based script (“English”)...

Introduction :  We teach my mother tongue Telugu to kids at home. For me, It is also a conduit to pass on some of the cultural aspects. I use this as a bonding opportunity with them. The engineer in me tries to pass on some science facts too.  I combine story telling, language learning, scientific facts, concept of metaphors etc., Here are couple of instances how I use verses from Potana’s Bhagavatam. Story: First, the story in breif. In the eight chapter of Telugu Bhagavatam by Potana ( 1450 - 1510) there is a story of Vamana. Vamana, who is short, arrives to the king Bali and asks for 3 feet of land. Bali is warned by his guru to not trust Vamana. Bali responds that he has given his word and proceeds. Vamana gradually expands his body to occupy the whole earth, sky and Bali himself. Two Verses: There are two verses (padyams) that describe the expansion of Vamana. I am not going to describe each word here. Links have detailed word-by-word meanings. 8-622-శా   ఇంతింతై, వ...