A night at the beach - alone !

It has been my dream since a long time to spend a night at the beach all alone ! But I never had a chance... reasons being many. But on 14th August 2011, after returning from a trip to Araku and Borra waterfalls with friends, I went to beach with them at 11:30 in the night. This wish of being alone on a seashore has been inspired by many writings of people who found solace in the seashore. I too wanted to experience that wonderful feeling of being close to the sea and to gift some peace to my too disturbed mind. I asked my friends to leave me alone. Though they have let me sit alone they were still around guarding me yet keeping my privacy. However, I was still not alone because there were other people around me who were having fun at the beach. I walked into the beach and stood in the waters for sometime. But I still could not be alone due to the loud voices of people around and due to my scattered thoughts. I came back and sat down. At a distance, a few crabs started moving in and out of their holes. I started observing them. In fact, I was a little scared when a saw a big crab coming out.   I thought of changing my place and stood up. When I started walking, I had observed that the crabs went inside as soon as they sensed movement. Then I realised that the movement of crabs, noises of people and my own thoughts were all distractions that deviated me from enjoying my time alone at the sea. I went back into the water, told myself that I would not get distracted by anyone or anything around. Then my focus went beyond the waves which touched my feet to the high tides behind them. At times, my focus was disturbed when I mistook my own shadow to be someone else's and when I looked back, there was no one except my friends who were protecting me from a distance. Then I looked back into the sea, and after a while, I felt as if I was floating in the middle of the sea and I could only see a few lights on the other side of the shore. I loved that feeling and continuously gazed at the lights on the other side and I was on my way virtually reaching them. Suddenly, when I looked back, I saw no one around me including my friends (they went for a walk). I was finally alone at the beach !!!! I continued to enjoy my virtual ride in the sea till my friends called me to come back as it was time to go back.
On that day I realised that if I have to enjoy my success in doing what I want to do, I should
1. avoid distractions by focusing on what I want and where I want to go.
2. avoid fear of anything by trusting those who are with me all the time.
3. get ready to take risk by trusting God who would never leave me in my journey.

I told the sea "My dear sea ! I will come back for more lessons ! "

Thanks to my friends (Raj, Omi, Sridhar, Avanthi and Vaishnavi) who helped me fulfill my dream !!!

A magical trip

It was an unfulfilled dream of my entire family for a long time to go to Tirupati together. We are emotionally attached to this place since it is the birthplace of my mother, me and my sister and where my grand parents had spent most of their married life and hence the importance of this dream.More than anyone, my sister badly wanted to visit her birthplace since she has not been there even once after her birth.

For a long time, we have been blindly believing that we were the descendants of those who had the curse that they could not visit the temple with the family.  One day, my mother has got a chance to perform in the temple of Thiruchanoor and my sister wanted to tag along and booked her tickets. Just one day before the travel, my sister met with an accident and could not travel. But she did not let this incident or the belief affect her desire in any way but made it stronger in stead. The next time we planned once again and were hoping and praying that nothing should come between now. Though there were some small cliches we finally made it to Tirupati, thanks to the continuous visualization of my sister. It was a four day trip from Feb 19th to 22nd (in fact 5 days.. i could not make it to Sripuram and Arunachalam on 18th). Thanks to my uncle who looked after our accomodation and transport during the entire trip because of which everything went on smoothly. The last two days were alloted only to visit places in Tirupati where my mother lived, studied, played,visited and enjoyed. We covered all the places except a temple of Lord Hanuma which my mother used to visit frequently. On the last day, when we were about to go back to our guest house to pack and leave, we passed by the music college, where my mother studied and where my grand father Late Dr. V L Janakiram worked as a professor. We decided to stop and visit the college. The first big hall inside the college had a big picture of my grand father. My mother met the senior staff  and the principal of the college who know her and introduced me and my sister to them.Most of them knew me also because I was the favourite of my grand father. The principal told us that "Akhandam" (A music festival that goes on continuously for 24 hours) was going on in that Hanuman temple. Coincidentally, Akhandam was started in Tirupati by my grand father in that temple many years back and later the music college was made the venue. This time, it was again being conducted at the same place. My instinct said I had to go to that temple right away in spite of my father's warnings about getting late for the train. The priest in the temple recognised my mother and remebered that my grand father taught me music. He immediately arranged the stage for me to sing. For me it was a divine opportunity..... I had a chance to sing on the same stage set by my grandfather in the favourite temple of my mother. I rendered a favourite krithi of my grand father "Bantu Reethi Koluvu" and I could still not believe what was happening there. To add to my excitement, my uncle V L Kumar, a renowned Violin artist had come to the same festival and neither of us knew of each other's presence in Tirupati and he played Violin for my next Krithi. My joy knew no bounds (as well as my entire family's).All our eyes were filled with tears of joy. I could not call it a concidence any more when I saw that they were distributing booklets of notations of Pancharatna krithis, the copies of manuscripts written by my grand father. I can never forget the words of people "We felt as if your grand father was performing on the stage. His soul would have been very happy today".

