FRONT VIEW OF PREM MANDIR – Vrindavana

 

FRONT VIEW OF PREM MANDIR – Vrindavana

Vrindavana has an ancient past, associated with Hindu history, and is an important Hindu pilgrimage site. One of its oldest surviving temples is the Govinda Dev temple, built in 1590, with the town founded earlier in the same century.

It is believed that the essence of Vrindavana was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In the year 1515, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana, with the purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Bhagvan Sri Krishna's transcendent pastimes. Chaitanya wandered through the different sacred forests of Vrindavana in a spiritual trance of divine love. It was believed that by His divine spiritual power, He was able to locate all the important places of Krishna's pastimes in and around Vrindavana.

In the last 250 years, the extensive forests of Vrindavana have been subjected to urbanization, first by local Rajas and in recent decades by apartment developers. The forest cover has been whittled away to only a few remaining spots, and the local wildlife, including peacocks, and a variety of bird species has been virtually eliminated. A few peacocks are left in the city but monkeys and cows can be seen almost everywhere. (Courtesy Wikipedia)

Cheruku Rama Mohan Rao

 

 

 

 

 

The Language of Loss by Daud Haider

 The Language of Loss by Daud Haider

https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-language-of-loss-by-daud-haider.html

The protests that erupted on February 21, 1952, in then East Pakistan against the imposition of Urdu launched the Bengali language movement in Bangladesh, and is the nucleus of the International Mother Language Day. The UNESCO recognition came in 1999, proclaiming it as a day to observe and celebrate indigenous languages across the globe. The wish was to sustain and develop the mother tongue or the first language, and safeguard the precious heritage of world languages. Is it happening in reality?

 

Indigenous languages, like most ethnic cultures, increasingly have a localised 

and restricted existence — overwhelmed by global markets, global economics 

and global corporates. The mother tongue is gradually being dwarfed by these 

staggering influences and is relegated to a marginal space in the global village. 

A UNESCO report states that nearly 1,500 ethnic languages are globally 

becoming extinct every day. Their place is being usurped by foreign languages, 

which facilitate and guarantee successful trade and commerce and boost the 

economy.

 

An in-depth knowledge of one’s mother tongue makes assimilating foreign 

languages and cultures smoother. Nordic countries, after prolonged trials and 

evaluations, have advocated learning two languages from the primary school 

level: The language of the land and the mother tongue. In remote regions of 

countries like Sweden and Norway, where people of various ethnicities dwell 

(mostly migrants on political grounds), primary schools, as a rule, teach 

indigenous languages. I have seen Bengali being taught in a number of 

suburban schools of Sweden, Norway and Finland. The students are mostly 

primary schoolchildren and their parents are political migrants; teachers 

largely hail from Bangladesh while a few are from West Bengal.

 Of late, several German states have instituted this system, primarily 

responding to appeals from the Turkish people. Since 2015, it has included 

Arab refugees. Bangla, Hindi, Urdu and Tamil are yet to find a place partly 

because students are fewer and proficient teachers are not that easily 

available. Another reason is that the number of refugees from the 

subcontinent is dwindling; tough laws restrict their influx. However, Bengalis 

have been living in the UK for ages. The British Parliament has a significant 

number of MPs of Bangladeshi origin, who are now British citizens. At least a 

dozen Bangla weeklies are published in proper London. Four TV channels 

(one of them in the Sylheti language) and six Bangla radio stations (FM 

channels) run out of England. Italy comes a close second with respect to 

hosting the Bengali population. There too, Bangla newspapers, TV and radio 

are quite popular. Portugal, Greece and Benelux (Belgium-The Netherlands-

Luxembourg) are home to 20,000 people from Bangladesh and West Bengal. 

North America, of course, is way ahead in this regard. More than a dozen 

Bangla weeklies are published from New York alone; radio and TV are equally 

popular as are Bangla book fairs and related programmes. The picture is no 

different in Canada.

