My husband is Thor

The love of my life and I were walking back to the parking lot where we parked our car. We didn’t have any shopping bags in our hands. We were on our way back from one of our window shopping expeditions. It is immensely joyful to walk from store

Connecting the dots

My father grew up at his maternal grandparents’ house. I heard two stories of how this came to be. My paternal grandfather lost his mother at a tender age of six. He was raised by his brother eighteen years older than him and his wife. My great grandmother who I

Veranda Tales-My Naanamma’s excellence

ఆహూ ఊహూ ... అత్త లేని కోడలుత్తమురాలు ఓయమ్మా కోడల్లేని అత్త గుణవంతురాలు ఓయమ్మా ... ఆహూ ఊహూ (aahuu uuhuu … atta leni kodalu uttamuraalu oyammaa, kodalu leni atta gunavanturaalu ... aahuu uuhuu) - జానపద సాహిత్యం (jaanapada saahityam) is folklore in Telugu

Veranda Tales-Pleasures of bald heads

చుట్టుగుడిసంత సుఖము, బోడిగుండంత భోగమూ లేదన్నారు (chuttu gudisanta sukhamu, boodigundanta bhogamu ledannaru) - I lived in small houses during my childhood. I am used to family life where all of us would spend the majority of our day in a small family room which often doubled as a bedroom at night.

Veranda Tales-Closets full of clothes

కోకలు వెయ్యి ఉన్నా, కట్టుకొనేది ఒకటే (kokalu veyyi unna, kattukonedi okate) When I was growing up, all my clothes fit on a small shelf in a large cement color metal Godrej beeruva (cabinet) that went with us when we moved.

Veranda Tales-Worrying robs life out of living

చితా దహతి నిర్జీవం, చింతా దహతి జీవితం (chithaa dahathi nirjeevam, chinthaa dahathi jeevitham) - Worrying about the future is human. We can’t live life without a healthy dose of worry. It kept our ancestors from becoming a meal to predators.

Veranda Tales-Do things happen for a reason?

అంతా మన మంచికే (antha mana manchike) - While enduring a negative experience we tell ourselves, “Things happen for a reason” to feel better. At times the thought that there might be some good that would come out of an unpleasant experience keeps us going.

Veranda Tales-Leopards can't change their spots

కుక్క తోక వంకర  (kukka thoka vankara) - Changing behaviors and habits that don’t serve us well is hard. This sameta conveys this sentiment using characteristics of a dog's tail. It says the dog has a crooked tail by nature and it can't be straightened.

Veranda Tales-Dance of enchantment

ఎవడి నెత్తి మీద వాడే చెయ్యి పెట్టుకున్నట్లు (evavdi netti meeda vaade cheyyi pettukunnatlu) - A very long time ago, there was an అసుర (asura) named భస్మాసుర (Bhasmasura). Asuras are an ancient class of human-like living beings in Indian religions ...

Veranda Tales-One size doesn’t fit all

జిహ్వకో రుచి, పుర్రెకో బుద్ధి (jihvako ruchi, purreko budhi) - Cooking for a family can be difficult especially when people have differing tastes. I like కొత్తిమీర (kothimeera is cilantro in Telugu) and garlic. There are very few things I cook without adding garlic.

Veranda Tales-Sifting through

విన్నవి అన్ని విశ్వాశించవద్దు, విశ్వాసించినవన్నీ వెలిబుచ్చవద్దు (Vinnavi anni viswasichavaddu, viswasimchinavanni velibuchchavaddu) - Just a few decades ago, the web was short for cobwebs, which we could see, touch, and were routinely destroyed during house cleaning.

Veranda Tales-Rushing through life

పరిగెత్తి పాలు తాగేకంటే, నిలబడి నీళ్లు తాగడం మంచిది (parigetii paalu taage kante, nilabadi neellu taagadam manchidi) - We live in a world where speed is paramount and worshiped. We talk about how fast we can drive, run, walk, or do things. Faster the better. We keep asking slowpoke to catch up.

Veranda Tales-Point of no return

తాంబూలాలిచ్చేశాను, తన్నుకు చావండి (taamulalichesanu, tannuku chaavandi) - Arranged marriages were the norm for the longest time in history in cultures across the globe and continue to be practiced today in some cultures such as India.

