In class-VI

VI class...One saturday evening..all the students from vi to x classes were asked to assemble at middle-ground. The last period which obviously was hindi was washed away and we moved to the ground with full of exuberance as the next day was a sunday.. Our principal arrived with another person . The mike was adjusted and the princi introduced that person to us. He came here from an organisation called "Helpage india".And that person explained the reason and the motive they were working for .In his words " This organisation works for the old parents who were abandoned by their grown-up children and also for the old people who donot have house and live in streets.You students have to collect some funds which could be very helpful to them." That was the crux.but what was interesting was when he said " you would be given badges and certificates if u collect more than 35 and 50 respectively and those certificates would be helpful when u grow up and attend interviews,the more you collect the more the awards"..thats it. There was a tumult among the gathering. Everybody wanted to use this opportunity . Everybody dreamt a typical telugu film scene in their own direction : "I would be attending an interview and answer all the questions posed by the interviewer .suddenly i would show them the helpage india certificates and the interviewer would be impressed and with tears in his eyes would come near to me and appreciate me for my society-helping- nature and finally would give the job to me. And a smile of pride on my face." Nice dream :-) With some sheet given by him( to list the names of people who donated) we left for home. Everybody was aiming to collect more and more.

Radha(krishna) and I went home discussing about this all the way. I ran upstairs and had shown to my mamaiah and he donated Rs.5 without any second thought.5 rupees, in those days is really a pretty amount.I went to Radha downstairs and showed to him. Already, He was asking his father and after finding 5 rupees in my sheet he got embarrassed and started demanding his father..... and finally got 2 rs. :-)

With that boost-up i went to one of my mamaiah's friend and requested him. When i went there he was with a group of people in his living-quarters. They started asking the detailed concept of this. And this was what i told " when you people would grow old, when your children abandon you, when they dont give you the food ..then the helpage-india will take care of you if youu donate some amount now" Everybody opened their mouth agape .Really this was what I( and all our friends) understood from the speech at school and i thought this was what that person at school told us. Nobody would have really liked my wacky reason..( you know waht shoud i say..and what i had told them) but as no one wanted to dissappoint a calm,no-non-sense boy( ??? :-) ).... gave me Re 1 or 2 rs each. Whenever i think of what i had told them i feel very embarrassed. Spare my foolishness..as i was only a VI class boy :-).

so,I was on a mission....MadhukarReddy and I were roaming all the town in search of funds on his big atlas cycle.We stopped at Sri Kanakmhalakshmi silk house,a big shop , I was waiting at cycle and he went in. He came out sad without a penny..I prodded him with my pen and said smilingly " look..i am going to get".. I went inside..God..i would not have gone...God....Why did u do this to me... The owner cursed "Dont you boys have any work..How many times would you come..is this what you are going to school for" (achha telugulo : ey..emi paniledaa meeku..ennni saarlu vasthaarraa....idenaa meeku schoollo nerpinchedi..po po ) He kept on yelling..I was numb. ...could hear nothing...My eyes were ready to rain. I was walking back ..Madhukar was standing there ,trying to supress his laughter. :-( Dont you think this was the worst situation a school-boy could be in?


A few days passsed..some other school students were also in the competetion,especially Sandhya public school.
One day Radha came to me and whispered this "" Arey..endukuraa manam kashatapadi money collect chesi..principal ki ivvadam...nenu kanukkunnanu..aa helpage india certificates valla no use anta...manamey enjoy cheddaam..cinemaki veladam..full enjoy cheddaam" ani. He also said that even our Karunaker also opined the same. I was very sincere and I said NO. I didnt comply with his request. I knew that he already had spent his amount of 25 rs and then he came to induce me :-) .

The day to submit the sheet and the amount collected was approaching. But there was a problem..I had to attend my uncle's marriage and I could not be in the school on the last day of submission. I informed Anuradha teacher,our calss-teacher that i would submit a few days later and she okayed. And in the marriage, I collected good amounts and totally had around 175 rupees with me. I returned to school after a few days feeling proud and superior. I found that DVgaadu got a badge.As 90% of our friends enjoyed with their money.... watched movies,bought new pens,bought jamakayalu and more importantly cleared all their debts they owed to friends :-)..... Radha warned me again "Arey...dont do that silly thing". Lending a deaf ear to him....I went to principal and gave the amount to him.