 Bengalis, thus, seem to have a global presence. But can the same be said of 

their language, Bangla? Is it promoted and encouraged to develop beyond its 

boundaries? Not at all. Considering the fact that the Bangla-speaking 

population from the two Bengals occupy the seventh spot in the world, the 

Bangla language hardly holds any significant status. Though the Asian 

department in the Heidelberg University, Germany, teaches Bengali, the 

number of students learning it are no more than a measly 10. The Berlin Free 

University no longer holds Bengali classes. Reason? Lack of students. Learning 

Bengali does not guarantee jobs abroad; nor are youngsters keen on 

appreciating Bengali literature. Bengali readers in Germany have barely 

acknowledged the works of any Bangla-language poet or author — their 

interest has stopped with Rabindranath Tagore.

 In West Bengal, Bangla appears to be largely considered the language of 

Bangladesh; Hindi is acknowledged as the language of West Bengal and 

India. Before censuring such a claim, one needs to note that nearly 53 per cent 

of people in Kolkata speak Hindi. Signboards in Hindi or English are routinely 

visible in different localities of Kolkata. In Bangladesh and West Bengal, 

parents send their wards to English-medium schools. Are they equally eager 

to introduce children to Bangla language and literature?

 February 21 marks a day of sacrifice and of grief. Sacrifice for one’s mother 

tongue. Yet, the day has assumed celebratory proportions since the liberation 

of Bangladesh and the ideal at its heart lies forgotten. We cannot blame 

anyone for this though. Poetry sessions, literary gatherings; month-long book 

fairs; the longest-lasting book fairs in the worlds; youngsters crowding 

bookstalls, imbibing the “culture” of book fairs but not exactly buying books — 

these are embellishments we chose to be content with.

 February 21 not just marked the movement for the mother tongue; it led the 

sapling of freedom to sprout and bloom in Bangladesh. It instilled an 

exuberance in us. We have been so euphoric about the day that I forget it 

happens to be my birthday too. My friends come and ask me on my birthday, 

“Do we make merry today? Or do we mourn?” They remember I was born on 

February 21, 1952, at Doharpara, Pabna. “The Bangla language was born on 

your birthday,” they say. I rephrase their good humour in a rhyme or two: “I 

live in my language/ And my language lives in me.”

Swasthi.

Siddhavattam Fort

 

Siddhavattam Fort

 https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2021/04/siddhavattam.html

Siddhavattam Fort is a 684 years old riverside fortress located in Siddhavattam Taluk Headquarters, but for all practical purposes it is diminished to the level of a village, belonging to Kadapa district of Andra Pradesh in South India. It is also known as “Gateway of Srisailam”. Once  it was being called as “Dakshina Kashi”. This fort has a vast history of struggle for protecting its culture and social values from local and foreign invaders.

At the outset I would like to tell about what the name Siddhavattam denotes. The name of the place is first associated with ‘Siddha’.  So let us first know what Siddha means.

Siddha in Sanskrit means "perfected one”. This is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means "one who is accomplished". It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment.  The term is used to refer to the liberated souls. To attain Siddhi is to Siddha may also refer to one who has attained a siddhi. That means union of ones Atma with Paramaatma. If they are in the processes of attaining Siddhi they use Yoga, and certain medicines particularly attached to chemicals, which are extractions from the natural resources. But unfortunately, now-a-days the term is widely affiliated to medicine only. The processes of attaining Siddhi is Sadhana.

“Vata’ in Sanskrit is Banyan Tree, and ‘Vattam’ means ‘Habitation’.

People by and large say as follows:

The name of this fort has historic significance. Since this region had many Siddhas, who were yogic people known for their natural remedies with herbs. These Siddhas used to sit on a round platform built around the banyan trees. Hence this place was called as Siddhavatam. To my knowledge, the above information does not justify the name of the place ‘Vattam’ means an establishment of Siddhas, where they will have all the minimum requirements to attend to their day-to-day needs and a serene atmosphere for their penance.

In fact the place also might have been named after the prime deity ‘Siddheswara’, to whom my father with all of us did Abhishekamb some 45 years back.

