Chilligavva

I am a sucker for anything that is illusionistic. Little wonder that I fell for this site's content. Its interesting. Continue Reading

The last few days have been full of colds coughs sneezes and hoarse throats.  Yup, Omaha has been dishing out this seasonal bug and by the ladleful.  Weatherwise, we had hot summers in April, now lots of rain and sun in May, and nothing is stable anymore.  So with so much going on, I had to take a break from my regular blog activities. Last week was my son's Birthday.  This year he wanted a family only birthday.  When your kid does not demand things, you know he is growing up. He just wanted one toy.  Usually its atleast a couple of toys. I have just posted a small Telugu lesson, as my first post this month after the break. Continue Reading

I was always fascinated by the way a brand name is so popular that it then becomes the verb itself.  The classic example would be XEROX.  Thats a brand name.  But in India nobody I mean  no-body uses the correct verb photocopy.  People say "Have you XEROXED it?" and mean photocopied. Earlier this month I had the pleasure of a couple of interactions with a new bloglog acquaintance of mine , Zubli Zainordin from Malaysia who is compiling material for a Book Project.  He also wants to learn Telugu, my mother tongue. In our emails that we exchanged, he used the sentence "You Telugu Me", which has now definitely caught my fancy.  The phrase is to be read as ,  translate the sentence in Telugu and write back to me. So Zubli, here are your first few Telugu phrases. Bavundadam  - To be good  (Adjective.) Pronounciation: baa+wun+da+dum Meeru Bavunaara? [How are you?  Literally - Meeru ( You - Both Plural or respect marker) Bavunaara(Good+Question+plural - are you good?)] Pronounciation: mee+roo   baa+wun+aa+ra Mee Blogu Bavundandi. [Your Blog is Nice. Literally - Mee (Your) Blog (English term Blog) Bavundandi (Good +present tense+respect marker.)] Pronounciation: mee blog+u baa+wun+than+dee Cinema Bavundi. [The Cinema is good.  Literally - ... Continue Reading

I have started a new Thank You category, this week in the blog. What would this category contain? It would contain a single detailed thank you to a person in my life (chosen at random, in no particular order) who has influenced my way of thinking. Why? I think a current simple thank you is worth more than a posthumous achievement award! Dont you? So the first thank you of mine, goes to my mother, Goda Rama. She is no more as we lost her to the first heart attack she ever got. Even though, she is no longer with us, her influence is always there. She had a wonderful sense of humor which kept her on keel, even in her darkest moments. Continue Reading

I would like to thank my late mother for my tiny success I have made of my life. She was a fun, joyous person, who was very strict and stood no BS from anyone, least of all me. She always encouraged me to be ambitious and base it on real hardwork and talent and not just shortcuts and knowing the right people. Like most people of her generation, she did not study beyond high school which was the 11th grade for her. Inspite of that, I consider her a very practical person, and a true intellectual. She loved literature and history and languages which I have inherited 100%. Its because of her, I went onto pursue some acting on stage (and loved every minute), express myself through dance, music and drawing. She sponsored a movie a week for us (which was really cool), always decided I needed new clothes, instilled some fashion sense in me, and taught me to chase my dreams no matter what. She taught me never to expect a free ride, and that there was a price to pay for every action good or bad, and whatever I do, I do it ... Continue Reading

I have been a personal fan of David Cameron for over a year now. Some of my closest friends recieved an email from me last year when he travelled India. What I like about him is his ability to blend new technology and politics. His sense of being practical and his attempt to carry people with him is where the attraction lies. Comparing his views with Bush and Blair is like comparing chalk and cheese. He is definetely younger, and therefore has more time to implement his ideas and can think more closer to his voting demographic.. I like him for his blog, [yup politicians do blog!] and the fact that he does talk about global issues, not just local Only time will tell whether my liking is well founded, or whether I too fell for the smooth pre-election talk , like everyone else. But something tells me that he is the real deal..  Here is wishing him well for the elections this week... He is one of the few politicians to be interviewed on utube. Take a look. Continue Reading

Slow and steady does the trick. Last saturday, Miti was awarded the blue belt in his karate class. He is now promoted to the Juniors level at his Dojo. It was a pleasant surprise to see his progress. Why so? Its because I have stopped monitoring his classes for a long long time. Massa and me noticed that he was feeling very conscious every time we were watching, so we decided not to be there at all. We would drop and pick him up. I hope that my son's self consciousness would decrease over time. To my CG readers, here are some photos, of Miti recieving his award, sparring and him breaking a board, at the very first try :) Continue Reading