Days rolled on....I waited and waited..I didnt get any reward or certificate or atleast badge. Enough,I could not handle Radhagaadi sarcastic smiling anymore.(Certificate raaledanna baadha kantey veedi deppipodupu,vetakaram ekkuvipoyindi naaku). I went to Anuradha teacher and asked her to request Princi about this.

Thats all...

Sometimes...when Radhagaadu was in no-mood-to-embarrass-me , said " Arey.. principal nokkesi vuntaaduraa "ani. (no offence meant :-) )

Till this day...I didnt receive any cetificate. :-(

I would have bought a new bat if i kept that money. Or I would have remained in the good books of Radha if i had listened to him and .... If radha and I have spent that money together i would be, now, writing another blog :-) narrating those things.

P.S: I hope that amount would have served some purpose at their organisation.

A Day

nov 12 2008....time 7.30 am...at room. i turned on hari's pc. I searched for one song and finally double clicked it..."vellai pookkal .." I could not get the telugu version of it this time..the song is from maniratnam's "amritha" composed and sung by ar rahman. In telugu it goes like " marumallello ee jagamantha viriyaga...prathi vudayamlo shanthi kosame thapanaga.."
For the past few years....on this day ..religiously :-) .......am listening to that song, my favourite .


School days....The moment the 31st -october slip in the calender is ripped...the feeling of "being special" creeps into my mind. Discussions at home about the shopping of "the new dress" used to come intermittently ...usually.... And finally..on one evening , once i come from my school.. my mother asks me to get ready . My father,at that time, already would be waiting for me to go to bazar.

With full of joy i used to get ready and sit on the bicycle front bar. My father used to take me to shop which we usually go. They wish my father" namsthey sir..ela vunnaru" and then enquire about me . The shop-keeper who is an acquaintance (alerady been to that shop) shows different different cloth pieces. He used to say to my father" this is new style sir..take this..suits your son". But I never liked the kind of designs he used to show.. After much deliberation,finally, i used to end up taking a light coloured stripes. I dont know why i liked the same kind of style always...


Most of the time...the stitched new dress used to come home only the day before the birthday. My father used to ask me to wear for a trial..and I was not allowed to wear unless my mother keeps kumkuma on it.....And once the dress fits to a T, my father smiles with a pinch of pride. My mother always likes my selection...and if she is very impressed ..it shows on her face.

Nov 11,The penultimate day...feeling as "special" almost reaches a crescendo...I never informed to any of the friends about it ....only Radha and SrikanthDV know about that..... Ammamma remembers my birthday always and she insists me to take dress with the money she generally gives .I used to say "vaddhu vadhamma.."

The D Day.... the day used to start with first wishes of my mother,always: "happy birthday nana"... and then my father then my brothers.. Some used to send greeting cards..and the joy of receiving one is inexplicable... My mamaiah used to send most of the time as he stayed in the other town and sometimes my aunts also did. Radha..on one of my birthdays has given me a gift of "chinese checkers" and on that day i still remember the dress I wore ,blue stripes on white, .

I was the one of the invitees to amarnath birthday during one of our school years. DV,radha,shyam,hari were among the few. We occupied some chairs and were having a chat.Amar's father came and joined us.Radha and I were used to be very reserved and kind of shy then ..we did shut our mouths and started counting the seconds.DV was so aggressive in approach that he greeted him with a namasthey(also shyam did). Having no chance to escape,even we greeted him,but definitely not with a confident smile. Radha and I always faced this kind of situation whenever we came accross new persons.

Going to temple is not always on the birthday agenda. Sometimes i went and sometimes i didnt. But whenever i did, its to Venkateshwara swamy temple. If that day was not a holiday, i used to go to school in uniform only. Never distributed chocolates to the class mates. kind of shy. Most of the times...there would be a movie at 6 o clock with family.

One time i had been to my nanamma' village. After the talasnanam(shower) and wearing new dress...my father asked me to take blessings of my nanamma and thathaiah touching their feet ..i never did that before. Its a kind of embarrassment. So...with knowledge i gained watching movies...i bent my back ,touched their feet and pulled the hands back,touched my eyes and then got up. My aunt was standing there smiling. I was even more puzzled seeing her expressions.

i never have given parties on that day. No specific reason. i kept to myself. In the school one year...we were playing cricket at ground. i was in new dress. i was fielding and the greatest part is i have taken a catch which evrybody said a great catch. amarnath hit the ball and i ran and ran and ran and caught it diving forward streching my full body. my pant was soiled . i went home fearing but nohting happened.But i was very happy.All cricket-lovers can empathize with me easily.


