The Sugar Cane Theory

I have vivid memories of my childhood with the sugar cane. We would sit on the side parapet wall of my house, hold the large sugar cane pieces and peel the skin using teeth, take large bites, deliciously grind them in the mouth and spit the pulp after extracting all the juice. While we could do this brave act only as kids, I am told our parents generation could do it upto their late 30s and early 40s. I know it is un-imaginable and alien to the kids growing up with video games and the Internet.

My Sugar Cane theory has emerged from these cherished childhood memories. Learning during school and college is like drinking machine extracted sugar cane juice. It is everything together, without frills, neatly served, not savoured the hard way. Passing out of college is not the end of education. Rather it means that one is ready to start learning. Learning now becomes having sugar cane the traditional way. Learning is hidden in the chewing of work, hard earned. It requires one to be vigilant, learn the art of extracting and filtering learning while undergoing the grind of Job and Life. To me, learning in school/college sans exams was always fun. However, learning today has been lot more subtle and I am enjoying it in on a different plane.

Musings of a pico-Jignasu - II

                                              From the Physicists' Kitchen
Stephen Hawking, in his book, A brief History of Time, says that as we approach the point of Big Bang we reach a point of mathematical singularity. Therefore, all physical laws breakdown at t=0, i.e. the beginning of universe and before. Space and Time as defined by physics are no more valid. He conveniently puts the ball in the philosopher's court before t=0 and proceeds ahead with his narration.  But I have clung on to this point  ever since then. What existed before t = 0? This also takes me to the question who created the creator? Allow me now to mention how Lord Shiva is worshiped in India. The most worshiped form of Lord Shiva is the Lingaakaara, an ellipsoid form symbolizing the One who has neither a beginning nor an end!

Since I ended with Lord Shiva in the previous para, let me begin with Him in this. Lord Shiva, the Nataraja, is supposed to perform a form of dance called the Shiva Thandava. Fritjof Capra, in his book, The Tao of Physics, draws a parallel between this Cosmic Dance with the dances of the sub-atomic particles. I don't remember if I read it in the same book or else where but this universe can be compared to the cosmic dance(Thandava) of Lord Shiva. Just as the dancer permeates the dance, God permeates the entire Universe.

The equation of E = mc^2 ,given by Einstein, essentially says that mass and energy are inter-convertible. So, if you were to keep an 100Watt incandescent light switched continuously for a year, you would spend energy worth a few micro(10^-6) grams. Using the same equation, if you were to calculate the rate at which our beloved Sun sheds its energy, it is around 8 billion(10^8) kg/s. And yet it would survive for another few billion years. But this Sun is a mid-sized star in our galaxy called the Milky Way. And if you ever want to name a galaxy after a friend, feel free to do so. There are enough of them; enough to associate around four per a living person in this world. (Compiled from the vague memories of Fundamentals of Physics by Resnick and Halliday and/or Modern Physics by Kenneth S Krane)

Musings of a pico-Jignasu - I

Firstly the etymology– The Bhagavad Gita(7:16) says that there are four types of devotees – Artha, Arthaarthi, Jignasu and Jnani. The last one  is of course ruled out for me and I consider a major part of myself not belonging to the first two categories. However, I know that I am  not a full-fledged Jignasu and therefore the adjective pico(10^-12)

 I was in the second year of my Under-graduation and was having a basic couse in Real Analysis. We were being introduced the Natural Numbers and the infinity of Natural Numbers (pronounced aleph naught). Now, 2 + 2 is 4, x + x is 2x but + is not  2 but . Promptly, my professor told us what the scriptures say “Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornaath Poornam Udachyathe Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornameva Vasishyathe”

I had the good fortune to learn some RigVedic chants in my higher secondary school and college. However, I must  humbly admit that I can only recite them very imperfectly. I only have a millionth of a millionth of rudimentary knowledge of the Vedas. I beg the pardon of the wise for my audacity in this attempt. I wish to mention two things that made a very profound impression on me from the Brahmanandavalli :

1.       It goes  "Akaashadh Vayuhu, Vayoragnihi, Agnairaapaha, Aabyah Pruthvi ..."  It means Air emerged(was born) from the Ether; Fire from Air; Water from Fire; Land from Water...  But hold a second! Water was born out of fire! They are opposites right? You use water to put off fire. And then came the revelation to me. An examination of fundamental chemistry told me that when Hydrogen burns in oxygen water is what comes out!