Veranda Tales-Joking can be expensive

సరదాకి సమర్థాడితే చాకల్ది చీర పట్టుకెళ్లినందంట (saradaaki samathadithe chaakaldi cheera pattukellindanta) - Human life begins and ends with ceremonies marking the birth and the passing with a multitude of special occasions in between. I cherish the memories of watching my children ...

Veranda Tales-A day in a monkey’s life

కత్తి పోయి ఢోలు వచ్చే ఢాం ఢాం ఢాం (Katthi poyi dholu vacche daam daam daam) - Once upon a time, there lived a కోతి (kothi is monkey in Telugu) in a అరణ్యం (aranyam is forest in Telugu) close to a village. Our monkey was young and very mischievous.

Veranda Tales-Daydreaming at a traffic light

ఆలు లేదు, చూలు లేదు, కొడుకు పేరు సోమలింగం (Aalu ledu, chulu ledu, koduku peru Somalingam) - Door to door vending. a common practice in India is still alive and well to this day. There is no need to step out of your house to get fresh vegetables, fruits, and other household goods.

Veranda Tales-Wandering in Kakatiya realms

రాజుల సొమ్ము రాళ్ళ పాలు  (raajula sommu ralla paalu) - We are in awe of majestic pyramids in Egypt and Machu Picchu, temples in India and south east Asia, castles in Europe, pueblos and kivas in North America. We wonder how our human ancestors ...

Veranda Tales-Hedonic treadmill

తినగా తినగా గారెలు చేదు (thinaga thinaga gaarelu chedu) - The first spoonful of Ras malai or the first bite of బొబ్బట్లు (bobbatlu or Puran poli) tastes heavenly for people who love these two delicious sweets from India. Once a spoonful becomes a bowlful, it no longer tastes as good.

Veranda Tales-Being fully present

చూపులు దేవుని మీద చిత్తం బయట వదిలిన చెప్పుల మీద (chupulu devuni meeda chittam bayata vadilina cheppula meeda) - When people go to a temple in India, they leave shoes outside. Some temples have shoe racks outside the main temple building for people to leave their shoes before entering the temple.

Veranda Tales-Do lizards have crystal balls?

అందరికి శకునం చెప్పే బల్లి తాను బోయి కుడితి తొట్లో పడ్డట్లు (andariki sakunam cheppe balli taanu boyi kuditi totlo paddatlu) - బల్లి (balli) is a common house gecko in Telugu. They are uninvited guests in most of the Indian households.

Gutti vankaya kura every single day

After కూపస్థ మండూకం or బావిలో కప్ప (Kupastha Mandukam or baavilo kappa) found an ocean in గుంతకల్లు (Guntakallu or Guntakal) and thought it was time to explore the mighty ocean diving to new depths and enjoying the experiences it has to offer,

Veranda Tales-Too much of a good thing

అతిమంచితనం ఎందుకు మంచిదికాదు? (ati manchidanam enduku manchidikaadu?) - Once upon a time, there lived a సాధువు (sadhuvu). साधू (Sadhu) and  साध्विनि (sādhvīne) are Sanskrit words for a male and female religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism.

Veranda Tales-Drishti mantra to the rescue

చదివిస్తే ఉన్న మతి పోయినట్లు (chadivesthe unna mati poyinatlu) - I was an absent minded teenager lost in my thoughts, books, and daydreams. అమ్మ (Amma) would tease me by saying,  “She would still be sitting there with her book even if lightning bolt strikes right next to her”.

Veranda Tales-Mud conchumences

అడుసు తొక్కనేల, కాలు కడగనేల? (Adusu tokkanela kaalu kadaganela?) - When we knowingly make a mistake, we could end up spending time and energy trying to correct it. We drive ten or fifteen miles above the posted speed limit to save precious two minutes only to get stopped by a traffic police.

Veranda Tales-People’s poet

కంచు మ్రోగునట్లు కనకంబు మ్రోగునా (kanchu mroginatlu kanakambu mroguna)? - When I complained while working on my handwriting homework about how I could not write well, నానమ్మ (Nanamma is paternal grandmother in Telugu) would break out into reciting this poem,