As i finished schooling, intermediate and entered engineering..the feeling of" being special on nov 12" grew even more. In jntu campus...I used to wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning and have a shower with cold water in that early winter. After that i used to go to temple and here also to venkateshwara swamy temple in kphb colony. very few of my friends in the college knew about the day. One year i bought some pens and gifted to some. In the final year of my engineering my friends threw me a surprise party bringing the cake . But i expected that as everybody was talking among themselves from the evening avoiding me .They brought a cake at exactly 12 O clcok midnight and the difficult part is ..not to disappoint them... i had to force myself to act pretending as a surprise party that i had not expected...sorry guys...i sensed it before. As i used to stay in hostel far from home , it augmented the sadness as the day comes to an end.

This day…its like… the whole atmosphere showers happiness.everybody is affectionate towards you.And at home they treat you like a king. Friends insisting for party, we taking them to the bakery(when in school)or restaurant, or inviting them to house ,they giving presents to us....really a day to cherish.

As the day comes to an end...I used to feel very sad...may be because I had to wait for another 365 days. Still ….At this age… I feel the same way and......

i hope that feeling of "special",
that feeling of " my day " never dies .

My First Bicycle : A Dream Come True

I went to suryapet last weekend... I have a friend named Srinath.He lives next door . We both are really good friends , he is a IV standard boy.We had a good rapport and he shares everything with me and i do likewise. He is trying to learn bicycle and his father already promised him a new latest model. I keenly started observing while he was learning....... . As he was cycling, the chain suddenly slipped from the gear-wheel spockets. He was trying to place it back. His hands were smeared with oil and was cursing for that situation...and it took me to my own memories at school.

I think I was in V class that time .I came back home from my nanamma's village after holidays. I immediately rushed to radha(radha krishna) for the updates . I was expecting the updates regarding the cricket matches which i missed and the kind of enjoyment he had in the season. He said he would show something and took me to the jr college ground which is next to our home. He pointed me to someone riding cycle .... oops it is dv srikanth... I wondered how come he learnt the cycling...We went to Dv and we felt he was throwing some attitude.... I didnt know cycling then... at that point....I vowed to myself : "come what may..I have to learn cycling in a very short span."

Radhagaadu always keeps me informed about many things. He didnt miss even that time - he told me that a small cycle (cycle for kids) could be brought for rent from cycle shop. I went with him and brought one small cycle and began THE GREATEST VOYAGE..

My thathaiah had a cycle those days, a big Atlas... He is an RMP doctor. When he comes for lunch i used to take that to the college ground and learn...initially it was really hard to make a start as it was a big cycle, "Hold the handle,put your right leg on the pedal through the frame, hold the seat with the other hand and with the other leg move the cycle... once it picks up speed keep the leg on the other pedal and start pedalling.thats it..." This was the lesson..no no..its like preaching which was given by every tom dick and harry who came to help us in learning. They used to vent their frustration on us when we could not succeed...why couldnt these guys understand that its vey difficult initially...may be they even forgot that they too had faced that..some used to say " nenu 2 days lo nerchukunnanu" and some may even said " neeku telusaraa?nenu sonthangaa okkadine nercukunnanu" ani. Anyways....when we recall that .....its so warming....

I caught every chance I got in learning cycling. Sometimes ,When friends of my mamaiah come to our house on cycles.... I used to stare at the cycles with lot of zeal to ride and equal amount of hesitation in mind: "whether to ask or not" . As they knew me from my childhood they used to throw the keys at me and I ,with a smile on lips and a song in heart , used to zoom into the open airs....

Whenever Radha and I saw people walk holding their cycles...we could not understand why these guys were missing the beautiful opportunity of riding which God bestowed ...we thought .. if only we had a cycle.....we never do that and we would roam all the town( as if we were to conquer the world with a cycle).

