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.

Veranda Tales-Turkeys at a spa

గోవులకు కోసి చెప్పులు దానం చేసినట్లు (govulu kosi cheppulu danam chesinatlu) - Cows are sacred in India and it is illegal to harm them. Cows are revered and well taken care of during their productive years. Older animals ate left to fend for themselves.

Veranda Tales-Sewing machine collects dust

కోతికి కొబ్బరికాయ దొరికినట్లు (kothiki kobbarakaya dorikinatlu) అమ్మ (Amma is mother in Telugu) got her sewing machine when she was a teenager. It was a gift from her father. It was her prized possession that went with her as she moved ...

Veranda Tales-Nanamma’s asthana pandithudu

జగమెరిగిన బ్రాహ్మణునికి జంధ్యమేల? (jagamerigina brahmanuniki jandhyamela?) - I grew up in a Hindu family. We weren't super religious. అమ్మ (Amma is mother in Telugu) or నాన్న (Nanna is father in Telugu) did పూజ (pooja) everyday in the morning.

Veranda Tales-Lima bean pulao paves the way

నల భీమ పాకములు (Nala Bhima Paakamulu) - I landed with a few clothes and books in my early twenties in a foreign land. Everything around me was strange, new, and different. The contemplation to go back  started as soon as the flight took off and continued during the entire 11 hours of layover.

Veranda Tales-Fourteen years of slumber

ఊర్మిళ దేవి నిద్ర (Urmila Devi Nidra) - When I was pregnant with my first child, I was anxious about labor pains and childbirth like every other pregnant woman on the planet. I dutifully took birthing classes, took a tour of the hospital pregnancy rooms, and the neonatal unit.