In this connection I would like to share with you another fact which I came across. Some 50 years back I happened to travel in a lorry from Rajampet to Kadapa, in the good’s carrier. There was already a Muslim boy therein with public address system taking back to Kadapa. H was a native of Siddhavattam then aged about 16, 17 years. Being a Muslim, that too illiterate he was unaware of our Hindu culture. While he was playing with other children in the Siddhavattam fort, he missed the team and entered into a cave. Out of curiosity he moved forward and after sometime though he wanted to return he could not turn as the path was so narrow. He continued his journey forward but, for how many days, only God Knows. When he opened his eyes he found a Rhishi before him. He sprinkled some water on him and gave some serene water to drink. The moment the boy drank water he totally came into conscious and found the place with full of scenic beauty. The Rhishi signed him to close the eyes. The moment he closed his eyes and opened them he was on the Bahuda riverside of Nandalur. This incident, taking for granted, confirms two things. 1. There are still Siddhas at Siddhavattam in an unseen place by a common man and 2. There is a passage between Siddhavattam and Bahuda river bed of Nandalur. This gives strength to my argument.

Coming back to know about the history this fort was built by Matli Raja’s in the year 1303 A.D of Tuluva dynasty. Matli Raja’s were the Nayakas under Vijayanagar dynasty. The fort is built on the banks of the Penna River. This fort was gifted by Vijayanagar emperor Araveeeti Venkatapathi Rayulu II in 1605 to Yellamaraju, for the victory in Utukuru war. The fort here was much developed under the rule of King Varada Raju, who is the son-in-law of Sri Krishna Deva Raya.

Later, this fort came under the control of Mayana Nawabs of Kadapa in 17th Century. Hyder Ali, the then Mysore king, captured the fort during 1779 – 1780 A.D. In the year 1792 this fort came under the control of Nizams of Hyderabad, who captured this fort from Tippu Sultan of Mysore.

In the year 1800, the British took over the fort from the Hyderabad Nawabs. This is a defensive fort which was under the British East India Company for more than 150 years. East India Company made this as their capital to run their administration. From 1807-1812 Sidhout was the district headquarters for Kadapa district. Later the administration was moved to Kadapa as this place will be isolated whenever Penna river floods.This fort was later administered by the Archaeology Department of India in 1956.

Once this fort went under the Nizams rule, they built a lot of Islamic Structures and Mosques inside the fort.

You can find a life size Nandi deity with severed head in the fort, which is subjected to Muslim Vandalism.

This fort extends over an area of 30 acres. Visitors can view the gateways and decorated pillars at the two ends of the fort. It is noteworthy that the 17 bastions which once used to protect the region are still visible in the fort. The fort houses an ancillary passage which allows the visitors to gain access even after the closure of the main gates. The temples present inside its premise include the Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Siddheswara Temple, Durga Temple and the Bala Brahma Temple. Rama Temple etc.

These are some of the best stone carved temples found in this area. Many of their pillars are made of a single stone. The roofs of these temples are covered with stone slabs. The deities’ sculptures are made of single stone carvings, which are very fascinating.

Inside this fort there are many complexes. The main structure of this first area is totally built of granite stones.

In the medieval Era when the Udayagiri Kingdom ruled here, this fort saw much local aggression.

While Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was on his South Indian tour, he visited this place. We can find it mentioned in the Chaitanya Charitamrita as follows:

nṛsiṁha dekhiyā tāṅre kaila nati-stuti
siddhavaṭa gelā yāhāṅ mūrti sītāpati

“Upon seeing the Ahovala-nrisiṁha Deity, Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered many prayers unto the Lord. He then went to Siddhavaṭa, where He saw the Deity of Rāmacandra, the Lord of Sītādevī.” (Madhya Lila, 9.17)

Once patronized by kings of 18 dynasties and having more than 120 temples, this place is now on the brink of vanishing. It has turned in to a refuge for unscrupulous elements.

All that I can do is to pay God Siddheswara to open the eyes of all those concerned for renovation and keep-up of the structure.

Swasthi.

 

 

Dr. vandana-shiva about native cows

 

      Dr. vandana-shiva about native cows

“Indigenous cattle do not compete with humans for food; rather, they provide organic fertilizer for fields and thus enhance food productivity. Within the sacredness of the cow lie this ecological rationale and conservation imperative. The cow is a source of cow-dung energy, nutrition, and leather, and its contribution is linked to the work of women in feeding and milking cows, collecting cow dung, and nurturing sick cows to health.” -

Dr. vandana-shiva