It is never be uncommon to fall down from cycle...and i am no exception to that. Many many wounds ,whose marks formed on our body serve as remainders to those days.
One special incident among many falling-from-cycle episodes is: I brought a small cycle for rent and was cycling in the college ground, as i did always...those were the initial days of me trying to do cycling sitting on the seat. I was cycling with full of joy as I always enjoyed . Suddenly my joy got vanished and I started feeling puzzled. Anxious. The thing is: I wanted to get down and I forgot how to get down from cycle. Yeah i really forgot how to get down.I kept on thinking about the way to get down.I was so small and short then that I could not touch the ground with my feet. So ,not knowing what to do..I was doing rounds around the college building in frustration,anxiety and of course,with a genuine fear :-) ...After some time.i gave up i decelerated ,held the both brakes tightly and closed my eyes. ...................And the result...guys you know ....blood,blood and only blood.... on my right hand, right leg. God knows why we got hit on our knees and elbows only whenever we fell from cycle. It pains a lot in those places. May be He made so... so that we can remeber the attempts and actions attached to them for the lifetime. :-)

I still remeber one sunday evening in the college ground. Radha and I were standing near the ladder of the water tank(beside well) watching a cricket match. we were looking at the bicycles parked there ." Arey!! devudu pratyakshamithey emi korukuntaavura" I asked him. He said one beautiful sleek cycle" and he enquired me. I thought a while. There is no doubt that I longed for a cycle too.. but i dont want to waste the varam(boon) for only one cycle.. Then I said " nenithey... nenu eppudu adigithe appudu devudu pratyakshamayye varam ichhevidamgaa korukuntaanu" . I will ask for cycle..that would be my first interest. Then he also agreed with me and said " sare raa maniddaram... anthey korukundaamu raa " anukuntuu we left the place.
whenever we both longed for something we used to ask ourselves the same question " devudu pratyakshamithey emi korukundaamuraa" ani.

I used to go to school in rickshaw . Its quite far from our house. I hated to go by rickshaw. And the reason is : I MISSED MY CRICKET. If only I had a cycle I would have never missed one.When the final bell rings at school in the evening at 4.15 pm ... our friends used to plan to go ground and play cricket. But my rickshaw man waits for me at gate like a crouching tiger and catches his prey,obviously me.And as if he was celebrating his successful catch he used to throw me a smile. I do respond with a smile but I hated my situation. I wanted to be at ground not here in rickshaw and going home.... I used to come out of school everyday with only one wish in my heart " hope i dont see the predator(him) today" but he comes there and i pull /force myself into the ricksahw . If only I had a cycle of my own..i would be like a bird in the sky all pervading. Only a person who loves to play cricket can only empathize with me...:-)

After a few years... Atlast...my dream to have a cycle got fulfilled .The first thought that went in my mind was : "Now i can go anywhere to play cricket". It was a baeautiful maroon coloured BSA SLR .It was a rage to have it those days.Everything was different in its style when compared to the already available ones in the market.. it had a crash guard at back, it had a front wheel lock and a mellifluously sounding bell.And the most striking feature is its handle. it can be changed into many styles. My mamaiah was instrumental in getting me that kind of cycle. He always know what my interests are and what I want to have .I treasured MY self-possession with love and care.I had a good-looking key-chain.I collected a variety of key-chains before it arrived at my house. I used to dust it twice and even thrice a day in the begining. My mother used to laugh at me and said" chooddaam enni rojulu alaa neatgaa vunchukuntaavo" . i used to come back at her with a quick retort " nenu eppudina naa cycleni ilaage choosukuntaanu" ani.. Yaar..i should not have said that dialogue..i repented many times later in my life whenver my mother and father looking at my dirty cycle( i never used to dust or wash it for months ) used to say " entraa idi..kothhalo entha neatgaa vundedi..eppatiki alaage maintain chesthaanannavukada..antha vutti matalenaa" ani.. and I used to feel like a volcano going to erupt inside.

Sunday afternoon. radha was riding and i was the pillion rider. We were on the road infront of the college ground.He was riding very fast. We didnt know what was going to happen in the next few minutes. And all of a sudden..in a split second everything happened. Better to say it was destined to happen:-) . WiIth all the speed radha hit a woman carrying vegetables in a basket on her head. I was shocked... She was growling at us..I cant disclose the NICE language she used in yelling us. you can expect how our hero Radha might have felt. I am quite lucky to see some of his expressions which we generally do not get a chance to see. One more incident with Radha was he took our Santhosh's cycle and returned to him with an ameoba structured(????) wheel instead of a round front wheel. Later he was made to pay for repair..

