Quest for Sungudi sarees

When I travel to India and other countries, I look for traditional artwork and handloom clothing unique to those places. I heard about Kunbi handloom cotton sarees woven by Goan tribal people and how they are becoming rare as the cottage industry is in decline because younger generations of tribal

If I have a breath, I can sell salt and live

Amma said, “I am going to visit Suseela Pinni and Padma Peddi tomorrow.” during our weekly phone call. This was a couple of months after she moved into a new independent living place close to Rajahmundry, where she and Nanna lived for 18 years before he passed away. She tried

Determined minds find path to success

“Nanna, do you want a laptop?” I asked my father while he was visiting me and my family. Nanna’s usual response whenever I asked him if he would like me to get him a pair of hiking shoes more suitable for going on hikes than his dress shows, or

Please, live in my memories forever

My heart is heavy and filled with sadness. Leaving my country of birth has never been harder. This time, it has been after saying final goodbyes to my mother and sending her off to rejoin my father who left her and this earth ten long years ago. My mother was

Veranda Tales-Who leads and who follows in a ballroom?

Storytelling has been an integral part of my life since childhood. I grew up listening to stories during the hot summer evenings and nights with my cousins. Mothers and grandmothers would gather all of us children for story time. It was usually pitch dark except for a very faint light

Veranda Tales-Strength of calmness

నిండు కుండ తొణకదు (Nindu kunda tonakadu) - My earliest memories of spending time with my బాబయ్య (Babayya is uncle in Telugu) go way back to my toddler years. We used to live in a small village back then where my father, a Veterinary doctor, was working for the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.

The eleven hour layover

“Are you sure you want to go so far away from us?”, an unasked question on my parents’ faces stared back at me as I sat killing eleven hour layover at the London airport. I had left home before to go to college the first time at the age of

My mother, the superhero

I was walking back from school at the end of the day. Roads were crowded as usual with people walking, riding bicycles, mopeds, rickshaws, buses, auto-rikshaws, and an occasional car. There were cows and dogs squeezing through a sea of people on foot and other modes of transportation. I walked

A father’s secret

A storm had been raging for the last two days. Sheets of rain coming down like dark curtains preventing the sunlight from reaching the earth. The room was very quiet except for the sounds of rain and gentle breathing noises coming from his elderly father who was sleeping propped up

Veranda Tales-Needle in a haystack

తిరుపతిలో బోడి గుండు వెతికినట్టు (tirupathilo bodigundu vethikinatlu) “I am afraid our kids will go missing in the sea of people in India.” I said to my spouse as we were getting ready to head out on our first trip to see family in India with two kids in tow.

Veranda Tales-Feeling at home anywhere

రెంటికీ చెడిన రేవడి చందాన (rentiki chedda revadi chandaana) - My life partner said to me, “Hey! a little girl was excitedly waving at you back there while you were lost in your thoughts looking at the temple carvings.”

Veranda Tales-Connecting with roots

మనుషులు పోయినా మాటలు వుంటాయి (manushulu poina matalu untayi) - “Did you know your father took me to school on his bicycle when I was in 8th grade?” asked my aunt while we were looking at old family pictures.

Veranda Tales-Bonds of friendship

పంచదార పలుకులు - విషపు చూపులు (panchadaara palukulu - vishapu chupulu) - We were looking at our menus trying to decide what to get for lunch, when I said to Meera, “Did I ever tell you what happened to me when I was ten years of age?”

Veranda Tales-One step at a time …

మొక్కై వంగనిది, మ్రానై వంగునా? (mokkai vanganidi, maanai vanguna?) - నాన్న (Nanna is father Telugu) was working at the Block Development Officers Training Center in Bapatla during my early years.

Veranda Tales-Little joys of life

కన్నామేగానీ, కడుపులో పెట్టుకుంటామా? (Kannamegaani, kadupulo pettukuntama?) - Springtime is magical. It catches us by surprise after every winter. Every year barren trees and landscapes come to life overnight.

Veranda Tales-And the story continues …

కథ కంచికీ - మన మింటికీ (Katha Kanchiki - manamintiki) - Primary mode of transportation during my childhood was trains and buses. They took us to visit maternal and paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, extended family, and friends.

Veranda Tales-Hold your horses

తినబోతూ రుచులు అడిగినట్లు (thinabothu ruchuladiginatlu) - తాతయ్య (Tatayya is grandfather in Telugu) owned a transportation company that ran buses, lorries, and small cars to ferry people and goods between neighboring towns and villages.

Veranda Tales-Bonds of love

కుంతి వరం (Kunti varam) - ప్రిథ (Pritha) was one of fifteen children born to the యాదవ (Yadava) chief, శూరసేన (Shurasena), king of ancient మథుర (Mathura). Her mother was a నాగ (Nāga or serpent) woman named మరీష  (Marisha).

Veranda Tales-A legendary rustler

భీష్మ ప్రతిజ్ఞ (Bhīṣma Prathigna) - శంతను (Shantanu), the king of Kuru kingdom saw a beautiful woman on the banks of the River గంగ (Ganga) during a hunting expedition. He immediately fell in love with her and asked her to marry him.

Veranda Tales-Walking down through layers of history

అండలుంటే కొండలు దాటవచ్చు (andalunte kondalu datavachu) - My life partner and I embarked on one last summer of hiking and travel before jumping into the deep end of parenting. We set our sights on bagging a fourteener, the Longs Peak, a 14,256-foot (4345.22 m) mountain close to where we live.

Veranda Tales-Walking through the clouds

తిరుపతి క్షవరంలాగా (Tirupati kshavaramlaaga) - నాన్న (Nanna is father in Telugu) wanted to become a doctor to follow in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather and maternal uncle. It wasn’t meant to be. The next best option for him was veterinary medicine.

Veranda Tales-What happens when a fence eats the crop?

కంచే చేను మేసినట్లు (Kanche chenu mesinatlu) - I was running late two days in a row to get back for my afternoon classes at college. I came back to my hostel (dorm) to grab lunch and pick my books up for the afternoon sessions.

Veranda Tales-Traveling musician’s children

నారద సంతానం  (Narada Santhanam) - ఉగాది (Ugadi) is my favorite festival and celebration. It is the Telugu New Year celebration that marks the first day of the first Telugu month, Chaitra. ఉగాది (Ugadi) has been celebrated since Gautamiputra Saatakarni defeated Nahapana of Ujjain in the year 78 CE.

Veranda Tales-An exemplary friendship

కుచేల సంతానంలాగా (Kuchela santhanam laaga) - My paternal grandparents had a total of nine children and eight of them survived into adulthood. My maternal grandparents had a total of eight children and seven of them survived into adulthood. They didn’t have choices, unlike their children.

Veranda Tales-The golden snake goddess

శ్రీకనక నాగారపమ్మ (Sri Kanaka Nagarpamma) - Present becomes past, past becomes memory, and memory becomes a legend. As annals of history are buried under dust, some legends are forgotten and lost.