Prachee Publications site has made available Adhunika Vyavahara Kosam by Budaraju Radhakrishna online. Some additions prepared by Sri Budaraju will be available in due course.
Some time ago, I requested Sri P.P.C.Joshi for this favour since I felt that it may be be useful to NRIs like me to help writing in Telugu. I would like to thank Sri P.P.C.Joshi for making the dictionary available and the owners of AMdhra bhArati site for helping with the digitization.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Links, March 12th
On T.V.Raman's software for the blind :For the Blind, Technology Does What a Guide Dog Can’t .
Protecting traditional medicines: India protects traditional medicines from patents .
On Benjamin Paul KailaChange Makers Inc .
Sugata Mitra againfrom pbs.
Protecting traditional medicines: India protects traditional medicines from patents .
On Benjamin Paul KailaChange Makers Inc .
Sugata Mitra againfrom pbs.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Doing mathematics in Belur Math
I have not been doing mathematics for a while but while visiting a friend in Kolkata, I arranged to stay in Belur Math where one of the monks is is a very good mathematician. He wanted me to explain some theory which Peter Scott and I developed a few years ago and he thought that it would be useful in a problem that he has been thinking for over an year. That turned out to be the case. After a life time in mathematics, it does not seem to be hard to get back in to it even after a long gap.
In the beginning I was afraid that this may be religious place and difficult to stay for agnostics like me. But there is very little talk of religion. The Ramakrishna Mission seems to be more about service than religion. I understand that there are some some moslem and christian monks. In Bengal, apart from educational activities, they seem to be in to extensive rural development activities, running dispensaries and hospitals essentially doing what the government should be doing. I hope that similar activities spread to other states. In any case, this seems to a good place of meditation for an agnostic.
In the beginning I was afraid that this may be religious place and difficult to stay for agnostics like me. But there is very little talk of religion. The Ramakrishna Mission seems to be more about service than religion. I understand that there are some some moslem and christian monks. In Bengal, apart from educational activities, they seem to be in to extensive rural development activities, running dispensaries and hospitals essentially doing what the government should be doing. I hope that similar activities spread to other states. In any case, this seems to a good place of meditation for an agnostic.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Moni Moshin on the developments in Pakistan
State of Emergency: A personal history of Pakistan on the brink (http://bostonreview.net/BR34.2/mohsin.php,via 3quraksdaily). Enlightening article, but she seems to go easy on on the Bhuttos and few others as pointed out by C.M. Naim in the comments.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Reading Arudra in Kolkata
My knowledge of Telugu writings is ver fragmentary but I knew about Arudra from his film songs (particularly Premalekhalu from around 1852) and his very impressive Samagra Andhra Sahityam. Visiting a friend's house in Kolkata, I came across a number of books by Arudra and a few about him. I have been browsing throuh some of them and find Arudra very impressive. From the biography 'Arudra' by Medipalli Ravikumar, Ifind that Arudra (original name Bhagavatula Shankara Sastry) was rebellios, scholarly and creatve from a very young age. Apparently, he refused to have a thered ceremony, dropped out of college to take part of the freedom movement, and later bcame a Marxist. But he did not seem to be like many other Marxists. As A.S. Ramman says in 'Words cast a spell'(publiahed in Arudra Abhinandana Sanchika, on the occasion of his 60th birthday in 1985):
" He is a Marxist who readily responds to the literary graces of the bourgeois West, an athesist who wrote exquisite devotional poetry, a non-conformist whom conformists find irrestible because of the authenticity of his dissent, and pacifist who advocates war for peace."