One day Amarnath brought a new red and black coloured Hero Ranger cycle . The word to describe it was: AWESOME. large tyres.,straight handle.. great cycle..
I went home and looked at my cycle..it had lost its charismatic and enchanting look. Scratches were clearly visible .I felt sad about that and i decided to give it a new look. That day, with all the gloominess i neatly water washed my cycle and mopped with a clean cloth. I dropped lubricant in the wheel . Then I searched all my house for BILL BOARD stickers ,LOVE INDIA stickers. My aunt sent me those stickers when i bought my cycle. But i didnt stick them then as I thought too much stickering wont be fine. I had a need of them then to make it look stylish but I could not find. One thing is sure..the stickers used to be very nice and they were costly too.

News which made me get rid of my despair and pangs of frustration : One fine morning. it was not the same morning .. it brought me the HOPE the HAPPINESS and everything. My thathaiah used to come to my house every morning by 5 o clock having his morning walk. I was still sleeping..half-sleep you can say....as i got disturbed by his door knock. He came in and sat beside me .His fingers were pampering my hair. Then he said something to my mother and father which was very mellifluous to my ears."Ninna rathri inti daggara dongalu paddaru..kranthi gaadi cycle poyindi....."he said. Whats that???? somebody was pouring honey in my ears? whats that? is somebody playing my favourite music?.... How can i express that... After a little while..when my excitement got subsided..i woke up and they told me that again. With a sad face which was a 100% fake , i reciprocated " avunaa?" . I got a promise from my thathaiah that he would buy a new cycle for me... what more was needed:-)... Later I got a new one.

One breezy morning in summer holidays..time was around 6 am....radha and I were in the college ground as always. As only a wall separates our home from the ground we used to be in the college-ground most of the time. we were sitting on the dais in the college. A girl was learning cycle and someone was holding the cycle helping her. I was looking at her and I suddenly noticed that it was Rajani our class mate.And that person was her brother.They were far to us.I told Radha about that.Radhagaaadu got embarrassed and felt shy. The reason... :-) he was in sleveless T-shirt and a nicker which his father bought for him from Hyderabad. " I will go ..change my dress and come back raa" he said. I told him "it was okay in this shirt and moreover there is nothing like u have to feel shy." He was adamant ..he went and came back with another dress. Rajani did see us later. She gave a sharp look..no smile and kept herself busy in learning.... :-)

Most of our classmates had cycles of their own. Radhika had a BSA, Rajani,Manju vani,Karunya,Roja,T Sridevi had hero cycles. Among boys Madhukar,Santhosh,Rajesh, Kishore ,Dv ,Amarnath,Jani,Hari, And myself had it. Kishore always used to tell me "kranthi, I can dismantle and re-assemble my cyce and I do it very often". I used to think" wow ..very great,Kishore knows many things" . One thing I could not understand was that Radhika had a nice BSA ladies cycle but instead of an elegant side- stand she had centre stand which was usually used for the big cycles. It killed its style..I felt. :-)

Nobody can forget those days of bicycle-learning.We rose,we fell, we rose we fell..and we enjoyed it...We felt elated as we passed each stage in the process.We even felt proud when we rode with doubles for the first time....
How can we forget those days when we come forward voluntarily and take initiative in bringing groceries from bazar when there is a cycle parked infront of the house. Usually we never liked to do any such act :-). The difference was brought by "cycle".

Many feelings...Many experiences....

How can we forget our anger we showed when our friend took our cycle and didnt return in time...
and how our reaction was when they came with a punctured tyre..
How would we have felt when somtimes our friends said " naa cycle meeda nuvvu voddu" " naa dantlo gali ledu,no doubles "..
How can we forget the love showered among our friends.." naa cycle meeda ekkuraaa" ani okadu.." ledu naa cycle meeda raa" ani okadu...akkadunna moodovaadu nannu evaroo adagatledu ani feel avadalu...and in another minute ...forgetting everything...andaroo kalisipovadam..

How can we forget the long rides to Durajpally,Loyola college,pillalamarri temples..........

How can we forget the cycle-racing in heavy rains while going to sreenu sir tution.