2.       In the same Brahmandavalli there is a description of Ananda. A unit of  human happiness is defined using a young and healthy happy man with lot of other parameters and then the happiness is measured across various beings and the description goes upto defining one unit of happiness of the Brahman. Now I know of Metre as an unit of distance, gram as an unit of weight etc... But to define a unit for happiness (and with a very high degree of precision, in my opinion) is something awe inspiring for me.

ఎందరో మహానుభావులు అందరికి వందనములు - II

నిన్న నేను వ్రాసిన టపాలో జంధ్యాలగారిని గూర్చి వ్రాయటం ఎలా మరిచిపోయానో అర్ధం కావటం లేదు. కె. విశ్వనాథ్ గారి గూర్చి వ్రాస్తూ జంధ్యాల గారిని గూర్చి వ్రాయలనుకుంటూనే సినిమా లోకం నుంచి సినిమేతర లోకంలోకి వెళుతూ మరిచిపోయాను. ఇది కూడా ఒకందుకు మంచినే చేకూర్చింది. ఆ టపాకు రెండవ శీర్షకను వ్రాసే అవకాసం నాకు దొరికింది.

మొదట హాస్య బ్రహ్మ జంధ్యాల గారిని గూర్చి వ్రాయాలి. అచ్చ తెలుగులో అందరిని కడుపుబ్బా నవ్వించడం అయానకే చెల్లింది. "అసలు నేను తాజ్ మహల్ ఎందుకు కట్టించాను? అశోకుడు ఆడుకోవడానికే కదా!" ప్రేక్షకులను నవ్విస్తూనే ఎన్నో సున్నితమైన విషయాలు తెలియచేస్తూ, సామాజిక స్పృహతో కూడిన చిత్రాలను వారు తీసారు. అందుకు తెలుగుజాతి  వారంతా ఆయనకు ఋణగ్రస్తులు. వారు 50 ఏళ్లకే స్వర్గస్తులవటం తెలుగు సినీ లోకానికి, ముఖ్యంగా హాస్య లోకానికి తీరని నష్టం కలిగించింది.

జంధ్యాల  పేరు వచ్చింది కాబట్టి కరుణశ్రీగా ప్రఖ్యాతి గాంచిన జంధ్యాల పాపయ్య శాస్త్రి గారిని, వారి పుష్ప విలాపంని  ఇక్కడ స్మరించ తలిచాను.

ఈ మధ్య కాలంలో వచిన్న సినీదర్శకులలో త్రివిక్రమ్ శ్రీనివాసుగారు, శేఖర్ కమ్ములగారు, శ్రీను వైట్ల నాకు చాల ఇష్టం. అదే విదంగా జాగర్లముడి రాధాకృష్ణ, దేవ కట్ట వంటి వారంటే కూడా నాకు చాలా అభిమానం. అదే విధంగా పాటల రచియిత అనంత్ శ్రీరాం కూడా నాకు మిక్కిలి మక్కువ.

నేను స్కూల్లో ఉన్నప్పుడు అష్టావధానం గూర్చి ఒక పాఠం చదువుకున్నాను. అవధానం అనే సాహిత్య ప్రక్రియ సంస్కృత, తెలుగు భాషలలోన మాత్రమే విస్తృతంగా ఉనట్టు ఉంది/ఉండేది. ఇందులో అష్టావధానం చాలా విరివిగా ఉన్నప్పటికీ మనకు శతావాధనులు, సహస్రావధానులు కూడా ఉన్నారు/ఉండేవారు. తిరుపతి వెంకట కవులు అష్టావధానానికి బాగా ప్రాశస్త్యం తెచ్చినట్టు నాకు ఈ రోజు తెలిసింది. నాటక రంగంలో "బావా ఎప్పుడు వచ్చితివి?...",    "జెండాపై కపిరాజు..." వంటి పద్య రత్నాలు వారు ఇచ్చారనే విషయం మాత్రమే నాకు ఇదివరకు తెలుసు. 

ఇంకా ఎందరో మహానుభావులు. నాటి ఆదికవి నన్నయనుంచి నేటి తరం వారి వరకు తెలుగు భాషకు వన్నె తెచ్చిన ప్రతి ఒక్కరికి మళ్ళీ శతసహస్రవందనాలు.