That was a magical trip and all that started when we stopped believing that God has a problem with allowing a family to a temple if their ancestors could not make it. Some day in the future,I hope I would be connecting the dots using this blog.

Life is simple; Accept the Change

I heard this statement for the first time in a speech contest. I gave it a thought that evening and it is then that this story of a wonderful lady struck my mind. Let me share this story with you.
She was born in the templetown of Tirupati and was brought up with equal shares of pampering and dicipline. Being born and brought up in a family which always upheld the notion of "Athithi Devo Bhava", she imbibed the greatest quality in the world - patience. She started observing people from various places and various kinds. As she grew up, she learnt more about people and their behaviour.
A few years later, she got married to a guy from a joint family. Soon after that she had to accompany him to a village where he was posted. She had to stay in a house (hut) which did not have a flooring and proper sanitation. She did not complain. She accepted the change with a smile. She gained respect among all her new family members for her attitude.
With the support of her entire family, she did her M.A in music and secured a gold medal for standing first in the university. She started her career as a lecturer in the same university. Soon, she was asked to join her husband leaving her job. She agreed and eventually that marked a full stop to her career. She accepted the change again with a smile.
She did extremely well as a home maker and became the centre of the family and favourite of everybody around. She supported her husband and family during financial instabilities with a smile on her face and when the situations changed and their status became better, she accepted it with the same smile.
When her daughters entered teenage she became their best friend. She accepted all the changes in their thought processes with a smile. As they grew up, when they took their decisions, some of them against her wish, she again accepted them with a smile.
All through her life she never uttered the words "I am afraid", "I am worried" and "I can't".
When I ask this beautiful woman to teach the secret of her happiness, she says "Life is simple. Accept Change" with a smile.
It gives me an immense pleasure and a great sense of proud to tell you that I am the daughter of this great woman.
I love you Mom !

My beautiful life

Decemeber 22nd, a very special day in my life... The day for which I wait all the 364 days. This year, I found it even more special, not just because it is my 24th birthday but because of the reasons it gave me to thank God. There is nobody else in the world who owes to God more than I do. I was born to the world's greatest parents, who always gave their best for their kids to be the best. They taught me the best way to live by living and gave me the freedom to be myself. I was blessed to be brought up by my grandfather, whose day started and ended with me, who taught me music and my grandmother, who loves me more than my mother does. I have a beuatiful and cute sister who can do anything for me. I have a loving mama (maternal uncle) who does not even care about himself when it comes to me. I have relatives who enjoy my achievements as much as their own. Many wonderful human beings who came at the right time and made their mark in my life, because of whom I am what I am today. I have wonderful friends who love me so much and who are ready to be with me anytime and anywhere. I have my best friends who crave to see a smile on my face all the time. I have people around me for whom I am their life or at least the most important person in their life (I donot know what to call them). Those are lucky who have a shelter, clothing and food. Those are luckier who have all these in surplus. Those are luckiest who have everything they want. But what should I call me who does not even have anything else left to ask God for !!
 I thank God for making my life so beautiful !!!!