How can we forget the things like: riding the cycle at full speed and suddenly applying the brakes so that the cycle skids and turns 90 degrees and even almost 180 giving us a smile of pride and achievement on our lips before our friends.

How can we forget the days when we used to look in awe looking at the people lifting their front-wheels while cycling. Not to mention..we tried and got succeeded and even failed .

how can we forget the days trying to ride the cycle without holding the handle,keeping the hands free and how can we forget falling down in some of those attempts.

Look at your kness and elbows... you stilll can find some scars and marks left which reminds us of those fun filled days of cycle-learning.....

Remeber our cycle passing through the junior college, main road, gandhi park,poola center,alankar road.,navodaya shop..venkateshwara swami temple......bodrai bazar, library,masjid,...our school....
many many moments.......where should i start and where should i end.....

The only sad part :-) .... is that Radha, who accompanied in all my dreams in the entire start-cycle-learning to possessing-cycle-of-own episode never had a cycle of his own. The reason is :-) : His father used to say" kranthi vaalla illu dooram kaabatti kranthiki avasram..neekendukuraa 10 minutes dooramlo nee school "ani...what raa Radha? what say?

The Great Raghuvaran

Today.... I found a terrible news on internet and was shocked to know that Raghuvaran,one of my favourite actors,passed away. I am very sad now. Though he is just an actor and is no way connected to me in any other way other than movies I feel like we know him..


I was in IV or V class when Shiva was released. Till then, I never thought about any villains in our movies.Its not that we didnt have any.We have versatile actors like Satyanarayana,Rao gopalrao ,NuthanPrasad and many others.... But we were very young(we were children) then and we always cared about our favourite heroes and nothing else.However... our telugu villains were best actors and also good at comedy , but we never did thinking from the angle of acting abilites.Moreover at that age(below VI class)we were too young to notice..


Shiva is the movie which brought overhaul changes in many ways. It is perfect in many ways...whether it is acting,dialogues ,background music or technicalities .It offered everything in a very realistic way. And there is no doubt that one person who took most of the cake is "Bhavani",our Raghuvaran. Though he was ruthless,he mesmerised everybody with his sharp looks and powerful acting. The very thought of Bhavani brings shivers down the spine.He enacted that role flawlessly and impressively. That was the first time I started observing villains of our movies and their acting skills.From there...I started looking the performances of characters besides heroes' .And it was Raghuvaran who made me look from that angle.



Whatever be the person's character in a movie ,whether its a hero role or anti-hero role or any other one, when we like his or her acting we enjoy it. And Raghuvaran is one who always made me happy through every character he essayed.Forget not the subtle character he played in Maniratnam,s "Anjali".We can feel the anguish the character suffers. Radha Krishna and I ,in our school days used to discuss about the character "Anthony" in RajniKanth's "Bhasha". There is some charisma in him which draws people's attention.

Dear Raghuvaran ,we miss you.

School Days: My First Unit-Test Ever In Shirisha School(In VI class)

A few days went on.... everything looked strange. In my previous school our class had a strength of 4 students. Me,Radha,Dv and Sreeman. But here there were around 50 . I was feeling out of place. I was very reserved those days. I hardly opened my mouth and engaged in any kind of talking. Some were coming to me and trying to know about me. I talked to myself more number of times than I talked to others. New books .....new dress...new friends ..new teachers...totally its a new environment. One thing I observed was these guys were very crazy about the drill period. Whenever there was any leisure period, someone goes up to PT sir or any other sir and asks for a drill period. And once it got approved they used to rush to the background and start playing kho-kho and kabaddi. I never played those games in my life before .The only game I ever played was cricket. Sometimes ,chess. I had a strong dislike towards those khabaddi and kho-kho.I remeber one incident related to this.One day we had a break and all the boys and girls were playing in Back-ground. Boys were playing kho. I just stood near the wall watching our friends . My sheer ill-luck : Our PT sir stylish Upendra observed me and dragged me to the game and when I said a big NO he gave me a stern warning. No other options left with me. I took part in the game. When I was in the game, I felt like everybody was watching me and laughing at my bad game. It was the most embarrassing moment for me.

News was doing rounds in the class room that the first unit test was going to be held soon.I was petrified by that . Though I have written such tests in my prevous school also...here the situation was quite different. Previously..it was like a smooth affair .I never felt like I was writing exam. It was pretty cool .It ws a friendly atmosphere over there I was accustomed to and I used to get first rank. Here it was different. Huge syllabus to study ,besides the task of getting used to the new environment. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was getting the jitters. I went home and told my mother about this. Empathizing with me , she told me not to get panicky and said everything would be settled soon.