   

ఎందరో మహానుభావులు అందరికి వందనములు

నాకు తెలుగు భాష పట్ల ఆసక్తిని తెలుగు సంస్కృతి యొక్క గొప్పతనాన్ని ఆస్వాదించే అవకాశాన్ని ఇచ్చిన  మహానుభావులు ఎందరో. వారందరకి శతసహస్రవందానాలు. ఉడతా భక్తిగా నా వంతు కొన్ని వాక్యాలు

సినిమాలు హిట్లు అవుతాయి; ఫ్లాప్ అవుతాయి. అది ఆర్ధిక శాస్త్రం ప్రకారం వేసే లెక్క. చిత్రాలలో మంచి చిత్రాలు, చాల మంచి చిత్రాలు, ఎప్పటికీ నిలిచిపోయే చిత్రాలు కొన్ని వుంటాయి.  ఇది రసజ్ఞులు వేసుకొనే లెక్క. ఎప్పటికి నిలిచిపోయే చిత్రాలు అందించిన  కాశినాధుని విశ్వనాథ్ గారికి నా ధన్యవాదాలు.

నేను శ్రీపతి పండితారాధ్యుల బాల సుబ్రహ్మణ్యం గారి వీరాభిమానిని. పూర్తిగా ఆంగ్లంలో కొట్టిమిట్టడుతున్న నేను మేలుకొని తెలుగు మళ్ళీ నేర్చుకోవడం మొదలుపెట్టిందే వారి పాడుతా తీయగా  కార్యక్రమము వలన. వారికి నిండు నూరేళ్ళు; కాదు కాదు నూట ఇరవై ఏళ్లు ఆ భగవంతుడు ఆయురారోగ్యాలు ప్రసాదించాలని, వారు ఈ కొత్త తరానికి చూపిస్తున్న దారిలో సాధ్యమైనంత మంది నడవాలని మనస్పూర్తిగా కోరుకుంటున్నాను.

ఆచార్య ఆత్రేయ గారు, ఆరుద్ర గారు, వేటూరి సుందరరామమూర్తి గారు, సిరివెన్నెల సీతారామ శాస్త్రి గారు. ఇందులో ముఖ్యంగా  వేటూరి గారిని, సీతారామ శాస్త్రి గారిని చూసి నేను చాల స్పూర్తి చెందాను. వీరందరి పాటలలో మానవాళి యొక్క మనగుడలోని జీవిత సత్యాలు అక్షరాల అలంకరణతో అందంగా అందరిని అలరిస్తాయి.

ఇక శ్రీశ్రీ గారు. బాలు గారికి నేను పెరిగి పెద్దవాడినయిన తరువాత వీరాభిమాని అయితే, వీరికి చిన్నపట్టినుంచే వీరభిమానిని. నాలాగే వీరికి మరో వీరాభిమాని,  నాకు చాలా సన్నిహితుడైన మిత్రుడొకడు ఉన్నాడు. మేము కళాశాలో చదువుకొనే రోజులలో, వారి కవితలు నా చేత చదివించి వినేవాడు. వాడికి నేను అవి భాగా చదివే వాడినని అని అభిప్రాయం. అదే నాకు చాల గర్వ కారణం. శ్రీ శ్రీ గారు నేను సైతం అంటూ మన జాతికిచ్చిన స్పూర్తి చిరస్మరణీయం.        

ఏంతో సాహసంతో ఈ టప వ్రాయడం మొదలు పెట్టిన నాకు ఇప్పుడు భయం వేస్తోంది. పోతానామాత్యుల పద్యాలూ చదివేటప్పుడు నాకు మతి ఎంత చలిస్తుందో నేను మాటలలో చెప్పలేను. అంత గొప్పవారి గురించి నేను వ్రాస్తే కించపరిచినట్టు అవుతుందేమో అని ఒక చిన్న భయం. కాని వారు వ్రాసిన ఆంధ్రమహభాగవతంలోని  కనీసం ఒక్క పద్యం కూడా తెలియని ఎందరో తెలుగు వారు వున్నారని, వారిలో ఒక్కరైన నా ప్రయత్నం వల్ల తెలుసుకుంటారేమోననే అత్యాశ.  అదే కోవలోకి చెందినా వారు తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్యుల వారు మరియు త్యాగరాజ స్వామి వారు. వారి గురించే వ్రాసే అర్హత నాకు లేదు కనుక వారిని కేవలం స్మరించు కొని వారికి మరొక్కసారి శతసహస్ర వందనాలు తెలియచేసుకుంటున్నాను. అసలు ఒక వ్యక్తి తన జీవిత పరిమాణంలో 35000 కీర్తనలు ఎలా వ్రాసాడో నాకు తల కిందులుగా తపస్సు చేసిన అర్ధం కాదు.    