Apart several poetry books, plays, stories there are many scholarly books, some on two of my favourite poets: Vemana and Gurajada. From his two books on Vemana (Vemana Vedam and Mana Vemana), it appears that Vemana was not just a clever epigramist that I imagined but had deep knowledge of various philosophies of his time, found them unsatifactory, tried to go beyond then and expressed his thoughts in the language and idiom understandable to common people. Thus his stanzas remained in people's cosciousness, particularly after they were made available by C.F. Brown. Eventhough many pundits did not like his work (when some of his poems were prescribed by Madras Ujversity, copies of the book disappeared and there was a strike by some students and teachers, according to Narla Venkateswara Rao in his introductory articles to "vemana, Pacchatyulu"), Arudra also shows Vemana's influence on several poets. He also brings his formidable knowledge of classical works into play in his discuusons of everyday conversation pieces. Some of these are in his newspaper articles and leaves the discussion usually withe comment that the topic needs futher research. It seems that all his works are worth pursuing. Medipalli Ravikumar's "Arudra" has a comprehensive list of his writings. A book on popular science that he wrote is missing from the list. It is possible that are more works missing. From Ravikumar's book one finds that Arudra wrote under several psedonyms in his younger days. Some of the pseudonyms are Sankaram, Sankarasastry, Chotasastry, Junior Ashwini,Tingu Rangarao, Samidheni Savitri, Markandeyudu, Vamakshi, Haridasu and Konetirao. Possibly some more may be found in the old magazines and newspapers.
" He is a Marxist who readily responds to the literary graces of the bourgeois West, an athesist who wrote exquisite devotional poetry, a non-conformist whom conformists find irrestible because of the authenticity of his dissent, and pacifist who advocates war for peace."
Apart several poetry books, plays, stories there are many scholarly books, some on two of my favourite poets: Vemana and Gurajada. From his two books on Vemana (Vemana Vedam and Mana Vemana), it appears that Vemana was not just a clever epigramist that I imagined but had deep knowledge of various philosophies of his time, found them unsatifactory, tried to go beyond then and expressed his thoughts in the language and idiom understandable to common people. Thus his stanzas remained in people's cosciousness, particularly after they were made available by C.F. Brown. Eventhough many pundits did not like his work (when some of his poems were prescribed by Madras Ujversity, copies of the book disappeared and there was a strike by some students and teachers, according to Narla Venkateswara Rao in his introductory articles to "vemana, Pacchatyulu"), Arudra also shows Vemana's influence on several poets. He also brings his formidable knowledge of classical works into play in his discuusons of everyday conversation pieces. Some of these are in his newspaper articles and leaves the discussion usually withe comment that the topic needs futher research. It seems that all his works are worth pursuing. Medipalli Ravikumar's "Arudra" has a comprehensive list of his writings. A book on popular science that he wrote is missing from the list. It is possible that are more works missing. From Ravikumar's book one finds that Arudra wrote under several psedonyms in his younger days. Some of the pseudonyms are Sankaram, Sankarasastry, Chotasastry, Junior Ashwini,Tingu Rangarao, Samidheni Savitri, Markandeyudu, Vamakshi, Haridasu and Konetirao. Possibly some more may be found in the old magazines and newspapers.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Book release of "Recovering the Lost Tongue"
Discussion on Fifth Schedule and Book Release
6 March 2009, 3.30 pm
The Other Media and Intercultural Resources cordially invite you for a discussion on the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and the book release of “Recovering the Lost Tongue”, written by Rahul Banerjee, an activist who has worked with adivasis in western MP for the past two decades. Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty will release the book.
Programme Details:
Discussion on Fifth Schedule and
Book Release of “Recovering the Lost Tongue”
.............
The Indian edition is published by:
Joshi PPC,
Prachee Publications,
3-3-859/1/A, lane opp. Arya samaj,
Kachiguda,Hyderabad 500 027
Phone:(O)040-2460 2009 (11:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m.)
6 March 2009, 3.30 pm
The Other Media and Intercultural Resources cordially invite you for a discussion on the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and the book release of “Recovering the Lost Tongue”, written by Rahul Banerjee, an activist who has worked with adivasis in western MP for the past two decades. Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty will release the book.
Programme Details:
Discussion on Fifth Schedule and
Book Release of “Recovering the Lost Tongue”
.............
The Indian edition is published by:
Joshi PPC,
Prachee Publications,
3-3-859/1/A, lane opp. Arya samaj,
Kachiguda,Hyderabad 500 027
Phone:(O)040-2460 2009 (11:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m.)
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