Finally the test date was declared. All the teachers informed us about the syllabus. We had to take 3 exams a day which was the first time me . We had a system of 2 exams per day in the previous school.With the confidence given by my mother, I prepared well for the exams and had written okay. I let a huge sigh of relief once they got finished. I was informed by our friends about the top students in our class. I listened to them trying to have a glance of those toppers.

After a few days ,we were given our awnser sheets. . I was getting good marks , but I never tried to know the marks of the others and the toppers. Radha,DV and Sreeman are exception to this. we know each others marks. Anuradha teacher,the telugu teacher, who is also our class teacher came to the class one morning bringing the exam-sheeets with her. She was calling each and everybody ,anouncing the marks and giving the exam sheet. I was waiting for my turn.A few minutes passed. She called " kranthi". I got up and went there. I got good marks. She looked at me and asked me

"Kotthaga vachhavu kada?".

I said "Yes teacher".

She said" Very Good kranthi .keep it up".

I was numb at that juncture. But.... very happy. I went back and sat in my place. As usual...Radhagaadu is smiling looking at me(it happens between us very often).

A few days later..... Anuradha teacher was giving progress cards. The cards were like small booklet in sky-blue colour. I was given my card. I opened it. My rank was second. I couldnot believe it. The first thought that came into my mind was" There were 50 students and many toppers in the class ... and i got second rank. ...." . Anuradha teacher congratulated me whole-heartedly. She was very happy for me. Radha and Dv got 14th and 15th ranks and they were worried a lot thinking about the wrath they had to face at home.


The first rank went to Rajani. On that day... I never thought that I was going to witness this girl getting the first position in every exam throughout my school-life.

MAHASIVARATHRI

During school days.....there was always a doubt every year on the day before Sivarathri. We generally contemplate on having a holiday on sivaratri. Are they going to give or not.? And if they do, whether it is on that day or the next day. We used to draw a logical reasoning that the holiday should be given on the day next to sivaratri because we do "jagarana" and a holiday is absolutely needed to sleep in the next day. Most of the times, no holiday was given.

I particularly remember one year when radha and I decided in the class to do jagarana the whole night. Its not out of bhakti but we wanted to do...so that we can boast about it...and throw some attitude in the class that we did what others couldnot. There was already a discussion begun among our all other friends in the classroom about the jaagaaram and about the movies to be watched in VCPs(no DVDs those days).Forget not the mid-night shows of movies in the theatres until next day morning. Our friends used to discuss," arey..sridevi talkies lo em cinema,Ramalingeshwaralo enti ,Lakshmilo chiru cinema anta" ani.

I remeber ,one year,our Amarnath saying to me "kranthi i am fasting .I am not eating anything. I will eat fruits and remain awake whole night". Amar and I were very good friends. In seventh class, we used to sit next to each other in the second bench next to wall. We shared common interests and hobbies....drawing,painting. We both used to draw many many pictures..cartoons, natonal leaders etc. I learnt about water colours from him. I used to draw some cartoons about babri-masjid demolition ( dont think much about these cartoons...not that great) and Amar used to appreciate me. We both used to laugh at Shyam"s stories making jokes on them while he was narrating his never-ending stories standing holding the sir's chair at the black-board.

Radha and I were very close to my ammamma. We two share a good rapport with her. She tells about the mythologies, about the old movies,about the games they used to play in her childhood.... and everything. As I grew up along with mamaiah at my ammamma's house I call her "ammaa.... " (now also..i call her so) . There will never be any words with me to say anything about the special bonding I had with her. What I can say about her? She is everything to me.