ఇక వేమన, బద్దెన, గోపన్న మొదలగు వారు. వారి శతకాల గూర్చి కూడా మాట్లాడే అర్హత నాకు లేదు. శ్రీ కృష్ణదేవరాయలు, వారి భువన విజయము, అష్ట దిగ్గజాలు, ముఖ్యంగా తెనాలి రామకృష్ణులు, అల్లసాని పెద్దన చిరస్మరణీయులు. తెలుగు భాష ఆది కవి అయిన నన్నయ మొదలగు వారిని గూర్చి కూడా నాకు  వ్రాసే అర్హత లేదని భావిస్తున్నాను.

ఎక్కడో పుట్టి ఇక్కడికి వృత్తిరీత్యా వచ్చి తెలుగు భాష నిఘంటువుని మనకు అందించిన C.P.Brownకు మనమేల్లరము సర్వదా ఋణగ్రస్తులం.

ఎందరో మహానుభావులు అందరికి వందనములు.  

New Dawn

I walked into the Airtel store well prepared to wait for a long time. They seemed to have gone astray in the customer satisfaction of late. The last time I visited for a piece of information, I waited for 30-45 mins and all the customers next to me were people visiting second or third time for complaint redressal. Therefore, I was not expecting any thing better this time.

Today I watched patiently (waiting for my turn) the poor senior executive trying to satisfy each of those dissatisfied customers pouncing on him. He was switching between calls, pacifying the customers and escalating the issues. I kind of empathized with him.

Two of the customers, senior citizens to be more precise, flared up. They were completely justified in being indignant and called them all names.  One of them  was angry with every one, he scolded all including Anna Hazare and walked away shouting "India can never change". This is my tipping point. I could see the executive, helpless as he was, composed and doing his duty and trying to attend the other customers. A young man, just as I am, working hard in his own career with his own aspirations and ambitions.

The two of them symbolized two Indias for me; One still pessimistic (and may be rightly so) because there is so much that needs to change in this country and the other working at all odds to make things happen. I am not sure where will it all go. The times are exciting and important. Everyday seems to bring with it new challenges and therefore new excitement. I am sure that by the time I am walking with the help of a walking stick, it would have all changed; the nation will reach a state of equilibrium. It is very hard to tell whether that would be of prosperity or anarchy; and both of them seem to be equally probable to me. I only hope that I am/will be part of that group which wants to take India towards the former.

Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny - II

This is a sequel to Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny.
In the good old days(I am referring to India in particular) we had weekly village fairs(సంతలు) where people would go around walking, bargain and buy what they want. However, with passage of time we got into going to grocery stores and buying things. Though the old form is still existent, to me the new avatar is the shopping malls.

During ancient times in India we had the Gurukul system when the student's education is complete when the Guru says it is complete. The Guru would monitor each student as each one is unique. We know what has replaced it and know about the current system(at the time of writing this blog) of education. But today, with so much e-Learning boom  individual based learning is on a all time high.

Role Models - Reel Models

Is your role model a film star only because he can hit ten goons in a single shot? Or, is he a cricketer who is your favourite only till he is in form? And if you have no intention of contending this idea - it is better you skip this blog. Do you have any role model(s) from the same profession as you are in? Then you don't require to read my blog because you have passed the test. This is not to insult anyone- I am a fan of Sachin, Rajini, Amitabh and the list can go on and on but my reasons may be different from many.


Many times, I am intrigued by the fact that a vast number of people who have changed the course of mankind, in whatever degree it may be, go unnoticed all through their life; sometimes even after history is written. And at another extreme, a huge number of our so called "Celebrities" may not manage to make it into the memories of people beyond a short span(or a generation in many cases).

The same Venky Ramakrishnan who won the nobel prize in chemistry giving lectures in India saw huge multiplication of his audience after he won the prize; and people turned to see him, not to listen to his lectures. And I am very sure that there may be a huge number of Phyiscs graduates in India who wouldn't even have heard of  Sudarshan even remotely. I, Sasikanth Gudla, don't even know the name of an accomplished Kuchipudi dancer from Andhra Pradesh(hailing from Andhra Pradesh)! The only person I have heard of is Mayuri Chandran because there was film on her.Why is that some stupid(and sometimes nasty) reality show hosts get more popular than eminent citizens who have life time of work behind them? Why is it the bulk of us know only the names of Cricketers, Cinema Stars and Politicians only? And horrible enough the last group of people don't even figure in lot of people's role models!

