Sanvi

 I love listening to Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma. It is a Kannada Composition by Purandara Dasa. Sung in praise of Goddess Lakshmi.... the bestow-er of prosperity and happiness.

The song is so full of love and devotion. He invites Lakshmi into his house right on time for the Friday Puja, describing ...

her dainty steps, the tinkling sound of her anklets, of bangles twirling on her wrists, of her mesmerizing lotus eyes, the auspicious kumkum mark on her forehead and the overflowing stream of gold and bliss she brings to homes she visits.

And he most wonderfully describes her as Venkataramanana Binkada Rani – the elegant and proud consort of sri Venkataramana

There are two versions of the song. The Hindustani version rendered by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi 

And the Carnatik version by Smt MS Subbulakshmi

But I love it most when achu my daughter sings the song…simple and no frills!

Today our little grand daughter Sanvi completes one month. Sanvi is born on friday and is a bundle of joy.

I have tried to depict bhagyada lakshmi baramma on paper.

bhagyada lakshmi baramma

Ragi balls

I am writing something on Ghana and liked to research on some everyday meals made in Ghana homes. and came across this dish called Fufu. in a fabulous blog about 26 meals.
Fufu is a a pasty thick creation made of cassava flour. The way to eat it is this.....- wet your fingers. take a small ball of fufu. make a small depression in the fufu ball. scoop up gravy into it. stuff gravy and fufu into mouth.....swallow fufu and gravy without actually chewing the fufu.

that bears striking similarity to our own ragi mudde. i mean the method of eating!

I suppose in so many way we all are similar. Just that we do not know.
these pictures are not mine. i dont do make ragi mudde but they never shape so well! and i have never see fufu.but i would like to visit Ghana. yes i do

ragi mudde

fufu

Being Wrong

What's wrong ... with being wrong?
like they say, nothing attempted nothing gained! By its very definition, an attempt is imperfect. It is a trial. It is a faltering step into the unknown.
There is no guarantee that every attempt is a Why this Kolaveridi
but so what?
Come let's be silly
let's be unreasonable
and let's do what we did not think we could!
and if you have the time, and a PC with speakers do listen to this on TED talks

A new Dawn, A new Year

Blown away by Blown Glass Flowers

Wish you all a wonderful, peaceful and prosperous 2012.
May there be many moments in 2012 that take your breath away.

dawn breaks over a sea of clouds

A testimony to precision and perfection
A taste of abundant love
A lack of fear for dedicated labour
I bring to you a most amazing collection of flowers and leaves and buds. For these flowers and leaves and buds are made of blown glass!

maple leaves made of glass

A thing that takes our breath away, fill us with a hope for the breaths we will take in the future.

berries anyone?

Harvard's unique collection of Glass Flowers bowled us over by their sheer magnitude. 4400 exhibits of over 800 botanical species - made by two skilled artists.

Harvard - glass museum

This collection is at the Harvard Museum at Boston. The entire collection was commissioned by a magnanimous rich lady who was amazed by the sample produced by the artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka. I must thank my chickappa Ananthramu for planning to take us here. for if not for him, this moment of wonder and hope for me, would not have happened.

fine fern!

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amazing na?