After deciding to do jagarana.. Radha and I told my ammamma that we were going to stay awake for Jagarana along with her. She said okay. She was on fast but we were not. So, after coming from school...no holiday was declared ....we were so disappointed though we expected that.After our usual playing and a meet with friends, we formed a small group of 4 to 5 who were willing to take part in jagaranam.We were were very jubilant and looking forward to go ahead with the task. After finishing our supper( we already had breakfast and lunch so we thought no need to skip supper :-)) we started our jagarana sitting before "the great one and only" tv channel-doordarshan. We were expecting a number of programmes to get entertained. A movie was also on its way.. I still remeber the name.. It is an old classic "jayabheri". We enquired with my ammamma about the movie. She said "wow..Its a great movie. very good one". Radha and I jumped with joy having heard that. Not to forget about our really dearest programme on tv "chitralahari". Every shivaratri...same songs from movies like Bhaktha kannappa,Bhookailas were played,only the permutations and combinations of songs differ. Though I didnt have any liking to those songs at that age..now I feel they are really cool...very devotional. Some songs from the heart of Ghantasala directly lands in your heart. Especially the song from Bhakthakannappa " shiva shiva shankara bhakthava shankara shambho hara hara namasthuthey".

We two were battling with our closing eyelids putting our all strength to keep them open. No programme is interesting. Very dull . All of our gang members who were to be with us were already blissfully sleeping on the floor . In the mean time...we were asking ammamma about what time will be the end of jagarana and till what time we should stay awake..... She used to stay"meeru velli padukondi....parvaledu " ani. We stared at each other with many question marks on our sleep-needing faces and without any decision taken we turned our faces towards tv.

Finally the time for movie . It started around 1 am(or 2) . The title cards itself were very boring. Ammo...aa perlu padey vidhaanam choosthene mind poyindhi. oka 5 min varaku paduthoone vunnaayi. Then the movie started.I think nageshwara rao is hero in that film. To make matters more worse .... for every 5 to 7minutes there was a song. Such an old( I have to say "oldest") movie. Believe me . Songs , songs and songs...maa valla kaavatledu... I discussed with radha what should be done. We thought for a while and finally came up with a unanimous resolution ... " give up jagarana..tell to ammamma...and..and... get yourself wrapped in bedsheets without any other thought." The time was already 3 am in the morning by then.

Thats how it happened that year on the auspicious day of Shivaratri. Next day morning....,we enquired ammamma about her jagarana. She said she didnt sleep at all. We said to ourselves "great kadaraa...etlavuntaaro asalu nidrapokunda...ayina chinnapillalu kashtamraa melakuvatho vundadam" ani.

This time,today.... I planned to do jagarana with our Hari(Hari Prasad K). I think..... this time..... I will emerge as a winner. I am sure about it.... what do you say???

San"kranthi" at Bhanupuri

Sometimes..I celebrated sankranthi in suryapet also.I grew up with my mamaiah in my ammamma's house here. Besides gobbemmalu,muggulu......Sankranthi at suryapet is really an exhilarating experience for me. Very lovely... because here lies my soul... I feel immensely happy. Unlike in my naanamma's village where I pass the day counting seconds..here I live the life of king. I do whatever I wish to. i wake up early in the morning ... then Radha and I with tooth brushes sit at the back door and talk and talk...on countless things. With brushes in the mouth we go to the ground (govt jr college ,only a wall separates our house and college ) at such early hour checking whether any one is playing cricket. We eat gangaregi pandlu with lot of interest. We just love them. We even take the information about the location of such trees ..... go there and have them stomachfull. So is the case with sithaphalapandlu.

After finishing bath and having breakfast....we go to ravi and nagu house. They live next door. They are the masters in kite flying. Actually the kite episode in sankranthi is a long process in which we also take part. Ravi prepares his own maanza(thread that tied to kite).For that we a gang of 5 to 6 embark on a great adventurous journey. First ,we go to college ground and search for any broken soda(goli soda) bottles. And then for Aloevera plant leaves(kalamandha) for smoothness. Then go to shop and buy some colours, bendakkayalu. A soft pulpy mass is formed mashing all these things ..A good quality thread is taken , hold that mass and run it all over the thread. Thats how a sharp cutting colourful manza is made.Then the next bing things are kite and charka. They are bought from shops at maseed(masjid) which is nearer to our gorgeous school.

Though there are many who are our opponents, the main opponent to us in having " war in skies" is our Karunakar. Karnakar flies his kite from the top of his house and we from ours. A serious war which also includes lots of ego is witnessed in sky. Very energetic..very funny and also very serious. Radha,Dv and I are very poor in kite flying.We hardly know how to fly them.But we used to stay with Ravi and enjoy the whole episode.

Without cricket the day is incomplete. Matches , matches...and matches... wonderful cricket we used to play.