I have always wished if regional media could air atleast a 15min programme(or a short interview) once in a week or atleast in a month about an eminent personality of that state. Or the popular FM Radios could have a five minute slot mentioning someone and his achievements once in week- if that is not too much of an asking.


Barack Obama became famous only in a year's time and went on to become the president of U.S.A. Anna Hazare was unknown before April 2011 to 95-98% of the nation.  It is a different matter that he had even the Padma Bhushan in his kitty almost a decade or two ago. I know of only these two cases when Media did a good job and only the latter at a personal and more gratifying level.

Today the young and children in India need role models who are soldiers, scientists, entrepreneurs, economists, farmers etc... and not just Celebrities.

Lokpal vs Jan Lokpal

Disclaimer: I don't know how much of a good citizen I am for I never go to vote till now. The reasons may or may not be justified but this is the fact. However, I have paid my taxes(duly) since the day I started earning two years ago.

I heard of Lokpal(&Jan Lokpal) and read about it much before than most people today. In my humble opinion the bulk of the nation heard of it only after Anna started fasting in April. Much of the country came to know of him only since april; for once, the media did a good job. He stood as an icon and symbol for a nation that is fed up of corruption. His fast was the tipping point. What seemed as impossible seemed so near; Corruption seemed to be beatable atlast.

However, What disturbed me was the news that Team Anna is insisting on only Jan Lokpal bill to be passed. I strongly felt that a middle path must be taken which may not be as weak as the govt's version nor as strong as Jan Lokpal. I am neither an expert nor very knowledgeable on this subject but this is my opinion. I also wish that Lokayuktas and Local Ombudsmen must be strengthened as suggested by Dr JP and Loksatta.

Now finally my loyalities: If I were given order the following and given Dr. Manmohan Singh and Anna Hazare, I will always put Dr.Singh and then Anna Hazare. We have been filled with corrupt politicians so much that it is easy to criticize the government and everything that it does. But if today I take home a salary greater than my father at the end of his career, I owe it PV Narasimharao & Manmohan Singh. This not to undermine what Anna Hazare is doing. I respect him from the bottom of my heart but my role model is more of Singh than of Anna.

But what I am most happy about is that the ice has broken. I am sure the bill that finally comes out will not be Jan Lokpal but it will not be a weak one either. A decent lokpal bill is bound to come out and I hope the country will have less of corruption. I only wish that both sides(govt and Team Anna) don't enter at logger heads and they find an amicable solution in resolving their conflicts

The Mini, Micro and Nano Murdochs

Rupert Murdoch and his media empire has been in news recently and a potpourri of questions have been raised ranging from his family’s control over the business group to phone hackings.

I haven’t followed his news much; nor do I intend to. I only wish to take his name to point out to what has been and is a serious concern for me – regional electronic media.

As a kid I have grown up watching the state owned Doordarshan News channel and have formed my notions of how news needs to be delivered. The job of the news reader, in my humble opinion, is to deliver the news and not make efforts to manipulate the emotions of the viewer. Today’s regional electronic media( I am referring to regional since I don’t watch any other stuff much) seems to be making efforts only to make entertainment, sensation and money out of news; nothing else. 24  x 7 news channels are lowering their standards every day in a bid to grab the viewer’s attention.  Everybody seems to be interested in TRP ratings; none about the sanctity of journalism.

 I sometimes see field reporters who can barely speak a sentence fluently and confidently. The presenters in the studio are slightly better but are highly manipulative in their voice modulation. The background music scores are provocative. The visuals are half-baked or misplaced. News and stories are created out of vacuum just to fill that 24hrs. Why don’t they telecast only for 5hrs a day and give us news instead of nonsense?

Electronic media has so much more power than print media and yet they misuse their power. Being a telugu, the only good telugu news channel I see is ETV2. Probably, they have borrowed heavily from the rich experience their house has in the print media; even they have scope to improve. However, they are far better off  than the others.

The fourth estate, as described by the constitution, seems to be failing so badly. This is a bigger threat to democracy than selfish politicians. Journalism has been used so widely by our national leaders during freedom struggle to unite the nation. Today the electronic media seems to be united to slow the nation’s progress. Fortunately, I see two things to console myself:

·         Internet as a better platform for information exchange.

·          Those who sit all day infront of the TV don’t matter much and those who matter much aren’t sitting all day in front of the TV.